Handegard '69 Coupe

[Handegard]

Project from begining to end- first post is a doozy.

Growing up, I didn't like getting "dirty" so I never joined my dad working on cars. I usually preferred to play video games, or build wood projects.

So, when I was 17 and in drivers ed, I saw Fast and The Furious, and fell in love with the Dodge. That, and my new girlfriend was a car nut, got me into muscle cars. I decided that the Mustang was my favorite, and bought some books. While on a long car ride with my dad, I was reading one, and he mentioned "you know, Grandpa has a old Mustang sitting around, I bet he'd let you have it"

That was the beginning. That car is my 1969 Coupe, Whibeldon White, black interior, black vinyl top. Car had a 302 2bbl and a C4 in it.

It had been parked since 1979, when it was just a "cheap car" because it was being disputed in a divorce.

So the car came to me, in 2001, with 22 years of rat dropings and mold, and a little rust. My step mom and I removed the carpet and tossed it, vacuumed the interior, then dad and I started cleaning the engine bay, and changed plugs/wires/points, and tried to fire it up. The 2bbl had seized butterflies, so we replaced it with a newer Motorcraft, and with a little ether, had it fired up.

I got ambitious and yanked the motor, and started rebuilding it. I was living with my mom-ex boyfriend, and he suddenly wanted me to move out. So the Mustang went into storage. I've drug it with me from palce to place, figuring "someday" I'd finish it. That was the attitude I started with, when I was a jobless 17 year old who didn't know how to work on cars.

Since then, I've become a mechanic, and spent thousands on my other project cars, never changing my "someday" attitude on the Mustang.

About a year and a half ago, I had a prosperous few months, and put a new motor my F250, my tbird, and my Probe, completing all my "projects"

I figured I would get to work on the Mustang, and aired it out. I ended up hurting my back, and was out of work for about 3 months. During that time, my lease was up, and we decided to move. The Mustang spent a year in a garage at least, moisture free, untill our lease came up. We found a house with a garage, and I started sanding it here and there, not really knowing what to do, but wanting to do something.

Well, we bought the '70 a week or two back, that really motivated me, and I've been taking every chance I can to work on the car. I'll have photos tomorow of the days progress, I'm out of work, so I'm planning to hit the car pretty hard.

My goal as of this writing is to get a motor in and running in less than 2 weeks, and get as much rust removed as I can. The first thing I need to do is replace the brakes and get them working, so I can roll the car in and out of my garage. Then I can use the garage to pull the motor from another car to go in. I'm also going to fix my '94 Probe GT to sell, and sell my current "baby" a '91 Probe GL, both to finance the Mustang.

I'm also suing my former employeer, and I have a seemingly strong case, I'm hoping for a settlement large enough to get the Mustang on the road, if not "finished" I'll drive it in whatever shape is street legal.

[Wolfsburg]

Looking forward to seeing pics! Your '69 sounds a lot like mine, excepting the color and vinyl top.

[Handegard]

I just found out that my grandfather isn't the original owner, he might be the original owner of record, but the car has almost 20k on it when he purchased it, it was the dealers wife's car.

I have a '88 5.0/AOD sitting in the bed of my truck. I put wheels on the Mustang today, and I'm planning to back it out of the garage, get the motor in the garage, and test fit the AOD/ longtube combo.

I'm going to put a 4bbl on it for simplity this week, because my goal is to have it fire up and run, just for the sake of hearing it run. My grandfather and I will be having lunch on Thursday or Friday, and I want to show him the car running. I'll fuel inject it in the future, but for now I want it on the road....

[Handegard]

Well, my '69 is in the driveway (under a cover!)

The motor is in the garage, on a workbench. I'm swaping the oil pan, pump, timing cover, cleaning the motor up, adding a fuel pump, and putting my long tubes on, then I'll hopefully be dropping it in the car on Sunday.

I'm going to have to figure something out for the tranny cooler lines before I fire the car up I imagine. For now, my goal is just to hear it run, mainly for motivation...

[Handegard]

Motor is in the car. No transmission yet, some fab work to be done on that.

I'm going to test fit the exhaust and wiring, see what other things I can come up with.

I'm also trying to find a C4 bellhouse so I can use my C4 right now, and I'll swap the AOD later...

[Handegard]

Believe it or not, this is after tons of work...

[70mstang]

All your work is hidden under the hood huh? It'll be nice to hear it running!

