My First Ever Project Build.

[craigF]

Front view of both Torque boxes.
Considering repairing or replacing the "A" pillars as they have a little rust that I can see on the inside. Not to bad but I don't want it to come through in 5 - 10 years. I would only kick myself for not doing it now.

I am also planning painting the lower cowl prior to welding the pieces together. This also puts me in a quandary as to what colour. My better half really wants a red one. Now do I go the traditional red or one of the new style Kandy reds that are around now. Seen on the new Mazda Sixes.
Any opinions out there.

[craigF]

Love this colour.
In the sunlight it glows and shows it's shine but as it goes into shadow it becomes a deeper red almost burgundy or cherry.
decided to paint the inside of the lower cowl panel before its all welded shut.

[stevemaxx]

Looking good. Love the color. Keep up the good work!

[Jetfixr320]

Love the color, It will look great!

[craigF]

Thanks everyone.
I,m tackling the job of replacing the door hinge panels this weekend as they have some rust internally and I don't want the problem appearing in a few years. So we are going to cut the lower section of th "a" Piller and remove the outer section to allow us to remove the door hing panel. We will then reattach the outer Piller section and fabricate where needed.
I'll post some pictures soon.

[Blue70]

Love the color choice!

I wish my Mustang started that clean. I'll be watching

[keepat]

Color is awesome! great job!
Pat

[craigF]

Ok as I said we tackled replacing the door hinge pillar panels this weekend and it went ok..ish.
The panels themselves were a good quality Dynacorn product and cost $220.00 Aussie for the pair.
We cut and picked the outer "A" pillar panel, cleaned up the surface rust on the side panels and tacked the hinge panels into place ready for spot welding.
The outer "A" pillar panel was really thin and was rusting from the inside out. I could brass weld it up or I could try and get some parts fabricated I am open to help or suggestions.

[craigF]

Hinge panels in place

[craigF]

Now what to do with the "A" pillar outer panels.

[craigF]

Hi all. It's been a while so it's time for a quick update.
I decided to go with the Total Cost Involved front suspension set up and the Chris Alstons Chassisworks rear end set up so while i am awaiting the front end to arrive we decided to start the rear end. I really wish they made stuff over here that is as good as the parts in the Sates the cost of getting it here along with the exchange rat is unbelievable.
After we removed the rear panels it was good to see only the usual surface rust which we will clean prime and paint. We have decided to go with new panels all round so i can see some frustrating alignment issues coming up, any advice appreciated.
The roof came up a treat after many hours of working and filing but overall a good job. I am building a car to drive and not a show car but it still needs to look good.
Enough rambling here are some pics.

[craigF]

This shows the Mustang to Fear engine bay panels screwed into place prior to welding and the guard alignment dosen't look to bad.
We will finish fitting the engine bay panels after the suspension cross member is in place just to prevent the panels warping from the heat.

[craigF]

Doors and fenders are not a million miles away in this picture but don't let the photo fool you. The aftermarket guards are a terrible fit and i'm going to have to do some major fabrication to make the even look half decent. The doors are pretty good and seem to line up well. Wish i had persevered with the old guards and worked on them more. We live and learn.

[craigF]

Really pleased with the roof finish.

[craigF]

I have been in two minds on how far to go with this car after seeing the terrible shape of the front guards but in the end we decided to replace the Qtrs and rear end. The car had some really bad repairs in it's lifetime with mig weld covered in bog to repair rust and a little shunt in the rear folding the tail light panel in. After many hours sitting with a few Coronas we went for it and stripped the lot. The after market panels for the rear end are not to bad size wise with just a few bend issues as far as we can see at the moment but I suppose all will be revealed as we come to put it all together.

Really need to decide on mini tubs now!! In Queensland Australia we are not allowed to cut the original chassis rails, we can replace them but not alter the original shape. Is it worth the effort and cost to tub the inner fenders up to the rail. Would the tire size gain be worth it?
According to some forums i should be able to fit a 275 tire on a 17" rim with the correct back spacing with the standard inner wheelhouse?

Just a quick note. Anybody have any original front fenders they are willing to sell and send to Australia that are in reasonable condition?

[keepat]

Your project is coming right along, I love the new inner fender! The mini tub job is a lot of work but worth all the effort! I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone who has gone through the trouble of installing mini tubs say that they regretted doing it. But I sure have heard a lot of people wish that they had installed mini tubs after their car was done.
Good luck with your project
Pat

[craigF]

Hi all.
Since my last post i have had a dilemma to answer. After completing the roof skin and removing the rear end i began to ask the question, what is the frame like under the roof. Will it sweat and rust after a few years after all this work.
The drip rails were shot and i was always going to remove them so after many yes and nos it was decided. Off with the roof. Only problem being the repairs on the skin are finished and if we stuff it up a new roof for a 67 is not an option.
So on Sat i drilled the front and rear spot welds out and removed the drip rails.
Here is a sneek peek of what was underneath. We will be lifting it off completely this Saturday.

[craigF]

Received the Hood today from Mustangs to Fear in the States and to be honest i'm not sure what i think. The Hood looks great and i realise it is a glass hood and will need some work but for the price of it i thought it would be a better shape.
The rear edge along the wiper cowl isn't straight and the thick edge is angled outwards instead of in so it hits at the base of the cowl leaving a huge gap at the top. I know it can be sorted and i did expect to trim it to fit to a certain extent but after a quick look i was a little disappointing.
The overall look of the hood is great and don't let my personal gripes put you off it is a sturdy well built item

[craigF]

I have chosen the front suspension and i'm going with the Total Cost Involved set up. God i wish the Aussie dollar was stronger.
Time to engage an engineer to ensure i can get the mods certified for Australia.

[craigF]

Well, Saturday saw us remove the roof skin and sail panels off the car completely for the first time and for an old girl she was in reasonable condition. The majority of rust was just a build up of surface rust with the only problem areas being in the lower section of the sail panels. We will cut and patch those sections with new metal. I spent the rest of Saturday doing the donkey work cleaning rust and rubbing back to bare metal with the end result being me looking like i had been down a coal mine.
Once clean we epoxy primed the frame and painted to prevent further corrosion. All the little spots we couldn't get to were coated with a rust converter prior to paint. The end result really has made me pleased we removed the roof.
While i was busy playing in the rust Woody was lining every thing up on the rear end to see how well the new panels fitted. (or didn't)
These new panel really are best just treated like good condition second hand panels that will need some work. They obviously don't have any sort of quality control in Taiwan!!!! Over all with a little tweaking and cutting i think we will get a good looking result. I do have to keep reminding Woody the the car isn't going to be a show car where someone is going to get the Verniers out and measure the gaps it's going to be a car for driving. But i must admit it still needs to look good.
Over all a good days progress.
I'm contemplating putting Dynamat over the roof panel and rear quarter panels before they go back on. What do you guy think. Is Dynamat really worth the price. $200.00 for three square meters.