Smoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em

A Photo Journal of a Restoration - Start to Finish

2007-11-19T22:07:00.001-05:00

This is a complete photo journal of the ground up restoration of my '65 Fastback which took place in '04 and '05. From start to finish it took just 9 months, and we're not professionals at this. I've owned the car since 1980, and since I was a gearhead in HS, refer to it as my HS Sweetheart. A friend of mine did all the body work and paint, while I did the undercarriage, rear end, and reassembly.

The 1st 17 weeks are on Blogger, and pictures for weeks 18 - 26 are on Photobucket, along with some pics of the finsihed product at Watkins Glen!

Make sure you start at Week 0 on Blogger, and click here for the continuation on Photobucket.

Week 17 :: Part 3

2007-11-10T21:45:00.001-05:00

Week 17 :: Part 2

2007-11-10T21:43:00.000-05:00

Finished trunk... Prepping the car for the enamel.

Week 17 :: Part 1

2007-11-10T21:41:00.001-05:00

Spraying Wimbledon White enamel on the innder fenders, engine compartment, and interior!

Week 16 :: Part 4

2007-11-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

Really starting to look like a car again!

Week 16 :: Part 3

2007-11-10T21:38:00.001-05:00

Blocking the car...

Week 16 :: Part 2

2007-11-10T21:35:00.001-05:00

More work on the fenders... Filled in the front bumper mount holes, the side emblem holes, and also the hole for the antenna on the PS Fender. Fresh coat of primer... and on the shock towers too!

Week 16 :: Part 1

2007-11-10T21:32:00.001-05:00

Gonna remove the original shock tower braces- going to be installing an export brace in its place. Popped the brace off - just need to grind down the spot welds Another look at the PS side with the brace removed. All ground down and ready for primer PS too!

Week 15 :: Part 5

2007-11-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

Even the inside of the fenders were stripped and primed. This is the PS Fender. Ready to shoot some paint? The Drivers Side (DS) Fender Insde the DS fender a Look at under the front end of the car.

Week 15 :: Part 4

2007-11-10T20:49:00.001-05:00

Shot of the front car with the inner fenders painted... DS inner fender painted with the high build epoxy. DS fender - ready for blocking Patched area - looks good!

Week 15 :: Part 3

2007-11-10T20:43:00.000-05:00

Lower portion of the front fender needed repair - we put a small patch in... Checking the fit... DS inner fnder stripped... Stripping off the undercoating was actually quite easy - just needed a hand held propane torch and a scraper.

Week 15 :: Part 2

2007-11-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

Leah shooting some primer Front fender hung in preparation for blocking... Inner fender stripped, and first coat of high build epoxy applied. A little overspray, but it'll clean up...

Week 15 :: Part 1

2007-11-10T18:35:00.000-05:00

Fresh coat of primer, ready for blocking...

Week 14 :: Part 3

2007-11-10T10:35:00.001-05:00

Front Suspension GONE! Blocking the doors... Filler applied to the hood scoop

Week 14 :: Part 2

2007-11-10T10:23:00.001-05:00

Overview of the progress- time to move on to the front side of the car.

Man - that's ugly! We're gonna need to remove the front suspension and get busy here next.

Steering linkage and sway bar - Gone!

Here's my newly rebuilt C4 - complete with Ford Blue metalic powder coating!

Wow - that's one good looking trans!

Hmm. Profile shot of the rearend - definately going to have to be lowered if that doesn't go done any

Final shot of primer on the doors.

Guess I got luck in that the doors were really in pretty good shape. They didn't need to be reskinned.

Next up - Stripping the undcoating off the front inner fenders.

Week 14 :: Part 1

2007-11-10T00:01:00.000-05:00

Wow - now we're making progress! This is the first parts to actually go back on the car! PS Leaf spring. The two tabs below the shock plate are mounts for the underride traction bars. DS Leaf spring New rear shacles - the leafs are new as well. Wow - them new leafs re stiff! Although there's not much wesight on the car, ride height may have to be lowered. Repair work on the bottom of the doors... Shelby Scoop epoxied to the hood. Another vie of the scoop clamped after being epoxied. Decklid, front and rear valances Reair work on the door One door done - ready for paint!