[Handegard]

Not so much. It was just in much worse shape when I got it. The interior alone was so disgusting I wouldn't go in it for the first few weekends untill we'd gutted it and vacuumed and vacuumed.

Now, my motor is sitting in the engine bay, and the interior, while not finished, is cleaned up and put to gether enough that I'd drive it as is, and I've cleaned up most the rust and covered it in primer.

First thing is to get the brakes all done, so I can stop it. Right now, it's got empty drums.

I'm planning to get the whole car stripped next, and have the body media blasted and primed/painted. That means I have to decide on a color..... and decide on floor panel repair... My floors are structurally sound, very little rust, but enough that there is a hole here or there, though not big.

[Handegard]

Bah! The Mustang got kicked out of my garage by one of those "simple projects" I was supposed to do a little work on a friends dads truck, and it looks like it'll be in there for another week at least!

Anyway, I'm moving outdoors to work on it. Its a nice day, so I'll taking the cover off, and I'm going to try and get into my dash and see what a mess the rodents may have made of my wiring, and see if I can get my HVAC lines freed up...

Motor is sitting in the engine bay, and as soon as I get a my AOD crossmember, I'll be working on firing it up (I'm sad that no tranny = no starter!)

[Handegard]

Very little actual progress has been made, but what has been done has been inspirational...

I got the wheel spacers I needed (1.5") to run the wheels I wanted. In my quest for a modern touch with a retro body, I found a set of wheels I think complement both nicely. They are the stock wheels from a '94 Ford Probe GT and they have 225/55R16s on them. The attached picture shows them off...

I've primed some of the car. For now, I'm coating the whole car in spray primer as is. I started out because I was bored or something, and it was amazing what a difference it made to my friends. They were all like "wow it looks so much better" especially my girlfriend, who's approval is necessary.

So, even though minor, it's provided a big "motivational push"

Skip for short version:
Right now, work is a little stalled while I wait for a truck based decision. My dad is going to be hooking me up with a '96ish Chevy pickup that he hopes will replace my '85 F250. I LOVE my truck, but a extended cab with ABS and a overdrive would be very useful with a 2nd daughter on the way.


Long story short, if I decided to keep this Chevy, I've got more into my truck's motor that it's worth, so I'd be pulling the brand spank'in new 460/C6 combo (less than 4k on it) and putting it in my Mustang.

If I decide not to do that, I'll order a AOD X-member and get my AOD swaped in so I can start this thing.

MY NEW GOAL:
Get this thing on the road by end of 2010.

When I got it it (Aug. 2001) was always something I figured "I'd finish in 10 years"

Somehow I kept that mentality for all this time, making almost zero progress on the car. Now that I realize it, I'm out to finish it soon.

I plan to get it painted someday, but I'd rather drive it primer grey than let it sit until I paint it ;)

[DRASTiK]

Any amount of progress is STILL progress. Keep it up!

[Handegard]

Is there a smiley for "giddy like a school girl"?

'cause I need one!

It looks like I'll have either money for my AOD conversion kit this week, or alternatively, money for a C6 kit and some 429/460 motor mounts.

I'm leaning towards the 5.0/AOD combo over the 466/C6 combo, if only because my 466/C6 is currently in my truck, and I don't want to get rid of my truck!

[Handegard]

I just picked up a few more cans of Plasti Kote Primer. This stuff is awesome, but a little pricey.

I'm going to get the whole car primed, just to keep it uniform. I plan to get it running and be driving it first, then do the body work and paint as I get funds. I'd rather drive it in spray-primer than have it look great and sit in my garage collecting dust.

[ccobra70]

hang in there stay focused on one thing at a time try and meet your little goals to get to the big one, I know it's hard I had to decide to sell my 02 lighting that only had 30k miles 450hp to the rear wheel, all the bells and whistles, I still miss that truck the most fun I have had since my stang was on the road but had to do it or knew I would not finish my stang, nice thread keep the pics coming good luck.

[Handegard]

Well, I decided to order the AOD bracket, without knowing what engine will eventually go in.

I'm gonna go for it with the 302 for now, and if I end up changing the engine later, maybe I'll use the AOD conversion on the '70...

Hopefully, I will order my bracket when I get home Monday (off with family in mountains right now)

[Handegard]

Today we taped up a bunch of chrome (even though most of it needs to be replaced) and sprayed some primer around. Much better looking than it was yesterday.

