Erkenbrand
Active Member
More progress! The rear end is officially all buttoned up. I just need to throw on the tires. Finally.
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Embarking on a lot of clean up . . . not really a resto . . . quite
- Thread starter Erkenbrand
- Start date
Erkenbrand
Active Member
Then, came the front sway bar. Which is just about the end of everything I need to do under the car.
The ends aren't torqued yet. I'll do that once it has load.
The ends aren't torqued yet. I'll do that once it has load.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
Now, I'm moving on to the clutch. Since the car is a 1980 4spd it's setup for the old clutch cable / no quadrant. I really want to update that as well. So I have the pedal assembly from something newer. I can't remember exactly what, but I think from 1990 or so?
I'm in the middle of this now.
Of course it started with just a bit of disassembly:
Here are the two pedal assemblies, side-by-side. They're pretty much exactly the same except the clutch design, and the brake pedal on the newer assembly has a different design for the brake light switch. I'm sticking with the old switch.
But before it goes in it needs a complete rebuild. Yup. Just like new. Those aluminum pedals went right to the scrap pile.
I'm in the middle of this now.
Of course it started with just a bit of disassembly:
Here are the two pedal assemblies, side-by-side. They're pretty much exactly the same except the clutch design, and the brake pedal on the newer assembly has a different design for the brake light switch. I'm sticking with the old switch.
But before it goes in it needs a complete rebuild. Yup. Just like new. Those aluminum pedals went right to the scrap pile.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
Last night, I got the pedal assembly back in with the new SVE clutch quadrant. The process was a pain, but not anywhere nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. While I have the front seat out and can get under the dash, I'm going to spend some time cleaning up the wiring. I added a couple of fuse panels to support the accessories I've been accumulating - like the Dakota Digital cluster and its additional modules, the stereo, soon a power bank so I can charge devices.
Ignore the carpet. That's going to get replaced some day, but it's super low on the priority list right now.
Ignore the carpet. That's going to get replaced some day, but it's super low on the priority list right now.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
This was a mixed weekend. For the first time in months, the Mustang is back on all 4 wheels. I even cleaned up the interior, and got the tape deck working.
Although I wasn't planning on changing out the seats, I came across a deal that was too good to pass up. For $200 I grabbed a pair of later Foxbody seats that have power lumbar, tilt, and front bolster adjustment. And they match the color of my interior, and they are in pretty good shape. At the local pick-n-pull I found the bits of wiring harness I'll need to get power to them.
Old seats that are stained with some kind of paint, and looking their age:
New to me seats:
Back on all four . . . but not for long:
Although I wasn't planning on changing out the seats, I came across a deal that was too good to pass up. For $200 I grabbed a pair of later Foxbody seats that have power lumbar, tilt, and front bolster adjustment. And they match the color of my interior, and they are in pretty good shape. At the local pick-n-pull I found the bits of wiring harness I'll need to get power to them.
Old seats that are stained with some kind of paint, and looking their age:
New to me seats:
Back on all four . . . but not for long:
Attachments
Erkenbrand
Active Member
The big moment came when it was time to take it for a test drive. Since the last time I drove it, it's been through some changes:
- New clutch
- New pedal assembly and clutch quadrant
- T5 trans swap for the 4spd
- 8.8 rear swap for the 7.5
- All new rear tubular control arms
- New front and rear sway bars
- Tape deck
The motor fired right up, and sounds great. Good oil pressure, cooling, etc. Idles well, and doesn't smoke.
Then came the big moment, and I dropped it in gear. At first, everything was fine. I backed out of the garage with no problem. As soon as I was out, the trans started making funky noises. Loud whirring, humming, etc. So I did the right thing and said 'F*** it' and put the car on the road.
From first . . . it wouldn't go into second for anything. I was able to grab third. And that's where it still is. Once it was in third it decided that's where it was happiest as a transmission. Now, it's permanently stuck in third. I was able to get it home. I live in a very rural area, so finding a way to spin around wasn't hard.
This is what I get for trusting a FB Marketplace T5 from a Mustang guy who tries to daily drive a blown 700HP SN95.
To resolve it, I threw in the towel and ordered a T5 from Summit. I'm not messing around. This car is going to go on Power Tour.
