69 mustang Sportsroof from France

[lilian]

First of all, I have been a regular reader on thos forum for several years and after doing some ground up restoreations on mustangs and cudas, I decided it was time to build what I call my last car ( I am restoring as well at the same time)

this is and will be a low budget build with parts scored around here in France or Europe. My goal is to spend no more than 10 000 euros ($11500) on this build !!

I already bought a 69 shell which was an abandoned project for $2500. I also bought lots of sheetmetal from another guy fpr $500. I had a C5 corvette suspension and frame rail for another $500.
the mustang was already blasted and epoxy primed so I saw what I bought and why the guy gave up.

I also some nearly perfect 69 doors less glasses for $250 and I have in my shop a 2003 mustang 8.8 axle with brakes.

My last purchase is a set of new disc brakes and pads I found in a local classified journal for $100.

so I am $3850 off my budget.

here is a list of what I will need to buy : front fenders, full quarters, hood, engine + trans, seats, harness, wheels.

we are working for now on swapping the front corvette rails and some kind of front chassis in the mustang.

plan is to set the front rails at the height as in the corvette and then we will adjust with the rails we will be welding on the mustang rockers. First I was thinking of using all the corvette chassis specs but these may be too low for my mountain roads.
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[andrewb70]

Fantastic! Looking forward to updates.

Andrew

[1tuff68]

Really looking forward to see this build unfold. I am always interested to see what guys can do that have a limited budget like me. Looks like you have a great shell to work with

[lilian]

the shell is in poor condition but perfect for what I have in mind.

what was not sandblasted will be cut soon
we will cut front rails at the firewall, the rear of the shell behind the wheelwells. I aready have the new sheetmetal for the rear. that will be the easy part of the job, replacing panel is easy when your friend is a retired old school metal crafter.

I build a jig for the c5 front suspension according to the factory specs and we will go from these specs.

choose between factory c5 ride height and something a little higher.

[813Demon340]

Thats really cool! I'm looking forward seeing this build come together!

[lilian]

ok build a small jig for the front suspension according to the C5 chassis specs.

The upper arm bolts are points of reference from the datum line (leveled line)

so here it is157080157081

[lilian]

juste bought a set of 17" corvette wheels for $200, this is just for mock up

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[lilian]

more cutting, out with the original framerails, floors and some rotted sheetmetal and it is starting to look like a good shell to build something from.

the rockers need some massaging before welding the new rails158005158006158005158006

[lilian]

ready to move

[Gil]

Cool project ! Keep it up
Gil

[lilian]

thanks it is moving along really quickly

I cut some more metal around the rear torque boxes in order to prepare for the new rails. if I remember well, rails are 6"x2" and will be welded to the rockers

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[lilian]

just tack weld the frame for the inner chassis, everything went well, is squared and leveled, the floor in this area of my shop is perfectly flat so it helped me a lot setting everything right,
I also welded some square tube under the chassis rails to set the ride height at 6". I may add 1 inch to be safe as as I add parts and weight to the stang, it may lose height.

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[slazisme]

Don't you love it when someone from across the pond shares the same passion as us here in North America.
Good for you, in the end you'll have a ride that no one else has.
Keep at it!

[lilian]

thanks slazisme

moving along as I bolt a fender to check where I need to set the suspension and then I decided to try the c5 wheels for motivation, I really like the 6 inches stance even if I may add 1 inch to compensate for the overall weight of the car on the suspension.

let me know what you think !!

front suspension : C5 suspension, craddle et frame rails
2x6 chassis rails
2000 3L73 explorer axle with disc brakes
triangulated 4 bar suspension with QA1 coilovers
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[lilian]

setting the front suspension in place to build finish the front chassis and hoping to weld everything next weekend

took me 2 afternoons to measure and set millimeter after millimeter so everything is squared, leveled, spindle centered in the wheel opening. I set everything within 2 millimeters, was not able to set at 0 but my friend who will do all welding will come and recheck evreything next week. I hope the front wheels will be on the ground within a month.
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[lilian]

after spot welding some steelplate between the corvette rails and the 2x6 tubes welded to the rockers, I was able to do some strong welds so everything is rock solid and won't move.
I will weld some steel plates on top of my U-shaped plates so it will be really rigid.

I put the wheels on to check how it looks and some specs, it looks like I can go ahead for final welding.162477162478162479162480162477162478162479 162480

[lilian]

better front pict

[minendrews68]

Going to be a nice build! Be sure to keep the pictures coming.

[lilian]

thanks, this is a slow build, goal is to have the stang on its 4 wheels by the summer, then, I will work on the cuda so the body of the cuda will be rustfree by end of the year.

after final welding of the front rails, next is a rear triangulated 4 link suspension with a lengthened 8.8 explorer rear axle.

