Stainless Tank

The weeks are dragging now as I can’t wait to get to Mustang Maniac and do more to my car, things that are done now are very visible. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but a conversation with Adam and Yogi soon had me focused on the plan of action. The fuel tank I had with the car looked OK, all be it painted a little tired looking, but on full inspection using their internal camera showed some rust around the sender fitting and internal lower seams. To be on the safe side Adam ordered me in a special fuel tank. Not sure what to expect I was sent of to go and pick it up from the stores, oh boy, I was not disappointed. A full polished stainless steel tank was my new bolt in part.

We had to clean up the trunk from light dust to allow the sealer to stick the paint and that in turn would not allow any fumes into the car and stop vibration.

Yogi applied the sealing strip around the edge and we both removed the plastic wrap from the tank. Now at this point we were both very careful as the inner stainless edges of the tank are razor-sharp. The tank was eyed into position and laid onto the sealer strip, the holes were lined up ready for the bolts.

The next step was the filler tube, gaskets, screws, clips and rubber. Previously I had cleaned up the tube, clips and rubber. Adam had a look at my cleaned up rubber tube and chucked it in the bin with a laugh. He was of course right, although it looked pretty good but not brilliant, I would always thinking to myself that it should have been a new one. We fitted the gaskets onto the filler pipe and feed the tube through the rear panel, the rubber was slid up the pipe and the clips roughly fitted. The screws to the back panel were tightened only as a rough guide to stop it turning. The rubber was slid down the pipe to the tank and clamped in place and the pipe screws fully tightened up.

The next job of the day was a slow process but brings this classic Mustang back into the twenty-first century. The task was a specialised stick on matting that will stop any road noise and metal resonance through the car. This particular matting was a special order via Adam, the matting is only a couple of millimetres thick with a very sticky backing. It’s applied like sticky back plastic and heated with a hot air gun to make it easier to mould the mat into place. Yogi showed me the first steps and left me to get on with the task in hand. I found this very therapeutic with instant visible results.

First step make sure the floor holes have the correct plates in place with a little sealer around the edges to stop water ingress.

Second step was to lay the matting. We started from the centre and worked our way out to the edges. Peel a little of the backing and position in place then roll the matting across the surface smoothing down as much as you can.

The hot air gun softens and allows the mat to be pressed into place with the idea to make as much surface contact as possible.

before smoothing

after smoothing

Like laying a complex carpet the pieces should fit together and form a complete coverage, this set of pictures shows my thought process. I started with the front foot wells, bulk head or fire wall up to the insulating matting, then moving onto the rear foot wells. The seat platforms were covered each side and the last parts was the remaining section of the centre tunnel.

Under the rear seat will need to be completed as will the door panels and inside the kick panels, but as the time was getting late (very late), I decided to call it a day (or night) for now. The results so far look amazing. OK, so this matting is not cheap and weighs in a little, but the benefits are well worth it for a weekend cruiser.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been asked what was used to get the effect of paint job. Well you need somebody who knows what he is doing, in this case that was Paul who had patience and dedicated time to complete such a fantastic job. The ingredients he used are listed below, but this does not include the cleaning chemicals, rolls of masking tape, rolls of masking paper or surface wipes etc etc.

The paint colour was Acapulco Blue with a slight twist of metallic, the amounts used are as follows:

Etch Primer – 2lt

Surface Primer – 15lt

Rubberised Underbody Coating – 6lt

Thinned Base Coat – 7lt

Mixed Clear Coat – 8lt

2k Black Primer – 1lt

2k Satin Black – 3lt

2K White Semi Matt – 1/2lt

Matt Clear – 1/2lt

Brushable Seam Sealer – 1lt

As you can see Forty Three litres of sprayable materials in total and one litre of brushable seam sealer.

I was thinking last night that as the trunk now looks so good, there is a very good possibility that I wont put carpet over the whole trunk floor, just so I can see the fuel tank and great the paintwork. The stainless steel fuel tank will visible from behind the car of course. What do you think I should do, carpet or not carpet the trunk?

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She’s Back – In Full Colour!