- New clutch
- New pedal assembly and clutch quadrant
- T5 trans swap for the 4spd
- 8.8 rear swap for the 7.5
- All new rear tubular control arms
- New front and rear sway bars
- Tape deck
The motor fired right up, and sounds great. Good oil pressure, cooling, etc. Idles well, and doesn't smoke.
Then came the big moment, and I dropped it in gear. At first, everything was fine. I backed out of the garage with no problem. As soon as I was out, the trans started making funky noises. Loud whirring, humming, etc. So I did the right thing and said 'F*** it' and put the car on the road.
From first . . . it wouldn't go into second for anything. I was able to grab third. And that's where it still is. Once it was in third it decided that's where it was happiest as a transmission. Now, it's permanently stuck in third. I was able to get it home. I live in a very rural area, so finding a way to spin around wasn't hard.
This is what I get for trusting a FB Marketplace T5 from a Mustang guy who tries to daily drive a blown 700HP SN95.
To resolve it, I threw in the towel and ordered a T5 from Summit. I'm not messing around. This car is going to go on Power Tour.
broncojunkie
Well-Known Member
My 79 cobra has the same seats as your original 80. I actually found a few yds of that center "deluxe" fabric and have it sitting in a box if I ever plan on taking it back to 100% original (I won't). Car is looking great!
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Erkenbrand
Active Member
I was tempted to restore the original seats . . . and then I found this pair for $200. And I get tilt, power lumbar, and front bolster adjustment.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
Although I don't have many photos from this weekend, the update is - I put about 20 miles on the Mustang. I installed this beauty from Summit:
It was a successful 20 miles:
- Engine stayed cool.
- Oil pressure was good.
- Performance was great.
- Brakes were OK (they need to be bled again)
- The ride was good. Suspension is doing its thing without any squeaks.
I did find some problems, which is why I'm glad I got some shake down time:
- It badly needs an alignment. I've replaced all of the steering but the steering wheel, so it should.
- After 20 years the valve cover gaskets are leaking pretty badly. I was already planning on new valve covers, intake, etc.
- The water pump has a small leak.
- A couple of noises I need to iron out. One I think was just the spare tire and jack hopping around in the hatch.
Now, I'm going to focus on the engine. Upcoming:
- MSD Ignition
- Holley Sniper FI
- Replacing the gas tank, and installing a Holley returnless in-tank fuel pump.
- Upgrading the poor alternator.
And other things. Not much time left for Power Tour.
It was a successful 20 miles:
- Engine stayed cool.
- Oil pressure was good.
- Performance was great.
- Brakes were OK (they need to be bled again)
- The ride was good. Suspension is doing its thing without any squeaks.
I did find some problems, which is why I'm glad I got some shake down time:
- It badly needs an alignment. I've replaced all of the steering but the steering wheel, so it should.
- After 20 years the valve cover gaskets are leaking pretty badly. I was already planning on new valve covers, intake, etc.
- The water pump has a small leak.
- A couple of noises I need to iron out. One I think was just the spare tire and jack hopping around in the hatch.
Now, I'm going to focus on the engine. Upcoming:
- MSD Ignition
- Holley Sniper FI
- Replacing the gas tank, and installing a Holley returnless in-tank fuel pump.
- Upgrading the poor alternator.
And other things. Not much time left for Power Tour.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
Another weekend update. Still pushing hard to be able to drive this thing on Power Tour in June.
The biggest accomplishment was finally completing the interior. I've had to pull it apart and put it together more times than I can count, but I did that for the last time (I hope) after running the new fuel pump power wire.
One of the things I was struggling with was getting the boot for my Hurst shifter to work. I know there are a couple of places where you can find pre-made setups, but I wanted to see what I could do to use the boot that came with the shifter. It's too small for the OEM bezel. In the end I found the bezel for an automatic. Turns out, it's just about perfect. With the short throw shifter it doesn't ask for much movement in the boot, so it doesn't put a lot of pressure on the bezel.
I just had to trim a bit from the boot rubber (see below) to get it to fully fit. I'm pretty happy with the result.
Trimmed boot:
Final look:
In the car:
The interior. Some day I want to find an original 3 spoke wheel to replace this one. But this works for now.
I need to get a night picture. The Dakota Digital gauges are back lit in red, which I think is only fitting for the overall theme.
