Category Archives: Ford

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression, Rods and Heads

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Thanks for check in on #ProjectSportsRoof.

If you remember a of couple months back, shortly after bringing the ’73 Mustang home, I conducted a compression test on all the cylinders.  The 351C was running rough (to put it mildly) and smoked like a pile of tires on fire (only the smoke was blue).  Clearly there were some issues.

Here are the links to the posts were you can view the compression tests – RIGHT BANK – LEFT BANK.

To summarize, the cylinders topped out like this:

Cylinder 1 (Left Bank) – 130

Cylinder 2 – 25, 35, 60, 90 (Fail!!!)

Cylinder 3 – 140

Cylinder 4 – 135

Cylinder 5 (Right Bank) – 160

Cylinder 6 – 155

Cylinder 7 – 160

Cylinder 8 – 140

Clearly cylinder 2 has a serious problem and it could a host of things.  Since it was so bad, I didn’t feel it necessary to conduct a wet test and just planned out pulling the heads.

Well the time came to get take care of that and it wasn’t long to disassembling that it was clear what was wrong with cylinder 2.

What the....?

What the….?

At first we thought…”Hey Cool!!! Extra parts!!” But of course that’s just not the case!!

Tappit-3

 No extra parts.

It couldn’t be that the tappet just rolled there. Something else has to be an issue.

Oh…maybe…one of these was the problem?

Rods

Ya Think???!!!

Close inspection of the piston in cylinder 2 showed no signs of impact. As it appears thus far, that the bottom end of the engine is in good shape and the compression numbers for all the other cylinders and we bolstered that assumption with a visual inspection.

Think the heads need to be rebuilt and machined?

That’s coming up.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#ProjectSportsRoof

IMG_20150923_162001327_HDR

 

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part I

Thanks for reading. Tim. #ProjectSportsRoof. projectsportsroof. 1973 Mustang Project Sportsroof – Engine Walk-Through. There is a quick walk-through of the 351C tucked between the fenders of the 1973 Mustang Sportsroof.
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part II

#ProjectSportsRoof. projectsportsroof. 1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part I. I’ve done all the clean up and all the adjustments necessary to get a good reading on the health of the ’72 351C engine in …

 

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Fender Fitment – Extensions I

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With still some adjustments need on the fenders, I need to tackle the fender extensions.   If you recall the first video at the beginning of the fender fitment series of post you can see that the there’s no way it will fit (view the link HERE).

As I fitted them up here is what the left site looked like (this is after the altering the hole):

 

Gap

Gap

Pretty large gap.

Pretty large gap.

The right side was better with almost no adjustments to the holes.

Not to bad right out of the box.

Not to bad right out of the box.

Almost acceptably gap

Almost acceptably gap.

This video clearly shows the difference in quality of the fenders.  Quality control measures are that great.

Clearly the right side was much better formed then the left.

With a little more adjustments with a body dolly I was able to close the gaps.

Thanks for reading.   Next up “What caused the compression issue?”

Tim

#ProjectSportsRoof

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Fender Fitment Part I

Nothing But Curves – Should have packed the Vette!!!!! Welcome back to Project Sports Roof (#ProjectSportsRoof). We stripped the old fender and retained all the usable parts. Next we are going to fit the new fenders up to the …

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Fender Removal

In case you didn’t notice, the fenders that were on #ProjectSportsRoof look as though car had driven into a half pipe at a skate park. Left Fender – major.

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Fender Fitment Part III

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Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof – the fender edition  (:^o).    Here is the next set videos that show the fenders on the 1973 Mustang.

 

There’s more coming up on the fender extensions but here is how the other fender fit.

 

The gaps need to be addressed with some shims  and a little persuasion, but these are going to be near perfect!!!!

 

Thanks for checking back in with the project.   Don’t forget to drop me a note.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#ProjectSportsRoof.