Much smoother, and a lot more coverage. Keep in mind this primer is just to make the car look better until I get it media blasted and professionally primed someday.

I must say, it looks stunning for having a primer paintjob done with rattle-cans ;)

I used Spray Kote Primer and Spot fill btw... Only 4-5 cans total so-far...

[Handegard]

Today I put the '69 on a trailer, hauled it to work and stuck it on a lift...

I was planning to try and put the transmission in it, but I forgot the bell housing bolts at home, and go into a little car accident on the way home...

It really sucks, because I only had the lift for a few hours... it has to be gone in the morning (and my trailer is out of commission from the accident)

Hopefully, I'll feel OK enough to go in at 7am and throw the tranny in... if not, it might have to wait a few weeks again...

[Handegard]

Today my dad came down to the shop and gave me a hand with the transmission (I can't do it because my back/neck is still hurting bad)

We got the AOD installed and bolted in, verified that the motor still turns (the first time we put it in, the torque converter slid off the third shaft, and the motor wouldn't turn)

I took care of a few other little things, we put it on the trailer and hauled it home....

Then I got my accessories back on, and installed my serpentine belt and distributor...

Hopefully, in the next day or two I'll feel well enough to install the starter and I'll be able to crank it... I still need to get a cap/rotor/wires but I think that hearing it crank will be a wonderfull sensation!

Oh, and now that the transmission is installed, I get to find out if my long-tubes will clear the AOD (I highly doubt it!)

Yeah for me!

[Handegard]

Hmm...

I can't sleep due to my back/neck, so I ran out in the garage to see if I could mock install the headers...

Looks like a big no on that... I might have better luck from below, or with the motor out, but there is no way I'm getting those long-tubes installed as is...

[Handegard]

I turned my drums a week or so ago, and bought all the parts I needed for the front brakes, except a few...

I still need to get adjusters, but I finally tracked down the wheel cylinder pins I was looking for...

I also have a line on a 4.6L DOHC motor, well see how that turns out. I'm hopeful that it will have a future home in my '69.

Oh! And I have a date with the State Patrol on March 29th at 1:00pm! If I get it all back together by then (mostly) I'll get my registration. Three years later, I get a title! WoHoo!

[Handegard]

Today I got the front bumper on again (first time in 8 years) and tried to install front brakes....

Firstly, I found that '69 and '70 front brakes seem a little different. I tried copying a picture I was given of a '70, and that didn't work...

But, they gave me the wrong hardware kit at the parts store anyway. So I'll exchange it tomorrow.

I at least have 2 shoes installed, and tomorrow it will be both sides. I also need to go get a adjuster kit for each side. Remember, I don't have any brake parts already, so I'm starting from scratch...

Then I get to jack the rear up, and see what I need back there.

[Handegard]

Figured the brakes out. Now I have all the correct parts for the front brakes. Rear is next.

Yesterday I got a fuel pump, and I picked up a set of factory service manuals for '69 (hopefully will be useful with the '70 as well)

Today, I ordered a distributor. I may regret it in the end, but I got a HEI unit, with the built in coil, cap, and rotor, or like $50 on eBay. As long as it works for now, eventually, I want to go distributor-less, but there are more important things to do.

I'm going to get the front brakes done this afternoon, and hopefully get the rears on tomorrow. Yay!

[Handegard]

Front brakes are done, rear drums are off, and I need to turn them and get parts...

Hopefully, if my neck feels good enough, I'll crawl under there this evening and install a starter... then start going through boxes and try and find all my parts, lay them out, and see whats what...

[Burn]

Nice progress. Seems like you're getting close to getting her on the road. Got any pictures?

[Handegard]

Nah, not even on my mind.

There are three goals now-



Brakes/Lights- These are so I can tow it on the road, as opposed to trailering it.
Starter/Engine- Just hearing it fire will likely provide additional motivation.
Body stuff- Need to get it "whole" to pass state patrol inspection, with a eye towards getting a title in 3 years


Pics soon. It's come a little ways. I plan to ask the original owner for some financial assistance in the next few days, I fear with a new baby due any day, that the project might slow for a few years as funds are "diverted"

[Handegard]

1:39AM, rear brakes are installed.

I'm missing some pieces, and I have some extras, but it's parking brake related ;)

In the morning, I'll turn the drums at work, and hopefully,

I'LL HAVE BRAKES for the first time since 1979.

