Painting 101

All posts up to this one have been in retrospect. This post brings me current with our project.
When sandblasting parts in Florida, the humidity requires that the part be painted fairly quickly, or it will rust right up again. This time of year, that means within a couple of days at the very most.
I was introduced to a product last year at the Turkey Run called Rust Seal. This is similar to POR-15. What impressed me was that you could (supposedly) simply scrape the loose rust off of a part, paint this stuff on with a brush, and it would be sealed and protected for life.

Getting ready for paint

My better sensibilities prevents me from painting over rust, so I
wanted to get as much off each part as possible. Daniel to the rescue with a tenacious job of sandblasting! Our first batch of parts were cleaned in a jiffy, and hung outside for painting. At the time, the Rust Seal had not arrived, so these parts were sprayed with a good  coating of etching primer. This was
Daniel's first effort at using a spray gun, and he did quite well.

Headlight buckets after and before

I think it was pretty exciting and rewarding for Daniel to finally see some actual finished parts, and how good they could look through our efforts. Soon we had a nice stack of clean, primered parts ready for a final coat.
The Rust Seal arrived later in the week. The directions say you can spray it or brush it on. We decided that since we were doing small batches of parts at a time, brushing would be easier that the spray gun, especially with clean up.

Making progress!

We learned a few lessons quick. The first was not to apply too heavily, because anything that ran from the part onto the wood table would glue the part--and I mean GLUE--to the table. It took a screwdriver and prying to get them loose.
We also realized that anything that gets on your hands stays on your hands for a couple of days. This stuff is durable!
The good side, though, is that even with a brush, this coating goes on smooth and shiny. A little too shiny if we were doing a true restoration, but these parts will look really sharp once they're installed. A little goes a long way, too. We've painted two coats on a couple dozen parts and used very little of our first quart. And the coating really is hard, so I believe it will last a long time.
The instructions say not to work directly from the can, as it will shorten the life of the remaining paint. Since this stuff was over $30 a quart, We're heeding that advice and pouring out just what we need and closing the can quickly.

Tranny support ready to go back on

We plan to do the entire underside of the car with this stuff, so for that we'll use the spray gun. I'm really encouraged that we'll be able to protect our hard work with a durable coating that should last for many years.
The renewed parts will be wrapped in newspaper and carefully boxed up together according to the location they go on the car.
Next post: pulling out the pot sandblaster and hitting some bigger parts.

Playing in the sand

We decided early on that sandblasting was the way to go for restoring this old Mustang. It's messy, but it's really the only way to get 40 years of rust off.
I've had a little experience acid dipping, but I've always felt like I could never get the metal completely acid-free, plus there's the safety issues of working with a caustic liquid. I've also sent whole fenders and doors away to be dipped professionally, which is fantastic, but there's no one near us that does that, and the cost doesn't fit in our budget.
We were offered the use of a large commercial sandblasting cabinet by one of the local race shops in town, the Spirit of Daytona Grand-Am race team (the team owner's father-in-law works for me). The facilities were great, and Daniel got a kick out of being

Our new toy ready to work

amidst the operations of a professional race shop, but to use the equipment we had to pack up parts and carry them to the shop. Not the most convenient if you want to work on your own schedule.
I decided to pop into Harbor Freight Tools one afternoon to see what they had in the way of sandblasting cabinets, and lucked into a store sale plus an on-line coupon that put the price of a stand-up cabinet at $189. I couldn't pass it up!
This cabinet came in a flat box of sheet metal panels and  nuts and bolts. Every single component had to be assembled. A perfect job for a teenager on a summer afternoon! The instructions weren't the most clear, but between that and the picture on the box--plus about three hours of assembly--we had our new toy!

The modified siphon hose with tee

We couldn't wait to try it out, but the $1.50 bag of play sand I bought at Home Depot was more like mud when we opened the bag, so we had to go back to Harbor Freight and shell out $45 for a box of glass beads. Definitely not a budget item, but we wanted to get going!

