DeFazio's Pro-Touring 1969 Mustang Fastback

[bdefazio]

This is the start of a high end pro-touring style 1969 Mustang Fastback. Project started back in October of 2012 and I will be uploading pictures and new posts of the build and different aspects of the project leading up to its first debut in March or April of this year (2016). The pictures shown are the first stages in the build such as the last picture of the car before the build started, deconstruction and metal/body repair.

Original state of the mustang before the build started. Copper/bronze paint with flat black stripes, 1989 mustang 5.0 fuel injected engine swap, stock interior and 18 inch bullit wheels with drilled front/rear cobra brakes:
https://www.pro-touring.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=122325&stc=1

[1970 TT Rustang]

More pics lol

[Mach1_Ron]

Loving what I'm seeing.....

[bdefazio]

Cutting the drip rails on the mustang was one of my must haves when starting the build. I had to convince my dad that it would be worth it since it is/was not an easy thing to do. However, after the time spent and frustration while doing it, shaving the drip rails makes the car and is something most people wont even notice, unless your a mustang enthusiast. Below is the drip rail before being cut and you can see the chrome trim that slides across the seem of the drip rail:

122667

Drip Rails:

Drip rails after being cut, welded and partially shaped. We started by cutting 6-8 inches of the drip rail seem at a time, welding the cut area to keep the metal from separating before cutting the next 6-8 inches, and continuing until they were cut completely off. We then ground the welds smooth and filed the edges to get them perfectly straight and flat to eliminate body work later on:

122670

122673

122672

122674

Doors:


The door gaps on most classic cars are not very tight and body pieces don’t normally have the best fitment. After replacing both doors on the mustang, the gaps had to be tightened and since we shaved the drip rails, we had to fit the top part of the doors to the body since the quarter window trim is no longer being used. Once we mounted the doors and got them fitted to perfectly match the lines of the fenders and body, we used welding rod to close the gaps, tacking it in place then shaping it before fully welding. Although we would like even tighter gap than what we ended with, we did not want to risk having clearance issues once the car was painted since the paint would add to the gap.

122675

122676

122677

122679

122681

122682

[bdefazio]

The next phase of the build consisted of fitting the rear bumper, installing and fabricating a custom gas filler, fabricating the rear valance, and fitting the deck lid. Fitting the rear bumper was a must, since the stock bumper was not a flush fit against the body of the car. We purchased the rear bumper from Anvil Auto which is a carbon fiber bumper that is made to fit flush against the body without having to cut up or fabricate the car to get the flush fit. However, since all cars are different and nothing ever seems to fit, a lot of work had to be done to get the look we wanted.

To start, we cut into the rear of the car where the quarter panel and rear taillight panel meet, removing the sheet metal that bulges out in order to make clearance for the bumper.

122770

122771

122772

122773

The bumper had an ok fit, but work still had to be done in order to get the perfectly flush fit we were going for. By cutting into the rear quarter panel along the body line edge above the wheel well, we were able to pull the quarter panel in and get a much better fit. The rest of the work was done on the bumper, cutting into the backside of the bumper which is hidden, allowing for more flexibility to pull the bumper and get the flush fit. By cutting into the back side we were able to pull the edges of the bumper out, hold it in place with spacers, and re-fiberglass the cuts to bring back the strength and hold the shape.

Next was the gas filler. The original gas filler did not fit flush against the rear taillight panel and we wanted to create a custom, flush fitting gas filler, but still make it look like it came that way from the factory.

122774

The hardest part was finding a gas filler that had a similar curvature to the slight curve in the taillight panel. We came across a 2012 challenger gas filler and used that along with part of the challenger quarter panel that the gas filler goes into. By fabricating the challenger quarter panel piece into the rear taillight panel of the mustang, we were able to get the look we wanted without taking away from the originality of the car.

122924

122925

122926

122927

122775

122776

122777

122778

To finish off the rear of the car, the valance and deck lid were the next parts of the build. The deck lid needed a little bit of work to get a perfect fit and to lay flush against the quarter trim pieces. By cutting the rear of the deck lid where it meets the quarter pieces and taillight panel, we were able to pull the rear of it inward and shorten the length.

122779

122780

Lastly, the rear valance had to be fitted along with the exhaust pieces. Starting with a stock valance with no exhaust cuts, we used the exhaust tips from once again, a 2012 challenger. We cut into the valance, shaping the cuts to allow for the exhaust tips to sit perfectly flush along the bottom of the valance and the opening. We then formed a slight lip around the cutouts, giving it a better look and eliminating the sharp edge. We also added to the bottom side of the valance and the back side of the exhaust cutouts to give it more depth and to clean up the edges.

122781

122782

122783

122784

122785

122786

122788

122787

[fordsbyjay]

Nice.