I got the new distributor installed, and I'll track down spark plug wires for it tomorrow, and try and get it to fire a little. I also plan to try and track down a bolt kit for my Edelbrock valve covers, I decided I like them more than my black '88 5.0 covers...

My goal, while seemingly lofty, is to have brakes by Monday (assuming none of the parking brake hardware is needed for service brakes) and to hear it run, even poorly, by next Monday...


I have to say, I credit this website for the progress I've made. I have come further in the last 6 months than in the previous 7 1/2 years prior to that. And most of it has been due to seeing and reading about your cars.

And probably my '70. Owning it is a little bit of a downer, but a good motivator.

[Handegard]

Brakes work, yay!

I was going to try and get it to fire, but I bought the wrong spark plugs, silly me. I grabbed some Autolite 25s, assuming my '88 roller used the smaller spark plugs... but I was wrong...

So, TOMOROW, I will try and get it to fire ;)

[Handegard]

New dash!

Yeah!

[Handegard]

Long time with no update, so I'll list it then throw some photos up.

I managed to find and fix (I believe) every damaged/chewed/unhooked wire in the car. So thats done. Dash might go in tomorrow, want to clean up and prime behind it.

I've got the HEI distributor to fire a little, It's giving me some problems. I'll work on that soon.

I modified my '88 exhaust manifolds to clear the steering box. Not sure if the'll work long term, I don't care. For now, I can try and use them for some makeshift "good enough" exhaust to get it running. Probably be too hot for the cabin, the pipes would be right up against the firewall... I put off doing this for months, thinking it would be tedious, but it only took a few minutes.

Heres a switch- The '70 is in the garage, and the '69 is in the driveway. Going to do some work to them both....

I pulled my drivers door off today, going to see how hard it'll be to clean up all the rust around the hinges, and to clean out the door and put a window back in.

I hope to borrow a sand blaster tomorrow, and try and borrow a air compressor, and then blast the whole car. That'll speed things up, lately, I've been sanding/grinding, then priming little bits at a time. I'd like to blast the whole car, then prime it....

[Handegard]

Just a couple progress shots. These really show off how bad it is.

Not horrid, but certainly the worst of it is the bottom.

http://i26.tinypic.com/2qi1ctf.jpg

http://i25.tinypic.com/bgwimg.jpg

http://i29.tinypic.com/2lnwvh4.jpg

http://i28.tinypic.com/2nk59nk.jpg

http://i32.tinypic.com/2vcvxn9.jpg

Progress should increase greatly from here on, my dad just bought a car trailer I can use anytime to wheel it down to the shop...

[unfrozen1969]

Thanks for posting photos, keep them coming.

Bill

[Handegard]

It's ALIVE!!!

Well, not all the way ;)

I fixed the fuel line, installed everything in the engine bay properly and tight with gaskets (intake, exhaust, etc) and got the carb in.

I haven't got fuel running to it yet, but I got the new HEI distributor wired up and the timming set, gave it a squirt of starting fluid, and it fired right up, and idled for a second.

Need to figure out many, many things still, but to hear it run, as I've always assumed, was very exciting!

[70mstang]

GREAT!!! I am looking forward to mine coming home so I can begin putting in the engine. One of these days she'll roar to life too!

[Handegard]

I managed to nab a driveshaft today... I previously had discovered that a 9th generation Thunderbird (83-88) with a C5 transmission had a driveshaft that was just perfect for my AOD/8" combo.

Sadly, the scrap metal guy took my driveshafts mistakenly, but I grabbed one today...

If I can get the throttle hooked up, rig a shifter, I might, might be able to take my first drive in a week or two!

Right now, I plan to get it going, drivable, then fix things piece by piece. My old plan was to fix everything, then get it running. I'd still like to tear it down to bare metal someday, but now, I think I'll be able to do more if I get it driveable, much easier to get it on and off the trailer and lifts....

Exhaust would be nice to have ;)

[Handegard]

Yay! Deadlines are great! I've got a State Patrol inspection on Friday, and while the car doesn't have to be running, I'm trying to get it as "complete" as possible, and well, once everything is in, why not hook it up right?

So, I found a few new fuel problems today, but tomorow it should run run. The neighbors are going to love that, what with the open manifolds and all ;) I don't plan to run it for more than a a few seconds, I still have no working cooling system.