Siphon hose on right, air hose on left

As an aside, a lot of people frown on using play sand because of the quality and the dust factor (which can be dangerous without a respirator) but I've found it to be quite effective as well as economical. Even when I've blasted in the driveway, I sweep it back up, sift it through an old window screen, and run it through again. I can get three or four cycles out of a bag before it gets too fine.
Our new cabinet used a siphon tube that was jammed through the support rack into the sand below. This worked fairly well, but it severely limited the amount of useable space in the cabinet. After doing some reading on line about others with the same cabinet, I copied a modification that works really well.
I deleted the siphon tube, and instead drilled a 1/2 inch hole on the side of the funnel chute. I drilled another at the top side of the cabinet and routed my sand feed tube from the chute to the side of the cabinet. I used a 1/2 inch copper tee at the chute with a cap on the tee that provides the small amount of airflow necessary for the sand to get sucked up the tube. The copper cap has a couple of tiny holes drilled in it for air flow. I reattached the siphon hose on the inside that feeds into the gun. The modification works better than

The only thing else we need is a stool!

the tube and frees up more space to work in the cabinet.
I also added a water separator at the air inlet, because the condensation will clog up a blasting gun in minutes without it. The humid Florida air doesn't help either.
You'll notice a shop vac sitting to the left of the cabinet. This is also crucial to pull air through the cabinet and suck the dust out. Otherwise the cabinet clouds up almost immediately and you can't see what you're doing. The heavier sand drops back down, so only the dust is pulled out. All in all, a really functional unit and well worth the money!
Now Daniel pops on his headphones and dives in to work. He's been passing out one piece after another ready for primer and paint. Things are starting to happen!

Time for surgery

Using the new floorpan as a template

The day had come that we could put off no longer: it was time to start cutting.

It's pretty scary the first time you cut away a piece of sheet metal--at least for me. It's a commitment that you can't go back on. Fortunately, Daniel's innocence in the matter buffered any fears he might have. For him it was just another exciting step in the process.Since this is his car, I decided to show Daniel how to use the cut-off tools properly, then stand back and let him have at it. It didn't hurt that it's a noisy thankless job that I had little desire to subject myself to!
With my help and guidance, we did a pretty good job of removing the driver's side floorpan. My plan is to do all of the cutting and re-installation down one side of the car at a time, to ensure that the body stays in alignment. Piece by piece, the old rusty metal dropped to the ground.

Headed for the dumpster

The floorpan wasn't too intimidating, because I can always hide a sloppy weld job under the floor mats. The next target was the rear quarter panel. Some time in the past, a previous owner had somehow crushed the bottom rear of the fender upward, crumpling the inner fender/trunk panel along the way as well. The poor patch of sheet metal and rivets did nothing to keep the water out, so that area was completely rusted. It made more sense to remove the whole

Chipping away at spot welds

panel than try to salvage it.
We are using a quarter panel patch instead of a complete panel. This means that instead of the new panel forming the top of the fender and the lip of the trunk, it only goes up to the top edge of the fender. I decided on this, even though it means running a butt weld all the way from front to back, but I thought it would be easier than cutting out up into the roof seam. My hope is that the top crease of the fender will provide enough rigidity to keep the metal from buckling if I get it too hot. Hopefully I made the right call.
We scored a line across the top of the fender and sliced away. Spot

More spot welds drilled out

welds down the door jamb and rear corner drilled out quick and easy. In no time we had a nice gaping wound where a fender used to be.

This exposed the inner fender, which turned out to be a little rusted as well. This is where the damaged rear quarter panel that we bought from CJ Pony Parts came in handy. The lip of the fender was a perfect replacement for the inner fender edge that had long ago corroded away. I cut it in three sections to allow for positioning, then broke out the welder for the first attempt in 14 years at MIG welding.

Getting scary now!