[bdefazio]

The next part of the build consisted of extending the rocker panels to give the car a lower looking stance along with covering up the seem where the body and frame rail meet. We did not want to take away from the look of the car and wanted to make it look factory. We extended the rocker panels 2 inches, keeping the same shape as the factory rockers and welding them to inner part of the body seem under the car.

Rocker Panels before 2 inch extension:

122847

122848

122849

Rocker Panels after 2 inch extension:

122917

122918

122919

122920

122851

122850

Next, we wanted to do something to the door handles on the car, but did not want to go with the shaved look. We liked the look of the Ring Brothers door handles that they make for the late 60's camaro, so we decided to go with those, even though a lot of work had to be done to get them to fit right and look right since they are meant to be recessed into the door. The other issue was that the Ring Brothers door handles are not meant to work with the mustang door latch to open the door mechanically. To make them work, we used electronic solenoids that trigger a door popper inside the door. Rather then pushing the door handle button to mechanically pop to the door latch, pressing the door handle button triggers the door popper and opens the door. To use electronic door handles with the solenoid, we had to wire in custom door poppers that are triggered by a relay board in order to get the doors to open.

122852

122853

Once the wiring was figured out, we had to cut out the section where the stock door handles go in order to get the Ring Brothers door handles to work. Once the stock door handle area was cut out, we used parts of the camaro door skin, taking the mounting spots of both sides of the door handle and welding it into the mustang door panel. We recessed the door handles as well, giving a flush fit look and eliminating the bulge from the stock door handles. A lot of work had to be done especially during the body work phase of the build, in order to get the right look and to make the door handles look like nothing had been done to them.

122854

122855

122921

122922

122923

122856

122857

122858

122859

122860

[bdefazio]

Being that the build is a pro-touring style build, we wanted to stiffen up the frame and chassis of the car to go with the suspension that we were going to use. The roll cage, sub-frames, and suspension was all manufactured and designed by Mike Maier Racing along with the install. We went with a half cage design that allowed for an easy entry and exit from the car along with a cross bar for harness mounting. The front and rear suspension is all designed by Mike Maier Racing and JRI coil-overs are being ran front and rear. The rear suspension is a cantilever suspension that is inside the car and will be visible from inside the car or by looking through the rear window.

Roll Cage:


123333

123334

123335

123336

Sub-frame/Chassis Support and Rear End:


123337

Speedway Full Floating with Detroit Locker 3rd Member:

123338

123339

123340

Suspension:


123341

123342

123343

123344

123347

123346

[BlackMachOne]

Awesome build so far!

[bdefazio]

Getting the right stance and look with the wheels is what makes any car stand out and was our top priority. The wider the wheel the better and we did not want to settle for anything smaller than a 12 inch wide wheel in the back and a 10 inch wide wheel in the front. The biggest issue was figuring out how to get a massive wheel and tire to fit in the rear of the car without any heavy modification while also making sure there were no clearance issues or tire rub. To start, we mini tubed the rear wheel wells using tubs from a local company Restoration Parts Source. We drilled out and ground the spot welds on the stock inner tubs and cut the remaining to get them out. Once cut out, we cut into the frame rail and notched it in about a half inch to meet with the new tubs and gain more clearance inwards to eliminate any rubbing. We then welded the new tubs back in adding a significant increase for clearance, without having to do any serious fabrication.

123507

123508

123509

123510

123512

123515

123513

123517

123603

With the mini tubs installed in the rear, we now had the clearance that was needed. We also cut off the the inner fender lip where most people use a fender roller to roll the lip and create more clearance towards the outer fender. By cutting the lip off we gained more clearance than if we were to have rolled the fender and we also used various tools to pull the fenders outward, slightly flaring them without cutting into the body and extending them with additional sheet metal. We gained roughly a half inch to an inch by pulling and tugging on the rear fenders and front fenders. We also shortened the rear axle to pull the wheel in and allow for the back spacing that we wanted. Once the metal work was done, the tires were ordered, using Michelin Pilot Super Sports, with a 315 x 30 in the rear. and a 285 x 35 in the front. We knew it was going to be a tight fit and had not seen that large of a tire on 69 mustang at least not without having to do heavy modification with the frame rail and or flaring the fenders. Using a wheel fitting tool, we were able to measure the size of the rim we needed, the backspacing, and the wheel lip.

123604

123520

123521

123522

123523


The wheels that we decided to go with were the Forgeline RB3C wheel with 18'' x 10.5'' in the front and 19'' x 12.5'' in the rear. The color combination was hard to decide on since there are so many colors and looks that would have looked good, but we did not want to choose something that was trending and would be out of style a couple years down the road. We decided to go with the Titanium center with tinted brushed outer lip and exposed hardware.

123524

123525

123530

123531

123526

123527

[Jeff70]

With the mini tub do you plan to keep the functional folding back seat?

