65 Mustang Restoration
(Several Months Late)
Oh my,, where do I begin, I'm so far behind on this blog it's terrible. So, here it is,, the car fresh out of hibernation, a few months ago.
Once again Spring has finally arrived & it's time to get back to work on the car. Since Winter gives you a lot of time to learn new things and think about up coming items that will be done, after several years resting in a box,, I was concerned if my new alternator was going to be able to handle my needs since we're upgrading so many items.
So I took it over to Automotive Electronics & had Jim, the owner put it on his tester to see how many amps it was cranking out. When I bought it on Ebay, the guy I got it from said he had installed the biggest amp kit available to him when he rebuilt it, so it was nice when Jim informed me that it was cranking out 75 amps which he thought was very good.
Jim also recommended that I install the better and newer "Electronic" version of voltage regulator, rather than the new (old style) "Mechanical" version(on the left) that I had already purchased. He said to just change the covers & nobody would ever know, so I did. You can see the huge difference under the covers. Jim also said he didn't think that I would need the radio condenser that is attached to this box.
One of MANY things that I've been dreading to do, was the new weather stripping, so I started on the upper door/window channel. I got some good 3M black contact adhesive & when to town. The key was to line up & screw in the front lower leading edge, and after that was done, it went pretty quickly. I took my time & did in three sections(gluing sessions) which worked out very well.
Pretty much the same thing & glue on the deck lid & the door seals. I do think that it helped having the seals unbagged & hanging on a shelf over the winter. I would assume that a session out in the hot sun would also help with the kinks. Yeah, I probably went a little over board with the tape. FYI,, be very careful when removing the tape!
The Doors
This was an area that I had NO Knowledge of since what I got for doors when I purchased the car, were empty rusty shells, along with some bags of Stuff. I was fortunate enough to purchase a complete door at a swap meet for $20 solely for the purpose of seeing how it was put together, & what parts I would be needing,, times 2.
This may be boring for many of you, but I took a bunch of pics that I'm posting to help others like me that aren't sure what is needed & where it may go. In many of the pics, the door is upside down(sorry).
This is a Left, Driver's side door, with a Pony Interior.
2 hidden screws under a rubber pad.
The inside of the door panel.
The bracket the 2 hidden screws, screwed into.
Clips go into these 2 little rectangle holes for the bracket that you attach the door pull to, Pony Interior.
Here we start removing clips & bolts for the window regulator.
These are the bolts for the vent window.
Rear Window Channel.
The rear upper window stop. I actually had to modify this part in order to properly adjust my window when during assembly.
You have to remove the beltline strips BEFORE you can remove the window.
This is how the bolts fit into the vent window section.
Two regulator stops for the LEFT DOOR.
Retaining clip for the inner door handle rod.
An inside view of the outer door handle & lock.
The door handle shaft & rod.
The door latch and the 4 rods attached to it.
Holly Crap that's a lot of parts in just one door!
And now lets put it back together with a bunch of NEW parts!
The vent widows were rebuilt with new seals, re-chromed frames, and front window guides. These came out really nice!
It takes a ton of new parts to to rebuild a door. The one item I don't have a pic of, is the new regulators. I upgraded them to the 1966 regulators because the handles screw on rather than using those wobbly clip-on style handles. Plus I like their ribbed design better.
Just all sorts of new parts!
Adjusting all 3 windows was quite the task, taking a couple of hours to figure out what part adjusted what angle,,, but once you get the jest of it,,, the 2nd door went rather quickly.
I found a nice set of aftermarket mirrors with a larger mirror section that fit very nicely. I would like larger yet, but they'd be too gaudy.
The new Pony door panels came out very nicely,,, they are a lot more work than what I was expecting them to be, the trim pieces are kind of a chore to do. I also upgraded to the black leather wrapped door handles.
See, nothing to it,, just many, many hours of pure agony & love!
Next I figured I'd finally tackle those pesky deck lid springs,, I even made a special tool that I saw online,,, but my springs looked a bit different from all of the others I saw posted,,, and I was easily able to install them with my "mechanic hands". I was rather disappointed at how worried I had been about installing them,, 2 minutes and BOOM, they were in.
And look at all of the new parts it takes just to be able to close & lock your trunk!
And finally for today,,, I priced around on the internet for a new back window since mine had some pretty good sizes scratches in it,,, and I was actually able to get one through our sub contractors at work for much less installed, than I could just buy the glass for online(let alone truck freight shipping). Tim did a great job putting it in with me,,, I have always enjoyed working with those who are actually good & caring about their job.
Till the next time,,,, (I have a bunch more to share)
