Stripping the Dash Area

I worked on stripping the area behind the dash yesterday and today.  I used a few wire wheels and sheets of sand paper.  The job is really slow moving and hard to do thoroughly.  There are so small small areas where a drill does not fit and it is hard to do by hand with the sand paper. 

Once I had the underdash area as clean as possible, I wiped it down with mineral spirits and the put on a coat of Eastwoods Rust Converter on the underside.  This will help with the areas of rust in the corners I simplly can't reach.  I'll give that a few days to dry and then I'll top coat with Rust Encapsulator.  This might be overkill but there is a large amount of surface rust I do not want to remain active after I paint the panels.

I needed a break after all the sanding and finished the day by installing my new parking brake cables in the rear drums.  I'll need to wait to completely assemble the parking brake system until after the tranmission is installed.  However, this is one small project off the to-do list.

Once I finished behind the dash, I decided to go ahead and strip the front of the dash.  I stripped it using sand paper, paint stripper, and some wire wheels.  I sanded the entire front with 220 grit at the end to get it really smooth.  I then put on a coat of Eastoods Rust Encapsulator.  I'd like to go ahead and paint it but I'll need to wait until I have the area behind the dash finished up. 

For those of you wondering, I'd love to have taken off the dash pad.  However, it will not come off. Trust me, I've removed all the retaining nuts.  I searched the internet and found people were ripping them off because they end up stuck to the dash panels.

Unfortunately, the replacement dash pads do not look very good.  Since mine is original and in good condition (hard to tell with all the sanding dust on it).  My plan is just to leave it on and work around it.

Undercarriage Painted!

I finished all the undercarriage preparation yesterday and spent the day today painting the underside of the Mustang. 

I used Dupli-Color TR250 Bed Coating on all of the undercarriage.  The coating is very durable but is not as thick as most bed coatings.  There is texture but it is very faint.  I put a total of three coats on the underside of the car which was five 16 oz cans.

I touched up some areas on the firewall and then painted the toe boards.  The firewall is painted with the Krylon 1613 Semi-Flat Black paint.  I then used some tape before undercoating the toe boards where they angle back from the firewall.  You can faintly see where the toe boards were welded into place but you would really have to be looking for it to notice.   

Final Undercarriage Preparation

I spent today preparing the underside of the new floorboard for paint.  There were a large number of small things I needed to take care of which caused the task to take much longer than I expected. 

I started off at the rear of the floorboard by preping the rear floorboard seam and torque boxes.   I then sanded the underside of the entire floorbard with 220 grit sand paper.  The next step was to seam seal each of the points where two factory panels overlapped.  Once that was done, I sprayed the entire underside with a coat of Eastood's Rust Encapsulator.

The Rust Encapsulator is going to be dry and ready for a top coat in the morning.  I've six cans of some bed liner I've chosen to use on the underside of the Mustang.  The bed liner is much thinner than most and does not have as much texture.  I used it on the outer front fenderwells a few years back and it has held up well. 

I really wanted to use something other than spray cans.  However, I'd need to buy an air compressor and find a way to raise the Mustang high enough to get a paint gun under the car.  Additionally, I'd need to learn how to use a spray gun which might take a little while.  Since the spray can version I used before held up well, I decided to use it so this project does not drag longer.

While what I did this weekend can be summarized in one paragraph, it was a lot of work.  I should  be able to paint the underside of the undercarriage tomorrow.  This will then leave me with the followings items to finish up:

- Strip Underside of Dash
- Repair Cowl Hats
- Strip and Paint Front of Dash
- Install Sound Deadening
- Install Firewall Pad
- Install Dash Wiring
- Connect Electric Fan
- Install Pedal Assembly
- Install Clutch & Throttle Linkage
- Install Gauge Cluster
- Install Steering Column and Wheel
- Repaint Throttle Linkage

- Install Engine Mounts
- Reinstall Engine
- Install Transmission
- Install Driveshaft
- Install Exhaust
- Install Parking Brake
- Install Gas Line
- Install Interior

Toe Board Underside Clean-Up

I removed the engine to replace a bad motor mount and to reach the underside of the toe boards I welded into place earlier this year.  This weekend, I climbed into the engine compartment and worked on the underside of the toe boards.

There were a few spots where I did not have great weld penetration.  I welded the bottom side of these welds to make sure everything was solid.  I then ground down the welds and put a little filler to fix the small imperfections.  Most would consider this overkill but I know I'll be disappointed later if I don't do the best job I can while I have it apart.