On to that, I have determined that a 1970 radiator will work for my setup. I'm running a '88 5.0, and the water pump is pretty inter-mixed with the brackets for my serp belt setup, so I need to use it. No matter, just have to order one in a payday or two. Hopefully, someone wants to buy my factory '69 radiator *wink*.

I am debating if I should stick with the original style alternator and external regulator ($50 for both) vs stick with my current '88 alt with internal regulator, and have to figure the wiring out....

Biggest news of the day, I tracked down a u-joint at work that fit just fine. Driveshaft isn't a perfect length, just a hair short, but it'll work for inspection. I'll have a local shop build me a new driveshaft asap, but I'm not going to drive on my $13 junkyard one, just use it to hold park ;)

I also got the throttle hooked up. It feels "funny" (the pedal bottoms out long before hitting the floor) but it does work, so there is that.

On a sour note, I took my old '69 power steering hose and my '88 power steering hose to the hydrualic shop, and said "make me one this long with the '88 plug on one end and the '69 plug on the other" and they said "no" :/

Turns out, the '88 style power steering pump uses a non-standard threaded fitting, and they don't carry it, nor know where to get it :(

[Ry-speeed]

Good progress. I enjoyed reading the updates.

Makes me wish I was closer to hearing mine run.

What engine/tranny/rear did you decide to go with?

[Handegard]

Today, work was slow. I primed some of the body parts for the front valence, and I'm going to try and install them in a few minutes. I also got the old grill out, and I'm going to try and glue up a few cracks. A dirty old grill looks better than no grill ;)

I'm going to go bolt the radiator in as soon as I send this. Car doesn't have to be done, but I need it as complete as possible Friday for inspection ;)

[Handegard]

Car is mostly assembled. Not for the final time mind you, but I'm soon hoping I'll be able to drive it around as-is while waiting for bodywork and a real paint job.

I've got pretty much the whole drivetrain done, need to swap radiators and get floor shifter and TV linkage, and I'll probably be able to drive it. Well, exhaust is needed too.

Pics soon, I have a ton I need to upload...

[Handegard]

Things are shaping up...

http://i51.tinypic.com/2rdjmzl.jpg

That ugly fuel filter is gone now...

http://i51.tinypic.com/10d7fyf.jpg

First time in almost 30 years! Major milestone IMO.

http://i55.tinypic.com/1pw5td.jpg

First time having a grill on in almost 9 years... I hardly recognize it...

http://i51.tinypic.com/33cynio.jpg

At State Patrol Inspection....

http://i51.tinypic.com/fuwdbn.jpg

[Handegard]

Been along time. Other projects have come and gone, worked alot, worked not very much, etc.

Now I spend most my time restoring a '68 F350 with my grandfather (which can be seen here if interested: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1068477-restoring-grandpas-68-f350.html)

Mustang updates-

I replaced my sending unit in the gas tank last week. I'm going to pull the tank any day and clean it, then put it back in with some fresh fuel line and gas.

I got a new radiator (for a '70) to use with my '88 5.0 water pump. Its bolted in, the hoses need to be cut and hooked up, then it'll be ready to fill with fluids and I believe (fingers crossed!!!!!) that it'll run.

Bare minimum to drive it (not finish) I still need:

Shift/TV linkage for AOD
Some form of exhaust
Windsheild, side windows
new instrument PCB
power steering hoses (custom)
Alternator wiring ('88 alt)



But if Grandpa wants to help financially (it was his car originally, and he's having fun restoring a '68 F350 with me) I'm going to strip it down to a bare body, blast it, fix all the panels, and then have it primed (and maybe painted)

I know that's not as simple as it sounds, but if I get just a little financial help, I can strip/sandblast it myself, I have a friend who'll paint it (no charge, other than materials and beverages) and I'm EAGER to learn how to replace sheet metal (doing it to my '68 F350 soon anyways) it's something that could reasonably be done for not a lot of money and in only a few months.

This is a huge deal. If I do this, it's amazing. Then, I get it running, and I just replace parts here and there until the interior is perfect and the mechanicals are flawless. This is a dream that might become reality!

[Handegard]

Looks like we're getting power to the property where I work on my cars.

This is huge. I own a 80 gallon 5hp compressor that I loaned to someone since I don't have power. If I can run that, I'll have a sandblaster in no time.

Following that, I'll build a makeshift paint booth and get my paint on!


I love working on classic Fords ;)

[Handegard]

Looking back at this thread, I realize my tabs are due any day!

Oops!