Week 13 :: Part 3

2007-10-26T16:45:00.000-04:00

Stack of new parts, including a complete fastener set for the body and the interior. Interior parts cleaned and repainted with the correct blue lacquer. More parts cleaned and painted, ready to be installed. refinishing of the interior sail panels Each of the fins were painted by hand with black touch up paint, since the face of the vents are chrome. The working part of the vents were disassembled and painted with black enamel.

Week 13 :: Part 2

2007-10-26T16:40:00.001-04:00

Rear end will be transported to where the car is at, and installed. New leaf springs given a coat of black epoxy as well. New 3/4" rear sway bar. Not part of the original car, but I wanted it for added stability. Box full of sandblasted and painted parts waiting to be installed My painting station in the basement. New gas tank given a nice coat of high build Chassis Saver as well. Another shot of the gas tank. Yeah, that's a slot car track that never got finished.

Week 13 :: Part 1

2007-10-26T16:36:00.000-04:00

Declid stripped and cancer repaired. Under the hood stripped... After the door was stripped, some pinhole rust spots were noticed. These will be filled in with weld. Deck lid primed with epoxy primer... ... and the hood as well.

Week 12 :: Part 3

2007-10-26T16:33:00.000-04:00

Doors are in pretty good shape... Some surface rust from sitting around after being stripped - no big deal to remove. Little bit of cancer in the lower front of the PS door, easily fixed with some sheetmetal.

Week 12 :: Part 2

2007-10-26T16:30:00.001-04:00

Before and after the chassis saver... Back of the car looks like new! Moving onto the hood. The GT350 scoop will be fuctional. And the doors - stripped. and the jambs too!

Week 12 :: Part 1

2007-10-26T16:27:00.001-04:00

Finishing up the quarters with some filler. For repro quarters I think the fits was really good. PS Door jambfinish work Rockers were in good shape, so they're the originals. Just needed some finsih work Ahhh. The undercarriage painted with high build black chassis saver epoxy.

Week 11 :: Part 1

2007-10-26T16:24:00.000-04:00

PS Quarter glued in place with structural epoxy... .. and the DS quarter in place as well. Roof primed and straightened. Time to move onto the decklid and doors. Paint stripped and cancer is next to be repaired.

Week 10 :: Part 1

2007-10-26T16:22:00.001-04:00

Once the quarter were fit up, there were removed and the entire area epoxy primed. When the quarters are installed, the back end of the car will be complete! Skins primed and ready to be installed... Everything gets a nice coat of epoxy primer.

Week 9 :: Part 1

2007-10-26T16:18:00.001-04:00

New PS quarter tacked in place! A helper hard at work... she's not afraid to get down and dirty! DS quarter tacked in place. The quarters will actually be epoxied, rather than welded.

Week 8 :: Part 3

2007-10-26T16:14:00.000-04:00

Finihsing up the install with brackets on the DS... and on the PS. Now that the framerails are in time for some exciting stuff... Look ma - a see through Mustang! The quarters on both sides have been removed. A lip was left around the top and door jamb, so that the new quarters can be attached. Pretty scary!

Week 8 :: Part 2

2007-10-26T16:11:00.001-04:00

Antoerh shot of the rear tank support and PS frame rail. The frame rail looking from underside. and from the rear. New lower inner quarters installed too! PS framerail and lower inner quarter.

Week 8 :: Part 1

2007-10-26T16:07:00.001-04:00

Cancer infested rear frame rail removed on the PS... ... and on the DS as well. Basically nothingholding the rear of the car but the quarters. New rear frame rale and trunk floor tacked in place on the DS... ... and the PS. Also figured we may as well replace the rear tank support as well.

Week 7 :: Part 2

2007-10-24T19:19:00.001-04:00

More progress. Doghouse has a coat of epoxy primer! As does the firewall... and the DS as well. Door jambs stripped, and ready to start tearing off the quarter.