[chrisp]

Looking good so far.
I hope you have a registration for it because it's getting tougher with the FFVE.

[qnitro]

subscribed

[lilian]

Looking good so far.
I hope you have a registration for it because it's getting tougher with the FFVE.

got it before cutting lol !!

[chrisp]

got it before cutting lol !!

Good for you because some guys had the cops called on them by the ffve and now they face procecussion for false declaration and forgery, their title have been seized and possibly their vehicules too...

[lilian]

not done a lot lately due to lots of work outside but I figured how to modify the 99 explorer 8.8 axle and we went to cut 2 axles to make 2 axles .....


long story short, we cut the longest tube on one axle to weld it on the short axle tube on the other axle, so we added 73 mm in length to one side !! why 73 mm ?

this is only budget minded, this way I can use the longer explorer axle shaft on both side of the axle and the shorter axle on the other axle so now I have a 62" wide 31 spline limited slip disc brake rear axle for my 69 mustang and a 56" wide 8.8 for another car.

total cost : purchase of 2 8.8 : $450
labour cost ( I had the tube professionnally welded) : $300

black paint to make them look new : $20

not bad for 2 complete axles

[lilian]

I need to finished cutting the brackets and work on the 4 link suspension

[lilian]

here is the suspension kit, looks like chinese crap, bought it off ebaayyy I will put it on the stang but may go with home built heavy duty stuff later !!164690

[Peanut1959]

What a cool (and creative) build! I'm subscribed and looking forward to more updates. I also want to congratulate you on your resoursefulness---which I assume is mandatory when building American iron in Europe! By the way, the U.S. term for that body style is "fastback", which likely has to do with factory-sponsored oval track racing in the '60s.

[builttodrive]

What a cool (and creative) build! I'm subscribed and looking forward to more updates. I also want to congratulate you on your resoursefulness---which I assume is mandatory when building American iron in Europe! By the way, the U.S. term for that body style is "fastback", which likely has to do with factory-sponsored oval track racing in the '60s.

The 65-68 body styles are referred to as fastbacks but the correct term for 69-70 actually is Sportsroof.

[Badhand]

Nice to see another '69 Sportsroof in Europe! We're building one over here in England too...

[Peanut1959]

I learn something new every day! Thanks for the clarification!

[lilian]

What a cool (and creative) build! I'm subscribed and looking forward to more updates. I also want to congratulate you on your resoursefulness---which I assume is mandatory when building American iron in Europe! By the way, the U.S. term for that body style is "fastback", which likely has to do with factory-sponsored oval track racing in the '60s.

Thanks Peanut, I am on a budget on this build because I am restoring a 70 cuda 383 which is very pricely !! so a second build (that is more exciting and creative than a restoration) is a very very tight budget, but I am restoring US cars for 25 years now and I have some ideas of what to do and what to avoid. it took me 3 aborted projetcs to understand how I will build this one, and to accept that time is on my side as long as it stays as a passion !!

easy to reach goals and I am doing others things like sports while I am gathering cheap parts here and there. most of the parts are sourced here in France mainly from people selling parts they do not need and most of the time used parts !!

so my 2 goals for 2019 : have the stang on its 4 wheels this summer and finishing the sheetmetal work on the cuda by the end of the year

[lilian]

Nice to see another '69 Sportsroof in Europe! We're building one over here in England too...

your project is very inspiring, but I can not afford it !!

[65 Fastback]

Following!

[lilian]

work on the 8.8 rear axle this last weekend

I put it back together and bolt tha c5 corvette wheels, this thing is wide



I lengthened the axle 2.7/8 inches to reach 62.5 inches, in fact it is missing 1/8 to get 62.5 but not an issue.

this way I can use the driver side / left side stock axle which is very cheap. I also use wheel pattern adapters in order to have 4.75 bolt pattern to fit the corvette wheels.

now I will work on my 4 link suspension and the stang will be on its 4 wheels very soon !!

last picts is the sanded welds where we lengthened the axle tube

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[lilian]

axle is under the stang, ride height is set and will be adjustable with the coil overs, tires are 275 on 17*8.5 wheels, looks like it is missing some meat ...

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[lilian]

well due to work commitments, I had to stop working on the stang but I am back at it !!

I had to hire a better welder than I am to complete the welding of the front framerails. It is done and we will work on more reinforcements between rails and firewall. I will put back the mustang engine bay inner panels in order to keep the mustang spirit.

regarding the rear suspension, well I wrote in june 19 that the car would be on its 4 wheels by the end of 2019 but it is not yet done even if I made lots of progress.