[bdefazio]

With the mini tub do you plan to keep the functional folding back seat?

With the cantilever suspension in the rear we eliminated the rear seat completely since the suspension is one of the highlights of the car. Also, the car never had the fold down rear seats so that was never an issue for us and we planned on eliminating the seats once the suspension was in the car. Not sure if the fold down would still work with the mini tubs but im sure there is a way to make it work.

[813Demon340]

Impressive build! Can't wait to see more.

[bdefazio]

Beginning the build we were unsure of what we wanted to do for the hood. The original plan was to use the standard 69/70 hood and fit the boss 429 hood scoop to it. When messing around with that look and figuring out how we wanted to mount it and the work that was going to be needed to get it to fit right, we ended up changing the plan and scrapped that look. We decided to go with the Anvil Auto Extractor hood along with the cowl panel. Both pieces are completely carbon fiber and weigh less than 10lbs, so not only did we get a hood that fits the look we are going for, but we also shaved off a significant amount of weight.

123608

123609

123610

123611

123612

123613

You can see from the pictures that the overall fit of the hood was not great, and although we were hoping that it would fit perfectly without having to do any work, luck never seemed to come our way throughout this entire build. Since the hood is carbon fiber, there is very little room for error and we did not want to cut into the carbon fiber because that would require painting the hood and we wanted to expose the carbon fiber. To get it to fit, we did similar things that had been done to get the rear bumper to fit. We cut into the under side of the hood, applied clamps with wood 2x4's, heated the hood and that allowed us to reduce the bow that the hood had. We then fiber-glassed the cuts to keep the shape and strength and continued doing so until we had a flush and perfect fit. Anvil Auto was extremely helpful and had great customer service throughout this entire build, helping us get exactly what we needed and giving insight during the build on how to go about getting the pieces to fit right.

Next we fitted the headlight buckets. Probably one of the more difficult and frustrating parts of the build. Since the original buckets on the car were broken, new ones had to be ordered, and the new buckets we got were absolutely terrible. So, we ended up only using one of the new buckets since one of the original buckets was such a better fit. We then shaped the edges and modified the mounting holes to get the buckets to fit.

123616

123617

123618

[blade]

Awesome build so far! What front spindles are you using? They look shorter than stock.

[bdefazio]

Awesome build so far! What front spindles are you using? They look shorter than stock.

The spindles are from chassis work and we had them shortened by a relative who does very good fabrication/welding work through his company VRS Metal Fabrication.

[rwcstang]

nice project, lovin' the wheels.

[bdefazio]

The side marker lights on the mustang normally have a chrome trim piece that mounts on the outside of the fender. Rather than eliminating the side marker lights completely, we decided to get them to fit flush against the body of the car. Finding the right side marker light for this was nearly impossible since most flush fitting side marker lights are either too long or the wrong shape. We decided to use a late model 2010 mustang side marker light that was tinted. We then cut the light to the size we wanted and shaved down the edges to get them to fit flush.

123959

The front valance on the mustangs are one of the more difficult pieces of the car to get to look right. A lot of builds have completely remade the front valance from fiberglass or sheet metal, but we did not want to take away from the originality of the car. To start, we used the front valance of a 1970 mustang, almost the same look, but the 70 has two small holes cutout for blinkers/fog lights, the 69 does not. We used metal tubing and welded it to the back of each hole to recess the blinker lights back into the valance. The valance was then cut in half and lengthened 2 inches . We then added a small inch and a half lip to the valance opening to get rid of the sharp edge.

123969

123970

[bdefazio]

The next stage of the build before paint was cleaning up the engine compartment and installing the ac/heater box along with the master cylinder. The plan was to hide all the lines to and from the ac/heater box that normally come through the passenger side firewall. We started by cutting out the original opening on the firewall that the heater and ac hoses go through and welded in a piece of sheet metal. We also had to create brackets to support the heater box since we were not going to be using the original mounting spots.

124060

124061

124062

124063

124064

124065

Once the opening was closed up, we fit the heater box from Restomod Air, and moved on to fill all the holes in the engine compartment and fit the master cylinder. We decided to go with the clutch and brake pedal assembly from Wilwood brakes along with Jamar performance's reservoirs. We had to fit the aluminum assembly that the reservoirs mount to by cutting out the existing master cylinder opening and adding brackets to the fire wall.

124066

124067

124344

124345

124068

124070

124071

124072

124343

124073

124074

124075

[bdefazio]

The engine that we had originally put into the car was a Ford GT40 Crate engine out of a 89 Mustang Foxbody. We swapped the engine and fuel injection harness/ECU. When we started the build, there was never a plan to change the engine until the build turned into what it is. We decided to go with 427 cubic inch MME Titus engine built by Titus Performance. Its an all aluminum block with aluminum 2V heads, Ford Motorsports valve covers with integral griddle, and the FAST EZ-EFI 2.0 fuel injection system. We used the March Pulley system but decided to change the look of it, using the March pulley accessory bracket as a template to design our own look. We also machined our own pulley covers and brushed the accessories to get rid of the chrome and follow the look of the car. The engine is designed for 600+ HP and is shown running in the video link below along with engine details.