Week 7 :: Part 1

2007-10-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

Roof and rear deck area stripped. Here's the surprise in the trunk. More cancer. Roof had been walked on when I bought the car, and had a significant amount of filler. It's gone now. Looking good Billy Ray! Believe it or not, this area had a rust hole. Water would just sit in this swale. it's patched now.

Week 6 :: Part 3

2007-10-24T19:12:00.001-04:00

Third member in the housing, axles installed, and ready to go back in the car! Backing plates installed. New bearings will be going in, and they're already on the axle. Use copper washers on the 3rd member... The finshed product!

Week 6 :: Part 2

2007-10-24T19:09:00.001-04:00

A fresh coat of paint on the housing and pinion so that the bolts don't rust. Ring gear installed. Actually the whole rebuild went good - just needed some mechanics blue for the mesh pattern. Ready to go into the housing!

Week 6 :: Part 1

2007-10-24T19:04:00.001-04:00

New third member with a fresh coat of paint. Ready to begin installing the 4:11's The fixture to hold the thrid member is actually for transmissions, but it worked well. Pinion assembled. Took two crush collars to get the right loading, but I had one extra so it wasn't a big deal. Needed a big torque wrench though. All the parts of the pinion ready to be assembled. Pinion installed in the housing.

Week 5 :: Part 4

2007-10-24T19:00:00.000-04:00

Some more handiwork in the trans tunnel - wire wheeled and ready for paint. Cowl stripped. Can still see the original blue from the stripes inside there... Doghouse is ready for primer Rear end housing and parts coated with two coats of high build Chassis Saver epoxy.

Week 5 :: Part 3

2007-10-24T18:56:00.000-04:00

Firewall stripped. Pretty solid, and was lucky not to have any cowl damage. PS inner fender stripped. Inside of the core support has not paint either! More stripping... Gotta get rid of the front steering members and sway bar...

Week 5 :: Part 2

2007-10-24T18:53:00.000-04:00

More pics of the newly finsihed floor. When we move into the trunck we're gonna find more cancer. DS doghouse stripped of paint. Radiator support shows the VIN written on it, using a grease pencil. It's still visible even after the paint was stripped. Another shot of the VIN on the core support.

Week 5 :: Part 1

2007-10-24T18:40:00.001-04:00

Got the third member out of the housing - time to start with the scotchbrite pad on the Right Angle die grinder Viola! All the rust is gone, and we're ready for the high build Chassis Saver paint. Floor with a fresh coat of poly primer. Another shot of the floor. Looking Good!! Wow - this is the first sign of progress - paint going on the car, albeit primer.

Week 4 :: Part 4

2007-10-24T18:37:00.001-04:00

Nice rear end! The q-panels will be cut at out some point - wait toll you see that! Back to the floor - replaced the rear floor on the PS as well. Both of these areas were gone. Patch panel in - the Passenger compartment floor is done!

Week 4 :: Part 3

2007-10-24T18:34:00.001-04:00

Bought new leaf springs, so these will be going to the dump. The PS rear inner fender need to be patched as well. The place where the rear end would normally be - gotta get a wire wheel in there and get rid of that rust. All-in-all, not too bad back under here - Typical 3rd member leakage...

Week 4 :: Part 2

2007-10-24T18:28:00.000-04:00

Time to move into the doghouse, and remove everything that can be removed. Heater blower motor and the entire plenum are out of the car. Pretty much everything has been removed from the DS inner fender. I'll be removing the mount for the bolt in brace, since I'm going with a monte bar. PS has everything removed as well. Yanked to 8" rear out, and will be going through that. Time for some 4:11's

Week 4 :: Part 1

2007-10-24T18:23:00.000-04:00

Repair of the DS inner fender Repairing the DS rear floor. ordered a patch panel for this section which includes the pass thru for the e-brake cable. Patch panel tacked in. The crazy hump thru the middle is the e-brake passage. Another section of the floor repaired. Decided to get inner fender replacements as well. Here's a shot of the PS going in.