After a what seems like and eternity and day my car is back. Now I must point out that Adam at Mustang Maniac has been leading me a merry dance here. They have been telling me the paint is bad, the primer is reacting with the top coat, the work load is so much it will be another month etc. the bunch of wind up merchants and all little lies. In the mean time, of course the car has been going along as smooth as silk without any problems at all. The guys confessed that it was so it could be a surprise for me and an “early Christmas prezzie”. I am so glad it was a surprise, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep otherwise. I turned up to see Adam as usual to do a bit more work on my rear axle, but Adam said “I got something to show you in the yard”. I was shown to Yogi’s workshop where a car was sitting under a static dust sheet. I had a double take to realise that it was mine. Now I’m not saying my jaw hit the floor, but it have a bruise on my chin, OK, a slight exaggeration there, but I think you get my point! I should have realised what was going on when the whole gang walked over to me, before I walked into the workshop. I am not ashamed to say that they witnessed me just melt into the floor. I didn’t know what to say – and yes, that does make a first for me.

The car is stunning.

The paint job is so much better than I could have imagined it to be. So much so that I forgot to take full set of pictures, but I will soon sort that out don’t worry. To quote Yogi “it’s as good as it gets”. The outside is Acapulco blue and almost pearlescent depending on what light you look at her in. The inside is wonderful cream on the dash and door tops to match the headliner I am after. I have managed to get more pics from Adam during the painting process who has now let me have them. Paul has done an amazing job he honestly has.

The final prep of the primer.

Masked and painted.

Underhood is going back the traditional satin black for the stock look.

All assembled and painted.

Arrival back to the Mustang Maniac yard into Yogi’s workshop. The guys had put her over the hydraulic ramps so she could be lifted up to fit the underside and rolling gear.

When I got there she was covered in a static wrap sheet to stop the dust ready for the grand unveiling. Then I was let loose to take some pictures but I forgot the inside in my excitement.

The paint is just like cream and liquid to look at. The under seal of the car is immaculate, the interior is incredible with the cream dash and A pillars. The roof has even been done in a black to match the floor pan even though you will not see it. The attention to detail is second to nothing I have seen.

Side view and wheel arches, even the underside is brilliant.

rear arch

front arch

rear

from inside the trunk

Under the hood is amazing and seems a shame to put the hood down on it.

I really have had an excellent early Christmas Present from Paul at the paint shop who has worked flat-out on my car, and ALL the Guys at Mustang Maniac and Yogette who have kept the big surprise for me. Their hard work, knowledge and guidance has allowed me to have a shell that looks this good, so much better than I ever expected it to ever be. The big day that I had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Thank you all so much.

I was told that “now that the car is painted the hard work begins”. But hey, I am happy – just bring it on! 🙂

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Primer All Over

The week was another anticipated trip to Mustang Maniac where I was going to finish painting my engine and putting a few bits back on it ready for the car to come back from paint. Somehow I don’t think my painting is up to the standard of the paint job my cars body work is getting. I’m not sure where to start, on the bodywork or the engine? So I think I will start with the bodywork. The car is being primed and block still at the moment and any hidden metal joins are being sealed up and coated to make the whole thing look seamless. An attention to detail many don’t consider.

The hood has now been masked up and given the primer treatment now and the parts are coming of and going on the car like you wouldn’t believe.

hood ready and doors off

doors & trunk

With the car bits removed they are all treated and sprayed in exactly the same levels of details.

The parts when cured are then put back on the car for fit and keep them all together ready for more block work.

I so want to get down there to see how it’s all done!

As I was saying earlier the engine intake manifold was back from shot blasting and John kindly jet washed it all out for me to get rid of the debris left overs, after all the last thing you want in your car’s engine is sand! The intake was allowed to dry thoroughly by the time I got there a few days later. The exposed surfaces were now showing signs of light surface rust again as expected from the exposed metal and elements. The gasket faces needed to be cleaned up again and I lightly polished up the faces ready for the gasket fitting.

close up surface

part polished faces

The gaskets were laid over the intake ports and the intake was carefully lowered onto the gaskets making sure they did not move.

The head was lightly bolted down finger tight and then torqued to the thirteen or fifteen pound required to hold it in place. The pot of blue paint used from the engine block was now opened and two coats of engine enamel applied when they were cured. A cover of masking tape was placed over the carb intake holes to stop any undesirable debris getting in the engine.

