Welcome back to my 1973 Mustang project #ProjectSportsRoof. In the last post I mentioned that some how the shift linkage bar was lost when I had the car in a local shop to help put with the transmission. They took another look around their place and I did the same…no luck. …
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 …
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 Right Side Fender – lots of crinkles, a few creases and good size dent. Now, these …
Welcome back to my 1973 Mustang project #ProjectSportsRoof.
In the last post I mentioned that some how the shift linkage bar was lost when I had the car in a local shop to help put with the transmission. They took another look around their place and I did the same…no luck. So I purchased a replacement link.
Take a look….warning the audio is not great in spots.
Well we are now moving into, what I hope is an adjustment phase for the transmission. However, it might be something….more expensive!!!
The story didn’t match the damage… View On WordPress. 73 Mustang is back!! Project SportsRoof is Alive! 73 Mustang is back!! Project SportsRoof is Alive!
After many month and some craziness my 73 Mustang is back and it’s sporting a new drive Shaft.
If you recall when I purchased the Mustang the car looked like it had driven into a concrete tube, mashing in both front fenders and doing damage to the front end. Here are the pics from the day I purchased it:
As you can see the damage on the fenders are similar. The story didn’t match the damage but I didn’t care, just interesting. What I didn’t notice then or even when I pulled it off the car was that the drive shaft had been welded about 5 inches from the rear end. I also didn’t notice, when I removed the u-joints that the yoke was damaged – flattened on multiple sides.
When the shop tried to replace the u-joints the new ones would not go into the yoke. (I wish I had saved the pic of that damage.) The specialty shop give an estimate for what the repair might be, but after discovering the welded repair and the damaged yoke, they decided to replace everything. What was really cool is they did it for the same price!!!
Here’s a look at the new shaft. (NOT A CRANK SHAFT….geezzz – you see…).
I have a lot of projects to get to on #ProjectSportsRoof and I can’t wait to get started.
Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects. You always have to know where to start and know the end game. As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, …
I thought I’d take a minute and catch the readers up on #ProjectSportsRoof. I wanted to touch up some of the engine bay components, horns, vacuum canister and battery tray. I didn’t want to alter some of these too much, I like having the numbers, logos and other info visible, not …
Well this day was long time coming. My 1973 Mustang has finally returned home and it sounds fantastic!!
You followed #ProjectSporstRoof, you may recall I ran into time issues and ability, to get the transmission mated back up to the engine and the components had to be placed back under the hood and new radiator installed. I had disassembled the engine, send it out to be bored (.040) and crank was milled a bit and rebuilt. That was over a year and half ago. In Feb of this year I decided to get some help getting it running.
A relative had an acquaintance that was starting a second shop here in Tucson to match the success of their first shop that was about an hour way. I wanted to keep the car local so I could check in on the work being done. So I asked and received an estimate and the price was fair. My only stipulation was that the car stay in Tucson and not their out-of-town shop. What I didn’t know was that their idea of starting a shop was to use a garage at a start-up/pop-up used car lot. In return they would be doing really cheap work for the car dealer in lieu of paying expensive rent.
There’s very few times such a plan works out and one day my Mustang disappeared and I wasn’t informed. I eventually (weeks) got a hold of them and found that my car was right where it I didn’t want it…at the out-of-town shop.
Now, I understand business deals falling part, especially when you start-up with little capital and hook-up with another start-up with little capital. What I didn’t like was not knowing that my car was now no longer in the city. Checking on the progress was going to be impossible and as it turned our some of my parts were left/lost at the Tucson shop. An additional problem was that I forgotten to pack a few parts and it took massive coordination effort to get the items to them.
So lets total this up real quick:
1. Missing car
2. Found car
3. Missing/Miss placed parts
4. Lost parts
5. Long periods of un-returned text and voice messages.
6. Lack of trust.
Number 6 is huge!!!