Week 3 :: Part 3

2007-09-06T21:16:00.001-04:00

Some of my Handiwork - wire wheeling the underside... This is as good as it gets. Even though the surface has some rust left - that's a perfect surface for the Chassis Saver Hi-Build Gloss black paint to adhere to. Another shot of the foot wells... Tranny tunnel and cross member - this actually went down to bare metal, since it was a traditionally oily area. Another shott looking down the trans tunnel. The fuels and brake lines will be removed shortly, and replace with new units.

Week 3 :: Part 2

2007-09-06T21:10:00.001-04:00

A section of the rear floor tacked in place. Another shot of the DS floor - welded in. DS Floor... Passenger side rear foot well. A patch is going in here. Out with the old...

Week 3 :: Part 1

2007-09-06T19:26:00.000-04:00

Another home made patch, but we'll decide later that we're better off replacing the whole shooting match. Note the spare tire hold down - this is a mark of a very early fastback. It's a carry over from the 64 1/2. Another shot of the patch... Dr. Dave welding in a purchased patch panel for the floor. Another rough spot - this time in the battery area. Leaky battery caused this issue some years ago. Drivers side patch panels in place!

Week 2 :: Part 2

2007-09-06T19:02:00.000-04:00

Yousa - that's a big hole... More paint stripped... The original VIN tag. Need to keep this.

Week 2 :: Part 1

2007-09-06T18:59:00.000-04:00

Another shot of the PS frame rail with a home made patch. Floor stripped of paint... Cancer trimmed out - ready for patch panel. Oooh - more ungly rust. Where it's clean, its real clean. But then there's the rust.

Week 1 :: Part 2

2007-09-06T18:55:00.000-04:00

OK - last assembly pic - Let the disassembly begin! Fenders and front end removed. Doors are gone, as is the windshield My job - cleaning all the old undercoating off and painting. Tank removed, and rear frame rail area sand blasted. Not looking good, this will be replaced.

Week 1 :: Part 1

2007-09-06T18:50:00.000-04:00

Pictures over where things go, and how they're assembled, before the rest of the disassembly begins. Rear fold down seat latch. These will prove to come in handy when the car is being put back together. Interior mounting pads... ...More... and more...

Week 0 :: Part 5

2007-09-06T18:42:00.000-04:00

Different view of the DS rear floor once again. Motor out of the car. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it yet. A big pile 'O parts - and that's not even 1/2 of them... Loaded up and ready to head over to Daves.

Week 0 :: Part 4

2007-09-06T18:37:00.000-04:00

Another wheel well with rust this time on the DS. Man - that tank looks bad. It actually has a small pin hole on the top, because when I used to fill it up, I could smell the gas fumes inside the car. Another shot of the DS rust... ... and the back seat area.

Week 0 :: Part 3

2007-09-06T18:32:00.001-04:00

With front section of carpet removed, more cancer shows. Mainly on the drivers side. Another view of the PS rear rust. All-in-all - not too bad. At least the whole floor doesn't have to be replaced. The worst section - under the drivers left foot. Wheel wells with holes in them...

Week 0 :: Part 2

2007-09-06T18:19:00.001-04:00

A wide shot of the rear seat area - lotsa rust. Rear bumber and tail lights removed - still have my Indy place with the year of the car. In Indiana, you could request this number for free. Passenger side frame rail - not too good of shape... ... same with the drivers side. New tank is in order as well - lotsa rust in there!

Week 0 :: Part 1

2007-09-06T18:13:00.000-04:00

The car has finally been moved off of it's Jackstands, where it has sat for the past 12 years. Wheel dollies make moving the car around much easier... At one point, I started to work on the drivers side fender. Actually, I think it was a quick rust repair, where some of the paint had been peeling. Motor and trans pulled - looks like a mess. Pulling up the carpet shows the cancer.

My new location

2007-09-06T16:26:00.001-04:00

Welcome to my new webspace. With all of the hastle of MS Frontpage, and running/updating a Frontpage website, I've decided to turn to Blogger. Hopefully I'll have all of my content switched over very shortly...