sellersrodshop's new toy!!

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

well, after two weeks of aligning schedules, my new toy arrived today! the car is really solid underneath, with the only rust being a spot in the lower rt door, a few pinholes in one of the pans & the usual spot in the front apron under the battery. it's a standard sportsroof with the original 302/c4 & a brand new auburn posi unit w/ 3.73 rear gears. also new magnums & tires.

[R4K]

Wow, man, looks clean! Congrats!

[burritoboi5]

That looks really clean. Have fun with it bud!

[MAD IN NC]

Great Find! Congrats!

[UnrulySchoolboy]

nice car. just wondering, what are the plans for it?

[bnickel]

didn't i just see this car one ebay? i swear i did. looks kike a nice solid project.

[468stang]

Very nice.

[Burn]

Cool car. Whats your plans for it?

[bnickel]

Cool car. Whats your plans for it?


please don't me tell me you're going to cut it up and put a Mustang II front end on it, that's to nice a car to cut up for that. sorry, i just hate seeing realy nice stang getting cut up for M-II suspensions, if it's an old rust bucket or the car was a wreck to begin with i guess it's ok, but a nice clean straight car like that deserves better IMO.

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

please don't me tell me you're going to cut it up and put a Mustang II front end on it, that's to nice a car to cut up for that. sorry, i just hate seeing realy nice stang getting cut up for M-II suspensions, if it's an old rust bucket or the car was a wreck to begin with i guess it's ok, but a nice clean straight car like that deserves better IMO.

don't worry, no m-2 front for this one! i have enough of those around with my street rods! i totally agree, there are too many cars with alot of rust etc that are candidates to cut up & add the exotic stuff. this one is too solid for that.to answer your previous question, i did get this one on ebay. i put in a fairly low ( compared to what similar cars were selling for) marker bid to keep an eye on it, & the seller ended up lowering his reserve $500 below my bid, so got it at a really good price. i like doing alot of suspension work to make them handle really well, a good power 4 whl disc setup, 5 speed swap & either build the original 302 to a decent 300-350 hp or swap in a late 5.0 & add a supercharger. i want to keep the engine at a manageable rate, with good driveability. i did the high compression, high horsepower , ground pounder thing with my 68 a few years back ( 430hp 351c) & spent most of my time tuning & adjusting instead of riding. i'm too busy with too many cars now to do that, just want a good solid fun car. i'm even thinking about painting it back the original color instead of planning out & applying one of my trademark custom jobs. here's the one's i did on my dad's truck & the 40 coupe i just sold:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/stevesstuff307.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/IMG_0027.jpg

[69mach1mw]

please don't me tell me you're going to cut it up and put a Mustang II front end on it, that's to nice a car to cut up for that. sorry, i just hate seeing realy nice stang getting cut up for M-II suspensions, if it's an old rust bucket or the car was a wreck to begin with i guess it's ok, but a nice clean straight car like that deserves better IMO.

i have to agree. i hate to see good cars get cut up, there are too many great mods that dont require a stang to be cut to pieces to justify a classic being destroyed. If the car's trashed, though, I'm ok with it being modded to that extreme.

[66stang]

nice truck what color is the dark blue im looking for a dark blue for my coupe sweet rides

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

nice truck what color is the dark blue im looking for a dark blue for my coupe sweet rides

THANKS! THE BLUE IS CORVETTE "LUXO BLUE" I THINK THE FACTORY CODE IS 19. I'LL DOUBLE CHECK MY CODES & LET YOU KNOW.

[bnickel]

don't worry, no m-2 front for this one! i have enough of those around with my street rods! i totally agree, there are too many cars with alot of rust etc that are candidates to cut up & add the exotic stuff. this one is too solid for that.to answer your previous question, i did get this one on ebay. i put in a fairly low ( compared to what similar cars were selling for) marker bid to keep an eye on it, & the seller ended up lowering his reserve $500 below my bid, so got it at a really good price. i like doing alot of suspension work to make them handle really well, a good power 4 whl disc setup, 5 speed swap & either build the original 302 to a decent 300-350 hp or swap in a late 5.0 & add a supercharger. i want to keep the engine at a manageable rate, with good driveability. i did the high compression, high horsepower , ground pounder thing with my 68 a few years back ( 430hp 351c) & spent most of my time tuning & adjusting instead of riding. i'm too busy with too many cars now to do that, just want a good solid fun car. i'm even thinking about painting it back the original color instead of planning out & applying one of my trademark custom jobs. here's the one's i did on my dad's truck & the 40 coupe i just sold:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/stevesstuff307.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/IMG_0027.jpg


that's good to hear. so many other Rod shops these days just start hacking on solid cars to replace the IMO superior system with the M-II stuff. a few geometry changes is a ll it takes to make an early stang handle like a slot car. speaking of suspension changes have you seen the new TCP G-Bar rear suspension system? it's a triangulated 4 link that mostly bolts in to the car, this is not the one based on the Ride Tech air ride system that they were using but a totally redesigned system. that's the kind of stuff i like to see on an early car, it fits within the confines of the original system and doesn't require major surgery to install it.