If you don’t have trust in the shop then everything, even the normal things, that arises when you are restoring a car are suspect. Combine that with a newly rebuild engine, never fired-up, well lets just say I was concerned that the proper cautions would be attended to and I’d end up with a pile of ugly Mustang parts in my driveway that I’d have to get rid of or sell the house to afford to fix it!!! So I held my breath and reluctantly had them push on.
Only two real issues came up, one was the drive shaft, it has been repaired a some point in the car’s history and poorly done at that and the yoke was in rough shape. A local shop said that could fix it for a set price, they couldn’t and ended up replacing the shaft and for the original price quoted. The other issue was a panic call/video from the shop, showing my Mustang vomiting radiator fluid in the air like Hawaii’s Kīlauea. That of course is what happens when you put a Windsor thermostat in a 351 Cleveland.
So I reduced my expectations and told them all I wanted was for the car to be mobile. I wanted it driven off the trailer and driven in my driveway and I’d be finished with them. The manual shifting you saw in the video is a result of a lost part.
Now #ProjectSportsRoof is back and I can get on with all the little projects that are left…like installing the shift linkage…yea…that should be first!!!
Thanks for reading and I can now say…there’s more coming up for #ProjectSportsRoof!!!
Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects. You always have to know where to start and know the end game. As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, …
If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay. During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can. Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …
As I posted before, after a vigorous (not read ‘desperate’) I finally found my next personal project. The 1973 Mustang Sports Roof Fastback is what I settled on. Now we start the project that has been dubbed #ProjectSportsRoof (yes I find it necessary to use the ‘hash’). 1973 Mustang Color …
Well win some and you lose some. If you’ve seen my other posts related the replacement of the points and condenser for the 351C you’ll notice that I gave conversion high marks. This was all based on the years of use I got out of the conversion I did on …
Well it has been a while since I’ve updated readers on #ProjectSportsRoof and frankly there hasn’t been a lot going on.
As the regular readers know I do all the work I can on my car, when practical. This work happens in my driveway, which unfortunately has a rather steep slope.
You’ve seen the videos of my work pulling out the engine and the transmission and putting the engine back in and attempting to put the transmission back in.
I few weeks ago, after suffering from a huge bout of guilt for not working the Mustang, I attempted one more time to get the transmission reattached to the engine.
This endeavor, required me to put the car up a lot higher than normal on the stands, to get enough room to maneuver the trans and the transmission jack around. this was a huge mistake. After a few tries I decided to pull the transmission back out for under the car and wait for some help later in the week.
Everything went fine and the transmission was safely strapped to the transmission jack and rolled back into the garage. Since the car was lifted higher for the failed attempt, I decided to lower it back on to the ground. As I lifted the car with my floor jack, so I could remove one stand one of the remaining stands slipped from its place and the car dropped about 5″ on to the tires. This didn’t seem to be to dramatic of a fall until I noticed that the motor mounts had separate (broke to be frank).
That was depressing, to say the least and another set back. Of course this depression was compounded by the fact that I had very limited free time coming up to work on the car. I am a full-time Junior High teacher and I had just signed on to coach our boy’s basketball team which was a lot of fun (we when 10 -2 for the season) and very time-consuming.
I purchased the motor mounts and was attempting to schedule a couple of relatives to help out. That proved difficult.
So a relative mentioned a successful automotive shop that was opening a new location here in Tucson and I contacted them to see they wanted to tackle the engine and transmission re-install, build a custom drive shaft and add headers and exhaust. They looked it over and we agreed on the cost estimate.
So off she goes to get the complete drive training straighten out and hopefully back on the road soon.
There is still a lot of work to be done and as I get ready for my summer break from teaching, I should be able to but more time into it!!!
I have a lot more coming up on #ProjectBeepBeep as well.
Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects. You always have to know where to start and know the end game. As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, …
If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay. During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can. Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …
As I posted before, after a vigorous (not read ‘desperate’) I finally found my next personal project. The 1973 Mustang Sports Roof Fastback is what I settled on. Now we start the project that has been dubbed #ProjectSportsRoof (yes I find it necessary to use the ‘hash’). 1973 Mustang Color …
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 …
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. https://youtu.be/Ga9EHbDpSfg https://youtu.be/FBKs7EG4kK0 Thanks …
Well win some and you lose some. If you’ve seen my other posts related the replacement of the points and condenser for the 351C you’ll notice that I gave conversion high marks. This was all based on the years of use I got out of the conversion I did on …
Thanks for checking on #ProjectSportsRoof. So here is the last set of initial questions. Here is an image of the current set up: Any diagram I find has the hose vacuum from the Distr going to the Valve assy. The Valve assy has nothing attached which is located on the front …
I’d like you to take a look at one of my constant readers classic muscle car. First let me say that Bill has been an a long quest to find a car to replace this car: Back in the day. It was a long search with lots of phone calls with many …
Did you think I sold #ProjectSportsRoof? Nope. I’ve been busy and I’ve been serving as editor to another cool project – my constant reader Bill’s ’68 Plymouth RoadRunner (#ProjectBeepBeep). However, I have been doing some work on the sports roof and in this video you’ll see a little bling under the …
1968 Ply Road RunnerProject BeepBeep Welcome back to #ProjectBeepBeep. Bill is looking at the brakes and gets some professional assistance to help him make a crucial decision. You know if you’ve got a lot of GO…you need a lot STOP. It not an easy decision to alter a car’s originality, especially …
Ready for some more #ProjectBeepBeep? Bill takes you through a few tips for restoring your B-Body door panels. Take a look: Great stuff!!! Thanks Bill!!! Have a few Mopar tips – Post them up or drop me a note @ agcarestoration@cox.net and we get you video/tip posted on the site. Thanks for reading Tim Introducing …
Spend a few hours on this 2017 Labor Day, laboring over #ProjectSportsRoof and I wish that labor paid a bit more dividends.
The goal was to mate the transmission back to the engine but unfortunately that just wasn’t going to happen today. The engine is set back a bit too far and tilted (on purpose). Problem is if I bolted them up the engine hoist would be able to lift the engine and trans due to the height I needed the car to work on the transmission.
So I pulled the transmission out from under car and placed its wheels back on the concrete.
It was a major effort to get the car up high enough to get the transmission out. I pushed the boundaries of safety with a floor jack and a couple of jack-stand.
As I stated in the video I may just take it down the street and have them get that straightened out for me.
Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects. You always have to know where to start and know the end game. As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, …
If you look back at #ProjectSportsRoof post you’ll see the condition engine bay. During those videos I mentioned that I was going to clean it up and hit it with a rattle can. Again this isn’t going to be a concours restoration, it’s going to look nice and it’s going …
This is the wrap up on the compression testing for the 1973 Mustang w/ a 1972 351 Cleveland power plant. You’ll might have notices that I referred to the remote tester, which is my code for remote starter…yeah…that’s it!!! All of these tests were dry test and I should have done a …
Mar 15, 2017 … Did you think I sold #ProjectSportsRoof? Nope. I’ve been busy and I’ve been serving as editor to another cool project – my constant reader Bill’s …
#ProjectSportsRoof has been…languishing a bit but I have a new transmission jack and I’ll be back to it in the next week…right now it going to be about 120 …
That’s a question I’ve gotten on other social media avenues and there is a good answer.
At this age I made a decision to make a career change. Up at age of 58 and after 20 plus years as information technology guy (last position as Director of IT) I resigned and began the quest to make a move that I’ve always wanted to make. So, it was back to college for a few courses and heavy-duty studying to pass certification exams – passed on the second attempt.
That’s where I’ve been. Now I begin my new career as a High School teacher and that kicks off with my first teaching position at a charter school. Things get rolling mid-July.
Now that will be a busy time but I’m comfortable with having spare time to keep working on my projects.