Engine Specs:

351Cleveland based 427
Aluminum block is very hard to get and with the heads took over 150 lbs off the front of the car
This block uses priority main oiling unlike cast iron Cleveland blocks which oil the camshaft first and because of this have main bearing problems
Valve covers are very rare designed for Nascar valve covers
CHI 2V heads with titanium valves
Trick Flow Intake
4 1/8 bore
4” stroke
11:1 compression ratio
Comp cams hydraulic roller camshaft
Naturally Aspirated made 610 HP at 6200 RPM with 575 ft lbs of torque at 4600 RPM
The engine has a very broad torque curve making over 500 ft lbs of torque all the way from 3000 RPM to 6500 RPM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2tkj87iPO4

124112

124113

124114

124115

124116

124117

124118

124120

124170

[BlackMachOne]

Wow, the motor is gorgeous.

Where in the world did you get those valve covers!!?? They look amazing

[WallaceMFG]

All aluminium Cleveland, I think I'm in love! My 351C is pretty strong, I can't imagine what a 427ci Cleveland would be like!

I love the car, I've always wanted a 69 Fastback and everything you have done to yours looks amazing!

[bdefazio]

Wow, the motor is gorgeous.

Where in the world did you get those valve covers!!?? They look amazing

Appreciate it! Valve covers used to be manufactured by Ford way back in the day, probably 30 years ago. My dad bought two sets, one set is on his 1973 Pantera and the other set was just an extra that he was holding on to. I wish they still made them, they are the best looking valve covers of all time

[bdefazio]

All aluminium Cleveland, I think I'm in love! My 351C is pretty strong, I can't imagine what a 427ci Cleveland would be like!

I love the car, I've always wanted a 69 Fastback and everything you have done to yours looks amazing!

Thanks for the comment. We've had the engine for over a year but still have not fired it. We should be starting it in the car for the first time in the next couple of weeks, cant wait.

[BlackMachOne]

Appreciate it! Valve covers used to be manufactured by Ford way back in the day, probably 30 years ago. My dad bought two sets, one set is on his 1973 Pantera and the other set was just an extra that he was holding on to. I wish they still made them, they are the best looking valve covers of all time

That's awesome. I'd love to find a set of those when I start on my Clevor build. Are you actually using the stud girdle aspect of the valve covers or did you put ARP bolts in the holes?

[bdefazio]

That's awesome. I'd love to find a set of those when I start on my Clevor build. Are you actually using the stud girdle aspect of the valve covers or did you put ARP bolts in the holes?

Ya we are using the stud girdle aspect of the valve covers, just changed bolts to ARP bolts to match the rest of the ARP bolts throughout the car.

[wfo guy]

Those valve covers were made to use with the Jomar stud girdle. I seem to remember that Moroso sold valve covers for this. That might help your search.

[bdefazio]

The next phase of the build was dealing with the engine compartment. Both shock towers were replaced, the passenger side was replaced before the build started when I first had the car, and the driver side was replaced before the suspension was fitted to the car. We added the shock tower support brackets on the passenger side to match the driver side, welding the brackets in the same place to match the other side. We also cut away the original radiator opening on the front of the car to fit the radiator closer to the frame, allowing for a significant increase in space from the front of the engine to the radiator fans. All holes had been filled so we added body filler and sanded the side walls and firewall to get them as flat as possible. We then sprayed the black primer, wet sanded the engine compartment and sprayed the final semi-gloss black base color. We went with the semi-gloss black to fit the look we were going for, rather than painting it the same color as the car which a lot of builds do, and we also thought the semi-gloss black would help show off all the aluminum parts in the engine compartment.

124346

124347

124348

124349

124350

124351

124352

124353

124354

124355

[bdefazio]

Once all the body work and fabrication had been completed, it was time to spray the car. We decided to spray the car ourselves, using a five stage paint process consisting of a heavy primer, sealer, 2 base coats, and clear. Being that my dad painted show quality cars back in the day as a side job, he decided that he wanted to spray the car. We used three different guns, one for the primer, a Devilbiss for the base, and an Iwata for the clear.

124445

We started with a heavy primer to fill any imperfections in the body work, and then sanded the primer to get the car flat and straight and ready for the sealer.

Just Before Primer:

124381

124382

124383

124384

Primer:

124385

124386

124387

124388

124389

Once the primer was sanded and any missed spots were filled and re-shot, we prepped the car to spray down the sealer. We went with a yellow sealer, followed by a yellow base coat to get the red base to really stand out and pop in different lighting. Once the sealer had been laid down, we sanded the car one more time before laying down the yellow base and color. Once it was sanded and prepped, the yellow base was laid down.

