Sorry I’ve been slack in updating every little detail. There’s just so much little stuff thats not very informative, nor impressive.
I replaced the alternator switch with a resettable 150amp breaker. Starting installing windshield wipers. Installed the Factory 5 badges on the nose and trunk. Lots of other little stuff.
Started her up today and backed her out of the garage. Took some pics. Monday evening she gets loaded on the trailer and Tuesday am we go to the MVA. Working on a VIN number, taxes, title and temp tags. Already have insurance through Midwest Classic Car.
Worked on the Boss all weekend. Got the rear splash panels all installed (4 of em) and wheel wells totally undercoated, 2 coats.
Worked a lot on the rear bumpers. I knew these would be a challenge. Here’s what I ended up with.
I had 2 threaded rods that screw into welded nuts inside the bumper. Access to the other ends of these rods are very limited, and the lower, you cant even get a wrench on it.
If you think about it, its a real head scratcher. How do you mount them when all you have are 2 holes, and the access is really bad?
I decided to install the top bolt, the one with good access since I put in a much larger fuel pump access panel. It would have its threaded rod, aluminum tube cover and nylon bushings all installed. I just adjusted the length so it came through the chassis by about 1/2″
Top of the fuel tank, looking aft at the passengers upper rear bumper mount.
So I was able to loosely assemble this part. Now I had the bottom. I installed a short 3/8″ bolt with a coupling nut. This made for a female thread for the lower mount to slip into. As I slid it into place, I installed 2 nuts with their washers. I screwed the rod in as far as it would go.
Then with the bumper in place, I reversed the rod, screwing it out of the coupling nut and into the bumper. It only required about 1/2″ to bottom out, and the coupling nut had something like 1.5 “. When it was bottomed out, I spearated the nuts and used them to loke the rod into the coupling nut and to lock the aluminum tube up against the bumper.
I think it looks pretty good. Tomorrow, I’ll do the left side.
I’m waiting on a backordered exhaust part, but I gotta keep moving, even if it means coming back and redoing.
I have installed the passenger sidepipe with a .25″ wedge (this angled wedge moves the final placement of the exhaust tip for alignment). Looks perfect. Nice testament to the Gas-N exhaust products… Headers, sidepipes and very little adjustment needed.
Got the front splashguards installed and installed / torqued the front wheels. When I get the backordered .25″ wedge for the drivers side, I’ll have to disassemble and work that.
Onward…. You see the back end is now on jackstands and the rear wheels are off. Not too much to do back here except fit, and install the rear splash guards (2 per wheelwell… I have front pieces made by Whitby’s). I am going to undercoat the entire wheelwell once everything is installed… a little different from the fronts.
Had some fun with the sunvisors. To keep it short, did a modified mounting by using square nuts in the frame channel instead of screws into the frame. Made my own correct length #6 screws and it all went together beautifully.
ACE 3/8″ long screws, my .250″ long screws and the F5 3mm frame mount screws. Depth check of my modified screws. You can see the reflection of the tip.. it is NOT touching.Final assembly. Final product. Visors, Windwings and Breeze mirrors. Lot of stuff hanging off the windshield… but nothing is anywhere near touching the glass.
Tomorrow, lots more work in the rear wheel wells. Still looking to go legal Oct 8.
More small work being done until some backordered parts show up…
Installed the door check straps that I vinegarooned 2 weeks ago…
Just installed with 3/16 pop rivets, but I may replace with some better looking stainless bolts later.
Installed the rear tag light / tag holder. I replaced the reg bulbs with LEDs, direct fit and better light. I did not do the mod that many others have done to make the fit better… I may do it later or simply notch the tag to fit. For now, it’s as is.
That butt!
Installed the Factory 5 wind wings and Breeze side mirrors. Nice stuff, nice hardware, mirrors look great. I can see having to carry a few tools in case these come loose out on the road.
I have the center rearview mirror, but I’m not crazy about it and need to review my options before I drill into the body to install.
Built the sunvisors, but cant install yet because I need some hardware. Stop at ACE on the way home and finish those then.
Been slowly working at some not-so-glamorous stuff.
Finally got 2 seats and 2 seat covers and the proper floor mounts. Got the mounts drilled and bolted up to the seats at a good angle, then the mounts bolted to the floor. Doing that required a bit of thinking, and I ended up drilling access holes in the seats so I could get a socket on the floor bolts.
I probably have about 25 hours labor in mounting seats, between the hibacks and now these.
Here’s a pic of the bare Kirkey 17″ wide 55V loback seat, with my seat heaters taped in place. On the bottom pan, you can see the 4 holes I drilled to be able to access the floor bolts for mounting.
With the seats finally installed. Looks pretty good, but I’m still not 100% crazy about em.
