Project 66 Rustang

[ScottsGT]

At this point, why not the entire one piece floor pan?

 

[bigguns69]

Partial kick panel replacement. The door pillar is in good shape and the panel on the backside was in good shape. Decided to do a partial repair here. Starting to go back together, a little.

 

[bigguns69]

With the kick panels in place, I am ready for the new firewall. With the back of the dash panel exposed, you can see the light surface rust. Bare steel from the factory back then, not good for longevity.

Got the HF spot sand blaster out and removed the rust and then coated it with some self etching primer. Used the inner cowl panel to help align everything in place. Had to do a little dolly work to shape the tops of the kick panels to fit the inner cowl perimeter profile.

Drilled a bunch of .28" D holes in the side flanges of the firewall. Clamped it up and rosette weld time. Had a hard time welding things up without burning through everything. Using a Miller 251 with .035 wire and had it turned all the way down. Was a little frustrating for sure. Sheet metal is all 18 ga. or about .046" thick.

 

[bigguns69]

Pictures showing the firewall in place. Starting to make some progress now. Ready to get started with the inner cowl install. Need a lot of holes. Got a hand punch to speed up the process. Easier than drilling but sets in fatigue with the hands as the punch breaks through the metal. The new replacement metal is harder than the old stuff, can definitely feel it.

 

[ScottsGT]

Your wire is way too big for sheet metal spot welding. I run an .028 or maybe smaller.
(Just looked on line. Might be an .023)

This is your friend.

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/specialty-air-tools/air-punch-flange-tool-1110.html

 

[MP&C]

Referring to the chart from Miller:

https://www.millerwelds.com/-/media...sources/weldingresources/mig_welding_tips.pdf


.024, .030, and .035 are all within the range for 18 gauge sheet metal. Don't rush out to buy a new spool of wire without trying the "free" fixes first.

As with any other "blowout" in non-rusty sheet metal, too much heat for the given AMOUNT of filler. That doesn't necessarily mean to turn down the heat. My suggestion is to try increasing the wire feed. This also works to fill the plug weld hole more quickly so you aren't sitting there all day. Having said that, I set my welder hot for plug welds but only use a Letter A hole size, .234" diameter. Again, not sitting there all day trying to fill too large a hole. Sure, I-CAR calls for about 5/16", but they also are trying to insure body shops get good weld penetration. When is the last time you saw a 5/16 diameter factory spot weld?

If you are using the Whitney JR for punching your holes, drop down to the .218 size (7/32) and try again..

 

[bigguns69]

Still playing catch up of my posts to progress so far. Like mentioned above, I moved to .023" wire and that made a world of difference. Previous to this car build, sheet metal to me was 11 ga.

I did end up buying a Miller 211 110v/220v welder and set it up as my exclusive, light duty machine. I like the smaller size, smaller gun for climbing around on the car, plus it’s portable. Planning on setting it up with a spool gun for aluminum in the future. It works great. I welded a 1" rust hole shut with it just to see how good I could do.

Appreciate the ideas. I need to go to HF and get that pneumatic punch.

 

[bigguns69]

Finished the inner cowl panel install, grinding spot welds smooth. Prepped the interior surfaces of the cowl weldment assembly with Summit single stage urethane gloss black paint for extra layer of element protection. The paint sprayed well, about $110 for the gallon kit, and hardened up in about 30 minutes.

 

[ScottsGT]

Wow, bringing back memories of cramped hands and sore arms from drilling out all those spot welds.

 

[bigguns69]

Decided to put some seam sealer around the vent buckets to provide a little extra protection from rust, at the last minute. 3M brushable seam sealer applied with an acid brush. Cures in about an hour. Put a coat of paint over top to finish it off.

 

[ScottsGT]

Yes! very wise move.

 

[bigguns69]

Finished up the outer cowl install. Lots of holes, spot welds, and grinding. This is where vice grips come into play and a few sheet-metal screws to draw everything tight.

The rear of the outer cowl flange connects to the front flange of the metal dash frame. This is where the rubber seal for the bottom of the windshield glass will reside when done. Forward of that about an inch is where the inner and outer cowl connect. This required the use of some sheet-metal screws to draw the joint tight before welding.