Yellow Sealer:

124390

124391

124392

124393

124394

Yellow Base:

124395

124396

124397

124398

[bdefazio]

The next part of the paint process consisted of spraying the red base, clear, and wet sand and buff. Once the yellow base was laid down, the red base was sprayed. We created our own custom red that changes from a deep red to an almost burnt orange color depending on the lighting. Once the red base was laid down and the clear was sprayed, we put the car outside to let the paint cure before sanding and buffing the car.

Red Base:

124409

124410

124411

124412

124413

124414

Clear:

124415

124416

124417

124418

124419

124420

124426

124422

Wet Sand:

124423

124424

124425

[Motown 454]

I just went through your thread, Nice work! I love the color. I can't wait to see it all buffed out.

[digitalsolo]

I take issue with this build... I didn't think I liked '69 fastbacks, and NOW I WANT ONE. Haha. Great build, love the color and the engine bay work!

[wfo guy]

Good progress. :)

[MSTSFabbed]

WOW that is an epic color! Can't wait to see more! Beautiful!

[Josh@Ridetech]

Very nice build. Good quality work!

[RMMiller]

Not questioning, just curious, why shorten the spindles?

[bdefazio]

Not questioning, just curious, why shorten the spindles?

We shortened the spindles so that we could fit the wheel we wanted. It was to make clearance to get the right backspacing, without shortening them the wheel wouldn't have the depth it has.

[RMMiller]

We shortened the spindles so that we could fit the wheel we wanted. It was to make clearance to get the right backspacing, without shortening them the wheel wouldn't have the depth it has.

That makes sense, thanks for the reply.

[Crestronwizard]

Beautiful!!

[bdefazio]

After the car had been color sanded, we buffed out the car using a three stage compound by 3M

125045

125046

125047

125048

125049

125050


We then painted the carbon fiber pieces including the front and rear bumper, the splitter, and rear spoiler pieces. We decided to paint the carbon fiber pieces the same color as the car, but we did not want to lose the look of the carbon fiber by completely painting over it, but leaving them unpainted did not fit the look we were going for. We decided that tinting the carbon fiber with the same base as the car would be a unique look but also wanted to still be able to see the carbon fiber through the paint. To do this, we diluted the base color to 5 percent, laying down just enough color to still be able to see the carbon fiber. By doing this, the carbon fiber changes color depending on the angle and lighting, and also disappears, looking like it was completely painted depending on angle and light as well. For the hood, we did the same thing but also laid down the Mach 1 striping to add a smooth transition from the fenders to the hood.

125053

125056

125059

125060

125061

125062

125063

125064

The car will be rubbed out one more time once it has been completely put back together and completed.

[Mach1_Ron]

I think this is Why the Term "Car Porn" came about... Awesome...

[bdefazio]

Once the car was painted, color sanded, and buffed out we installed the rear bumper, decklid, gas cap and window trim/moldings. We also laid down a sound/heat absorber on the floor of the car. We went with a light weight matting to keep the weight down since a lot of heat and sound deadeners can add over a hundred pounds to the car. We painted the window the window trim the same color as the center of the wheels.

125103

125104

125105

125106

125107

125108

125109

[vh7177]

:jawdrop: words cannot describe how amazing those bumpers and hood turned out. absolutely amazing.

[Max Power]

Wow wow wow wow and wow!

Here I sit surrounded by my 69 Mach 1, parts spread everywhere, drooling over the result you have created here. I can only wish mine comes out half as good as yours. The colour and what you have done with those carbon is simply amazing. I don't really go for the carbon fibre look but to tint them like that, you've nailed it. Very very impressive, well done!

[rfalker1]

High Quality does not .. quite mach what you diD! CAR IS STUNNING!

[MSTSFabbed]

Guys this is outstanding! The thinned red on the carbon parts is shear genius!

So are you guys a shop/body shop? Or just avid hobbists? Super proffesional results anyway you look at it!

[69stang]

The color looks absolutely awesome! :twothumbs

[classiccarnut]

Words can not describe this car! Amazing work! Cant wait to see it on all fours and sitting pretty in the sunlight! That 427 is going to be a monster! What trans are you guys going to be running? 5spd? 6spd? Keep up the killer work!

Mike

[slimjim]

125105



This picture! first to make me swear out loud
I haven't been a fan of carbon until now

[Nicks67GTO]

This is such a cool build. The cantilever suspension, the Cleveland based engine, ill be checking back in here.

[Jeff70]

Bdefazio sent you a PM

[bdefazio]

Guys this is outstanding! The thinned red on the carbon parts is shear genius!

So are you guys a shop/body shop? Or just avid hobbists? Super proffesional results anyway you look at it!

