Build Updates 2004
2September2004: Believe it or not, the boots went on 6-8! I moved some wiring out of the way and that gave me JUST enough room. I had already removed the left export brace yesterday, which only helped marginally, although it helped a lot with the plugs themselves.
I also got the oil changed including the filter, and put four quarts in. I know it holds 5, but until it runs and fills the filter, I don't want to overfill the pan. That's enough for one day. Time to call it a night. It's a night.
1September2004: Got the tool today. It made it real easy to get the wires off the right side (1-4), but I still couldn't get 6-8 on the plugs. Also, I almost didn't get number 2 plug out. The plug was rounded over, and I had an impossible time getting it out. Broke the porcelain off the plug, which made it that much harder to get out. Even with a huge breaker bar, it still took a while, but it finally came out. 3 showed signs of pre-ignition. I'm not certain if that's really the issue, or I'm thinking all the plugs would look that way. I got all the boots back on the right side. More room on this side of the engine compartment. Now that it's midnight, I'll call it a day.
31August2004: I got the four left side plugs out (5-8). 7 was hard to get out, and 8 was almost impossible. Both 7 and 8 plugs smelled like gasoline, and 8 had oil all over it. Not pretty. Also, couldn't get the plug wires back on 6-8 plugs. I just couldn't get my hand in there. I saw a spark plug boot remover at Pimp Boys the other day, I'll buy that and see if it helps.
30August2004: My cousin stopped by and he found the hidden bolt that was holding the fender onto the fender extension. We were also able to install the radiator properly so that the fan blade doesn't hit the lower radiator hose. So we decided we could just run a fuel line from a tank of gas (can) and try to run the engine. So I can go ahead and change the plugs and the oil.
28August2004: I started to disassemble the front end. I got the valence, grill, hood latch, horns and almost the left fender. I just couldn't find that last bolt to get it off. I also determined that almost everything I removed, except the fender, needed to be replaced. I also "found" many problems. The washer fluid resevoir is missing. The front marker lights weren't installed into the valence because the valence isn't the right one - there aren't holes to mount the lights. The A/C condensor is also missing.
7July2004: My cousin stopped by to help me start working on the car. We didn't get the key for the trunk, so I crawled in through the barely functioning fold-down rear seat, and popped it open. The deck lid itself is completely useless. There were a few noteworthy items in the trunk. The clearly original space-saver spare tire, along with a badly corroded inflation bottle. The alignment rings for the headlights are here, and that's about it. Just a few of the spare tire hold down parts are here. no jack, no lug wrench, no "carpet".
But, we also went through the box-'o'-parts that came with the car. Here, we found the front marker lights that were never reinstalled after the accident the previous owner had. The Mustang emblems that go on the rear roof pillars. These were purchased by the original owner but never installed. The car was delivered without them originally, because the factory ran out of them.
We also found a new Mach 1 stripe kit. So after we repaint the car, we've already got that. And there are other miscellaneous parts, as well as 4 of the 5 shop manuals.
I should also write here that the previous owner told me that the original owner ordered the car by picture, sight unseen. He wanted the 390 and not the 428 CJ because it was an old and proven reliable motor. I've ordered the build sheet from Ford. Not sure how long it'll take to get that.
The previous owner also said that the original owner kept track in a notebook of everything he ever did to the car, but he couldn't find it when we came to get the car. Hopefully he can find it at a later date.
Anyway, we removed the deck lid, and that's about it.
28June2004: My cousin stopped by again to take a better look since he had more time to spend. Our plan has been to change the oil and spark plugs and the fuel in the gas tank and try to start it. We immediately find a huge road block to that. First, the gas in the tank is so bad, the whole garage smells horrible. But we also found that the fuel lines are completely corroded. They feel the same as the undercarriage - one press and they collapse.
So, unfortunately, we've clearly no choice but to skip this step and just proceed with the restoration. We were planning to do a complete engine tear-down anyway.
26June2004: My brother-in-law stopped over and says that basically we're right, but anything can be fixed.
So my hopes are up a little again. Cost will more than likely be the biggest change now. And obviously, it's going up. This poor car has just been neglected for entirely too long.
14June2004: My cousin came over to look at the car where we can really inspect it. He pretty much sees the same things I did which wasn't good. He seemed concerned as well. He suggests asking my brother-in-law what he thinks.
13June2004: The Mustang comes home for the first time. Several neighbors are waiting to see it. It takes a while (it hardly rolls) but she gets it into the garage.
Upon a little closer inspection, the car is in much worse shape than I had realized. Entire body parts -- really the entire undercarriage -- is rust. And I don't mean surface rust. It's the kind of rust where you can put your hand through the "metal."
This is when I get that horrible feeling in my stomach like I've completely wasted my money. Questions start to fly through my mind; Why did I buy this car? What was I thinking? What do I do now? I'll just leave it here and come back another day.