1973 ford mustang sportsroof

The Automobile and American Life: Cars in Film: A List

Gone in Sixty Seconds 1973 Ford Mustang Sportsroof “Eleanor”. Horatio’s Drive 1903 Winton. Iron Man 2008 Audi R8. Lawrence of Arabia 1920 Rolls Royce. Lemans 1970 Porsche 917K; 1970 Porsche 911S. Mad Max 1973 …

 

 

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Fender Fitment Part II

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In these next two videos, you’ll see just how ‘off’ these fenders are in some areas and surprisingly how well they fit in other areas.

If you have an experience or a hit for anyone taking on this part of a restoration – drop a comment here and we’ll share them.

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.  Lot more coming up.

Tim

 

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Fender Fitment Part I

Nothing But Curves – Should have packed the Vette!!!!! Welcome back to Project Sports Roof (#ProjectSportsRoof). We stripped the old fender and retained all the usable parts. Next we are going to fit the new fenders up to the …

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Fender Removal

In case you didn’t notice, the fenders that were on #ProjectSportsRoof look as though car had driven into a half pipe at a skate park. Left Fender – major.

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Money!!

#ProjectSportsRoof will be the way I want it, which I haven’t nailed down yet, so suggest way by dropping me a comment (got your crate motor idea swimming around in my head, Bill) and that will happen fast or slow and cost …

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – This Just In #4 Gauges

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Just before heading off on vacation, I sources a set of used gauges for the Mustang (#ProjectSportsRoof).  These are out of a 1973 Mustang and fit in to the dash.  If you recall there is a current set of gauges in the Mustang, however they are a newer connected set wedge into the slot where the original single gauges go.

Here is the current configuration.

Here is the current set of gauges. These individual units will look much better.

Here is the current set of gauges. The individual units will look much better.

 

Drop me a note if you’ve had to clean out the hose for oil pressure gauges.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

1973 Mustang Project SportsRoof – Interior Walk-Through

Welcome back to the #ProjectSportsRoof. As the discovery process continues we move to the interior. Now each area of the car (engine, body, interior,

 

 

Tucson Classic Car Show 9th Annual – High Interest Cars – Le Mans Cars

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Normally I cover this car show pretty extensively here on Average Guys Car Restoration, Mods and Racing.  After all I haven’t missed but one since it’s start, and I’ve entered 3 cars, twice.  I just love this show, it on the ‘grass’!!!  That’s a rare treat here in the American Southwest.

This year I just managed to make it and after just arriving from a series of long flights from Italy 1 day ago, I just didn’t have it in me to get that intense this year.  In fact the weather the night before was filled with thunderstorms and a good deal of rain.  I nearly skipped going.  But I remembered what I call the High Interest Cars that were showing up.  I’m talking about a set of 3 Le Mans cars including the Porsche 917 – WOW!!

Take a look at these beauties:

 

 

 

 

These aren’t are just race cars, these are THE race cars you’ve seen race and win.

More High Interest Cars coming including a Jensen Interceptor III.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Rotary Club to hold car show fundraiser

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Tags. Rotary International, Gregory School, Car Show, Tucson, Tucson Classic Car Show · View 0 Comments · Download Flash Player. ACTIVATE. YOUR DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION …
8th Annual Tucson Classic Car Show (blog.garagistry.com)

8th Annual Tucson Classic Car Show – Real stories about Classic Cars and the people who own them.

 

 

 

1973 Mustang – Project Sports Roof – Fender Fitment Part I

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Ok so these were suppose to kick off while I’m over here in Italy, but they failed to post up, so I’m taking a few minutes to fix that.

Oh well as long as I’m typing, here is my favorite Italian road sign:

Welcome back to Project Sports Roof (#ProjectSportsRoof).  We stripped the old fender and retained all the usable parts.  Next we are going to fit the new fenders up to the Mustang. Here is the first video.

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#ProjectSportsRoof

 

1973 Mustang Project SportsRoom – This Just In #1

It’s almost like Christmas every time part come in for #ProjectSportsRoof. Here’s what came in this week: Fresh from North of our border are these wood insert for.