Needles to say, as can been seen by the photos, I have a lot of practice before I get proficient enough to tack the quarter panel in place. I think I used a pound of wire to weld the first 24 inches in place. At least it will be hidden by the fender!

Making use of the damaged fender

It ain't pretty, but it'll do the job!

Treasure hunt

One of the most enjoyable aspects of owning or restoring an old car (at least for me) is searching and eventually finding that one elusive little part, or scoring a great deal on something that you need. Fortunately, Daniel seems to get the same enjoyment, and we've already had a few good scores as we accumulate needed parts.
Our first find was a perfect front windshield for $50. From another local guy we snagged a nice pile of parts including a useable gas tank, NOS front valence, and a nice front bumper for $150. For another $100 we picked up the remains of an old guy's Mustang parts collection. There were a lot of pitted chrome handles and knobs, but mixed in we got an original radio, some useable steering wheel parts, and best of all both headlight buckets complete with all the hardware.
Cruising Craigslist is fun, but it gets a little exhausting running to and fro looking at stuff. Swap meets have the best of both worlds--a lot of stuff in a confined area. Here in central Florida we have two enormous swap meets each year, the Spring swap meet and the Turkey Rod Run, both at Daytona International Speedway. We just missed the Spring meet, and it's still a long way off for the Turkey Run, but in the middle there's a respectable monthly swap meet on the west coast. It's in Bushnell, which is about two hours from us, so we got up early one Sunday morning (no small feat for a teenager) and headed out with a list and cash in hand. I didn't know what to expect from a monthly event, but I was pleasantly surprised. There were quite a few vendors and we made some good deals. Picked up a complete power disc brake set up, new floor pans, and new door and trunk locks. Including some non-Mustang purchases, we dropped over $1000, but I feel like we did real good on our budget. Best of all, it only took a couple of hours to go through the whole thing, so we were back home in time for lunch and an afternoon siesta!
Daniel was pretty jazzed, and I told him it was a warm up for Daytona at Thanksgiving. That's a four day event that fills the entire infield of the speedway, and it's impossible to walk it thoroughly in even two days. I'm sure we'll have a good list and a wad of cash ready for that!

Peeling back the layers

I forgot how difficult it is to disassemble a 40 year old car. Daniel and I both got our share of skinned knuckles and sore muscles.
For the most part, the car came apart fairly smoothly. It gave Daniel a great opportunity to practice working with wrenches and ratchets. The hardest part of the car to get apart was the rear leaf springs. The rear shackles came off quickly, but we could barely turn the front bolts, and when we finally did the nuts came off but the bolt was stuck. That's when I learned what a problem these cars have with removing the leaf springs.
What I learned (through research on the Internet of others with the same problem) is that the bolt gets fused with rust to the inner steel sleeve of the rubber bushing. I read accounts of burning the bushing out with a torch or cutting the bolt with a torch. I watched videos of guys cutting the head of the leaf spring off, then picking the rubber bushing out.I tried myself to cut the bolt off with a metal blade on my sawzall. No luck.

On the cradle, stripped down, rolling out into the sunshine

I figured out that the inner sleeve is made of a much harder metal than the bolt, and while a tungsten metal blade will eventually cut through, I didn't want to take the time or expense to burn through a dozen or more blades. I noticed that if I took a pry bar, I could create just a bit of a gap between the spring mount and the side of the bushing. I knew a cut-off wheel would take care of that sleeve in no time, but a 4" wheel didn't go deep enough. A trip to Home Depot resulted in a couple of 6" wheels, which, when I took the guard off the grinder, were able to reach up into the gap and cut about halfway through the bolt and sleeve. Bingo! I cut, rotated the bolt, cut again, and the spring dropped out. An hour of frustration the first day compared to five minutes the second day. And best of all, the springs and spring mounts were undamaged!
The sheetmetal was in pretty good shape. The left rear fender had been crunched sometime in the past, and the inner section had been riveted together. The passenger door had a thick layer of bondo on it and may not be salvageable. The left front fender had a welded patch on the lower half, which didn't look bad but would probably be more difficult to work with than finding a good used fender. Lastly, the battery tray and fender were completely rotted away. Not too bad, but there would be some welding!
I started searching for sheetmetal and came across CJ Pony Parts. After placing half a dozen orders and spending about $1k with them, I can definitely say that they offer great value, speedy shipping and superior service.
Our first order included a complete rear quarter panel. It was packed with a set of upper and lower control arms that should've been in a separate box, because by the time the shipment made it to Florida, the fender looked like it had a bad case of pimples! I took a couple of pictures, emailed them to CJ Pony Parts, and without question the sent a fresh fender by the end of the week. That sold me on them!
It was getting close to the first slice with the cut-off tool!