We decided that the best plan here was to know put the old rocker (or valve) covers back on just in case we needed to adjust any of the springs back up again to save damage to new covers and gaskets. I also then mounted the fuel pump back on the side after it had been cleaned up along with the fuel pipe to the carb.

before treatment

rusted

heavy surface rust

bare metalled

self etch primer

silver top coat

With the pump in place there was not a lot more I could do until the paint has fully cured.

The story so far for the engine. Next week I may be able to get the senders fitted and the fittings for the pipe works. Then it will start to look a bit more like a working engine rather than the work of art that it is at the moment.

You just know full well it’s gonna stay looking like this. I have even bought the soft tooth brushes already to clean it when I get her home!

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Some You Win…

I try to post on a Sunday evening so I can give an update on the work completed by Mustang Maniac during the week and the work I do at the weekends. The reason I haven’t posted is quite simple. Trying to catch-up on the huge amount of I have taken and the huge amount to work the MM (Mustang Maniac) guys have done. Most of the photo work has been completed now and hopefully the delay will be worth it. Where do I start?

The first thing I noticed when I turned up was the back of the car was sitting in a white primer where Terry had cleaned and seam sealed it up.

The back of the trunk is to get blown over of the Acapulco Blue when the car goes for the full paint job. In the mean time a couple of light undercoats of colour will be applied to the areas that you can’t paint once the rear quarter panels are welded in place, such as the chassis drop off points and the top of the rear arches that can be seen when you open up the trunk. The hinges I prepared last week were cleaned up and given a spray and hung up to dry.

The next part to be spotted was the upper cowl that had been fitted in place and welded to the lower cowl. The Black resin coated parts in black are now all welded in place and brazed as they should be. Tape was placed over the vents and masking paper placed in the vents to avoid any and dust and rubbish getting into the fresh paint. The paper will be pulled out at the time of fitting up the rest of the car.

As I wanted an export brace on the front of the car going from the fire wall to the shock towers this one was going to be fitted correctly. What I mean here is that the export brace was fitted to a thick piece of plate also welded onto the top of the fire wall to add the required strength. Many export braces fitter later in life are just bolted into the original shock tower bolt holes and the fire wall. Under load the firewall will bend and give which defeats the whole point of the export brace being fitted. The welding you see here is exactly how it was when they were first fitted, no neat seam all round welding, just the little lines of weld you see in the close up. The brace is only resting in place as its not needed at this point of the restoration.

When I arrived on Saturday Terry was competing the repair plate to the roof and quarter panel lead area. Yes you read that correctly – lead, not filler and welds as modern restorations will do for you, but this lucky little lady was going to get the forgotten art of leading and brazing the quarters in place. The filler and welding are not ideal and could blow through with damp and rust at a later date. The Common place to have the rust appear is at the top of the B pillar as the water runs down and sits at the back of the strengthening sections and so it will eventually rot. Welding and filler will be especially susceptible to the damp. Red oxide paint was applied to prevent any more rust. The replacement plates in this area are common and the secret is make sure the plate are lower than the rest of the roof in order for the lead to run into any holes and fill the cavity up with strength. It’s this attention to detail that sets these guys apart from everybody else.

before the plate

sunken plate

Anyway, I was given my task to strip the doors down to find any of Adam’s nasty little surprises as he likes to call them. The door, oh yes the lovely left side drivers door. The stripper was applied to door and the first layers of paint was removed no problem. Then I spotted it – filler. Ok, the filler was to mend any cosmetic issues for paint, so I kept telling myself. So the door got more stripper and more scrapping. The filler patch got bigger and bigger until it was across three quarters of the door. I asked Terry to take a look who said “You have to get it all out to see what is behind it”. So the door got more stripper applied to loosen the filler, then more and more. The scrapping knife was lifting the filler out like a spread of butter until the next layer of filler needed to be softened. Now I was going through the stripper like you wouldn’t believe as the filler was soaking it all up. The breakthrough to the metal was a good moment to behold and I thought I had cracked it, but no. The filler was about half an inch thick in some places, then I found out why. The car has had a knock in the door. There was regular holes in the door skin to pull the dents back out again with a slide hammer. At this point Adam was called down to survey the damage. Then he said “all the filler has to come out to see the full damage”, that’s consistency. Two hours later the filler was all out. The door panel was now fully exposed and any pressure on the door and the door popped inwards as the metal was stretched beyond repair, the filler was holding it tight. If I had of known this then we would have replaced the skin in the first place on the outside of the door.