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Front Valance and Old …

Thanks for check back with #ProjectSportsRoof. While I’m headed off on vacation I’ve scheduled a few post to get published while I’m out. As a note the progress is moving well and I’m posting these in order, but they are …

 

 

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Front Valance and Old Fenders

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Thanks for check back with #ProjectSportsRoof.  While I’m headed off on vacation I’ve scheduled a few post to get published while I’m out.

As a note the progress is moving well and I’m posting these in order, but they are delayed by a couple of weeks.  I’ve nearly completed the fender install – still have a few adjustments to make and you’ll see these posts coming up.  Taking advantage of various opportunity in the course of a project some times has you stop on task so to take an opening to get another task done.  This is the case here with the 351C engine.  I had a chance to get the some engine work done at a great price so I’ve jumped to that task and put the others on hold. Those post will be coming up soon.

To remove the fenders you, of course have to pull off the front valance.  This one happened to be a new after-market piece.

 

When you swapping out any original parts or components, you want to try to salvage any sub-components or parts that are still functional and look good.  Stripping these old fenders included saving the fender extensions, side makers, bolts, badging etc.

When I’ve capturing these on my Android, I trying to keep them short and often use the wrong name for some of the parts, hence Fender Ends = Fender Extensions.

🙂

 

Here is a look at the fender extensions.

If you’ve seen any of my other project you’ll notice that I try to keep things – organized – some what.

 

There’s more coming up on the fenders and the cause of the low compression on cylinder #2 – it’s not what I thought!!!

 

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#ProjectSportsRoof

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Fender Removal

In case you didn’t notice, the fenders that were on #ProjectSportsRoof look as though car had driven into a half pipe at a skate park. Left Fender – major.
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part I

Thanks for reading. Tim. #ProjectSportsRoof. projectsportsroof. 1973 Mustang Project Sportsroof – Engine Walk-Through. There is a quick walk-through of the 351C tucked between the fenders of the 1973 Mustang Sportsroof.
1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part II

#ProjectSportsRoof. projectsportsroof. 1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Compression Test Part I. I’ve done all the clean up and all the adjustments necessary to get a good reading on the health of the ’72 351C engine in …

73-17mach 1

 

 

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – Fender Removal

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In case you didn’t notice, the fenders that were on #ProjectSportsRoof look as though car had driven into a half pipe at a skate park.

Left Fender - major dent a lot of rebuilding necessary

Left Fender – major dent a lot of rebuilding necessary

Right Side Fender - lots of crinkles, a few creases and good size dent.

Right Side Fender – lots of crinkles, a few creases and good size dent.

Now, these are fixable, with a lot of  heating and dolly work and bondo – but I’m trying my luck with re-pops and that’s what is coming up in the next few post.

 

 

 

Drop me a know if you have a project you are working on.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

#ProjectSportsRoof

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – What are You Gonna …

#ProjectSportsRoof will be the way I want it, which I haven’t nailed down yet, so suggest way by dropping me a comment (got your crate motor idea swimming around in my head, Bill) and that will happen fast or slow and cost …

Project Large Marge: New Fuel Tank and In-Tank Fuel Pump on a 1973 Mustang

Our 1973 Mustang is 42 years old, which means the gas tank has seen 42 years worth of various qualities of gasoline, sludge, condensation, residue, and most likely rust. Since we’re upgrading the engine to a blown and injected (Holley Terminator EFI) …

 

 

 

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – This Just In #3 Floor Pans

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Thanks for following #ProjectSportsRoof.

Another batch of parts showed up the other day.  Take a look.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Next up for #ProjectSportsRoof – sway bar installation.

 

Tim

 

IMG_20150923_162001327_HDR

1973 Mustang Project SportsRoom – This Just In #1

It’s almost like Christmas every time part come in for #ProjectSportsRoof. Here’s what came in this week: Fresh from North of our border are these wood insert for.

1973 Mustang – Project SportsRoof – This Just In #2

Received a set of reproduction front fenders for the 1973 Mustang #ProjectSportsRoof. They will be replacing these: Right Side Fender – lots of.