I also need to disable the Low Fuel light in the alerts display on the console. With the Dakota fuel gauge I lost that connection so the light is always on. But that's for the future, too. Probably when I install new carpet.
The biggest accomplishment was finally completing the interior. I've had to pull it apart and put it together more times than I can count, but I did that for the last time (I hope) after running the new fuel pump power wire.
One of the things I was struggling with was getting the boot for my Hurst shifter to work. I know there are a couple of places where you can find pre-made setups, but I wanted to see what I could do to use the boot that came with the shifter. It's too small for the OEM bezel. In the end I found the bezel for an automatic. Turns out, it's just about perfect. With the short throw shifter it doesn't ask for much movement in the boot, so it doesn't put a lot of pressure on the bezel.
I just had to trim a bit from the boot rubber (see below) to get it to fully fit. I'm pretty happy with the result.
Trimmed boot:
Final look:
In the car:
The interior. Some day I want to find an original 3 spoke wheel to replace this one. But this works for now.
I need to get a night picture. The Dakota Digital gauges are back lit in red, which I think is only fitting for the overall theme.
I also need to disable the Low Fuel light in the alerts display on the console. With the Dakota fuel gauge I lost that connection so the light is always on. But that's for the future, too. Probably when I install new carpet.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
I'm also far down the path of converting to fuel injection. I'm using the Holley Sniper system, including their returnless, in-tank pump. I converted a fuel tank for the setup (it just took a little reshaping with a hammer). Since I was going that far I picked up a new tank and new sending unit as well.
I have the fuel pump relay all wired in, and the tank ready. I hope to get the tank and steel braided PTFE -6AN line run within the next couple of days. My job just keeps expecting me to focus on them during the days.
I have the fuel pump relay all wired in, and the tank ready. I hope to get the tank and steel braided PTFE -6AN line run within the next couple of days. My job just keeps expecting me to focus on them during the days.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
This was one of those weekends where I should have been able to accomplish a hole lot more. But . . . Saturday it was time to get all of the goodies on the engine and get ready to fire it up. After pulling the intake and water pump (there was a small coolant leak from the pump), I was ready. First step - intake:
To start that process I had to pull the old distributor so I could drop in the new one from MSD. And that's when it happened. As I pulled the old distributor, I heard the distinctive 'thunk' as the oil pump rod dropped into the pan. That has to be one of the worst sounds in the world. Turns out the previous owner just didn't bother with little things like retainers.
So it was time to pull the rest of the front of them motor apart so I could get into the front of the oil pan. I was very lucky. The rod fell into the front sump, and landed tilted toward the front of the pan. Using a magnet and all of my patience, I was able to fish it out through the front drain hole.
With that roadblock cleared, I was able to make progress on the remainder. Lots of cleanup, and new distributor seated, new brackets for AC and PS installed. New coil bracket mounted. New PS pump and new 3G alternator installed. And the cooling system back together.
There's still a lot to do. Wiring up the Holley system. Wiring up the alternator. Priming power steering; finalizing the cooling. And the list goes on and on. Of course those valve covers are coming out, too. They're just placeholders taking the abuse as I mess around with everything else.
To start that process I had to pull the old distributor so I could drop in the new one from MSD. And that's when it happened. As I pulled the old distributor, I heard the distinctive 'thunk' as the oil pump rod dropped into the pan. That has to be one of the worst sounds in the world. Turns out the previous owner just didn't bother with little things like retainers.
So it was time to pull the rest of the front of them motor apart so I could get into the front of the oil pan. I was very lucky. The rod fell into the front sump, and landed tilted toward the front of the pan. Using a magnet and all of my patience, I was able to fish it out through the front drain hole.
With that roadblock cleared, I was able to make progress on the remainder. Lots of cleanup, and new distributor seated, new brackets for AC and PS installed. New coil bracket mounted. New PS pump and new 3G alternator installed. And the cooling system back together.
There's still a lot to do. Wiring up the Holley system. Wiring up the alternator. Priming power steering; finalizing the cooling. And the list goes on and on. Of course those valve covers are coming out, too. They're just placeholders taking the abuse as I mess around with everything else.