before we started

The door had to come of to strip the skin. Adam went and got a skin and brought it over “it’s your lucky day – it’s the last one.” The door was mounted and the skin was knocked away from the door by breaking the spot welds. The inside of the door would show the damage if any done to the structural part of the door. The skin was popped off a little while later being careful as they were trying not wanting to damage the door frame. The skin was lifted off and with the inside exposed we could see the heavy rust at the bottom of the door and the thin metal about to break away. Not good. The side strengthening bar part of the frame had been bent on the initial impact and had not been straightened out at the time. Even worse. The arrows in the pictures show the areas of concern, the bent frame and rust holes.

arrows show the rust

line shows the damage

In case you are wondering how much came out of the door? This much.

The decision was made the door could not be salvaged with the amount of rust inside and the damaged bar. Yes, of course they could fabricate new parts and weld in place, but the man hours would out way the cost of the door. Terry went and got a new door. I had spots before my eyes or was it “£” signs, i’m not sure now??? Terry then offered up the door and fitted it along the B pillar and the sills. Adjustments had to be made with the door catch to make it shut correctly.

So to sum up:

1 x 5ltr od paint stripper = £30

8 hours stripping time

1 x door skin = £120

Terry’s time – a lot!

1 x new door = £400

1 x scrap cart full of my nice clean, paint free, bent door skin that has more bullet holes than Al Capone’s getaway car! One man was not impressed. BUT, some you win – some you loose, the original drivers door was a write off and that is the chance you take with old cars unless you know the history. I soon got over it once I had seen the new door in place. Oh, yeah it looked good. The other door Adam stripped down for me, that one was fine and OK to prep for paint. I think he was feeling sorry for me at this point, I did give him his door skin back though!! AND it only took him an hour or so to get this far.

The door surround was cleaned up while Terry was prepping the door for fitting, this part of the bodywork came up pretty clean all round the inside and I was pleased with the results.

The door fitted with the clean pillar and inner door frame cleaned up looks amazing.

new door

aligned to b pillar

It was a silly long day and I would a special thanks to Terry, Adam & Frank for helping me out. I had a good laugh and it was great to see the new metal on the car and some colour.

I hope the wait for the post was worth it, it was for me. 🙂

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New Paint Colour Revealed

The weekend still arrived slower than ever after a Bank Holiday at the beginning of the week. I was excited to get down to Mustang Maniac to see what had been done to my car. The lower cowl was going to be replaced as it had rotted through and that piece of work was known about. With the cowl off the guys could see the fire wall and the back of the dash clearly in daylight. On full inspection of the dash they could see it had gone a little thin underneath and rusted pretty badly all along the inside. A discussion was had to either replace the whole dash, or weld parts onto the old dash. This would mean shaping metal and replacing the radio slot that is always butchered on the classic cars. The decision was made to replace the complete dash, not a cheap option but it was going to be worth it in the long run. As ever Adam had a full dash in stock and was fitted, welded and brazed into place. It’s a little difficult to see black on the dark underside but you can make it out.

The top part of the firewall had to be fabricated as it was little thin in the top crease, so again it was decided by Terry to cut the top off the firewall and replace it with fresh metal and shape it to the new lower cowl. Metal work skills being displayed in all their glory and you can’t even tell it has been replaced. With the lower cowl now firmly welded in place it was masked up and then given the first of a couple of layers of primer. It was at this point I was sent this teaser photo by Adam to show the primer had been applied to the cowl, this is the first piece of fresh metal to get proper paint.

I turned up very excited and itching to see the car expecting to see the cowl in primer. I wasn’t disappointed the lower cowl was painted in the colour that I wanted, Acapulco Blue. Obviously I am biased big time here, but it’s a bit different and a stock ’67 Mustang colour, I am absolutely delighted with it. This was the first time I had seen the colour on my car. A pretty special moment.

