1967 Mustang Coupe, Project "Code Blue"

[Cobraclone]

Hi Wes,

Just PM'd you.

Cheers

[Wesley J]

Hey All,

So, I've been picking away at Code Blue. I managed to get both frame rails mocked up and tacked into place so I could pull the entire "sub frame" out and weld it up. All of my mitres are heavily beveled (~75% through) so I didnt feel bad about grinding them smooth.









The I got it back into place so I could get the frame to firewall supports in place











Ya, I know, it's stitch welded but it's primarily in compression and I'm welding heavy wall (0.120") to 18 guage so it's completely acceptable.

Before I could do the same on the other side I had to build some sheet metal support for the firewall where I'd make the connection. I've mostly worked with angular stuff and have not really formed stuff to follow contours so this was a learning experience. It took me a couple of hours to build this piece but I think it turned out pretty good for my first time.







Both support bars perminantly in place!



Then I moved on to fabbing and installing the upper strut mount support framework. Heres a shot of the jig I built to maintain the geometry:

[Wesley J]

Because of the way the bends worked out on these pieces, I couldn't do them on the bender because the bends were too close together. So, I had to make my bends then weld the pieces together.















Again, I stitch welded these together but I had a similar scenario where I was welding 0.095 wt to 0.120 wt. I'm confident I have very good penetration on both as I blew 1 hole through on one.







Hopefully later this weekend I'll be adding this:



To this:



In order to design the rest of the front structure while still allowing room for headers and steering.

At least no one can complain that this thread doesnt have any pics ;-)

Wesley J

[CruizinKev]

wow awesome fab work! looks great!

hoping ur interior will look better than ur "shift boot"

[Wesley J]

thats funny stuff right there!

Engine and tranny are in, looks like I'm cutting the floor to get to my 5" minimum ride height...

[Bryce]

Excellent progress!

[Crestronwizard]

Love it!

[Wesley J]

Engine and Trans are in the car and where I want them. I've essentially lowered the engine as low as I can, the bell housing is ~1/4" higher than the lowest point which will be the x-member directly in front of it. I cut the tunnel all to hell to get it in, that tranny (Tremec 3650) is a LOT deeper than the C6 that was in there. I'm about 2" up into the car with the new tunnel. The funny thing was that the shifter would've fit through the stock shifter hole...

Spent some time at the wreckers and picked up some new spindles to convert to front steer. I also found a newer GMC pickup that actually still had the LS coil packs so I grabbed them as they work well with megasquirt. Looked at the reciept after and it turns out they didnt charge me for them! Sweet.

I also spent time measuring the steering setup and I think I have my rack length figured out. The great thing is that my Mustang II rack from my truck will work! I'll have to spin the rack extensions down a little bit then it should be bang on.

To Do:
- Motor mounts
- temporary tranny x-member
- design + fab the LCA's. I'm using 1" DOM

Anyway, I've got a new baby coming this weekend so my shop activity will be sporatic for a while...

Cheers,

Wes

[66 mustang]

Great progress. I'm watching this build. Congrats on the new baby

[Crestronwizard]

Pics!!! Congrats on the baby!

[hightower2011]

So cool to see this on a mustang! I'll be tracking this topic! Keep up the great work!

[Wesley J]

A few pics of the engine/tranny in what shall be their final resting place



















Wes

[Wesley J]

So, I've been having a hell of a time with my TIG welder and steel for quite some time. Well, after chatting with the very helpful guys at our Miller shop here in town we finally figured out that I had mislabeled rods. So, I'm back to TIG welding the smaller stuff! Now I can get to work on my LCA jig this week/end.

Wes

[Bryce]

Nice progress! Congrats on the baby.

[Wesley J]

Thanks Bryce. Contrary to what these guys say, you can still have your time in the shop once a baby comes, you just need to fore go sleep...

[Cobraclone]

Great progress Wes and it looks like you have a great plan for mounting the engine down low. Keep the updates coming and congratulations on your new baby as well! BTW, I really like the frame rails and the support design for the struts. That's going to look really mean when you get it done!

Cheers!

[Wesley J]

Thanks a bunch. Did you get my email?

[Cobraclone]

Thanks a bunch. Did you get my email?

Yes I did. I now have to measure mine and see what the delta is from your measurements. I'll be doing that later this week. Thanks for the great advice and information!

Cheers,

Steve

[Bjkadron]

Nice progress!

[Wesley J]

Well, I have a new baby girl! Nice. Although it would've been nice to have a boy as well, at least this way I'll likely get out of hockey!

So, I've adjusted my shop hours to 9pm til 1 am and it seems I'm still getting some stuff done. Here's a shot of my newly completed lower control arms.

Made from a combination of 1" DOM 0.125" WT and 0.095" WT as well as some 1/16" sheet filled with some speed holes. I plan to weigh them sometime but I'm guessing about 4-5 pounds. Some of my welds look frickin awesome, some not so much. I find aluminum so much more easy to weld for some reason...



I plan to get them mounted this week so that I can start working on my front steering.

Cheers,

Wes