Wishing you more 40 degree days!  We woke up to snow this morning

Dwayne

Today I hogged out the bumper mount bolt holes and mounted the assembly, including what I have made for headlight mounts.  I still have some more to create for the headlight mounts but it seems to be coming together.  I'll take and send pics once I have the headlights mounted. 

Today I mounted the headlights...i t's temporary, but I think this is going to be the permanent configuration with a little extra bracing welded in.  I have the fore and aft part of the mounts vice gripped in place.  I'll tack them in place the next time I get the welder out. 

Our weather is going to turn colder next week and I continue to work out of town so progress will be sporadic until Spring.  If I do anything, I will let everyone know.

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous 2024 to all!

Rob

The only thing I did to my project this weekend was to pull the cover back so I could look at it!  Happy 2024 to All!

It was cold here today...starte d out around 32 with snow at 0730, and by afternoon it was mid-20's but sunny.  Weird weather.  I was outside working with techs this AM, but parked in front of the computer all afternoon.  Next week I will be evaluating techs (outside) so I'll have to bring the insulated gear.  If I keep my hands and feet warm, the rest of me will stay that way. 

Stay warm and only 3 more months of Winter!

Since nothing has been posted for a few days, I will let you know that I have done nothing on my project since 12/24.  It might be a while before I even lift the cover to look at it!  Otherwise, I hope all is well with all.  I'll let you know if any progress is made and if there is anything of value to report.

Something to look forward to for sure!

Dwayne

Seems like a good guess. The center indent in the valve cover I believe is for the fuel injection manifold to cross over and provide hood clearance.

I DO love progress!!!

Dwayne

We had snow this week but the trend is for improving weather patterns.  Hopefully I can transform my Winter storage barn into an operating shop soon.  I need to get back on my project so I can get it done this Summer.  I have priming and painting to do so I need it to really warm up.  There are some other odds and ends I can do until it's warm enough to paint so I will hopefully start posting progress again soon. 

I think next week my Winter Storage barn returns to workshop status!  I will be starting back up on my project.

Unrelated, I have an 03 Ranger with a rotted bed.  There is rot around the wheel wells and the bed floor.  If there wasn't a bed liner in it, it wouldn't hold any cargo.  Today I just bought a Mazda bed from a guy that gets them from NC.  Rust free and the same color.  The body lines are slightly different, but it will bolt on.  I will clean up the underside, epoxy, enamel, then coat with fibrated roofing tar.  That will get me a few more years out of the truck.  While the old bed is off, I'll clean up and seal the frame with POR 15 or similar.  The left side wheel well is way worse than the right side in the pic.

Yesterday I rearranged my garage and got my toys accessible.  The Harley got it's annual oil and primary fluid changed.  It doesn't get tranny gear oil change this year.  I put the battery in the Mustang and fired it up.  Took it to the end of the street and back.  Only put 500 miles on last year so no oil change.  Re-torqued the lug nuts as I bought new tires last Fall just before putting putting it away.  Glad I did...there were some that were loose.  The project car just got rolled around and admired.  I think the first things I will do is repair the cracks in the dash pad and get the rest of the interior parts (dash, steering column, rear interior quarter panels, rear package tray, junk tray) ready for adhesion promoter, primer, black paint.  I have to work in some gardening/weeding and other home projects, then a week in FL at the end of the month but I plan to make some progress in the next few weeks.

I finally did something other than look at my project.  I made repairs to my cracked and otherwise unsightly dash pad. I used a heat gun and razor knife in the areas of the large cracks and dug out the bad foam too.  I filled the deep crevices with crumpled aluminum foil, then regular body filler.  After fully cured, I used a lightweight, flexible body filler (Porpoise Putty) and skinned and sanded it smooth.  See before and after below.  Future treatment will be adhesion promoter, primer/surfacer, then the black paint the rest of the interior parts will get.  Progress...

Looking forward to how this turns out and more importantly how it holds up. On my Datsun 510 I filled the cracks with spray foam and then sanded. Then I bought a sheet of vinyl and wrapped it. But that dash didn't have the complex curves of the Pinto.

I finally got some garage time over the weekend.  Some progress:  I brainstormed what to do about a windscreen.  I am thinking it is going to be plexiglass or some other clear polymer.  I made a template out of poster board.  I had to think of a way to mount it.  I came up with an idea for clips and built one out of cardboard from a toothpaste box.  It will allow me to mount the lower edge, and will provide a 45 degree (or so) windshield rake.  My other Mustang is a 40 degree rake but for this application I think a 45 degree will be good.  I would like the metal for the clips cut and bent professionally with a shear and brake so they look right and not a cob job.  I will have to fab some sort of braces for the top of the windscreen and attach to the dash or some other secure spots.  I also removed the Mustang II header panel and removed the grill from the header panel.  I will be doing body work on the header panel to prep for primer and paint.  I will also clean up the grill so it will be ready to reinstall after the header panel is in paint.  I also popped the orange steering wheel off so I can prep the visible portion of the column for black paint.  I had to use my harmonic balancer puller to get it off.  It goes right on and off now.  I will not be re-using the orange steering wheel.  I have a 13" three-spoke wheel with a Mustang center.  Over a year ago I ordered and received a rear deck package tray that has provisions for 6x9 speakers.  64-67 Mustangs didn't have factory 6x9 rear rear speaker cutouts so this aftermarket part provides that option.  I will have to trace and cut out the openings when I get to that point.  I finally opened the box and set it in place to see what it looked like.  I will make it work.  I got the rear inner quarters out of hiding and did some corrosion control and paint stripping.  The next "major" step will to get all the interior parts painted black.  Dash, Dash Pad, Rear Inner Quarters, Junk Tray, Steering Column.  Then I can start prepping the body for primer/surfacer and top coat.   I took inventory of the paint products I have left over from another project, visited my local NAPA, and made a list of what I need to buy to ensure I have enough product to complete the job.  There is so much left to do.   I need to secure the brake lines to the frame.  I need to fabricate and install fuel supply and return lines.  After paint I need to get the wiring harnesses in place.  I need to get a battery box and mount it in the trunk and run pos and neg cables to the front.  I still think I can get this thing to a point that I can run it around my circle before I have to put it away for the season.  I need to make the best use of my time but I still have other automotive maintenance and home/yard projects to do.  This coming Sunday is Father's Day so I go to a car show in my home town in my Fastback.  That kills a day of productivity.  Some time in July I will have to go to TX to see my son graduate from Air Force Basic Training.  That will keep me from making progress.  If I keep making small steps of progress I can get this thing done.