Acapulco blue

new dash and cowl

I got a bit carried away having a little bonding session with the fantastic paint job much to the amusement of the guys who followed me in to see my surprised look. Adam broke the news to me about the very busy day ahead of me. The trunk was to be removed and then strip it back to bare metal to see if there was any “little surprises” waiting for us as Adam puts it. What he means is, are there any pin holes or rust that have been covered up. I started on the top side and then worked my way to the underside. The underside took a lot longer due to all the corners and curves that made it hard work. I am pleased to say after a few hours hard work that the trunk is solid and no rust at all, except for a two very light surface areas where the paint had chipped off on the top side.

The next job was to red oxide the inside firewall as I had stripped it back to metal last week. The end results are pretty amazing I must say.

I was spoilt this week in my own little sanctuary, a nice guy Chris was given the dubious pleasure of working with me for the day. It’s normally quiet in the work shop, but last weekend it was a nice change to have somebody to share a conversation with all things cars. Chris made a great job of stripping the right side B pillar and the rear panel under the rear screen. Thanks for your hard work Chris. Throughout the day the normal visits from the guys was in full flow and towards the end of the day I was given some “homework” by Adam. That homework was to take home one of the fenders and strip it back to bare metal. Adam was right it was a busy weekend for me with a few more to come like it. Things have stepped up a notch, big time!

Sunday, I got up with a full day in front of me and the backs of my legs aching. My homework was to be completed along with the trunk hinges and sprung bars that connect them to hold the trunk open. The hinges were to be stripped and all paint removed as it has to be painted the same colour inside the trunk. I though I would try to be clever to strip and clean the parts with the sprung tension bars in place. Unfortunately this turned out to be a nightmare so I had to remove the bars.

I held one of the hinges in the vice and lever out the first bar. This was enough to start a cascade of events. The sprung bar unleashed itself like a coiled cobra and the end of the bar slapped me on the left hand at the base of the knuckle, the instant pain caused me to rub my hand as the other bar sprang away hit the man cave rubbish bin, this in turn was sent flying leaving a cloud of old sanding dust and rubbish all on the man cave floor in the doorway. After the initial clean up and the bruise on my thumb and wrist getting darker by the minute, I took the hinges back outside to complete the strip down. Both hinges came out pretty well and I was well pleased. To protect the inside of the hinges I gave a coating of Eastwood Rust Encapsulator to prevent additional rust on the inside of the hinges. The sprung bars were given an undercoat of red oxide and then a top layer of silver.

first hinge

before and after from each side

both cleaned

sprung bars

inside treated

The homework was a dilemma, how to remove the paint from the fender. I decided on my Dewalt dual action sander with a 100grit discs. I intended to go down to the undercoat and then use a lighter and lighter grades to get to the bare metal. Some of it went to plan and some of the paint came straight of and I went to the metal. I will have to fine buff the tiny swirl off the metal work now this weekend. The purpose of the homework? to see if there were any little surprises waiting for me. I am pleased to say I didn’t find any on this original panel so far. I still have the top edge to complete but that could be later in the week or next weekend.

right fender

starting the clean

holes for the emblems

A big update again and a lot has happened, I intended to post on Sunday as normal. But, I had so many pictures to edit it was very late to start writing this little lot up. Forgiven?

Quick Links:

Right fender work to treat the inside click here

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Grind Down

Weekend arrived and I eventually got down to Mustang Maniac mid morning. Logistical issues that are too boring to go into right now. But I got there that’s the main thing. I had a look at Adams new addition to the fleet a nice ’65 GT350 in white with blue stripes, he started it up and I now know what I want my car to sound like, loud and a deep rumble. I was standing there like a school kid when he opened the door and said get in. OMG, I was giggling like a school girl and I just wanted more. I do believe we lost a little traction in first and second gear going up the road, I suspect the roads were a little slippery that’s all. I have never been so excited in a car in all my life, the ride and noise was everything I hoped it would be and much, much more. What a car, what A car! After I had managed to wipe the silly grin of my face I got down to some work. The poor welding had to be ground down to as smooth finish as I could get it. I have now mastered the angle grinder technique and pleased with my days work. I have a few before and after pictures below. The smoothed out section may need a few more spot welds on it and ground again as a few sections were missed. I managed to forget to take my earplugs down to Mustang Maniac, so I had to improvise. I tore a couple of fingers of the latex gloves, put a small nut inside, wrapped it up so it was soft and stuffed it into my ears. It worked a treat, but I must say I looked a right pillock, or so I’m told 🙂

