My First Ever Project Build.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Very nice progress! Good work!

[craigF]

Thanks Josh.
I the IFS from total cost involved came with ridetech shocks and I must say they look very impressive. Haven't driven on them yet but still. Even thought about changing the rear shocks in the Chassis Works rear suspension for ridetech shocks to keep a matching set but I may be getting just a little to anal.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Thanks Josh.
I the IFS from total cost involved came with ridetech shocks and I must say they look very impressive. Haven't driven on them yet but still. Even thought about changing the rear shocks in the Chassis Works rear suspension for ridetech shocks to keep a matching set but I may be getting just a little to anal.

Thanks! I think you'll be very pleased with them. I don't blame you for wanting a matching set (I'm the same way). If you drive on it with the current setup and then decide to change to our rear shocks later on, I'm confident that you'll see a nice change. Let me know if I can help you at all!

[I_make_oil]

You will be very happy you killed all the rust.

[I_make_oil]

Nice build. Subscribed.

[mert.celet]

I hope someday i can save my Firebird from rust just like you did. I have built a crazy suspension with a crazy LS engine but honestly the body is falling a part that it's almost undriveable. I hope my funds can recover next year to do that. By no means i'm a fan of body shop and paint jail but i have to prepare myself for losing the car for 2 years i guess...

[craigF]

Probably should ask this on the Wheels and Tires forum but does anybody know where i can get a set of Nitto Tires shipped to Australia as they don't bring them down here anymore. It's getting harder to find a good 17'' tire but i love the look.
I am after 2 x 315-35-ZR17 and 2 x 245-45-ZR17 in the NT555 G2 for my build.

[craigF]

Well thought i'd give a quick update on my project. Spent the weekend going over what we have achieved over the last 12 months and have come to the conclusion that there is still bloody loads to do.
Even though we felt a little uplifted when the car started to actually look like a car again after such a long time, the panels will take so much work before we finally spot weld them into place for the last time. The quality of aftermarket panels, no matter what brand you buy, is shocking to the point that i think trading standards should be informed as i am sure some of these are not even Mustang parts at all!!!
The door gaps are going to take some working just to get a sharp edge before we even look at the width.
I made a mistake very early on in the build of assuming that the old panels were so far gone that it would be better to get new. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Stick with as much old steel as possible.

I know we will get there and i have now intention of making a show car but it still needs to look nice and the hours spent un-picking welds and stretching panels just so we can use as little bog as possible is so depressing it really does dis-hearten you.

On a brighter note, does anybody have any OE fenders they would like to off load to Australia for a 67 Mustang? I have the remains of an original fender and when i compare it to the new fenders they are like chalk and cheese.

[craigF]

O.K.
Managed to get some time in the garage this weekend and we plan on starting to finish and gap from the rear end forward. We had tacked the qtrs in place and decided to get the qtr extensions and boot lid in place and correctly gapped. The original extensions had been hit and were pretty bashed up so a new set of Dynacorn parts got purchased. The overall finish on the parts is really good but the shape of the rear qtrs was something to be desired. After a good day of reshaping and beating we have finally got them looking really close and final file should see a good result. As i said previously, anyone starting a build like this in the future needs to use as much original steel as possible!!!

[craigF]

The rear end is really coming along now and after my previous rant about after market parts i am actually quite pleased with the results.
I still believe that if it can be saved then save it but with a lot of time and patience then a reasonable result can be achieved.
Still a little undecided about the final look of the back but i am leaning towards the tightened up bumper look that has become popular with a lot of restomods. here is a quick picture of where we left it today. A little more filing and tapping then we should achieve a nice result with minimal bog and filler.

[craigF]

Had a meeting with a vehicle engineer today at the cost of mere millions per hour. These guy are the one who will issue a Mod plate in Australia to enable me to get my car certified with will allow me to register it for road use in Queensland.
He was all smiles with everything we are doing and the plans for driveline, suspension, and engine but then we got to the wheel and tyre size. It seems that a 325 rear tyre is a big no as far as Qld transport is concerned an side pipes are ok as long as they come out of the right side only and not on the foot path side.
The side pipe was only a fleeting thought but i really liked the idea of a 315 or 325 rear tyre. It seems the ruling is that you are allowed to increase the width of a tyre on any model from the 67 year by 1.3 to get your maximum increase allowed.
After a little research i found out that the GT model ran an F70 rear tyre that translates to a modern size of 225. 225 X 1.3 equals 292.5. I may be able to go for a 295 or 285 rear which is still a reasonable size

[craigF]

Thats about it for now. Next week we hope to finish the rear quarter extensions and then we are taking it on a road trip to work for all the spot welds to be done. Progress!!!

[wfo guy]

Rules, rules, rules! Better to do it right the first time. I'm curious what caused some of those rules to be in effect?

[craigF]

Not sure where all the rules came from. I think it was a government initiative to cut down on deaths on the roads of young drivers. What i don't understand is how we have no checks on cars that are already on the road clearly in an un-roadworthy state but once registered they are no longer required to be checked. Once I have the mod plate and the car is registered i can run what i like within reason without attracting to much unwanted attention from the authorities.

Some of the cars out on our streets are so dangerous they are just death traps. I run a large panel shop and some of the sites we see in here make your eyes fall out.

[craigF]

The Weekend has been spent filing and poor old Woody,s arms a re worn out. It,s a task that is becoming less and less popular with people preferring to lay on the filler and sand it back. I now know why after watching Woody sweat. Hopefully the labor will be worth it.
I would normally post a few pictures but there seems to be a problem uploading them. Keep getting a fatal error?

I'll try and post a couple later.

[craigF]

Just a quick post to show the powder coated control arms. I think they have come up great.
Will post some progress pictures if this uploads o.k.

[craigF]

O.K The last post seemed to upload the pictures nicely.
In my last update
we had spent the weekend filing. We are still going and are up to getting the door gaps. This really is a slow build with the lack of time we both have and the lack of disposable funds available but I am aiming to do it right first time so sometimes it means waiting for the funding.
I have finally ordered the rear suspension and decided to go with the Chassisworks G-Link rear. The splined sway bar arrived during the week and the quality of the product is exceptional. I hope the rest of the rear end is the same.

[craigF]

Here are some progress photos of the door gaps coming along.
We are working our way from the rear to the front because the front fenders are such a bad fit I really am not sure what to do with them. We are considering carrying the lower rocker panel all the way along and chopping the fender off at the bottom. Ring Brothers did a great example of this in one of their builds but i am not sure if it will fix my bad fit problem due to cheap reproduction parts.
Does anyone have any good front fenders they want to part with!!!

[craigF]

Woody working away. I'm sure we should be in the pub by now!!!

[craigF]

Rear suspension is on it's way, wheels being ordered Monday from Boze. Axle to be made to fit when rims arrive. Will keep you posted.
Bye for now.