We just enjoy it as a hobby haha. My dad used to paint cars and race back in the day and I've always enjoyed working on cars since I can remember. It was supposed to be just a small one year project that turned into an almost 4 year build.

[bdefazio]

Words can not describe this car! Amazing work! Cant wait to see it on all fours and sitting pretty in the sunlight! That 427 is going to be a monster! What trans are you guys going to be running? 5spd? 6spd? Keep up the killer work!

Mike

We are running the Tremec 5 speed, its the TKO600. Pretty solid driveline and rear end so should do a nice job putting the power to the ground

[Motown 454]

Beautiful job! You do amazing work.

[bdefazio]

Once the rear bumper, rear valance exhaust tips, and deck lid were installed we moved to installing the rear end and the wheels.

125280

125281

125282

125283

We also wanted to have an accessible battery port that was outside of the car so that we could charge and maintain the battery. Since the trunk interior will be covering up the battery, we wanted to have an easily accessible way of charging/maintaining the battery without having to pull the trunk interior panels out. We decided to mount it under the license plate, since that is an easy spot to get to and can be hidden. By making a pull down license plate bracket, the license plate can now be pulled downwards, revealing the charging ports for the battery.

125279

125284

125285

125286

[56rpm]

This is the start of a high end pro-touring style 1969 Mustang Fastback.

Uh, yep! I do believe you met the high end mark. Congrats on a job well done.

[Gil]

OMG, it's beautiful...
Smart idea to paint the carbon !
The hood is awesome...
can't stop drooling
Gil

[67cougnut]

124075

Where did these hard line brackets come from? brand?

Killer build!! nice to see more local folks popping up

[bdefazio]

124075

Where did these hard line brackets come from? brand?

Killer build!! nice to see more local folks popping up

We actually made them. A lot of the brackets and aluminum components we fabricated. Its hard to find stuff that looks good and does the job you need it to. Sorry to let you down on the manufacturer, unfortunately there isn't one haha

[cpenrose]

That car is filthy. The color is incredible. I'm now wondering how it would look if I did that to my bumper with a diluted super dark gray on carbon. I think it would look really good actually

[bdefazio]

That car is filthy. The color is incredible. I'm now wondering how it would look if I did that to my bumper with a diluted super dark gray on carbon. I think it would look really good actually

Thanks, and ya kinda hard to say, all depends on the color of the car and look you are going for. We actually had no idea what the carbon was going to look like tinted with the car color but we ended up loving it.

[xsboost90]

looks awesome- i did that with a carbon dash in a guys race car- i was painting the cage red, and was also going to clearcoat the dash-left the red in the gun and dumped the clear ontop- came out awesome and he loved it. I need some of those carbon snug fit bumpers for my project....

[Crestronwizard]

Amazing build. I was contemplating painting my side window trim, now you're making me think about it again :).

[GrabberGT]

Incredible build. I really like it but I have a concern over the placement of the charge ports. It would make me pretty nervous to have it below the fuel filler knowing how much fuel I spill out of my own.

[bdefazio]

Once the ride height was set, we took the car off the stand and got the car ready for interior. This was the first time the car was back on the ground with wheels on it in about 2 and half years. More posts will be coming soon, been too busy with the car lately and finishing up the build so time has been limited.

126021

126022

126023

126024

126025

126026

126027

[bdefazio]

Designing the interior for the car was somewhat difficult since everything has to be completely custom unless its kept stock. We didn't want to do anything too crazy or overdone and wanted to keep it clean with a somewhat factory look. Every panel and interior piece was designed and created completely from scratch, except for the dash.

Starting with the lower dash, we wanted to incorporate the FAST EFI handheld display screen in the dash so we cut out the original key ignition area and fabricated the section so that the handheld fit perfectly within the dash. We also wanted to eliminate the original headlight switch and use something more modern. We decided to go with the headlight control switch from an older VW, fabricating the dash for fitment.

127822

127823

127824

127825

We then wanted to do something custom with the center console that would fit the look of the car, designing something unique without going overboard. Since there is not much on the market for custom consoles for a 69 mustang, we decided to go with later model BMW center console. The entire console was basically cut up, fitted, and redesigned with custom pieces to tie everything together. We designed the center plate for the console along with the stereo and switch bezel.

127826

127827

127828

127829

127830

127830

127831

127832

127833

127834

127835

127836

127837

We then created the rear panels and rear seat delete piece to hold the amplifiers along with the front kick panels for the front speakers and the door panels.

127838

127839

127840

127841

127842

127843

127844

127845

127846

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

That red is damn GORGEOUS!

[car_guy]

So much to love about this car, where do you start...the color choice, the wheel choice, and how the colors complement each other, the tinted carbon, the cantilever's in the back window, all the custom touches. So awesome!!!

[Motown 454]

This car is gorgeous, your a talented guy!