http://totalcontrolproducts.com/gBar.html

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

yeah, i'm not into "hacking". it may sound corny, but i'm a firm believer in keeping the "soul" of a car intact. the mustang II fronts are a great improvement over stock when i'm dealing with the pre-48 rides that had a straight axle, knee action shocks etc., but by the 60's, when ifs was standard, all they need are some strengthening & tweaking to get the performance i want. granted, for some monster motor builds where the shock towers create clearance problems, the M-II works great, but those are mainly straight line, drag oriented cars where high g cornering isn't a high priority. besides, the front to rear weight ratios on these cars makes it alot harder to get that desired handling effect. if i was going to graft anything in on an older mustang ( without going to the aftermarket) i would be inclined to try & fab up a late fox or newer strut front suspension where to the normal observer, the shock towers would look stock etc. ( kinda like what you are aiming for with the cougar) i'm really anal about details, everything has to "flow" together with a build.
that 4-link setup looks like a good setup. kinda based on the fox bodied setup. i would like to see one in person & take some measurements. bet i could build one pretty easily, with the only major cost being the coilovers & the heim joints for the links.

[bnickel]

yeah, i'm not into "hacking". it may sound corny, but i'm a firm believer in keeping the "soul" of a car intact. the mustang II fronts are a great improvement over stock when i'm dealing with the pre-48 rides that had a straight axle, knee action shocks etc., but by the 60's, when ifs was standard, all they need are some strengthening & tweaking to get the performance i want. granted, for some monster motor builds where the shock towers create clearance problems, the M-II works great, but those are mainly straight line, drag oriented cars where high g cornering isn't a high priority. besides, the front to rear weight ratios on these cars makes it alot harder to get that desired handling effect. if i was going to graft anything in on an older mustang ( without going to the aftermarket) i would be inclined to try & fab up a late fox or newer strut front suspension where to the normal observer, the shock towers would look stock etc. ( kinda like what you are aiming for with the cougar) i'm really anal about details, everything has to "flow" together with a build.
that 4-link setup looks like a good setup. kinda based on the fox bodied setup. i would like to see one in person & take some measurements. bet i could build one pretty easily, with the only major cost being the coilovers & the heim joints for the links.


we're having a discussion about the TCP G-Bar over on Stangnet right now.
one of TCP's guys named Lino, goes by Psyadwaze on SN, is on it as well.

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?p=7221509#post7221509

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

well, had some time this weekend to start changing out the interior. it was just too much blue. i'm thinking of keeping the original outside color ( or some close variation) but wanted a black interior. went with the black/ red mach 1 seats & the black carpet with the black rubber inserts ( thought the red inserts would be a bit much) & redyed some of the interior parts, dorr panels etc.also added a set of late model cadillac 3 point seat belts i had not used in a previous rod build. with some slight modifiaction to the mounting bracket, these fit perfectly!! the buckles even have a red release button to match the new seat covers. still have to put the new headliner in, but already looks better

[bnickel]

i really wish ford had made the Mach 1 seats with a blue stripe and the carpet with a blue insert. i think that would look so wicked, i've been toying with the idea of getting TMI to make me a custom set of their mach 1 upholstery they have for the 80's fox body with a blue stripe instead of the red and dyeing the mach 1 carpet inserts with a blue VHT penetrating dye for the 69 cougar.

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

Yeah, the blue stripe would have been cool. i was surprised that the aftermarket doesn't supply different colored stripe inserts along with the other non- stock items they offer. the covers are tmi & are really a quality product. everything fit well & i only have a couple areas i need to steam a couple wrinkles out of. if you get them to do a custom set for the cougar, check & see if you can supply your own material. that way, if you have the paint color picked out, you can match the material up & send them a piece, that way you will know what shade of blue you will be getting! on that note, if vht doesn't offer the shade of blue in the dye, try SEM. i've used their dyes for years with excellent results & they have a pretty wide color selection. what really surprised me is how far downhill auto custom carpets has went. carpet fit pretty well, but is as thin as a cracker. we'll see over time how well it holds up.