Once the filler was dry, I sanded it down and top coated it with two coats of Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator.  I'll wait to prep the rest of the undercarriage for paint before doing anything further with the toe boards.

I took care of a few small projects while waiting for the paint to dry.  I stripped the driver side torque box in preparation for paint.  I welded on the passenger side brake bracket which I forgot to weld before putting the floorpan in the Mustang.  I also cut out the hole for the parking brake cable in the driver side toe board.

While it may not sound like much, this was the majority of what I was able to accomplish this weekend.

...

This is a picture of the toe boards after I put down a coat of filler.  I put down a heavier coat than needed.  I don't know how many times I have to do this and sand like mad before I realize how little is actually needed.

This is a picture immediately after I painted the bottom with Rust Encapsulator.  The paint dries somewhat fast.  The sheen is actually flat but you can see the parts which are still a little wet as they are have more sheen. 

Driver Fenderwell Finish Work

Today, I worked on the firewall/toe board area which is visible from the driver wheel well. 

There was not much clean up needed in this location because of the toe board welding.  Instead, the work needed was correct a welding job a friend helped me with in 2009.  There was rust from the windshield washer pump.  At the time, I did not know how to weld so he stepped in to help out.  As you can see below, he mounded up weld at the joint and asked me not to grind it off or it would damage the weld.

Since I'm now much better at welding, I decided to fix the eye sore.  I ground down all the welds flat and then welded up any pinholes I found.  The panel was not lined up perfectly when it was butt welded in.  I put a little filler over it to hide that and then coated it with primer. 

I stripped the side panel which is adjacent to this one and in front of the driver door (under the fender).  I then put seam sealer on the gaps on that panel and in this toe board area.  I'm waiting on more of the RT250 Duplicolor bed liner to arrive so I can coat both areas.  When that is done, I'll post and 'after' picture of how it turned out.

Finish Work on the Undercarriage

I decided against working on the dash today.  Instead, I worked the underside of the floorpan.

I welded up the a section on the rear of each of the sub-frame connectors.  I'd saved the final weld until I had the floorpan installed and could jack up the car a little.  Once they were done, I seam sealed over the welds and up the sides of the floorboard along the rocker panels. 

I had very good penetration on all my welds.  A few of the welds for the seat risers and toe boards caused divits on the underside of the car.  I grinded those off and then put a little primer over the bare metal spots. 

I cleaned up the passenger side torque box I added to the car.  I then painted the area where I made the toe board repair which is visible from the driver wheel area.  I then covered the repaired area and the torque box with some Duplicolor TRK250 bed liner.  Its the same stuff I used on the outer fender aprons a few years back and its still in excellent condition.

I cleaned up the welds on the front frame rails, transmission support, and transmission tunnel.  Once I had those smothed out, I coated them with primer as well. 

I've not seam sealed the frame rails, transmission crossmember, or transmission tunnel.  I'll be unable to work on the car tomorrow but might be able to find time to do these on Sunday. 

The day was somewhat productive. It was not as gratifying as welding in the floor. There is just something to be said for finishing an entire part of project. Today was more about wrapping up some lose ends and getting ready to paint the underside of the car.

Finally Finished Welding the Floorpan

A welcome change in the weather occurred this past Sunday.  The temperatures in Texas dropped from a daily high of around 105 degrees to 90 degrees.   Without the hot garage to fight against, I decided it was time to get moving on the Mustang.  This involved taking today and tomorrow off work to dedicate to the project.

On Sunday, I welded in the passenger side seat riser.  Before welding the riser in place, I sanded the inside and floorboard which would be covered by the seat riser.  I coated them both with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator and then Satin Chassis Black.  This might not be necessary but I wanted to keep the inside protected as the originals were not and were filled with rust when I removed them from the Mustang.

I started off the morning today by installing the driver side seat riser.  I had already painted it like the passenger side on Sunday.  I used the same installation approach as with the floorpan by fitting the panel and then drilling holes to plug weld the seat riser into place.  Each of the seat risers had about 40 holes in them about 2-3 inches apart.

With the seat risers in place, I turned my attention to the rear section of the floorpan under the rear seat.  The new floorpan did not extend all the way to the rocker panels.  The driver side was close enough to work the metal to get it to fit.  However, the passenger side was at least a 1/4" and there was no way to get it to fit without a fair amount of modification.

To make the passenger side fit, I cut off the end of the floorpan which welds to the rocker panel.  I placed the cut directly over the frame rail.  This would allow me to weld it to the rocker panel and then fill the cut area with weld.  The job was not too difficult as the frail rail flange made welding the gap closed much easier.