[Bossed]

Beautiful car, tasteful mods, fantastic execution !!!!

[gswartz]

The only think I don't like about the car is the fact its not mine!

Your build is fantastic!!!!!

[bdefazio]

Once the interior was completed, the next part of the build was dropping the engine and transmission into the car. Probably one of the most stressful parts of any build in that you don't want to mess anything up or scratch the paint.

128674

We then installed the radiator, condenser, and the front of the engine.

128675

128676

128677

When running the a/c lines, we wanted to keep the engine compartment clean so we ran the lines inside of the passenger side fender, entering the inside of the car through the factory a/c duct on the cowl.

128678

128679

[bdefazio]

Wiring the car was a major undertaking that probably extended the length of the build by 6 months. With numerous electronics and systems that all had to be wired together and work together, a lot of difficulties arose. The different electronic components consisted of:
- EZ-Start EFI system
- Ignition box
- Touch less go starter system
- Door locks
- Door poppers
- Windows
- Gauges
- Exhaust cutouts
- A/C and heater
- Fans
- Stereo
- Headlights/Taillights
- Fuel Pump
Because of how many different components there are, the stock wiring harness was not going to work for what we were trying to do. We did not want to have numerous relays scattered throughout the car, rather we wanted an easily accessible relay board and fuse box that could provide power for the systems. We decided to run the Ron Francis fuse box along with two separate relay boards, an 8 channel inside the car, controlling the horns, fuel pump, door locks and door poppers, and an 8 channel outside the car, controlling the fans, headlights, and taillights.

Once the relay board locations had been determined, we began running wires to the various systems. The headlights and taillights all had to be ran through the relay board because the headlight switch that is being used can not handle the power (VW Headlight Switch) compared to the stock switch. The door poppers and locks had to have their own relays as well, being that they draw an extreme amount of amperage to pop the doors open. Because of the different systems having either positive or negative triggered relays, everything had to be researched, checked, and double checked, making sure it was all wired correctly.

The nice thing about the Ron Francis relay board is that it allows you to choose negative or positive triggered relay and is also programmable to have multiple relays stacked together as one large relay.

Wiring the EFI system was probably the easiest part of all the wiring. The difficult part was getting the EFI, ignition, and touch less-go system to work together. Once the diagrams had been drawn out and double-checked, everything was wired together and tested.

If there are any questions about wiring or if you have a question about how we got different components to work with each other, please let me know/ask. Id be more than happy to explain things in depth or help out with any wiring issues you may have or are unsure of.

128680

128681

128682

128683

[Goosesdad]

Well done!!! Inspirational.

[Motown 454]

Car looks great, always some nice updates. What switches did you use in the aluminum panel?

[wfo guy]

Looking good!

[Wldtang]

Great work

[BlackMachOne]

What did you do for the steering system?

[bdefazio]

What did you do for the steering system?

Steering system is an ididit column using the stock wiring harness

[bdefazio]

Car looks great, always some nice updates. What switches did you use in the aluminum panel?

Switches were from Watson's Street Works, A/C switches were from Restomod Air

[6fastback7]

I thought Maier rear suspension used a panhard bar not a Watts link? I have a 3 link myself with a Watts link...but instead of torque arm I have a 3rd link about the pumpkin

beautiful car! interested in seeing more of the audio build...I am just finishing my audio system....did similar kick panels...2 10s in the trunk and hid the rear speakers behind the trunk divider.

[BlackMachOne]

Steering system is an ididit column using the stock wiring harness

Did you go with a rack n pinion, or upgrade the stock steering box?

[bdefazio]

The new Maier suspension does use a pan hard bar, the old one did not. I need to get the rest of the pictures and build posted. The car is about done but I have been lagging on getting everything posted on forum. Hopefully ill get a couple hours soon to upload the rest of the build.

[bdefazio]

No rack and pinion. We used a steering box from ABS, its a very quick ratio box, maybe 14:1 or something like that. Had a rack an pinion on the car prior to the start of this build and I hated it. A rack works really well if you have all your dimensions and angles set perfectly, but as soon as you change control arms, lower the car, etc., the rack does not work well. It works great if you buy a full built chassis like the ones roadster shop makes which are designed with the rack but that was my experience with it haha

[bdefazio]

The last major part of the car that had to be designed was the closeout piece behind the suspension. We made a last minute decision to move the crossovers for the speakers behind the suspension and mount them to the closeout piece. We also needed to breakup the colors under the rear window and decided to make an aluminum piece that goes across the top of the closeout, just below the window. The piece was then powder-coated to match the trim of the car and completed the theme of the interior.

