New stuff!

[enjenjo]

So far, I filled or patched 71 places. The remainder will have to wait until the column, hydroboost, clutch and throttle mounts are located and finished. The section of the mustang firewall that has all of those has been trimmed and is ready whenever I figure out where it needs to be.

You think the relationship of those parts will be the same, so you can use that panel intact?

[jaybee]

So far, I filled or patched 71 places. The remainder will have to wait until the column, hydroboost, clutch and throttle mounts are located and finished. The section of the mustang firewall that has all of those has been trimmed and is ready whenever I figure out where it needs to be.

Wow, and all that before "holy week." How amazing is it that a cab that old and a vehicle that simple had need for 6 dozen holes in the firewall?

[UGLY OLDS]

So far, I filled or patched 71 places. The remainder will have to wait until the column, hydroboost, clutch and throttle mounts are located and finished. The section of the mustang firewall that has all of those has been trimmed and is ready whenever I figure out where it needs to be.

Wow, and all that before "holy week." How amazing is it that a cab that old and a vehicle that simple had need for 6 dozen holes in the firewall?

 Maybe they were cheaper by the d.....  Never Mind .....


Bob......

[kb426]

Jaybee, I have a really good 49 cab hiding under a tarp. I haven't counted how many holes are in it but I don't think it was ever messed with. The 51 was owned by some industrious owners who had at least 3 and maybe 4 different engine combo's in it back in the late 50's or early 60's. Their methods were somewhat crude but effective. They never thought anything about more holes, more cutting or more welding when performing a swap. Sometime this summer, I'll count holes in the 49 for a comparison.

[kb426]

This is a really small update. The last 2 weekends have been poor weather so I didn't accomplish anything in the shop. Yesterday I added some risers to my trailer so the cab sits solidly instead of having blocks stuck under it. The roll around cart I use for cabs got redone so now the wheels are 4'x 4'. It was 2 x 2. Yesterday I sanded and painted the silver wheels. I used Duplicolor wheel paint. It appears to be regular enamel in a can. It went on good and the color will be fine for my plan. I don't expect it to be long lived.

[kb426]

Another minor update. Frank, when you asked about that panel working with everything, I was very hesitant to have an opinion. It was about as I expected. The clutch and brake are mounted. The throttle pedal is in the right place but I haven't decided which way to mount it yet. The steering column is a mess but I have a plan now. The PATS is going to cause me grief because of needing to use the factory column and gauge panel. I'll spend time thinking instead of cutting and welding to get it to work. I found a pic on a cobra forum where they converted most of the hydroboost lines to 3/8's hard lines. That's probably how most of this will be connected. It takes about an hour to bring the cab in from the outside, move the frame away from the wall and mount it. Because of that, there is no progress during the week. I think one more good weekend might be enough to be ready to paint the frame. I'll be waiting on the weather to cooperate temp wise. The logistics of this project in my shop is about to get difficult. It's my fault for not having a dedicated shop so I blame myself.  

[jaybee]

Looking good. Are those stock brake and clutch pedals?

[kb426]

Jaybee, that's from the 96 mustang. The donor only had a brake so I bought another set with the clutch pedal. That allowed the Mustang cable clutch to be viable. That's the easiest clutch linkage I ever did!

[jaybee]

Ah, OK then. It's a cool project and I'm really enjoying it.

[kb426]

This is self explanatory. I have no tire shop in town that I would let touch my stuff.

[kb426]

Over at the slow progress shop, I got 1 more thing crossed off the list today. Most of yesterday was a yard day getting ready for spring. One of the compromises in putting the engine back as far as I did was lack of clearance for a steering u-joint on the r-p. I used 1.5" 6061 alum shaft to make offset bushings to change the angle of the unit where it's mounted to the crossmember. I did a little measuring and found that a 10 degree angle would give lots of clearance for the u-joint and the oil filter outlet housing. I angle drilled the holes for the 5/8" bolts and then angle cut the ends. After making sure the angles were correct, I used a reciprocating saw to cut the bushings in half. They have a slight compression on the flanges to hold the steering unit snug when the fasteners are tight. The steering shaft will clear everything now to the column. I tried to get a pic but it was too dark to show the clearance.

[kb426]

Yesterday, the 2004 crown vic exhaust manifolds I purchased arrived. The outlets are at a different angle than the Mustangs. It will make running exhaust easier. I got started mounting the Mustang column and connecting the steering shaft. The pics are of the adapter I machined to connect the dissimilar shafts and the clearance I have. The heat riser tube is loose and about an inch away from the shaft. The pic of the Mustang floor plate is the part that will be adapted to the floor panel to fill the hole.

[kb426]

Made a plate to cover the factory steering - pedal hole. I adapted the Mustang lower column bearing support to it. That is welded to the plate. If the weather will cooperate this week, after work some evening I'll bring the cab in and weld the plate to the floor. I replaced 2 of the column braces I made yesterday. I didn't like what I had done. Today's are better but I'd like a better idea still. I may wait until the wiring and ac plumbing is run to see how much space I'll have left.

[kb426]

For those of you that think I've sunk to a new level of show and tell, here's the latest story. I purchased 2004 crown vic exhaust manifolds because they both have belled flanges and the angles of the outlets are going to be way easier to run pipes to. The used parts were missing 2 studs. I see that there is 1 part number listed with Dorman for almost all 4.6 2 valve engines. I order a set and the next morning go pick them up at the parts store. When I get home and look things over, I see that the new ones are 12 mm. The crown vics are 10mm. The Mustang and early crown vics are all 10mm. That's all I could find to buy short of OEM. So, the pic is the manifold drilled and tapped. Just one more thing.

[UGLY OLDS]

Do the Crown Vic manifolds have the same size exhaust pipe "hole" as the Mustang???  I would think the Mustang may be a little larger as in "High Performance" .....



Bob ....