Sunday arrived and I finished of restoring the battery tray that looked pretty bad. Obviously trying to keep as much original as I can so I decided to strip it down and see what was there earlier in the week. I am pleased to say it was in good condition apart from a little rust that had pitted the very edges. So I rubbed it down, treated it, primed it and two coats of satin black. I think it came out well. There are a few dimples on the tray still, but I think it adds a little character. I also decided to catch the Spanish F1 Grand Prix, I promptly fell asleep it was that interesting! What has happened to Formula 1? So all in all a good Sunday was had by me.

I have been asked what I used to strip the paint and under seal off the car. It’s called Starchem Synstryp, I have done a review of it as well and it’s in the quick links below.

Quick Link:

I have added the full set of pictures for the battery tray here, or click on the Photos – Engine Bay – Battery Tray.

Paint stripper review click here or go to Consumable Menu – Starchem Synstryp Paint Stripper

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Revealing

A long bank holiday is good for a rest, well sort of as I spent two of my days of down at Mustang Maniac of course. They were long days, early(ish) starts by the time I got there and quite late leaving. I had to put the headlights on it was that late! Anyway this week I started on the front end of the car to remove the under seal to see what we had. It turns out that as I was getting to the bare metal we discovered that I have a genuine matching numbers car. The numbers being the two secret VIN codes that match the visible one as well as each other. This was also verified by the fact that the decoding of the paint colour matched what we found underneath the under seal and the previous paint job. Why are matching number important? Well if there has been stolen, been in an accident or part of the car has been replaced, then this is a way of identifying that the problem. It’s easy to cut out and replace the visible VIN number, but to do that on the other numbers means removing the fenders and bodywork to get to them which can be a real pain. I was a happy (Easter) bunny!

original colour

matching number 1

matching number 2

Last couple of weeks I have been getting to bare metal on the floor pans as you know. This weekend I managed to get the front end of the car cleaned up and stripped of the under seal. The process is exactly as before, plenty of elbow grease, a good flexible wall paper knife, patience and above all lots of good paint stripper. As I was working at the front there was lots of grease and dirt and mud wedged in places that should have been drain holes. I needed to clear these all out then get to work on the under seal. Some of the old original under seal was easily chipped of and no stripper was required until I got to the primer, but the newer stuff was hard work. I spent a complete day on each side of the shell to get it clean. We did uncover so rusty places that will need a patch put in. but nothing to horrendous I am glad to say. I have added the full set of photo’s to the main page under the “Photos Menu – Under The Car & Chassis – Under Seal removal”, or click here for the quick link.

This set of pictures was the left hand side:

original colour

This set of pictures was the right hand side:

As it was raining on an off over the days I was there the pack of dogs soon found a place that was dry for them to sit in, my little work area! It’s quite funny having to step over dogs when you need to get tools from one place to another. If you look carefully you can spot a couple in the photos now and again.

On another note:

I need to work out the female psyche, when women are upset and they have a few tears, A man asks “What’s up?” the answer returned was “Nothing”. As far as bloke is concerned that is the end of the matter then as nothing is wrong as you have just confirmed. BUT, if a woman brings it up again a while later saying “Not as though you care, when I was crying!” is unacceptable. I witnessed this first hand and the face that the poor bloke had as he was looking on in amazement at the woman was a picture. I felt for the bloke, I wanted to give the geeza a little bro-mance hug to say “I feel for you mate, here’s a beer”. He was getting it big time, both barrels in fact. Why is there the need for the word “nothing” meaning “I have the right hump”, and now I am going to start a row. I just don’t understand. If anybody can explain this to me I would be most grateful.

