Thanks checking in. I’m finishing up the bottom of the rear bench seat in #ProjectSportsRoof. If you recall the original foam for my 73 Mustang was all one piece with a wire rod running along the seam where it folded. The new foam came in two pieces and did not have the wire. That wire rod was used for support and for creating the tucks for shaping. I had to find a way to make happen. Take a look:
To finish the back rest of the rear seat I’ll have to seek a professional as that portion of the kit does not fit properly and I won’t be able to make it fit. But don’t worry. I have the completed one of the front bucket seats and have of the other so you’ll see a bit more of the upholstery.
Also have some door work coming up, exhaust hangers to install and leaf springs.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to take my ’73 Mustang for a nice drive. Today was the day.
And to swap the passenger seat into the driver’s position until I can find the bottom seat frame and springs for the that side. But it worked great!
And don’t those new wheels look great? Yeah…I think so too!!!! I’m happy with the 15″ wheels!!! If you turn the volume you might catch how #ProjectSportsRoof sounds!
TURN IT UP!!
Still got a list of things to do. You’ll see most of it there!!!
Every good saga needs an ending….even if it’s just terminated without a related solution.
So it is with #ProjectSportsRoof (my ’73 Mustang) brake saga. This all started when Bill – (#ProjectBeepBeep date) came over to help dial in the carb and timing on my 351 Cleveland. We discovered brake issues after taking the Mustang couple test drives. Front brake seemed to be doing all the work. It was clear that brakes need to be bumped up on the list of things “needing doing”.
Gathering all the parts was easy enough. As you now know that’s not true, the rear end had been frankenstein’ed and shoes were the main issue.
After thinking it over and I decided to go a different direction. Since the fronts were disc why not go disc in the back as well. I started hunting around for prices and options.
There is a lot out there in the back of my head was Bill’s fabulous adventure with converting #ProjectBeepBeep to disc. Prices very and so do configurations. There is even a set up where you have small set of brake shoes that perform the emergency brake function and the disc brakes. Like this:
There were also those that allowed the disc to handle the emergency braking.
I checked out all brands and all type. As I was looking a downloaded PDF from Master Power Brakes, I saw these:
Rear Drum Brake Conversion Kit: Legend Series Deciding to keep drum brakes on the rear of your vehicle is not a bad thing. What is a bad thing is not upgrading them to a system that makes sense. Our rear drum upgrade kit utilizes a large 11 inch drum, all new components and 1-1/8 inch wheel cylinders giving disc brake feel without the expense.
I have nothing against drum brake as they function (of course changing pads is easier then changing shoes). My 1970 Mustang used them just fine, even at the drag strip:
So read up a little more and decided to go with the Master Power Brakes’
Ford Mustang Rear Drum Brake Conversion Kit for Ford 9″- Legend Series.
Here’s a video:
These will bolt (you have to pull the axles) and they are 11″.
One side arrived already.
I think it was a good choice. I’d love to show you the installation but I’m not. Pulling the axles is a messy job and outside temps are normally in the 100’s here in So. Az. It’ll need new seals and bearing, so #ProjectSportsRoof is going into the shop next week.
But don’t worry I have a few posts on the install of the new calipers for the front disc coming up.
I continue to chase down the fuel issues on my 73 Mustang’s 351 Cleveland.
Last time on the “Day of Discoveries” found the fuel line crushed. This is the repair video. WARNING: It is longer than normal with a few Average Guy tips. Link:
We love taking road trips. There’s is some beautiful country between Tucson, AZ and Silver City, NM and a lot of cars!! That is one of my favorite reasons for road tripping, grabbing pics the cars spotted along the way.
On this trip I checked in on a place we stumbled about ten years ago in Bowie, AZ.
At the very end of the video you see the current “stock pile” of cars. Now below is the same “stock pile” 10 years prior.
10 years go
10 years go
As we drove on to Silver City we can across a few backyard projects.
59-60 Chevy
Chevelle in the backyard
Dodge Swinger – bright color had to drive around to take a look.
Of course there’s the cars just sitting out in the open. Like these beauties.
Mercedes 200
Mercedes SL – soft top on, hard top hanging at the right.
After taking the #ProjectSportsRoof out for a power test and having the distributor die, I discovered that the head gasket on the left side did not hold.
So in this video I’m attempted to re-torque and see where that takes me. Oh and then there was a small issue upon restarting.
In the two videos below I talk about valve cover gaskets, the current lack of experts at your local parts store, and online “No Help” clerk and a recommendation for the Mustangs regular dosage of Zinc – not in table form for the Mustang’s 351 Cleveland!!!
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 …
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 …
Ya know, one would think that as you get older there’s more time for leisurely things. But as second year teacher (at the age of “past 50”) and coaching our school’s basketball team there is no slowing down. That’s my only excuse for not working much on Project SportsRoof. Ok there’s one more….we’ve had a colder and wetter than normal winter. This episode is purely due to “Spring Break” and having our taxes done (almost).
If you’ve followed along (did you know you can find Average Guy on YouTube as well?) you’ll know it’s been a long road with my 73 Mustang. Multiple starts and stops, often caused by me exceeding my ‘Average Guy’s’ skill set and man power and even my car disappearing for a couple of weeks (but I found it). Oh and don’t forget the tow truck driver that “broke” my front end!
Now SR73 (not SR71 the blackbird aircraft) or #ProjectSportsRoof is back on the road. Having only driving about 30 miles since the engine rebuild, I noticed a lifter noise. Not something you want to hear after all the time and $$ spent on it’s 351 C, in fact it’s a bit concerning.
The best place to start troubleshooting is to make sure the engine is getting the oil it needs. That requires pulling the valve cover and running the engine. Since I put the heads together myself, it’s a good idea to check the torque on the valves. What better time to check that than when you have to take the valve covers off anyway?
Here is my quick video recap. There are a couple good tips in this one and here is a one more great tip. I can’t take credit for it because was shared with me sometime back. Should you have an old set of valve covers, cut the tops off to make viewing possible. That way when you let the car run (it’s the easiest way check if oil is flowing) the spraying oil is somewhat contained. You won’t see that in these videos….but you will see the mess it makes when you don’t use them!!!
Don’t forget to drop a comment, if you are so inclined. Oh, if you have an event you’d like to tell other car peeps about, let me know and I’ll post it up!!
Follow Up: Reusing the old gasket!!
Thanks for visiting our site. You can find us on Facebook (search groups for Average Guy’s Car Restorations and Projects) and YouTube.
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 my 1973 Mustang. The next step is to check the compression. First up was to warm the car a bit and then pull the plugs. Here’s what the …
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 …
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 …
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 …