I used a pick to scribe the paint away for each spot weld. That got old after a while so I took a 1/4" drill bit and ground the end flat and used a hand drill to break the paint loose. Etching primer to finish it off. Not bad for first time doing this.

 

[C_F]

I just found your thread today, great project! I really like the body dolly & jig setup, I may have to steal that idea at some point in the future.

Are these photos where you're currently at? I will enjoy checking back in for your continued progress photos, keep at it!

 

[AngryBeaver]

Fun build. Mines ripped apart doing a mini tub and AJE front end.

Then a 04 cobra engine and trans with the 9" I already have in mine.

 

[Jazz1]

Honestly, even though its not as fun as other stuff, I'd get that body work done before I spend a dime on go fast parts.

Thats sage advice. Body work is such a time consuming and tedious task. No time for bodywork the project will not get completed but as I look through the thread wow that is a ambitious project. I have worked on a couple rustangs, fell through the floor of a '65 fastback while removing glass trim.

 

[bigguns69]

The replacement firewall, in the transition to the floor pan, does not extend fully to the kick panel with a flange. Since I am not worried about a factory equivalent rebuild, I used some 1" x 11 ga. angle to make the connection. Connected what remains of the floor pan tunnel to get structure back to the weldment. The tunnel will get some rework with the new floor pans later.

 

[bigguns69]

Frame time. Going with 2 x 3 x 11 ga. rectangular tube. Started laying things out with wood to see where things fit with the firewall / pan area. Decided to install some 11 ga. plate on the pans for the tube to **** up to for good weld contact. Me being a former earth moving/combine engineer is starting to show in how I put things together.

 

[ScottsGT]

Are you going to tie the new rails to the bottom of the pan too? I installed subframe connectors on mine. Really made a nice stiff chassis.

 

[bigguns69]

Pictures of front frame basic weld up with left and right side fender aprons welded on. Decided to stitch weld both side of the flanges rather than punching holes and spot welding in most of the areas. The flanges on the new apron parts were really narrow and If I popped holes in them there would not be much metal around them.

 

[bigguns69]

More pictures of frame, aprons, front, and tie in to cowl/firewall. Used 11 ga. flat bar to tie the aprons to the frame rails.

 

[bigguns69]

Planning on grafting a tube frame onto the new floor pans and into the rear rails. This is an example of what I plan on doing. The rear frame and floor panels seem fairly solid. I need a rotisserie.

 

[bigguns69]

I built a rotisserie. Took about 2 solid weekends to get done. I think I've spent about as much time building carts, engine run stand, frame jig, and rotisserie as I have spent on the car so far. Guess I will be better prepared for next time.

See details in other post. I have been wanting too do this for a long time. I am having a blast working on this thing. Can't wait to work on the next one, going to throw caution to the wind on that one.

 

[edboyles]

I am enjoying this thread and impressed with your skills and capabilities. Subscribed!

 

[larry4406]

Any update to this?

 

[racer-john]

I build this frame jig at this stage

On page 18.
Is there anything joining the pairs of channels together other than the bolted plates shown in pic three, or are they just loose when you store them?

Enjoyed your work so far, will be looking for progress reports.:thumbup
TIA racer-john

 

[bigguns69]

Racer-John:

There are several 3/4 x 3 1/2” solid bars welded between the channels to make them joined pairs.

 

[bigguns69]

Been a while since last post. With car on rotisserie need to do some rust removal to see how bad the back half floor pan is. Did some wire wheeling and tried out some paint options. Did a test spot of both etching primer, Green, and Por 15, Black. Applied both, let dry for a day then came back and hit it with the wire wheel again to see which had better adhesion. The Por 15 bonded better to the metal so that's what I decided to go with.

Did some sandblasting and a lot of grinding with flap discs to get the metal fairly clean. Sandblasting really runs my compressor hard so try to limit it to areas that I can't get to with a grinder.

Rear left and right side floor pan extensions will need replaced along with the metal from the outside of the rear frame rail flange to wheel house and rear fender both sides.

Focusing on floor pans, then new frame, then rear quarters and wheel houses and rear quarter extension pans.