131705

131706

131707

131708

131709

131710

131711

[bdefazio]

With the limited amount of clearance under the car as well around the rear end, we had to make/run the exhaust our-self. We started by running the exhaust from the headers down to the rear of the car where the mufflers would be mounted. We welded custom tabs to the sub-frame connectors and under the rear seat to hold the exhaust and mufflers. We then ran the exhaust up and over the rear end, barely having the clearance we needed to make the run, and then brought it back down and out the rear cutouts. Having very little clearance, we had to cut out part of the trunk floor so that we could make the bend without the rear end hitting as well as getting the right angle to meet the rear exhaust cutouts. We also welded in electronic cutouts, for no other reason but to hear the the sound of the engine without being muffled. We are running Brola mufflers with 3'' stainless tubing and Quick Time electronic cutouts. The exhaust was was ran, welded and fabricated with the help of Drake Foxworthy.

131712

131713

131714

131715

131716

131717

131718

131719

131720

[Dalpilot]

Wow, I am floored. Well done.

[bdefazio]

Once the exhaust was installed we finished up the engine compartment, adding the shock tower strut supports and crossbar. We ran the fuel lines, mounted the fuel pressure regulator and vacuum line, mounted the ignition coil and finished running all the accessory lines and components. This was the final step before starting the car for the first time and hearing it in person.

132007

132008

132009

132010

Once the engine compartment and components were completed, we moved to the headlights, preparing the buckets for when we mounted the fenders. Since the headlights being used are from a later model BMW 3/5 series, we went with halogen bulbs and ballasts. I mounted the ballast to the inside of the headlight bucket to hide the wiring but still have easy access if they need to be changed or if any issue arises (Issues did arise).

132011

132012

132014

132013

[Dalpilot]

Looks amazing. How did it sound?

[bdefazio]

First time firing up the car and hearing it. Ran very rich the first time it was started and still needs minor tuning but overall we were very pleased.


https://youtu.be/n94DafwV4vI

[Gil]

Awesome work, love the mean sound !

[gschris]

Amazing.. can't wait to see it completed!!

[Centerforce]

Every thing about this is SO good! Please tell us its going to be at SEMA?

[bdefazio]

Once the car was running and all the little details were finished in the engine compartment, the fenders could be mounted and the car could be rubbed out one more time.

132082

132083

132084

132086

132087

132088

132085

[bdefazio]

Every thing about this is SO good! Please tell us its going to be at SEMA?

Thank you, and yes the car will be going to SEMA. Found out just over a week ago and the car will be with Meguiar's and their booth! Thrilled about that and cant wait for the show.

[my68vert]

Absolutely stunning! Love this car.

[MSTSFabbed]

Gah, this is one of the prettiest cars I've ever seen. I'm so in love with every little part of it! Stance, tinted carbon, white lettered tires, sound, color... nailed it!!!

[68EFIvert]

I can't wait to see it in Vegas. Beautiful job on the car!

[bdefazio]

With the fenders mounted back on the car and the last rub out of the car was completed, the only thing left was mounting the hood. There is still a few small things left to do on the car, fixing a couple small issues that arose from driving it, finishing the trunk side panels, and possibly changing out the hood with the same one except a full carbon fiber hood rather than half carbon half fiberglass.

Overall the build was enjoyable with a few headaches along the way. After 4.5 years of working on the car and the amount of time and work we put into it, its nice to be done and have some time freed up. The car will be at SEMA 2016 at the Meguiar's booth and we are stoked about that.

All photos below were taken by Matt Dion Photography who does great work. If you need professional pictures of your car done let me know and I can get you in contact with him.

132120

132121

132122

132123

132124

132125

132131

132126

132127

132128

132129

132130

[Centerforce]

Thank you, and yes the car will be going to SEMA. Found out just over a week ago and the car will be with Meguiar's and their booth! Thrilled about that and cant wait for the show.

We'll have to come over and take a peep. We're sure it looks even better in person!

[Godbolt]

Stunning. You have nailed the little details which really make a big overall difference.

[Maurismo]

Since you relocated the heater box off the engine compartment's firewall. Where did you relocate it?

[MSTSFabbed]

I absolutely love this car! Out of curiosity, where did you get the Challenger sheetmetal to go around the gas cap? That cap is exactly what I've been looking for on my 67.

Thanks!

[bdefazio]

Since you relocated the heater box off the engine compartment's firewall. Where did you relocate it?

The heater box is still in the same location, we welded a support bracket to the transmission tunnel and firewall from inside the car to mount it to. The reason was to allow for more room under the dash and to eliminate the studs on the firewall in the engine compartment.

[bdefazio]

I absolutely love this car! Out of curiosity, where did you get the Challenger sheetmetal to go around the gas cap? That cap is exactly what I've been looking for on my 67.

Thanks!

Thank you for the comment, I appreciate it. The sheet metal for the gas filler actually came from a Challenger quarter panel that we bought. We cut out the section of the gas filler and used that as a starting point. So if you know anyone that needs the driver side quarter panel let me know haha