Cleaning & Painting Steering Box Area

My steering box and the area around it are covered in grease and grime. This weekend, I'm working to completely clean and paint the steering box. Once the steering box is done, I hope to clean and paint the framerail under the steering box.

I cleaned the top of the box a little a few weeks ago. I was more passing time than working to completely clean it. The area I plan to address is shown in the picture below.



I managed to obtain a few pictures of the back of the steering box before starting. The part number on the box is C6ZR3550A and the date code is 7C7. This indicates this is the correct steering box for my Mustang.

There was a tag on top of the steering box which I recently removed. I cleaned it up with WD-40 and a piece of steel wool. Once the box is painted, I'll reinstall the tag.

Rebuilding Driver Door Hinges (Part 2)

I installed the lower hinge on the door yesterday morning. I opened/closed the door and the door no longer drops slightly when open. I then rolled up the window and was able to shut the door without the window contacting the quarter window.

I removed the upper hinge and rebuilt it in the same manner as the lower hinge. This hinge was easier to rebuild but took a little longer to strip the paint and rust from the hinge.

I installed the upper hinge this afternoon and adjusted the door. Oddly enough, once the top hinge was installed, the door started to sag again. I realigned the door and it now shuts properly. The body lines are not perfect and the door seems a little high. I would drop the whole door a little but I want to wait to see how the front fender lines up first.

Since the window now rolls up, I spent a little time cleaning up the dust which accumulated in the interior of the Mustang. I made a little cover for the cowl vent on the passenger side, installed the glovebox, installed the A/C parts I recently cleaned, and then put in the cluster I rebuilt in November. It was nice to see something go back together as it seems I'm aways taking things apart.

Rebuilding Driver Door Hinges (Part 1)

I've needed to rebuild the driver door hinges for a long time now. The hinges need to be rebuilt as they allow the door to sag slightly. This causes the driver door window to contact the quarter window when fully rolled up. Additionally, the latch which holds the driver door open is completely worn down. Since the fender is off, now is the best time as it is easy to reach all the bolts.

I decided to rebuild the hinges due to the cost of reproduction hinges. The top hinge on a '67 is $72.95 and the lower hinge is $63.50. The rebuild kit for a door (two hinges) was about $15 which is significantly cheaper. While I might think better of it later, my budget currently demands that I rebuild the existing hinges.

My plan was to keep the door closed and remove one hinge at a time. I started with the lower hinge and marked the location of the hinge on both the pilar and door. I then took pictures of the hinges and door gaps. I then removed the lower hinge and started the rebuilding process.

The most difficult part was removing the pins from the hinge. This literally took at least two hours total. I soaked the pins in PBlaster and then used a hammer and old bolt to punch out the pins. The hardest was one pin which was sealed on the bottom. The only way I could remove it was to use a hammer and flat head screw driver to get the pin off.

Once the pins were out, I used a wire wheel to clean up the hinge. I then put about four coats of Krylon primer on each of the pieces. I also took this time to clean the surface rust from where the hinge mounted and coated it with rust converter.

I then attempted to reinstall the pins. I used a hammer and covered the end of the pin with a towel to keep from damaging the end of the pin. The process worked great until the final pin when I hit my thumb with the hammer. I squeezed it tightly and waited for the pain to go away and noticed a large amount of blood coming from between my fingers. Ends up, I split open my thumb by sandwiching it between the hammer and door hinge. I suppose this is the blood part of the blood, sweat, and tears.

I'll need to wait 48 hours for the rust converter to completely seal the rust where the hinge mounts. Once this is done, I'll install the lower hinge and rebuild the top hinge. The top hinge should be easier as it has one pin rather than the three the lower hinge had.

Bending Brake Lines (Part 3)

I finished bending and flaring the brake line from the proportioning valve to the driver brake. This side was very difficult to complete. To be honest, I wasted four 30" brake lines attempting to complete this side. Based on my experience, I hope to avoid bending any additional brake lines in the future. This situation was unavoidable as the brake parts I selected did not allow for me to select a prebent kit.