Color commentary

Our little car came to us in various shades of black, gray primer and light blue--along with the original blue interior. The factory color, as best we can tell, was Tahoe turquoise. The driver's door has been replaced and the body tag doesn't match the fender VIN, but the color under the dash pad most closely matched Tahoe turquoise.
At first, I had Daniel on board to restore the car to factory colors. The blue on blue just looked classic. Very soon, however, there began rumblings of wanting a RED car, and why can't we paint it RED, dad?
A short consultation with the Wise One resulted in an agreement that a teenager in a red or black (his second choice) car was asking for extra scrutiny from the authorities. Further conversation finally softened my stance on going as original as possible. "It's his car" She wisely pointed out. How could I argue with Her gentle persuasion?
We presented a united front to Daniel and told him that he could paint his car any color he wanted, EXCEPT red or black. He tossed around a few thoughts and then mentioned white. I immediately pictured a crisp white exterior to complement the blue interior and it felt good! So good that when he took the idea further and suggested blue strips across the hood, I was all in. So that's our plan. Just a little pizazz to make the little 6-cylinder feel more sporty. After all, it is HIS car!
P.S. The car in the header is not ours, but a snag from the Internet...

Setting up shop

The shop space that we are using for our project has been a handy storage space for all of my junk that I've accumulated over the past decade or so, including overflow materials from my business. I have had dreams of making it into a good workspace for restoring my BelAir, so now was the time to get it into shape!
The space is about 45' deep and 15' wide, which gave us plenty of room to move the BelAir to the back, along with all the other accumulated stuff, and create a space in the front half for the Mustang. We also put up some shelving to safely store all of the parts that we would be taking off and restoring.
While Daniel continued to turn wrenches and remove parts, I dusted off all of my old tools and equipment from the last round of work I had done on my Chevy (14 years ago!). The welder looked to be in good condition, but the sandblasting pot needed some help. The compressor pressure switch had died years ago, so now it was time to fix that.

Pulling the 6-cylinder motor and tranny

I knew we needed an engine hoist, which we secured off Craigslist for a nice price. We also picked up a few other necessary tools, like a bench grinder and floor jack. The shop was coming together!
My plan was to construct a dolly to place the body on, so we could roll it outside or around the shop, depending on what we needed to do. I also wanted it high enough so we could sit under the car comfortably to sandblast, scrape, weld and paint.
Before that though, we removed the doors, trunk lid and hood, all of the running gear, and the engine and transmission. Once the car was so lightened, we strung some hoists from the roof rafters and picked the shell up high enough to roll the

A few hundred pounds lighter!

dolly underneath. The car was placed on the dolly, and a couple of small brackets and TEK screws secured it in place so it wouldn't slide off. The plan worked flawlessly, and currently the car can be rolled around the shop with a one-handed push.
Once we could easily roll the car around, we moved it back out of it's shelter and put a good coat of garage floor paint down. WE also put up a few more lights to give us better lighting (in anticipation of late nights ahead). It was starting to feel like home away from home.

Settled down on her new wheels

Time frame

I should take a moment before I get too far to explain that the first few entries of this blog are in retrospect, recapping the first three months of our project. To date we are just getting started on sheet metal repair and sandblasting small parts.