I had to change my mind : I planned on doing upper bars like most suppliers did by welding plates and brackets on the original rear rails, as I am someting like an overbuilder guy, I moved forward and design something closer to what chassis builders do.

I welded a crossmember to my chassis rails and welded the upper bar brackets on this crossmember. this way, I will use longer bars and have better angles.

I also used the original leaf spring front locations as it is factory reinforced and right next to the torque boxes. I ordered some heavy duty bushing and build better lower bars

[lilian]

I am also working on setting a bmw 5 speed transmission to an LS 4.8 or 5.3 with a Polish adapter kit used on drift cars here in Europe; I bought 2 bmw 330D transmissions for $200, these transmissions are bulletproof and available everywhere in my area, they are so heavy duty that the breaker I bought them from had 8 ofthem and the last he sold was 4 years ago !!
this only budget way to have modern 5 speed trans for under $1500 with kit and clutch kit

[JayinMI]

I am also working on setting a bmw 5 speed transmission to an LS 4.8 or 5.3 with a Polish adapter kit used on drift cars here in Europe; I bought 2 bmw 330D transmissions for $200, these transmissions are bulletproof and available everywhere in my area, they are so heavy duty that the breaker I bought them from had 8 ofthem and the last he sold was 4 years ago !!
this only budget way to have modern 5 speed trans for under $1500 with kit and clutch kit

On YouTube there is a guy named "Tavarish" and one of his projects involves a Mercedes Benz SL AMG he is manual trans swapping, and he got a trans from
what I am guessing is the same guy. How long does it take to get? It seemed like Tavarish's trans took a long time to arrive, but that might be because of shipping.
Cool project and glad to see you back at it.

Jay

[lilian]

On YouTube there is a guy named "Tavarish" and one of his projects involves a Mercedes Benz SL AMG he is manual trans swapping, and he got a trans from
what I am guessing is the same guy. How long does it take to get? It seemed like Tavarish's trans took a long time to arrive, but that might be because of shipping.
Cool project and glad to see you back at it.

Jay

thanks Jay

the kit is from PMC, a polish company which deals in the Drift world in order to ease swaping and mixing engines and transmissions, they have a wide offer and prices are good.
the only issue would be in the end to swap the rear end gear ration to something very long like 2.2:1 to 2.5:1 as the bmw trans have short ratios

[lilian]

as we all have some time to spend in the shop, I worked on finishing the rear suspension and spot welded the upper axle brackets

tomorrow I will finish welding and put it back under the car;

then assembling the front subframe and we will see what it looks on its four wheels
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[vasrat]

Respect!
Please post more photos as you work.:lol:

[lilian]

got the stang on its 4 wheels today, rear suspension is not finished, have to wait for more budget to order the coilover shocks in order to add the shocks brackets.

I finished welding the front rails and set the ride height with wooden blocks
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[blade]

Can't wait to see this with the fenders and quarters on to see how everything fits! Good job so far!

[lilian]

Can't wait to see this with the fenders and quarters on to see how everything fits! Good job so far!

lots of rust repairs before that, need more expensive parts to order (one quarter, wheels, coilovers) before any major updates

[lilian]

as I clean the shop, put the doors on the stang so they are no more taking place in the shop :jump::jump:
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[lilian]

was the lucky winner of a cheap 4.8l vortec engine last night on Bay site, less than $500 for this engine shipped from the US to France to my door, as I am not looking for power but running after my budget goal, I will add a cam and intake and depending on my funds, a carb lookalike injection to run E85

with the engine I will be able to work on the firewall, trans tunnel and put the new floors in

[JayinMI]

$500 shipped to France?!? That's awesome! You can pick up a complete motor at local JY's (to me, in the US) for around $200-300. So, that seems extremely reasonable.
Hope it was advertised.

Jay

[lilian]

$500 shipped to France?!? That's awesome! You can pick up a complete motor at local JY's (to me, in the US) for around $200-300. So, that seems extremely reasonable.
Hope it was advertised.

Jay

maybe it is junk but the auction description said start and ran ... but I need one to mock up firewall, floor, trans tunnel and this way, this will be a large step in the project.

and the shipping cost and taxes are twice the price of the engine ....

[lilian]

starting more rust repairs as it does not cost a lot except my time and I have plenty of time here as we are in the middle of our 7th week of lockdown.

upper and lower cowl panels, will also mock up the mustang inner fenders, will complete welding here and there as long as the Mig welder has enough gas in it 175360

[ekmxryda]

Good luck with your 4.8 sounds like a good deal.
Hope you have plenty of welding supplies, this is the perfect time to get the sheet metal work done.
I went through so many spools of wire and bottles of gas for the mig welder while working on my GTO.