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My Six Pack

At last this weekend things have gone a little better for me. The wife went out for the weekly shopping on Saturday and I was left on my own to get on with the car. I promised myself that I would start on the roof headliner areas, but the sun was out, all be it little cold. The car was pushed out of the garage enough for me to open the doors fully. Then a change of mind hit me and the headliner plans went up in the air. I decided to treat the floor pans. The carpet was pulled up, and the foot wells were cleaned out. The POR rust treatment was applied in its various stages and hopefully will be a first part of the whole floor pan to be treated. Now the foot wells should be rust treated and preventative at the same time. Sunday was again a nice but cool day so the second coat of POR15 was applied to the floor pans. As the drying was taking longer than I expected I didn’t get the chance to apply some POR Patch seal for the rougher edges of the welding. Next weekend I will and then start on the headliner unless I decided I will do the next floor section that is!

The six pack? No, it’s not a beer pack, case of wine or an abdomen wash board, it’s the pack of six POR15 118ml small tins that I used to treat the floor pans with.

removed the old carpet

left side front

left first coat

right side

right side first coat

first coat centre

2 coats right side different view

2 coats both sides and tunnel

I have created my review of the POR15 product and given a step by step guide of what I done this weekend with photo’s.

Quick link:

Consumable Reviews – Rust Treatment Menu – POR15 Rust Treatment click here

It has dawned on me that this time next week we will be in December and the Christmas holidays will be upon us sooner than we think. What made me think about Christmas this early? My wife, you can blame her for being organised as each year I get asked what I would like for Christmas, I supply a selection of items for online baskets at various places and she chooses a selection for me, from what ever she likes. That way I know I will be getting something I would like and the right version or style of it as well. A good example would be that there are so many cans of primer or similar out there, its a mine field to choose from let alone the wife trying to understand it all. The fact is pretty much everything I have made a list out for is Mustang related, funny that! Does anybody else have a similar arrangement or is it just me being a lucky boy?

I have added another little link on the sidebar of the blog, it’s a Dollar to Pound exchange rate link, you just put in the amount and it gives a current live exchange rate. Not just for the Dollars either, in fact most currencies. I use this site to give me an idea when ordering from abroad or the USA. It will need to be online for the rates but it loads up pretty quick and hardly any adverts on it either. Let me know what you think, is it worth being on there?

Just to be even more sad, I have added a countdown to Christmas. If I get enough grief for it I might take it down due to popular demand 🙂

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Wind & Hot Air

Yesterday I was a little disgruntled with myself while in the man cave. In the male domain I have the front valance and the bumper stone guards that I have been rubbing down and spraying ready for a top coat or being fitted to the car, I was pleased with them and I sort of liked walking into the man cave and seeing the fruits of my labour. I decided to tidy up a little bit as things were piled up on the floor where I quickly put them out of the rain earlier. As usual I have to pick up the metal work and stand it up somewhere to get at the places I need such as the draws to the tool cabinet, once I am done I lay them back out again. I had my electrical compartment case in one hand and a few tools in the other that were going to be found a home in my tool cabinet. I have a latch on the door for a very large padlock and an elastic bungee cord that hooks to the door latch, the other end is attached to the fence post just behind the man cave. I hadn’t to put the hook to the door like I normally do, thinking that it would be OK as I wasn’t intending to be long. With that thought, a gust of wind from nowhere whistled round to the door and slammed it shut behind me. The vibration of the slammed door was just enough to start a sequence of events, I heard the sound of the metal sliding along the shelf where it was propped up against. Decision time, do I drop the plastic case filled with literally hundreds of electrical connections and fittings, as I had just purchased some large bulk bags, the other hand had a few small tools in it like wire crimps etc. Dropping the case and tools to try to catch the metal work would have certainly resulting in a smashed case and the electrical connections scattering all over the place, and no guarantee that I would have saved the metalwork. Or, do I watch my hard earn time and effort potentially get damaged. In slow motion the decision was being made, I leant forward with my arms out to try and counter balance, the pivot action of the right leg came up in a rather lame attempt to stop the bumper guard from being damage. I managed to slow it enough to gently graze on the edge of a bucket. Dumping the case and tools on the work bench time to inspect the damage. The bumper guard is not to heavy so no dents were made but it glanced of the handle. The problem was the metal part of the handle was overhanging the side of the bucket by the smallest of margins and the handle managed to scratch of some primer. The hot air was now forth coming in its own little hurricane that just happened to be voicing a few choice words to myself for being such a lazy ass in the first place. Pushing the door open in disgust as if it was the door’s fault, the bungee was hooked on the door and now proceeded to feel very sorry for myself. I got the mixing pot for the filler off the very same shelf that had supported my bumper guard. The damage could have been worse I guess, but that was not the point. The scratch was on the end and pretty much out of sight to be fair and would have been covered by the chrome bumper, but I wanted it right. The smallest amount of mixed filler was required as it was going to be a thin fill after I rubbed down what I needed too. Today I lightly rubbed the filler down after curing overnight to a nice smooth finish and gave it a spray of primer. All was right with the world again. As a result of this reworking I decided to put the completed pieces in the garage that I should have done weeks ago. Not sure why I put up with the pain of moving bits around the man cave all the time but I did. Now the garage wall has two new additions to go with the bumpers on the wall, the front valance and stone bumper guard. That way they will be out of harms way, that being me. I hope!

