August-25-08

Floors nearing completion.

Posted by Jason under 66 Coupe

The drivers side rear torque box was replaced the weekend before last.  I fit and cut the replacment floor pan and dropped it in this past weekend.  It was much easier to do than the passenger side for no other reason than experience.  I learned before that clecos are my best tool for holding the sheetmetal where I need to be be.  Clamps are good but just dont work in every situation.    I cut a bit too much metal out of the tranmission tunnel from the seat support pan and the transmission crossmember.  The gap is just a bit too wide to weld alone. 

I’ll deal with the gap by placing a small piece of copper sheeting behind the gap and weld it closed. The weld will not stick to the copper.  This will allow me to support the weld pool and bridge a larger gap between the sheetmetal pieces.  Otherwise, without the copper,  the weld pool would eventually drip on the floor and I’d just have a big mess and a larger gap to repair.  I used a 2″ copper pipe, cut it down one side and hammered it flat because copper sheeting isn’t exactly sold at Home Depot and is expensive where it is sold.

 

 

July-30-08

Dynacorn Cowl Replacement Installed

Posted by Jason under 66 Coupe
I’ve completed the replacement of the cowl.  I originally used the patch panels that have been available for quite some time to repair the ends of the cowl assembly but I was never pleased with the work.  Additionally I still had rust problems in the top half.  When the Dynacorn replacement for the 64-66 mustangs became available I bought it.  I cut out the old patched bottom and installed the new replacement.

Halves interior painted and welded together.

Cowl assembly welded into place. The hole and vent have been masked off to prevent metal debris from grinding from settling inside and rusting.

July-29-08

Driver Side Inner Rocker Panel Patch

Posted by Jason under 66 Coupe

Here I’ve cut a large section of rust out of the inner rocker panel.  This repair is pretty simple.  Drill out the spot welds, use the cut off wheel to cut the metal and the replacement metal is flat and recangular.  It’s doesn’t gett any easier to fabricate a replacement patch.  All I have to do it get the dimensions right and drill a hole for the courtesy light harness.  My car didn’t have the lights, but I think I will install them when the time comes.

Here’s the panel with the patch welded into place and the welds ground down smooth.

July-25-08

Dash Rust Under the Glove Box

Posted by Jason under 66 Coupe

This is the area of the dash below the glove box.  It’s riddled with rust holes and where there is metal its paper thin.  There’s no patch panel for this area so I have to fabricate the replacement or find a donor.

I ended up cutting out all of the metal from the bottom of the glove box door down to the very bottom. Additionally from the ash tray to the passenger door.  I rolled a piece of sheet metal over a 2″ PVC pipe until I got the shape I needed and welded in the patch I made. After a ton of ginding, welding, griding welds, and re welding I finally got the lines right, the pin holes filled and it looks pretty good. 

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June-21-08

Engine Bay CleanUp

Posted by Jason under 66 Coupe

Engine Bay CleanUp

While working on the floors and floor support rails I had the opportunity to borrow my bosses enigne hoist.  I pulled the greasy old 289 out and began cleaning up the engine bay.  There must have been 7-8 layers of paint.  What a mess!  

I used a power washer to take off the top layer.  I’m guessing it was a spray can paint that was put on with no prep work.  It just came off washing the bay to get rid of dirt and grease.   After that I used a chemical stripper to get the hard to reach areas and everywhere else I removed paint using a wire wheel and my angle grinder with 3 inch Roloc disks.