With everything welded, I started the process of grinding down all of my welds.  There are a few which a placed two far into a corner to grind down.  This bothers me a little but there is nothing to do about it.  Additionally, only I'll know as I'm going to coat the floor with sound deadener and you will never see it.

I worked from 8AM to 5PM on the Mustang so it was definitely a long day.  Tomorrow, I think I'll work on stripping the area behind the dash.

Reshaping and Welding the Front Floor Tunnel Area

The Dynacorn full floorboard does not align perfectly at the front of the transmission tunnel.  This was fairly obvious when I completed welding the floorboard to the rocker panels.  I continued welding the new floor to the toe boards on each side saving this project for later.  As you can see below, there is about a 3/4" gap between the reproduction transmission tunnel and lower firewall panel.

I used a small torch to heat the sides transmission tunnel on the floorboard.  I then used a hammer and dolly to reshape it to match the vehicle.  As the panels lined up properly, I welded about half way up the tunnel.

In order to continue to contour the sides of the panel, I had to make two cuts in the floorboard.  I made the cuts at about an inch down on each side.  This allowed me to continue working on the alignment on the sides of the tunnel.  Once those were complete, I then worked on the top and welded from the center out.

Once all of my plug welds were done, the cut areas needed work.  Since I had too much metal on the floorboard tunnel, I had a slight overlap where I cut the panels.  I used a cutoff wheel to take off the overlap leaving me a good gap to reweld the panel. 

I finished up my welding and then used my grinder on those welds and the welds I'd not finished up from the driver floorboard.  The front part of the floor is now complete.  There are some alignment problems at the back and I'll handle those in the furture.

I've not painted the front of the floorboard.  I plan to do this tomorrow or in the next few days. 

Rear Seat Divider Project

Large projects like the replacement of the floorboard are difficult.  They challenge your motivation.  After working all day, there is never enough progress.  I've been delaying working on the floorboard because of this and the heat (over 40 days straight over 100 degrees).  However, today, I resumed work.

I'll often start with something new and small to get my interest going again.  This time the project was creating a metal seat divider.  The one in the Mustang was made from Masonite by a previous owner.  The panel was cut poorly and I felt I could do better.

The metal divider allows me to apply Dynamat to the panel and get better sound deadening.  Additionally, I read adding a piece of metal in this area helps to stiffen the chassis.  I'll search for the article and post it if I can locate it again.

Anyway, I purchased a piece of 16 gauge metal cut to 38" by 17" for $19.05.  I made a carboard template to make sure no mistakes were made when I cut the metal panel.  I designed the shape to completely cover the opening between the rear seat and trunk.

Once the panel was cut, I drilled a few holes for 1/4" bolts to mount the panel in place.  I then painted the panel and installed it in the car.  I'll apply Dynamat to the panel and the floor once the floorboard installation is complete. 

Driver Side Transmission Tunnel Welding

I expected the driver side of the tunnel to be a little easier to shape to match the underlying transmission crossmember... I was wrong.  I used the same hammer and dolley technique with some heat.  I tried to work it as slowly as possible but it was a little over 1/2" off along the lower edge of the tunnel.

I performed all the welds along the toe board and up the transmission tunnel.  I've not ground them down at this point.  I should go ahead and do it but I'm taking a break for now.  It is 100 degrees it feels like a suana welding out there in the garage. 

Welding Tunnel Area of Floorboard

I worked on the Mustang for a few hours this morning.

Last weekend, I welded up the passenger side of the floorpan to the rocker panel. After welding, I ground down the welds and top coated with some red primer.

This weekend I wanted to work on the tunnel area of the floorpan. This section fits the worst of the entire floorpan. The floorpan does not match up to the contour of the transmission crossmember. As a result, I'd need to work the metal a little to get it to fit.

I started today by screwing through the holes in the driver side of the floorpan to attach it to the rocker panel. I then tacked the top, center of the floorpan tunnel in place. I used a blow torch to heat up the metal on the floor and used a hammer and dolley to stretch the metal to fit the crossmember contour.

When I started, the floorpan was about 1/4" - 1/2" from the crossmember. To stretch it, I heated the metal, placed the metalwork side of the dolley on the floor, and then hit the backside with a hammer. The contour of the dolley matched up with the crossmember which formed the floor just right.

I welded up the passenger side of the tunnell and toe board. I then welded the driver side of the floorpan to the rocker panel. I still need to work on the driver side portion of the tunnel and the toe board. I'm saving this portion of the job for another day.

