Embarking on a lot of clean up . . . not really a resto . . . quite

[Erkenbrand]

I haven't done an update in a while. There's been quite a bit of movement . . .
- The interior is all back together. New headliner, dash, etc. I was able to find A pillar trim, although it's black. Some day I hope to locate the correct red trim.
- All new brakes and hoses installed.
- All new struts / shocks.
- And a new Dakota Digital gauge cluster.

Here's a quick video of the gauge cluster, and the first start after the car sat there for a year.

Of course everything was working great. Then, I discovered the backup lights and turn signals stopped working. They were working just fine. The only thing I can think of is maybe something in the dash harness came apart after I moved the wires around for the final fit of the new cluster. Not sure how that would affect the backup lights, unless there's a power feed there. The fuses didn't blow.

But that's a project for this weekend. Once I get them figured out the car will officially be back on the road.

 

[broncojunkie]

Love the car! I've been planning on creating some YouTube content myself. I've just had too many irons in the fire I think. Anyway, I just sub'd. Hope that's ok!

 

[Erkenbrand]

I figured out the lights issue. The rear wiring harness is not in the best of condition, and the b/up light harness was shorting out. There have been some prior owner hacks going on back there. I cleaned up the harness, and it all worked great.

I did take it down the road for the first time. I found a couple of more problems I need to immediately address:

1. The steering rack has had it. Driving in a straight line is a bit of a challenge.
2. Of the 4 available gears only 3 work. 2nd is just a grindy, won't engage mess.
3. Cooling. It wants to run hot.

I picked up a SVE radiator, Contour fans, new water pump, new thermostat, and a Dakota Digital fan controller. The amount of sediment I washed out of the block and heater core was crazy. The old radiator felt half full of sediment. I'm looking forward to it running cool.

I also picked up a new steering rack, tie rods, and steering pump hoses. Also, including Prothane bushings for the rack.

Next up, I need to find a T5 trans. Eventually, this car will be back on the road.

I did find a correct pair of Marchand fog lights, so I can at least complete that for cosmetics. All of the original factory harness and switch is still there, so that's going to be pretty straightforward.

 

[broncojunkie]

Have you checked the rag joint on the steering shaft? They tend to disintegrate and will cause play in the steering.

Also, hold onto that rack. I believe they are getting rare. They're different than the later steering racks and some of the early fox owners are looking for them. I mistakenly scrapped the one out of my pace car.

 

[Erkenbrand]

The rag joint was bad as well, and was contributing to the play.

Thanks for the tip on keeping the rack. I'll stick it on a shelf with my other collection of parts I can't part with.

In good news - cooling is all better. I replaced everything but the heater core.

- SVE radiator
- Contour dual fans
- Dakota Digital fan controller
- Ford Performance water pump

I'll have the steering rack in later this week. My goal is to get some road time before the snow flies.

 

[Erkenbrand]

Now that the world is warming up, I'm about to get back to work on this Mustang. I have a T5 ready to go in and replace the old 4spd. I did drive it for a few miles as it stands, and discovered the trans is missing 2nd. That makes driving a 4spd a real pain.

I also have a shelf of parts . . . MSD ignition, new carb, intake, etc. My goal is to have it all ready and done in time for Power Tour this year. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I can get it all done.

My big area of uncertainty is the rear end. When I had it open I found that it's the original, open gearing. And when driving it I was hearing something. I didn't see any strange wearing, but the bearings may be going out. I'm torn . . . I'd rather upgrade the rear than pop in new bearings, but that means I have to find something that will drop right in. I don't have time for any mods.

It won't be the prettiest car on Power Tour, but if I can make it from upstate New York to Georgia, through the whole tour, and then drive back I'll be pretty happy.

 

[Erkenbrand]

So, last weekend I was driving a couple of hundred miles to pick up a motor for another project (1977 Fiat 124), and decided to see if I could fill the bed of the pickup. And I found an 8.8 with 3.73 Posi that only added an hour to my drive. Now, I have a rear axle to install along with the transmission and a thousand other little things.

I have new axle and control arm bushings on the way from LMR, along with Royal Purple fluid and friction modifier. I also ordered new springs and springs seats from Rockauto. I'd already installed new shocks and all of the brake hardware, so all of that is coming back out to go on the new axle. I just need a few warm days so I can at least get a coat of paint on it.

I considered upgrading the control arms, but this isn't a drag car, and I just didn't want to spend the money yet. Saving that for the future.

 

[Erkenbrand]

A long while ago, I put out feelers hoping somebody on here would have this center cap. I'm hoping maybe somebody has come across one since. I'm missing one from the set, and it's driving me crazy.

 

[Erkenbrand]

Going back over my thread here, I realized how much I've done that I didn't share. There was a flurry of activity last year . . .