Let's see what we've got....

One of the most exciting moments in a project like this is going through the car for the first time once you get it home. For a car buff, it's like opening gifts on Christmas Day! My son, Daniel, and I couldn't wait to start picking through the trash in the trunk and the musty interior to see what was behind the wrapping.
Our little Mustang attracted quite a bit of attention from the neighbors as we backed her in the driveway. Even the Wise One came out to offer her assessment.

The Mustang safely delivered to her new home

Inevitably, conversations turned to reminiscences of everyone's "first car".
Out came the trash can as we began unbolting seats, pulling carpet, scooping accumulated detritus, and peering through the mess to see how sturdy the body was--or wasn't.
The further we dug, the more encouraged I became. For sure, there was the usual rusted floorpans, patched sometime in the past with sheetmetal and screws. Easy stuff to repair. But the other common areas of rust, like around the widows or the rocker panels, were virtually non-existent. I still remember my '72 Chevelle rusting through the lower rear window channel and the constant efforts to repair it with bondo, and the car was only five years old at the time. This little Mustang looked like it was fresh from the factory under the rear window!

A little duct tape in place of the missing trunk latch

We spent the afternoon looking her over, and excitedly discussing the plans for restoration. We wanted to complete the car by the time Daniel turned 16, which gave us about 13 months to work with. Daniel (with the charming innocence of a teenager) thought we could have it ready in two months. Little did he know!

The first day of a long process!

We didn't get too far into the cleaning, because the final destination for the car for the next year was to be a warehouse at my shop where my old BelAir was nesting. We took the Mustang there the next morning and began stripping and vacuuming in earnest. By the end of the morning, we had most all of the old stinky stuff out, the seats and door panels removed and stored, and a space cleared to roll her inside, out of the weather for probably the first time in 40 years.

Welcome to our project!

When my youngest son, Daniel, started talking about his first car, he quickly targeted the classic Mustangs from the 60s as his favorites. At first I was against the idea, because how safe and reliable could a 40-plus-year old car be? Not to mention the cost to purchase a decent specimen, the constant upkeep on such an old vehicle, and the responsibility of taking care of said investment (which is not always in the forefront of a 16-year-old's mind!).
I began to reminisce about my own teenage years, turning wrenches on my old Chevy Chevelle, talking cars with my buddies, having pride in ownership of something unique. Those were formative years for me, and I developed a lot of mechanical skills in the process.
I also have my own project, a 1955 Chevy BelAir, that has been languishing in the back of my shop for 25 years as an on-again, off-again project. Perhaps we could find a project for Daniel that we could restore together, I thought. It would be a way to share some common ground, teach him the skills necessary to care for such an old car, and instill in him the pride and care needed to maintain one of these old classics. Along the way, it might inspire me to get working on my own project again!
Over dinner, I broached the subject with Daniel and the Wise One (otherwise known as Mom) and to my surprise got approval from both of them. We were off to the races!
I tasked Daniel with the first step in the process, which was to find a suitable candidate for our project. I have a few rusty mechanical skills that are enough to get me in trouble and scrape back out, so with that in mind we set the criteria for our candidate:

• as original as possible
• no major structural rust
• reasonable sale price
• and within 100 miles of home

A scan of Craigslist showed no shortage of Mustangs in Central Florida, from full restos to basket cases. We were looking for something in the $3000 range, with the hope of keeping the total cost around $6000.00.

Pulled out of the back yard and on the trailer for the ride home!

There were a surprising number in that price range, and we actually made a deal on one that ultimately fell through. The excitement of that negotiation put the fire in our bellies, though, and soon after we found another possibility in east Orlando. It looked sketchy, but it wasn't too far from home so we decided to give it a shot. We drove over early on a Saturday morning with cash in hand and low expectations, and two hours later and $1000 lighter, we were towing our new project home!