Welding Abilities Improved Overnight!

I was reading a welding article last night in Hod Rod Magazine.  One section of the article discussed setting the polarity of your welder based on the wire used.  I immediately remember reading about the subject when I first purchased my welder and started welding without gas.  A few seconds later, I realized I've been welding with the wrong polarity.

Today, I setup the welder in the electrode positive configuration which is used with solid wire and gas.  I started welding on the floorboard with the new setting.  I can't believe how much better the welder works.  I get better penetration with much less to grind off. 

I've almost finished welding the passenger side of the floorboard to the rocker panel.  I need to stop for the day but now with the new settings have newfound motivation to finish the floor.

No More Tests Fitting The Floorpan

Since this weekend was Mother's Day weekend, I did not have a great deal of time to work on the Mustang. However, I was able to finish off the painting during the week so I could put the floorpan in the Mustang.

It fits well considering it is a reproduction piece. There are some areas which need to be reshaped slightly. There are also areas which might require me taking out or adding in some metal so it fits properly.

I'm thinking over the next month I should be able to get all that done. By that time, I should have the floor completely welded, welds ground smooth, and welded areas painted black like the rest of the floor.

More Floor Preparation Updates

This weekend I did a little work on the Mustang.

I finished drilling all the holes in the floor pan which I'll use to plug weld it into place. I used a sanding disc on my ginder to clean up the drill holes on each side. You will notice in the picture I did not drill out holes for one of the front frame rails. I marked this one when test fitting but started worrying a little about how it might line up so I'll wait.


On the areas which will overlap other panels, I painted the sanded spots so there would not be any bare metal trapped between two pieces of metal. I coated these with Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator.

I then lightly sanded and used mineral spirits on all the areas in the Mustang which will be overlapped by the floor pan. I painted all these areas with Extreme Chassis Black. This is the best paint I have and should help if water or anything makes it way between the overlapped pieces of metal.

I plan to put another coat of Extreme Chassis Black inside the car. I am suppose to wait 24 hours before I put on the second coat. I'll then put on some seam sealer in a few areas. I should be able to do this all during the week. Althought this coming weekend is Mother's Day, I can lay for the floor in the car.

Floor Installation Prep

I did a little more preparation work on the floor pan after work today. I only drilled more spot weld holes but it is better than nothing. It is amazing how quickly you can drain a cordless drill using a 3/8" bit. I've about 60 holes drilled now which is about 40% done.

The following pictures are of my blank canvas which will hopefully one day be a floor. I'm going to post on the Vintage Mustang Forum for tips on installing the floor. This is very different from anything I've done so far so I might be able to learn from a few others before I start. If I get good tips, I'll add them here.





I did not receive many responses on tips for the floor. The consensus was to start at the back of the floor. Use self tapping screws to hold everything in place while you weld it up. There was also someone who had large vice grips to hold it together. I'll probably try a combination of the two.

Subframe Connector Tabs & Other Random Tasks

I worked on the Mustang for a few hours yesterday.

I stripped some of the interior side of the firewall. The firewall was in really good condition and I did not have any surprises. I'm going to go ahead and coat what I've done with Rust Encapsulator. I don't plan to strip anymore and only stripped what I did as it was easier to do without the floor installed.

Once this work was done, I added tabs to the subframe connectors. I've mentioned this a few times and I'd be surprised if anyone could interpret what I mean. The following picture will help.


I'm using TinMan subframe connectors which are shown above on someone else's vehicle. You will notice there is a gap at the top of the connector. I made a flat piece of metal to attach which will seal up the gap. It is nothing special but something I would only be able to do while the floor is out.






I then welded one of the two parking brake brackets onto the bottom of my new floorpan. I need to media blast the other one (passenger side) as it is a little rust. Since I had the floorpan pulled out of the box, I started drilling holes for the plug welds. I'd test fit it a few weeks back and marked the location of all the panel overlaps while it was installed so I would know where to drill the spot welds.

The last thing I did was clean up the garage a little. Its been a few weeks since I last cleaned up the garage so it needed some work. I then called it a day.

Transmission Crossmember & Rear Seat Pan (Cont)

It took me a little longer to finish up the transmission crossmember and rear seat pan than I expected. The front cross member just needed a second coat of Rust Encapsulator. The area was not very rusty except for the two sleeves which the transmission supports go through. However, I like using the Rust Encapsulator as a primer and for added insurance. I'll coat this later with Extreme Chassis Black but I'm waiting on this for now.

