Instrument Cluster Repair

After the marathon day yesterday, I decided to take it easy today.

While watching car shows on TV, I took apart the instrument cluster. The main goal was to remove a non-functional, aftermarket oil pressure gauge mounted in the instrument bezel. The gauge is a mechanical gauge which was working but the connection at the motor was bad and leaked oil all over the engine compartment. Once I took it apart, removing the aftermarket oil gauge took no time.

I do not know the number of original miles on the Mustang. When A/C was added to the vehicle, all of the dash bezels including the instrument cluster were replaced with those from a '68 Mustang. The title history I obtained is of no assistance as they do not track miles on vehicles this old. So I set the miles to 515.8 which is the number of miles I put on the Mustang since purchase (67,519.6 current miles - 67,003.8 miles at purchase).

Since I took everything apart to remove these items, I decided to do a little extra work on the piece. I painted the back plate for the instrument cluster. The inside was painted a high gloss white (like original) to make the lights for effective. I also replaced light bulbs which had burnt out. Finally, I fixed up the wiring on the back as the previous owner modified some of the wiring.

Finally, I cleaned all the gauges and repainted the needles with some gloss red model paint. The finished product was great but I put it back behind the original, old bezel. It does not look like much work has been put into the piece but it should work very well now and the white face oil pressure gauge is gone.

Engine Prep & Paint

I'm very pleased with the progress I made today on the Mustang.

I started small by stripping the back portion of the passenger frame rail. I then cleaned the engine block in preparation for paint. I moved next to cleaning the engine block expecting to paint it tomorrow or during this coming week. However, I was making such progress I did not want to stop. I taped off the engine, primered the engine (2 coats), and then painted the engine with at least 3 entire coats (2 cans). Once the engine was done, I moved on to the valve covers and painted them.

The paint I used for the engine is Krylon Engine Paint (Ford Dark Blue - 1923). I really like the appearance of this paint but must order it from National Parts Depot (NPD). I used it previously on the oil pan and the valve covers when I replaced those gaskets earlier in the project.

After rebuilding the carb, I wanted to paint the intake manifold but was out of the Kyrlon paint. I purchased some Dupli-Color Engine Enamel (Ford Dark Blue - DE1606) instead at O'Reillys. While the color was close it had too much gloss. I prefer the Kyrlon as it is a low gloss paint.

A picture of the painted engine is included below. Ignore the condition of the cardboard below the engine as I was too tired to clean up.

Edit (11/30/08): After looking at the painted engine, I checked some of the pictures I took the night I purchased the Mustang. Here is just one which captures the condition of the engine bay.

Stripping of Lower Shock Tower

My one recent deviation from my plan was to strip the lower shock towers. I originally planned to leave these alone and then clean then up in the future when the motor is out. The reason for this is the motor mount connects to this section and the exhaust runs very close here so it is a tight area to work in. I changed my mind because this area became an eyesore after I cleaned the rest of the engine bay.

I've taken a picture of each side. The rear portion of the shock tower is the hardest to clean. I was not able to reach all the way to the bottom but it is not very visible. I'll be able to clean this area further in the future when the motor is out of the car.

You will notice at least one spot where I sanded off the primer at the top of the shock tower. I did this in preparation for welding as there are a few holes in the engine compartment which need to be repaired. Additionally, the areas I primed previously have collected a little dirt which I will need to clean off before painting but that is a few weeks off.

Project Timeline Revisited

It is very obvious at this point that I will not be able to meet my deadline of having the vehicle reassembled by January 8th. The project has not expanded since I created the deadline but each phase is taking longer than I expected. Part of the reason it due my attempts to perfect project.

I've found taking a small piece (like the alternator brackets) and restoring them to new in a day the most gratifying. Those type projects are small and there is an immediate reward for the work involved. The removal of the front sheetmetal and stripping of the paint seems a never ending project. As a result, stripping a particular part is not very rewarding as the remainder of the engine bay is waiting before the project is actually done.

I'm ready to have the engine and engine bay painted. My larger concern at this point is it will become to cold to paint either of these items. Once painted, I believe the rest will be more enjoyable as it involves installing the individual parts I've worked to restore over the past few months.

Alternator Bracket Restoration

I spent the day with family today for Thanksgiving.

While at my parents house, I took advantage of my Dad's sand blasting cabinet and cleaned up my alternator brackets. These are the original brackets with part numbers clearly stamped into each piece. They look very good for being 41 years old.

The triangle shaped piece has the part number C6OE-10156-A lightly stamped along the lower side. The thin bracket has the Lee in a small triangle and the part number C5AE-10145-A stamped along its side.

Both were primered and painted with Krylon 1613 semi-flat black paint.