 

[bigguns69]

Rear left and right floor pan extension replacement. Out with the old. I have gone away from using the spot-weld cutter tool to using 1/4-5/16 size drill bits. I can sharpen them and cut through the spot-welds faster and cheaper then replacing the spot-weld cutter tool when dull. I cut the rear seat mount tangs off and save for remounting later.

 

[bigguns69]

Removal, Prep of underside of new panels and prep of interior of frame rails before going back together.

 

[bigguns69]

Going back together with the new rear pans. The passenger side came bare, the driver side came with primer.

 

[ScottsGT]

FWIW, if the green was epoxy, 24 hours was not enough time to give it a fair comparison. I used SPI epoxy and had a good long conversation with the owner of the company when I was prepping my '66 GT Fastback. He explained it best by comparing it to epoxy glue. Which it basically is. Can't start stressing a glue joint until it is fully cured. It takes up to a week to fully cure epoxy paint.
That's why you have a recoat time of 1 week using epoxy as a base. Fresh epoxy is basically gluing down what you just put on top of it. After a week, you have to sand it.
He also told me to spray an area. Wait 24 hours and scratch it off with my fingernail. Come back a week later and wear down my fingernail trying to scratch it off again.

That being said, the POR15 is also a very awesome product too. Can't go wrong either way. That stuff dries as hard as diamonds.

Love your rotisserie. I built one myself when I did my project but it was much "lower budget" than that masterpiece you put together!

 

[bigguns69]

The Por 15 material is really good product and flows out well with a brush. It is kind of pricey too. If I get some on my skin, I wear it for a week or better. It is really hard on can lids too. Material really bites.

 

[bigguns69]

Fitting the floor pans in place. Use pole barn screws to attach the new pans to the surrounding metal and draw tight. I then go around the perimeter and scribe a line with a scratch awl, then cut the old material to the line. Then fit the pans back in and **** weld the new to the old.

Lots of spot welds. I go around and tack around the perimeter to get every thing attached. I typically go with three spots then move to a different area to minimize warping to finish up. With the thin 18-20 ga material I can get 100% penetration by welding one side.

I have found that the best way for me to grind weld seems smooth without thinning the material is to us a cutoff tool with the cut off wheel perpendicular to the weld joint. Takes some time but I have a lot of control.

Also, had a big dent in the passenger side rocker panel. Chose to go at it from the inside out, so I cut a window out and used a customized chunk of 2x2 with some contour on the end to get it 95% before putting the floor pans in.

 

[bigguns69]

Patch panel for the trans tunnel. Showing the single pass of spot welds on the underneath side, the full weld penetration through to the inside and then grinding the weld smooth. Couple of my spot welds at the trans to firewall overlap need a second going over.

 

[SteveH-CO]

A lot of hard work is going into this - looks good!

 

[C_F]

Looks good! There's sure a whole lot less rust in the Rustang nowdays.

 

[bigguns69]

Time to finish up the frame. Pictures show a 2x2x11ga. mid tube and then the various 2x3x11ga. rect. tube to finish the connection of the front section to the back section.

The pans are flat in the front and back with a slope angle of about 7 degrees where the seat pans reside on the inside of the car. This requires some compound cuts, which I did with a right angel grinder and cutoff wheel.

 

[1949 caddyman]

Nice fabrication! Will the frame be welded to the floor, maybe stitch weld?

 

[larry4406]

I know zero about mustangs.

Are you building a replacement frame or making one to modify a unibody?

Neat fab nonetheless

 

[ms fowler]

Nice looking thread--great work!

I would disagree with the statement that they were "built to rust". No one would do that, but they weren't built NOT to rust. They were designed and then built to be put together as rapidly as possible. There was GREAT demand for these when they were new. I read somewhere that the three most successful new car introductions in auto history were:1) 1928 Model A Ford. 2) 1960 Ford Falcon, and 3) 1965 Ford Mustang ( 64 1/2 for you purists). Built using many parts and most of the platform of the Falcon there was no thought that these cars would last for 10 years, let alone 50+. Cost was the key--sure they could have made them better, but the extra $100 or $400 would have killed them in the market.