There is were numerous holes on the driver side of the rear seat pan. I welded in a small square of metal to completely replace the section filled with holdes. I smoothed it out with a grinder and then put a little body filler on it. This is obviously not necessary but why not make it look nice and practice on areas like this. If you can't tell from the slight waviness, the holes were two the right of the seat belt mounting point.

This corner of the passenger side rear seat pan had several small holes. I ended up filling them with weld which I believe is a little unconventional. I then grinded it smooth. Since I had a little body filler still mixed up, I used it here also.

Remaining tasks until I install the floorboard:

- Create Tab for Sub-Frame Connector

- Strip and Paint from Frame Rails

- Strip and Paint Firewall

Transmission Crossmember & Rear Seat Pan

I started today with the holes in the rear seat area where the seat belts mount. I believe these were from previously mounting exhaust hangers in this location. The majority of the holes could be hammered smooth and then filled with weld.

There was one section with a larger hole with thin metal around it. I tried unsuccessfully to fill it with weld but kept burning through (even using a backing plate). I cut a little square patch panel and welded it in to fix the hole. I only had a little difficulty with the welding. I'm getting much better.

Once I was done with this patch, I grinded the welds down smooth and decided to put a really thin layer of body filler over it to make it disappear completely. I've yet to sand the body filler smooth so I'll attach a picture once I finish it up.

While waiting for the filler to dry, I decided to go ahead and strip the transmission crossmember. I used a wire wheel and a sheet of 120 grit sand paper to clean up the inside of the crossmember. Once cleaned up, I painted the cross member with Rust Encapsultor.

If you are keeping track, I'm down to the following before installing the floor:
- Create Tab for Front Subframe Area
- Strip Front Frame Rails & Prime
- Finish Work on Underside of Toe Boards

I'm going to remove the finish work on the underside of the toe boards. I'll do this when I'm doing installing the floor. However, I'll add that I want to strip the firewall before putting in the floor. It will be much easier with the floor out so I'll do it in the next few weeks.

- Create Tab for Front Subframe Area
- Strip Front Frame Rails & Prime
- Strip & Paint Firewall

Driver Side Toe Board Installation Part 2

I started a little later today but still worked the majority of the day on the Mustang.

The toe board is now fully welded in. I grounded down all the welds, fixed any pinholes, and grinded some more. By 2 o'clock, I'd killed my first grinder and had to go by another one. I suppose I should not burn up the second one if I continue to get better at welding.

After all the weld seems were ground down, I put a small coat of body filler over the seams, and then sanded it all smooth. I put two coats of Rust Encapsulator on the panel. There was no rust but I've purchased several cans and have just been using it as insurance.

I'm very glad this panel is in. I've been procrastinating it for a while now. It seems like the longer I procrastinated the larger the job seemed to be. While it was not super easy, it was certainly something I was able to tackle in a weekend.

This is a picture from when I started removing the driver toe panel. It gives you an idea of the rust. I stripped the torque box, coated it with Rust Encapsulator, and the top coated with Eastwood's Extreme Chassis Black. I did the same with the frame rail which is covered by the toe board.

The following picture shows the toe board after I finished up the welding, filler, and paint.

The following picture shows both the replaced driver and passenger toe board. I still need to strip the firewall and the dash. I'll probably go ahead and strip the firewall before I replace the floorpan. It would be much easier to do it now rather than laying down on the floorboard once it is in.

I test fit the Dynacorn full floorpan yesterday before installing the driver toe board. The fit was excellent. I'm really looking forward to installing the floorboard but I have a little work left to do.

Driver Side Toe Board Installation

I've been procrastinating welding in the driver side torque box for about two months. Today, I decided I wanted to get the job done today.

I started at about 9 o'clock by working on fitting the reproduction panel to my car. It fit fairly well but the area under the steering colum was designed differently. The contours were off so I had to spend a little time shaping the reproducton part to fit the design of the firewall.

There was a little other work needed but nothing incredible. I think it is just a given that a reproduction part just gets you close. To make it actually fit, you are going to need to do some work. Especially when it is just a portion of an original panel like a toe board.

I did test fit the floorboard in today before starting on the toe board and it gave me the motivation to work until about 5 o'clock this afternoon. I'm not the best at welding but I just keep getting better. Unfortunately, I require a large amount of grinding time. Regardless, I installed the toe board and just have to do some finish work on it tomorrow.

I'll put some pictures of the toe board up tomorrow.