[bnickel]

i've tried the SEM stuff and didn't have good luck with it at all. the only advantage i see with the SEM stuff is the larger color selection. i honestly prefer Mar-Hyde vinyl dye to anything else i've used thus far but the VHT is a true dye that penetrates the material where-as all the others are really just a paint with a flex agent added. if i'm not happey with the VHT i'll go back to the Mar-Hyde brand stuff.

if you haven't seen the TMI covers i'm referring to check this out...

http://www.editorpressroom.com/classicmustang/mustang_photos/mustang_lo_res/mustang_seats_lo/fox_lo/fox_mach1_hibk_reds_lo.jpg

i've already got a set of 86 GT buckets that i plan on using and was originally going to use in the stang but since i've decided to sell it i saved a bunh of the goodies i was going to use on it for the cougar including the 86 seats. i will have to swap out the headrests for the short later fox body pieces but that's ok because i don't really like the look of the halo headrests anymore.

[helrazr70]

i have to agree. i hate to see good cars get cut up, there are too many great mods that dont require a stang to be cut to pieces to justify a classic being destroyed. If the car's trashed, though, I'm ok with it being modded to that extreme.

I had fully intended to do a MII front suspension on my '69 fastback--it has bent frame rails from collision damage, 2 rusted out shock towers, 2 mangled rear aprons from hood hinges being pushed back, cowl damage from hood hinges, 2 bent strut rod housings, and it's missing the front aprons and core support. (I bought it that way from the classifieds section on this site a couple of months ago)

Recently I got my hands on a salvageable big block front clip for it and I have decided against the MII set-up for now. I will probably just do the Shelby drop and add some performance suspension parts along with a manual rack conversion at some point.

You have to agree that a Heidt's system is pretty nice for the money. You get front disc brakes, 2inch drop spindles, tubular upper and lower control arms, and rack and pinion steering all for less than $1750 to your door if purchased from the right place. If you add the costs of a rack conversion, disc conversion, and tubular control arms, and 2" of lowering I bet you get a lot higher total than $1750!

[bnickel]

I had fully intended to do a MII front suspension on my '69 fastback--it has bent frame rails from collision damage, 2 rusted out shock towers, 2 mangled rear aprons from hood hinges being pushed back, cowl damage from hood hinges, 2 bent strut rod housings, and it's missing the front aprons and core support. (I bought it that way from the classifieds section on this site a couple of months ago)

Recently I got my hands on a salvageable big block front clip for it and I have decided against the MII set-up for now. I will probably just do the Shelby drop and add some performance suspension parts along with a manual rack conversion at some point.

You have to agree that a Heidt's system is pretty nice for the money. You get front disc brakes, 2inch drop spindles, tubular upper and lower control arms, and rack and pinion steering all for less than $1750 to your door if purchased from the right place. If you add the costs of a rack conversion, disc conversion, and tubular control arms, and 2" of lowering I bet you get a lot higher total than $1750!


yeah but that $1750 doesn't include installation, and i'm not a proficient enough welder to tackle something like that myself so it would probably cost another $1500-2000 for instalation, which makes it at least as, if not more, expensive than a bolt on kit. MII systems aren't known for their handling prowess either. and i think you need to recheck that $1750 price, that's for the standard system and all the stuff you mentioned costs extra and the standard disc brakes are only 10" whereas stock 69 mustang discs are 11.25"

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

fatman's has a pretty nice setup out also. i have a friend who installed this front assembly with a 4.6 dohc supercharged cobra motor. says it's a really nice product. i can say that i have a fatman's chassis under my 36 & he produces a quality product.

http://www.fatmanfab.com/catalogpage.php?page=29

[helrazr70]

yeah but that $1750 doesn't include installation, and i'm not a proficient enough welder to tackle something like that myself so it would probably cost another $1500-2000 for instalation, which makes it at least as, if not more, expensive than a bolt on kit. MII systems aren't known for their handling prowess either. and i think you need to recheck that $1750 price, that's for the standard system and all the stuff you mentioned costs extra and the standard disc brakes are only 10" whereas stock 69 mustang discs are 11.25"

Here is the link to one of the two places selling the deluxe kit for $1741 with free brake hoses and free shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1964-65-66-67-68-69-70-MUSTANG-COUGAR-HEIDTS-I-F-S_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34200QQihZ002QQitemZ1 20264559587QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW


This is where I would have gotten mine before I changed my mind. I have also found a few vendors who sell the exact same parts except the crossmember. You can buy the Heid't crossmember for $399 and then get the rest elsewhere and come in much cheaper. (around $1300) I think you can get bigger brake rotors and matching caliper brackets or custom spindles.

