Rustoration of 1991 FOXBODY Mustang GT as a Cobra Clone

SUCCESS. I used a ratchet strap hooked to the front k-member to roll the axle enough to get the last upper control arm bolt on the drivers side back in an hand tight. Thanks stangnet for that tip. Then I unbolted the passenger lower control arm bolts forward and rear. I had to take the exhaust off the hangers to get to the head of the lower control arm bolt. Then i just stepped on the breaker bar and the nuts broke free. Pried it out with a dead blow and a little pry bar. Now i know it, took me all of 10 minutes. I tried loosening the passenger side upper control arm nut but it wouldn't budge, so i figured Id plug along and see if i couldn't get enough droop to pass the exhaust through over the axel. I really do not want to bleed brakes right now. I wedged a board into the wheel well sitting on top of the brake rotor while stepping on the lugs which i left hand tight on the studs. I wedged scraps of wood between the board and rotor until i had no more downward play in the...

So today I went to finally pull the muffler and tail pipe because with both coil springs out I had another 4 inches of droop where I needed it. I wedged the axel down with a board in the wheel well. I than realized the pipe I am holding, is not the one that is cracked at the flange and I had been working on the wrong side of the car. (Face meet palm) ehhh it's a hobby so I don't mind. I returned the exhaust to its hangers and I put back the drivers side lower control arm (not tight for flex). I got the upper very close to where I need another 1/4 inch of alignment to get the bolt back in. Hopefully I get that back together and then it's 3 bolts to be back on the right side of the project. I am greasing bolt shanks as I go to prolong their life. Some paint action. Since temps at night have been in the 30s I tarped the engine compartment and ran a space heater with my paints inside to warm it all up and cleaned and primed the radiator support, inner aprons and strut towe...

So today I removed the sway bar, drivers side lower control arm, and passenger side coil spring. The control arm was a pita cause I had to move the jack stand out of the way and there was no place except 2 inches of frame I could reach and still have enough clearance to place the jack where it won't destroy the car. Without additional sub frame connectors you are very limited on jack and jack stand placement. I have the jack currently holding the drivers side rear end up, and hopefully 1 more bolt and I will finally have enough clearance to pull the mufiler and tail pipe. I got the 2.5" ball flange for $10 off amazon. I had to search by part number as seen in the image. So far the best way to shop is pull the part number and just search all the usual websites and compare prices and shipping.

I usually try to hang on to old parts until the project is complete. Sometimes I hoard stuff but the new quad shocks I bought, 1 was missing a dust cover ring. While slightly rusty, there is no reason not to harvest the ring from the old shock. I'll give it 2 days in a 50% vinegar bath and paint it but it should work fine. Pulled it from the bath cleaned it with some brake clean and shot it with rustoleum primer. Probably use rattle can epoxy paint next and just install it. I could even just use galanized wire but I'd rather try to keep it original.

So what did you do all day. Fight with a suspension system, how bout you? I removed the drivers side upper control arm to body bolt, both bolts to the drivers side lower control arm and then I realized I have to move the jack stand. Why because it's basically preventing the lower control arm from going any lower. I can't lift from the diff because the drivers side spring and half the suspension system is out and I can't get to the frame rail because the jack stand is in the way never mind my jack being too short since I have been lifting it from the diff. I am sure i can find a sketchy way to fix this but thats when i gave up. Another day I will pull the sway bar bolts and see if I can wiggle out the control arm because then finally I might be able to get that exhaust pipe out. I removed the quad shocks from their brackets by chiseling out their washers and then the remaining rubber bushings which were completely disinterested. I also removed the studs from both quad sh...

Grabbed some new suspension parts specifically to replace the really rotten quad shocks. I will clean up the brackets and the bolts I am replacing the studs with, will get welded to the brackets and will need the heads ground back to sit flush on the frame. I found the quad shocks by searching by part number on a few different sites. They are listed as steering dampers and are less then half the price of what quad shocks go for. I am finding some brick and mortar stores are running a but cheaper than online retailers for oe style car parts.

Man that was a fight. I spent 3 garage trips trying to beat this one shock. Like a boss in a video game. So it ended with the bushing sleeve was rusted to the bolt. I finally broke the threads loose after hitting it with a map gas torch 2 times and cooling it with water. That speak the shock mount the width of the bolt and still did not break the sleeve loose. So I cut the head of the shock off and cut the sleeve before chiseling it off the bolt. Now I can get back to the whole point of this which was to remove the exhaust.

Today had some success and some failures. I continued plastic wrapping for paint. I removed the rear shocks and the passenger side quad shock. The drivers side quad shock is in bad shape. I sheared the mount bolt at the nut, and the axel mount bolt is frozen. Even after pb blaster and a breaker bar no luck. I'll try some heat tomorrow. The point of all this is to drop the drivers side exhaust pipe and repair the flange. I slid the tail pipe off of the hanger so it's only one more by the muffler and I should be able to snake it out. On a sad note my bother-in-law has decided he wants to sell his mustang.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-Ford-Mustang-Deluxe-/123962162157