- Dakota Digital Gauges with GPS speed sender, as well as Dakota Digital fan controller.
- New dash pad, and cleaning up a good bit of wiring.

 

[Erkenbrand]

And to help fix the completely plugged radiator, upgraded to a SVE radiator and dual electric fans.

 

[Erkenbrand]

The power steering rack was done, as was the rag joint. I upgraded the steering shaft, and installed a new rack along with all new hoses, etc. Later, I'll be adding a new pump as well. It's sitting on the shelf. Of course I forgot to take a picture of the new steering shaft, but just imagine it being all nice looking with a solid universal joint.

 

[Erkenbrand]

For a teaser of things to come . . . I found a pair of T5s for 1 money. One is known good, and already has a short shifter. The other is unknown, but is a good core for rebuilding.



I have a complete MSD ignition waiting to drop in, and replace the frustrating Ford ignition. To mount it, I picked up some great brackets that are going to clean up the front of the motor. Here's one for the new coil:



Not pictured is the new intake, carb, water pump, timing cover, etc, that's going to continue the clean up, and get rid of the air pump and related systems.

I have a big goal of getting all of this installed and stabilized before Power Tour in June.

My job is just getting in the way.

 

[Erkenbrand]

Well, time to say good-bye to the old axle. Of course I'd already replaced the brakes, serviced the rear, and put in new shocks. But all of that doesn't matter. The new-to-me 8.8 will be a much better fit, and it already has new drums. I'm taking this opportunity to replace all of the bushings back there as well.

And, while it's out and I have room, I'm going to drop the exhaust so I can do the trans. And I'm going to replace the sending unit in the gas tank and run some new lines. Although the tank is solid, it looks like the old sending unit is weeping a bit. Might as well knock it all out while I can.

I am replacing the coil springs, but I'm leaving the upper and lower control arms stock. I'm not racing, and I'm not dragging . . . yet. New poly bushings and a bit of paint will have them right as rain and ready for a bunch of miles.

 

[Erkenbrand]

It was a good weekend for getting stuff done on the Mustang, although I did spend most of Saturday doing brakes in my partners Mazda 3.

The 7.5 is officially out, and room is clear for the 8.8. But before I install the new rear I have a pile of other things to do. So I've also removed all of the exhaust, parking brake cables, and am readying to drop the fuel lines to replace them. I figure while I have lots of room I might as well take advantage of the situation.

Good-bye old 7.8 . . .



It's hard to believe this car spent 40+ years in Pennsylvania. There's just no rust. It was well undercoated and cared for. Please ignore the messy welds on the exhaust. That was before my time.

 

[broncojunkie]

That undercoating really did the trick. The pace car in my profile pic was pretty much perfect, except one spot they missed around the left rear upper torque box. That spot was a little crusty. Pretty much everywhere I removed undercoating, it looked like brand new metal. This car came from NJ area, iirc.

 

[Erkenbrand]

Currently, my goal in this first round is to get everything together and running the way I'd like. Then, put on a few thousand miles to really shake it down. Then, either in the fall or next spring I'll take the plunge and pull it back apart to get it ready for paint and body work. I'm not going to change it from its factory colors, and I'd like it to be a driver that's ready to go to shows. So the undercoating will be coming off, and I'm not looking forward to tackling that.

 

[One Owner 1982]

LMR is the best! Also have you tackled the struts yet? The caster/camber plates are only offered in aftermarket. My 82 had the old design. 1983 and up had one that had replaceable rubber but the 79 thru 82 are not. Found an awesome BBK pair that has rubber bushings in it. All others are spherical bearings metal on metal and have to much vibration for a daily driver.

 

[One Owner 1982]

Here’s the caster camber plates I’m going to purchase for my 82. Note the rubber bushings in the cup. Smooths out the vibrations from the strut ram and the shock tower. These are more like the OEM and they make a bushing replacement kit as well.

 

[Erkenbrand]

LMR is the best! Also have you tackled the struts yet? The caster/camber plates are only offered in aftermarket. My 82 had the old design. 1983 and up had one that had replaceable rubber but the 79 thru 82 are not. Found an awesome BBK pair that has rubber bushings in it. All others are spherical bearings metal on metal and have to much vibration for a daily driver.

I did already replace the struts, but just stuck with the OEM setup. Now that you point out these plates, I'm tempted to install them. I'll see where I end up over the coming couple of weeks. Thanks!

 

[Erkenbrand]

This was a weekend of forward progress. It's been a while since I was able to knock some of the big items off my to-do list. The first part was getting the old 4spd trans out. It's not all that bad to do. Just a little cramped under there. I'm glad I'm a one man operation. Two would not have fit.







Then, out with the clutch, flywheel, etc.