Rustoration of 1991 FOXBODY Mustang GT as a Cobra Clone

So I went to install the new remanufactured steering rack and it's already damaged. I left it on top of the box because I set it up to the old racks dimensions and greased the end links and organized the bushings and hardware. I remember at one point tripping over it and I guess I damaged it. The nipple that let's pressure move from one side it the rack to the other is torn from the rack bellows at the base. $10 and I will have a replacement coming from rockauto. Basically same price on amazon. The rockauto one shows steel zip ties.

 This is after the first coat of gloss enamel before i did the wheel well and outer aprons.

So after sleeping on the problem of the seam sealer tube that won't flow, I came up with 2 ideas. Of course I covered the tip in plastic and electrical taped it to hopefully keep it viable. First idea, I may not have heated it enough with the hot water. This time I stuck it on top of my boiler which is about 90 degrees ambient temperature an hour beforehand. The second idea is to use a bolo tie down and twist it around the caulk gun grips and then use a stick to twist it tighter instead of using all the strength in my hands. I am going to vacuum and clean the engine bay of dust and heat with a space heater while I continue seam sealing because I'd like to get the top coat done. Its the end of the day and it has been a long one. So heating up the seam sealer in the 90 degree territory made it just passable to finish everything. 1 tube really went far. All the seams, all the spotwelds, the main pinch weld underneath on both sides inside the front torque box and all the litt...

Last week I used the short stand fiberglass filler on the underside of the floor pans around welds and seams. I ended up ordering a good full face respirator after I found out how bad the fiberglass is to breath and how easy it gets in your eyes. I tried a few tools to sand back the filler. A oscillating multi tool with a triangle sanding pad, a rotary multi tool with a 2 inch roloc sanding disc, and an angle grinder with a flap disc. I did the majority with the angle grinder and the rest with the rotary tool. Very messy job. Then I had to vacuum the floor and used a brush tool to vacuum the floorpan underside and inside the car. I reprimered/sealed the underside of the pans. After a vacuum and acetone wipe of the seams I started using the seam sealer on the inside of the floorpan. I think I got a defective product because even after punching a massive hole in the caulk tube seal and opening the application tip to a quarter inch it took all my strength to just get a little bead. It...

So I decided to use short strand fiberglass filler on the weld sites and some of the seams. I started with the underside since that's what needs to get done to reassemble everything.  I have to say the 3m short strand glass filler is pretty good stuff. Easy to work with goes on smooth, reacts timely with the hardener. I wanted to work on my wax paper palette but could not find it. It would have made mixing easier. Paint sticks did the job but not as fast so may first batch was harder then I'd like when I finished. Also cutting down a large paddle helped. I did however create a small problem for myself. I expected to sand it and I did not take into account the saftey precautions needed to sand this material while laying on my back. Respirator and saftey glasses just won't cut the mustard as they say. I wanted a new respirator but I am forced into buying a full face mask to get the job done. The use of SEM Seam sealer, which u already have around would have had me a 1 and d...

I took a break from the fox to work on the daily 98 mustang v6. It's had the eibach pro kit on it for 3 years and rides pretty nice.  Also a new set of tires the last 3k miles, so I wanted to get the caster camber plates on before I put more miles and wear the inside of the tires. A cheap set of caster camber plates came up on amazon for $50 shipped so I grabbed them. Yes, China quality parts and they certainly needed modification during the install. After figuring out the problem, it was an easy fix. The captured nut on the lower plate was not welded flush. To remedy i cut the spot weld on 1 side of the nut and squeezed it flat in the vice. I had to tap the nut to clean up the threads. There was some light rust under the oe stock plate but some acid and a scrub with a wire brush took care of that. A hit of vht epoxy chassis paint to seal it and all done. While I was in the wheel well I spotted some rust. No holes yet, but I will need to remediate it before it get...

The rear suspension is back together and under load. Next I need to torque all to spec although some may be outside is my current torque wrench range. I have new rotors and pads and the correct lines to return the ebrake to service but all that needs to wait on fiberglass filler and paint. I should also change the shocks but they are functional for now. Tomorrow the weather is in the 508 and I will do caster camber plates, strut bumpstops and dust boots with my 7 year old. He is helping more with everything these days.

It was a big fight to get that last bolt into the lower control arm. Hammered, ratchet strap, pry bar, large punch. Finally I got the bolt started and turned it a quarter turn at a time with an open end wrench until I could get a ratchet in. Then 2 finger cramping hours later I had victory. I used the wax on the control arm buy it could be better. If I had a heat gun I'd be happy but I tried scrapping it on with a cedar shim, rubbing it on with gloved hands and heating it in a bowl with a torch.  The torch and brush was the best but I really needed a hot plate and heat gun to do it right. Then I put the new poly isolators and springs in. You can sort a see the control arm with the yellow wax on it. I may heat it and brush it thin at a later time.

I started reinstalling the rear suspension.  I had to run a tap into all the quad shock mount holes and the lower quad shock axel mount. I knocked the drivers side lower control arm onto the axel but then had to move the jack stand cause it was in the way. I am only finger tightening everything until I can put the suspension parts under load. When I torque it all down it won't bind and tear up the bushings. On the passenger side I will use a wax ring to coat the control arm because I'd really like to test that old school method of rust prevention, "wax over the paint" and I know I can pick up a new set of lower control arms for under $100 in the future.

Did a ton of painting today. I cleaned the k-member and sprayed the areas where the paint was thin. I cleaned the passenger side apron, frame rail and sprayed the front two feet to the rad support. The drivers side got two coats from the door over to the rad support. The picture is blurry cause my phone was low on battery and no flash. These are the rear lower control arms and upper quad shock mounts dried and ready for top coat. And finally some top coat! Tomorrow with any lucky I can have the enginebay top coated. 

I have been interested in attempting  electrolysis for some time, but all the battery chargers I own are the kind that see if a battery is attached and would not work as a "dumb power supply." I recently saw a video where a guy uses an old laptop charger for electrolysis. I won't speak to his wiring skills because he only twisted and used heat shrink instead of solder or a proper connector, but the idea is what caught my attention. I have a few DC wall plugs that should work well. The reason I want to try it, is it lowers the process time to a few hours rather then days or weeks in the vinegar. So I'd be able to go from rust to primer in a day.

I did some more painting in the engine bay. Gave a quick clean with acetone and warmed it up with the space heater. I will have to do a serious cleaning on the k-member but it's ready for top coat so I can finally put the rack and engine and transmission back. I also stuck the wheels the front so I can use the jack stands to do caster camber plates and strut bump stops on the daily. I also ordered a pigtail for the cooling fan cause it crumbled a few years ago. Ford used the same pigtail on the Taurus, Sable, and the Mustang cooling fan. I was able to pick out the correct one from amazon images even though it says it doesn't fit. 

So it's been about 3 weeks and I finally got tired of tripping over the 2x3 plastic drawer I used for the lower control arm vinegar bath. I took them out and washed them with hot water, a brillow pad and dried with paper towels. Honestly I think the soap and heat helps reduce flash rust. Next I stripped off all the remaining paint. Some I did with a knotted cup brush and some I opted to razor blade off. When I run a grinder I get headaches from the dust and a respirator is the only way around that. So it's a battle of wearing eye, ear protection and a hat with the respirator. If its nice id rather do it out doors. A quick wipe with brake clean and a scrape with a sharp chisel to get the last heavy rust flakes in the spring cup off. I sprayed it down with phosphoric acid and used a 2 inch steel brush to agitate and get into the corners. This really kills the flash rust and etches any of the metal that was under the paint and not exposed the the vinegar. Another hit of ...