I would be installing the system myself since I have a welder, so it would be cost-effective for me.

The only way I would go Heidt's right now is if I were to go with a 4.6 DOHC like I had originally planned. Now I have a 5.0/T5 set-up complete with computer, wiring, and loads of perf parts that I am using for an EFI swap. I have no need for the Heidt's other than the "cool factor" of having a rack & pinion set-up and tubular suspension components. I may take a crack at fabbing my own rack crossmember and use a MII rack and possibly the Heid'ts rack to column kit.

Like I said before, I am just going to stick with the factory stuff for now since there is no "need" for the MII stuff

My car needs pretty much EVERYTHING from the firewall forward. I had no idea at first when I bought this thing that I would have to replace so much sheetmetal! After the front clip is swapped, I still have a rusty lower cowl, mangled upper cowl, floor pans, toe boards, taillight panel, 1/4 skins, and door skins to tackle. I even need to replace the fenders! A MII system would add to the workload a little more than I want to deal with at this point anyway.

Once the front clip is on, it's going on the rotisserie.

[Runragged]

So you've used the Mustang II suspensions. Did you use the Heidt's kit? If so how does it ride, stop, handle, etc? I'm considering it for my rusty bucket that I want to start Rally Racing with

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

well, it's been awhile... as a few here already knew, i had a fire in nov 2010 that took my garage & everything in it. the mustang was outside, but everything i had been stockpiling for the build was inside. so, for the past 18 months, i've been rebuilding the garage & the parts stash for the car. it's sat outside covered up untouched the whole time, which was hard on it. i went to take it around the block last week & found the whole brake system was dry, so instead of a ride, i moved everything around in the new shop & pulled it in for the disc brake swap & the t-5 swap.

my shop in nov 2010:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/IMG_2451.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/IMG_2453-1.jpg

the mustang in the new shop:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/photo.jpg

disc brake swap turned into a full front suspension rebuild:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/rtside1.jpg

new upper arms & roller perches from Opentracker racing, new lowers from VA mustang:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/controlarms1.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/controlarms2.jpg

a couple "while i'm at it's". adding one of the shock tower kits i make & grafting in a section of the battery apron. this car has never been wrecked, so by grafting in a section & metal finishing, i won't lose the original number stampings, crisp lines & spot welds of the original part. still have some weld grinding to do, but will be an invisible repair when finished.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo9.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo11.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo10.jpg

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

finished making my boxing plates for the lower arms today. also made a pair of valence support brackets. i couldn't see paying $10 ea. for these so made a pair for about 10 cents!

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo12.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo13.jpg

[Powershift]

Nice work!!

SO sorry about the shop fire!!

[cobrakidz]

Did they ever figure out what started the fire? Love the look of your Mustang. (stance, wh/tires/etc..)

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

no, they pretty much went with the "must have been something electrical" theory. i think it was either something to do with the t.v./cable box or a cordless drill charger.

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

haven't posted anything up in a while, but i have been busy. finished the cleanup on the front from the firewall forward, painted & started reassembling the hard parts. i'm making new stainless brake lines now, then the engine will be ready to reinstall. also still trying to decide on new wheels & tires...

fresh paint
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo34.jpg

cleaned & detailed the steering system. box had no tension in it, but also had no grease left either! regreased it & it feels like new now.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo40.jpg

new control arms & roller perches from opentracker;
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo39.jpg

new 12.5" disc brakes
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/photo42.jpg

new booster, master cylinder & wilwwod distribution block w/ adjustable prop valve
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/IMG_3164.jpg

clutch master for the t-5 swap
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/IMG_3170.jpg

new stainless hard lines,braided stainless flex lines & 1 1/8" swaybar
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/IMG_3166.jpg

[TexasEd]

disc brake swap turned into a full front suspension rebuild:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/rtside1.jpg

new upper arms & roller perches from Opentracker racing, new lowers from VA mustang:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/controlarms1.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/sellersrodshop/69%20MUSTANG/controlarms2.jpg




I may have to copy what you did there.

Are the four holes on the shock tower the original and dropped holes or all original?

[SELLERSRODSHOP]

its the original holes on top & the arning drop holes on the bottom.