The driver side required a little additional work to bend the line properly. Adding to the complexity, I was unable to flare the line correctly. I'm not certain if this is because of the type tool I used (it looks to be common style) or my lack of experience. Either way, the job is now done.

I removed all the lines and am storing them in the closet until the engine bay is painted. The only portion of the job remaining is to locate some brackets to hold down the brake lines. The factory style bracket is pictured below. There are bracket kits sold by Mustang part vendors but they are $15 for a couple of brackets. I'm still checking hardware and auto part stores for something which would work and be inexpensive.

New Fan Spacer

I purchased an original style fan spacer for use on my Mustang this week. The spacer is actually from a 1968 Mustang (notice the C8AE-E cast into the base). However, the fan spacer looks almost identical to the size used in '67 and is the same size as the one previously on my car.

The spacer was already media blasted and arrived ready for paint. I primed the part and then painted it with Plasti-Kote 282 Cast Aluminum paint. The piece is now ready for installation.

Restoration of Fresh Air Vent

I've worked a little over the past couple nights to restore the fresh air vent. The vent is located under the driver side of the dash. A knob connected to a pull cable operates the flap controlling the flow of fresh air into the vehicle.

The flap is metal and was a little rusted. The rubber surrounding the flap is in very good condition. To restore this piece, I placed it in a bowl of phosphoric acid and water (1:1). The mixture removed all the rust, left a phosphate coating on the metal, and did not damage the metal. I'll paint the flap and glue loose sections of rubber down before reinstalling the flap.

I used the same bowl of phosphoric acid to clean a couple of the screws, a clip, and the rod to which the flap is mounted. All the pieces came out looking very nice.

I then painted the metal portion of the flap with Rust Encapsulator and Eastwoods Underhood Black (to finish off the last can). I used exterior caulk to try to attach the seal to the flap but was not very successful. I put a little superglue around the edge while the silicone caulk dries which should work out very well.

Unrestored:

Restored:

Steering Column Removal and Repair

I've struggled to remove the steering column off and on for a couple weeks. I turned my attention to the project again today and was able to remove the column.

My Mustang is an early production '67, which means it has a solid shaft which extends from the steering box. The column is just a sleeve which slides over this shaft. This would seem easy to remove but it proved to be a little difficult. I finally discovered today that there are two small nuts under the turn signal switch which were locking the column into place.

I sanded down the column and put a light coat of Rust Encapsulator on it. There are a few rust pits on the end of the column which extends into the engine bay. The sanding process smoothed the piece out some. I'll likely just put an extra coat or two of primer on that end and sand a little more to smooth it out completely.

The interior of the Mustang was a Charcoal Black color. The column was painted the same color (even the part which extends into the engine compartment). I left the coupler for the steering wheel alone so I would be able to match the paint. I'll also need to order another lower seal as the one on the column has a tear and shows a great deal of wear.

I'll post pictures once I've finished painting the column.

Equalizer Bar & Clutch Linkage Restoration (Part 2)

I called a local repair shop about welding the holes up in the equalizer bar this morning. They did not perform welding and directed me to Midas. After a quick call, I found they would weld up the holes for $10-$20. Since I'm without welding assistance, I decided to take them up on the price. It was a simple job so I hoped to get the $10 price.

I left the part with them at lunch and noticed a '67 Mustang in the parking lot. When I returned the counterman picked the part up from the shop area and asked me its purpose. I told him and he stated the '67 in the parking lot was his. We spoke for a few minutes and when I asked if it was $10 he said not to worry about it.

I thanked him and introduced myself. I found his name is Mario. I'll need to keep him in mind for future work.

02/14/09 Update: I finished drilling the new holes in the equalizer bar today. The holes are not perfect as it is difficult to drill perfectly straight and in the exact location of the original holes. It would no doubt be easier with a drill press but I only have a handheld drill. Regardless, the holes are better than the were originally.

I then finished by painting the equazlier bar the Kryler 1613 black.