They are pretty comfy, and I like the way the roll bars really stand out now. Before, they were totally hidden behind the seats.
Got my Mike Everson / ReplicaParts roll bar trim rings installed. These are made just for the thicker Breeze bars and are beautiful pieces. Made me nervous about pre-drilling holes in the painted body, tho…
Spent more time trimming and taping down some loose carpet, adjusting the passenger shoulder belts, finish torquing the mounting bolts for the roll bars. The end of the angle bar is very close to the inside of the body, so a thru bolt wouldnt work. Had to drill and tap thru one side of the bar, then used a 3/8 gr8 bolt to secure it. It isnt going anywhere.
Finished painting and clearcoat on the side fender louvers. Came out pretty good, but not as good as the stripes Whitby painted. Plan on giving them a buffing once the’yve dried for a few days. Now I can start reassembling the splash panels and the exhaust.
Removed the roll bars today. They’ve been sitting in there just loose since I picked up the car from Whitby. Removed em, painted the stub bars in the trunk and the cockpit cubby hole, then reinstalled with the ReplicaParts trim rings, made for the larger Breeze roll bars. Still need to tighten down the install bolts and install the screws in the trim rings. But thats it for tonight… cuz I got a date! See yall later…
Started today by removing he side vents that I glued in yesterday. The mount studs took to the adhesive very, very well. Hopefully it lasts.
Cleaned up the vents, a little sanding, some wax & grease remover and 2 wet coats of primer later…
Tomorrow they get color, then Saturday clear coat.
Finished up the carpet on the passenger side, under the door. There’s 2 pieces that go in here, and they lend a nice, finished look. Something you’d never notice, but hoo boy you’d see if it it wasn’t there. Received my new Kirkey seats today, but just 1 cover… 1 is back-ordered. Installed one of my Herbs Door Panels custom panels, made with my leather to match everything else. Does this look inviting enough to go for a ride?
One thing I need that I need to work on is cupholders. I’d like to have a retractable that stows under the dash.
Tomorrow, some color on the vents and work on finishing the drivers side interior.
Got my side vents glued into place. I’m using a set of mount studs from McMaster Carr. I used some structural adhesive to bond them in, aligning the louvers and using tie-wraps and sticks to hold them in place.
I’ll take em apart tomorrow and start painting the louvers so we can get this stuff back together for good.
The next steps will be to install the exhaust with the Breeze angle plates that are on order, install the vents after they’ve been painted and buffed, then install the wheelwell splash guards and paint them and parts of the inside of the wheel well with the bedliner.
No picture, but finished assembling and riveting the aluminum panels that fit under the doors in the interior. Tomorrow I’ll get em covered and trimmed out.
Still working on the Boss. But the things I’m doing aren’t very glamorous or even photogenic,
I’ve installed the rear splash guards in the 2 front wheel wells. Required a lot of trimming and test fitting. Got em pretty good, but not perfect.
Also installed the aluminum trim under the doors, inside the car. This fills the space between the frame and the body and creates the door sill. It will be carpeted soon.
I’ve oredered some truck bedliner (Herculiner) to cover the front and rear wheel well splash guards and the tops of the wheel wells… the exposed fiberglass body inside. This should keep down on the pinging noise of rocks and stones as well as prevent stars in the paint from inside impacts. Don’t actually know if it will happen, but the guys on the forum say its a good idea. And I really dont want to damage this paint.
Also ordered some Breeze 1/2″ sidepipe spacers to align the sidepipes, some steel wool to mix with vinegar to make Vinegaroon for my now-tan door straps.
So I went ahead and installed both seats. I’ll keep these to go ahead and get me through inspection and such, but they will not be around long. They dont match the personality of the car and they dont look good. And I will never like the idea that both shoulder wings are bent at different angles.
I added a sticker I bought a long time ago to the windshield.
Installed my Tangent lights in the oil cooler scoop. I bought the manufacturers prototype set, as it was all he had left when he was going out of business. Remember I installed all LED’s a little while back. Later on, I’ll rewire the blue lamps to come on with the ignition like a set of DRL’s. Now, the blue and white Tangent lights are tied together and are selectable with the headlights on.
And here’s a few shots of how the lights look.
Last, I installed the Mike Everson / ReplicaParts inner radiator scoop liner and a Speedway nomex / honeycomb radiator protection. All went it very well. I may paint the aluminum the same color as my stripes a little later.
Few things have happened
I have fixed a small coolant leak at the heater select valve, and replaced the power steering pump with a unit that is setup and dyno’d for flow and pressure to match the Fox Mustang steering rack. Also has a reservoir mounted right to the side of the pump for excellent fluid supply.
