Spindle & Caliper Bracket Restoration

Over the past week, I've cleaned and stripped the surface rust from my spindles and caliper brackets. These are part of the suspension and brake purchase I made earlier this summer. The parts are from a '70 Mustang. The spindles are a desired part for road racers as they are thicker spindles than those used on the '64-'69 Mustangs.

After stripping each, I painted them Chassis Black. Eastwood's Chassis Black is resistant to chips and brake fluid which makes it a good paint for these parts. I'll leave the caliper's unfinished as I do not want to add any paint which would cause them to retain heat. Additionally, I can always do that quickly in the future if I purchase rims which make the calipers visable.

Over the past few weeks, I purchased some parts of the brake system which were missing from the original purchase. This includes pad retaining clips, a caliper alignment bracket, and I purchased new grade 8 bolts and lock washers to secure the caliper bracket to the spindles. Once the paint dries (takes a couple days for Chassis Black), I will assembly the brakes so the entire spindle assembly can just be bolted on when the suspension is installed.

Steering Center Link

This weekend I stripped some of the front suspension subframe. I don't enjoy stripping the paint from all these parts of the Mustang. It is long tedious work and you end up very dirty. I wear a mask and eye protection but still end up inhaling some paint particles. I've stripped all the engine bay parts so the subframe is all that is left. It is the least rewarding as no one will see this area.

After working on the subframe for a while, I stopped and worked on the steering center link. The center link is the only steering component after the steering box I will use after the restoration. While normally a dark unfinished metal color, I chose to paint it chassis black. It took a large amount of work with a wire wheel to clean all the surface rust, grease, and road grime off. The end product was worth the work.

I've included a picture of the finished center link bar. I keep posting pictures of these parts I've painted but since they are black, little detail can be seen. This piece has a textured surface which really looks nice with the satin black. Too bad it is going under the car were no one will see it.

The second item in the picture is a roller idler arm which I purchased. It is a Moog part upgraded to include a roller bearing joint. Since my Mustang has manual steering, this will greatly reduce steering effort. It is also fitted with two grease fittings for easy maintenance and years of life.

Stripping Firewall Paint

I spent a some time this weekend stripping the paint from the firewall and back fender aprons. The work is slow and difficult but the end result is going to be nice.

The variation in metal color in the pictures below is due to an etching solution on the metal. I treated it with etching solution after stripping the paint with a chemical stripper to avoid flash rust. I then used a wire wheel to spot clean areas and used the etching solution again. The newly sanded areas look a bright white compared to the rest of the firewall.

There is a considerable amount of surface rust around the master cylinder (visable below). The wire wheel takes the rust off but the metal beneath is pitted. I'm thinking of getting some metal filler to smooth this area before painting.

There are also four small screw holes in the firewall which I need to have repaired.

More Suspension Component Painting

Early this week I worked on stripping and repainting the lower control arms and adjustable strut bars. These are more of the components from my bulk part purchase. They are new just like the other parts but were just tossed around a little and scratched up. I painted them with Eastwood Chassis Black to match all the other components.

If you are not familiar, the stock strut bars on a '67 Mustang are straight bars with threads on one end. One side connects to the two bolt holes in the lower control arm. The threaded end is mounted to the front frame of the vehicle using a bushing between two washers and nuts. The strut bar is suppose to locate the lower control arm but still allow up and down movement. The adjustable strut bars better locate the lower control arm as there is no bushing to flex. Additionally, the heim joint allows for much lower resistance in allowing upward travel.

I've included a few pictures of the parts below.