So, here’s what is coming up:
Bill has finished #ProjectBeepBeep disc brake conversion and we even have a video with it in motion!!!!
#ProjectSportsRoof has been…languishing a bit but I have a new transmission jack and I’ll be back to it in the next week…right now it going to be about 120 degrees, so not idea weather for working on the beast.
More #AutoFactoids coming up and some new stuff I have planned.
Bill is getting soooooooooo close to having ProjectBeepBeep on the road again. This update takes a look at the brake actuator rod. The Rod. Bill mentioned 303 …
April 16th, 1908 – Oakland car company sold it’s first car. Oakland was formed in 1907 by Edward M. Murphy. He was originally a buggy maker and then sold a 4 cylinder car designed by Alanson P. Brush. It was a 4 cylinder car.
I believe they actually began producing cars in 1907.
The mother of all debuts, the Ford Mustang was on April 17, 1964. Little did any one know what a success that little car would be. There were 3 engine available for the 64 1/2 Mustang, the 170 inline 6 cylinder, the 260 V8 and the 289 V8. There were 97, 705 hard tops produced and 28,883 convertibles.
1964 1/2 Vert
1964 1/2 Coupe
April 17, 1969 another Ford debut the Ford Maverick. Just 5 years the Mustangs release Ford tried again to capture the magic my debuting the Maverick. The Maverick was offered only in two door platform on a Falcon chassis and sported only one engine, the 170 cid. That engine was called the Falcon 6 cylinder with produced about 100 hp. Over 127k were produced in the first year.
1969 Maverick Clay moc-ups. I think the top model would have been a great look. Although it did look a bit like the Mustang
Lincoln becomes a separate division of Ford in 1955 on April 18th. It came in a Custom and Capri series. It took the form of 2dr, 4dr and convertible. Believe it, or not the 4415 lbs car was considered “Sport” model.
Two door Capri
18 April 1964 Sunbeam debuts the iconic Tiger. The Sunbeam Tiger a collectible car. It only came in a convertible with 260 V8.
Referred to Sunbeam Tiger MKII or Series I
On April 22nd back in 1954 Hudson and Nash merged to from American Motors Corporation (AMC). This would mark one of the last independent auto makers and brought us such coolness as the Marlin, AMX, Javelin, Rebel and don’t forget the Pacer and Gremlin. Here are two examples of the AMX from a local car show here in
Hope you all had a great Turkey Day!! Here is the line up of Auto Factoids for the first week in December!!! Nov 30 1960 De Soto ceases production. The last De Soto produced were really the Chrysler Windsor, most did not sale, even though dealerships continued to received cars after the …
Here are your Auto Factoids #AutoFactoids for the beginning of June, 2015. May 31, 1927 – Ford produced the last Model T. There is some debate as to actual date and it’s said that the 15th million Model T rolled off the production line on May 26th, 1927 and the Henry …
Kaiser-Fraser formed July 26, 1945 – The Kaiser-Frazer Corporation was the result of a partnership between automobile executive Joseph W. Frazer and business man Henry J. Kaiser. In 1947, the company acquired the automotive assets of Graham-Paige. Interesting enough, Kaiser had no automotive business experience. In 1953 the company became …
Here is your #AutoFactoids and Car News Now for this first full week of September 2015. Auto Factoids Sept. 7, 1954 – Production of Ford Thunderbird begins 1955 T-Bird 2002 Thunderbird Sept. 8, 1903 Preston Tucker was born in Capac, MI. While dubbed “Tucker Torpedo” during production no ‘Torpedoes’ were produced. Beautiful …
Here are your Auto Factoids (#AutoFactoids) for the first week in Feb. 2015!!! I think we can call this Kaiser Week as 3 of our factoid are related to the Kaiser auto manufacturing. In fact the month starts right off with Kaiser factoid. Feb 1, 1947 – Graham-Paige sold out to Kaiser. …
