Rustoration of 1991 FOXBODY Mustang GT as a Cobra Clone

I finished my wire tuck and have all the main harness hung up out of the way.  I used fir tree zip ties to hang the harness under the pinch weld.  The firewall looks good. I'll finish up the cowl work and put the hinge and cowl grill back. Tucked and tied the wires up to the upper frame rail.  Attached the power bus and made a good ground behind the corner of the ignition solenoid. Used dialectric grease to protect the steel and repaired a few grounds.  The passager side. I also mounted the motor mounts because it's almost time to dress the back of the engine.

I have been cleaning the block for 3 days now and had to pull the trigger on paint. I want to put it all back together so bad. Its not a perfect cleaning job because the fumes get to be to much and get into the house. Think I was a little brake clean drunk the other day. Now I am rolling the full face respirator.  This lighting was a pain, I really need to bring out the tripod for the hanging light. I chipped away any scale around the freeze plugs and at the base of the transmission flare. I could have done more but I keep telling myself this is still only a driver.  The exhaust ports are mostly clear of paint but I will go back and razor clean the edges. Now i just have to find some of the larger pieces like the upper intake gasket, fuel rail, new spark plugs and wires. They are in a tub somewhere. I may scuff and clear the balancer since it's a little rusty. 

I started the dirty job of cleaning the block. I stripped paint from the passenger side with a roloc scuff pad and 3 inch sanding disc.  I cleaned it with brake clean and sprayed it down with the phosphoric acid etch I have been using. Then cleaned it again with brake clean and a rag to stop the acid.   Id like to remove more paint near the spark plug holes, but it should be ok as long as it is clean and not flaky. I also started cleaning the upper intake. I removed the tape and shoved pieces of rag into the holes so I have more access. Thanks to an episode of engine power where they cleaned a super dirty ford 390 fe from a dump truck, I learned a trick, to use a shopvac and those tiny wire brushes at the same time and it wasn't as difficult or messy or harsh to the lungs as the wet chemical method.  A brass bristle hand brush did all this. While not perfect, it is hidden below the upper intake. I really want to clean the injector ports because th...

Giving the transmission a bath. It was a greasey mess because of the oil pan gasket and the broken dip stick. I spent 3 hours scrubbing with industrial degreaser, oven cleaner and brake clean with many brushes and rags.  Look what was hiding under the grease on the shifter. I would have sworn it was a knock-off.  The end product isn't spotless but it won't dirty your hands.  Also the upper intake met the garden hose and some scuff pads. It has some failing paint and some red overspray on the back.  I recieved my replacement t5 block plate. As you can see it was needed. Thanks ebay. More wax ring experiments. I am in the process of cleaning the inside cowl area on the passenger side. I think I am just going to brush it with a wire brush and get it clean with acetone and use wax ring to slow the rust and seal the metal.   I have an old hitch riser that's pretty rusty so I scuffed it with a sanding disc and rubbed a coat of wax on. ...

I just ordered a some of the last items for the project. New  aluminum blockplate  cause the old one has a chunk missing ebay $43 shipped loctite roofing cement for the metal floor pan plugs amazon prime $7 shipped KBS dark ford blue engine enamel  amazon prime $26 shipped Nice weather will be here this weekend, so i hope to get some time to clean the transmission and the intake and finish cleaning the engine block for paint. Transmission will go into a plastic wheel barrow and get scraped, de-greased and scrubbed. Intake will make friends with the garden hose. The bell housing will probably just get a once over and a clear sealer to help keep the dirt out. The engine needs some time with the 3 inch scuff pads.

It's always the little details that go the slowest. Basically I am hanging all the accessories near the motor so I can drape the harnesses while I'm finalizing the wiring.   The charcoal canister isn't super important but it get the hose out of my way.  The wiper motor body turned out good and the hood hinges went on to although I am missing a u clip and the bolts seem a odd size. I order a few different sizes and I may tap it to the right size.  Bit of a rats nest but I will get it sorted and neat. I hate that everything hangs off the ignition solenoid so I added a marine bus bar to the left and that's where the 0 gauge wire from the battery goes for now. I need to make up a 4 gauge jumper wire to the left post. I installed the plastic floor pan plugs with some black silicone. Placed the interior harness roughly where it lives. I need to redo some grounds and wrap it up a little better. Part of me really wants to rewrap the whole thing but I think i...

Cleaned and installed the power steering cooler. Drilled some holes and mounted the ignition solenoid on the drivers side upper frame rail.  I finished scrapping the wiper motor and hit it with the acid and then cleaned it and painted it. Probably the fastest way without a blast cabinet to go from rust to paint. I do not know the durability of the process but redoing it would be a simple process since it's right on the firewall. After its dry the whole cowl can go back together.