The top front bumper is pretty rusty and not much good, so the brackets holding it up fitted nicely in the mounting holes of the metal work and the other sides were tied up using some strong cord. It don’t look pretty – but hey, it works. The metal work is not going anywhere as they are tight to the wall, so I wedged some rags between the metal and the brick work. It looks like they are touching but there is a good couple of inches clearance there between them. Next time I will hold the door open regardless.

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I have placed a rather long technical spec document for the 1964 – 1970 Ford Mustang Technical Specs under the Mustang Profiles by Year menu. The page is quite long, but a lot of the sequences are repeated for each year of car for the same sections such as; full vin codes, axle codes, paint colours inside and out, weight, engines, trim options and prices at the time. A compilation sourced from various web sites so I can’t take full credit I’m afraid. But, as these are facts & figures there is only a limited number of ways of presenting them.

Click here for the quick link:

Ford Mustang 1964 – 1970 Technical Specs.

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Rust Comparison Results

After a wait to see how the products performed, I have some results.

Well the weekend is almost over and I have been busy rubbing down and doing little bits in the car. One of those little jobs is the wrapping of the the under dash wires with black insulating tape to make it look stock. I find that job therapeutic, just like some people find gardening or painting as a therapeutic activity. Am I weird? Any other strange therapeutic stuff people do? Anyway, my other cars have been feeling neglected and so I just had to wash, wax and valet them. As a result I feel as though I have been arm wrestling with Arnie – The Terminator. I ache, and before you say it – I know quit moaning.

The main point of this post is to say that I have some preliminary results for my rust comparison tests, they are a little controversial I think. I had taken the two big guns and put them in a head to head just like Practical Classics magazine did. But this was my own money that was funding this and I wanted them both to be exactly the same. But, my results are the exact opposite so far of Practical Classics results. The two main contenders are Rustbuster – fe-123 and Granville – Heavy Duty Rust Cure. They cost pretty much the same, look the same and even smell similar. But do they perform the same? Simple answer is No. Practical Classic magazine stated that the Rustbuster fe-123 was the winner. However, they were incorrect with their details on how they applied one of the products for their tests. I have explained this fully in the comparison test, the quick link is below for the Practical Classic test and my tests. I had previously purchased from Frost Auto Restoration Techniques the Granville Rust Cure and wanted to see what this new “winner” was all about. So I found an old inner fender splash guard from my Mustang that was really rusty. I applied the products at the same time on the same material. The video was then uploaded to my YouTube channel, One man and his Mustang. This weekend I have taken another video, part 2 and posted that on YouTube as well. The results are very clear that the Granville wins hands down. The Rustbuster was flaking up, peeling and shows signs of the rust reappearing after only a few months. I am very disappointed with the “winner” and its surrounding hype. I have various videos of the Granville in action too on the YouTube Channel.

I bet there will be people out there moaning and complaining about my results. But I have photo evidence and videos of the tests and results. As yet I have not seen any results from similar tests or company. I was going to review the Rustbuster as a separate product on my blog, but I don’t think I will bother now as the results are here. Anybody else like the Granville Heavy Duty Rust Cure? Or is there something even better. I know about POR15 but that is not recommended for the outer bodywork that is ready for spraying, and that came from the POR themselves.