Attachments
Erkenbrand
Active Member
This weekend was a big one. I'm really close to running the car with all of the new updates. I ended up with:
- Upgraded to 3G alternator.
- Installed the Holley Sniper FI system.
- Installed the Holley Sniper ignition system.
- Installed the Dakota Digital converter that converts the input from the Holley Sniper system so it can be used by the Dakota temp gauge and tach.
- Cleaned up a ton of wiring. Still a lot left to do with that, but everything is in loom and tied up.
All of this hides nicely behind the Dakota Digital VHX cluster:
Of course after all of this nothing worked. I spent hours trying to figure out what's going on. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. No headlights / horn / dome light / turn signal / etc.
I finally gave up before I went too crazy. Then, this morning, it hit me. I'm pretty sure I missed a ground wire on the back of the alternator. So that's what I'm going to tackle after work today.
I'm also considering just deleting the heater core. This isn't going to be a winter car, and I don't want to worry about it blowing out.
- Upgraded to 3G alternator.
- Installed the Holley Sniper FI system.
- Installed the Holley Sniper ignition system.
- Installed the Dakota Digital converter that converts the input from the Holley Sniper system so it can be used by the Dakota temp gauge and tach.
- Cleaned up a ton of wiring. Still a lot left to do with that, but everything is in loom and tied up.
All of this hides nicely behind the Dakota Digital VHX cluster:
Of course after all of this nothing worked. I spent hours trying to figure out what's going on. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. No headlights / horn / dome light / turn signal / etc.
I finally gave up before I went too crazy. Then, this morning, it hit me. I'm pretty sure I missed a ground wire on the back of the alternator. So that's what I'm going to tackle after work today.
I'm also considering just deleting the heater core. This isn't going to be a winter car, and I don't want to worry about it blowing out.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
It turned out I was right. I ran new grounds from the engine block to the chassis, and to the battery, and the battery directly to the chassis. That fixed the 'nothing working' problem.
After that, I tried to find a switched hot source that stayed hot when cranking. And gave up. I just wired in a switch from the battery that became my switched hot for the Sniper.
I did delete the heater core.
It was a crazy few days.
The Sniper fired right up, and ran great. I was able to get IAC set, and then I drove it. For the first 10 miles or so it was fantastic. It's surprising the power difference. Completely took me by surprise.
And then the Sniper went haywire. Turns out the ECU was flaky, and Summit is sending me a replacement.
But I have almost no time left until Power Tour, so in a day I went back to a carbureted / mechanical pump / MSD 6AL box and got it running on that. The car has to pass New York State inspection, and get an alignment. So I have it running well enough to do that.
Summit is shipping me a new throttle body. If it gets here quickly enough I may go back to it and hope it works.
Of course the motor is running hot, too. I'm not at all sure what to do about that. I'm already running an aluminum SVE radiator with dual electric fans and have added Water Wetter. When idling it's fine. When driving the heat just keeps building and building. I'm going to flush and fill again, and see what happens.
Holley Sniper all installed:
And back to a carb:
After that, I tried to find a switched hot source that stayed hot when cranking. And gave up. I just wired in a switch from the battery that became my switched hot for the Sniper.
I did delete the heater core.
It was a crazy few days.
The Sniper fired right up, and ran great. I was able to get IAC set, and then I drove it. For the first 10 miles or so it was fantastic. It's surprising the power difference. Completely took me by surprise.
And then the Sniper went haywire. Turns out the ECU was flaky, and Summit is sending me a replacement.
But I have almost no time left until Power Tour, so in a day I went back to a carbureted / mechanical pump / MSD 6AL box and got it running on that. The car has to pass New York State inspection, and get an alignment. So I have it running well enough to do that.
Summit is shipping me a new throttle body. If it gets here quickly enough I may go back to it and hope it works.
Of course the motor is running hot, too. I'm not at all sure what to do about that. I'm already running an aluminum SVE radiator with dual electric fans and have added Water Wetter. When idling it's fine. When driving the heat just keeps building and building. I'm going to flush and fill again, and see what happens.
Holley Sniper all installed:
And back to a carb:
One Owner 1982
Active Member
How’s the restoration going? Do you have any updates or pictures of your progress?
Erkenbrand
Active Member
I spent last week on the Hot Rod Power Tour, so nothing happened with the Mustang. I drove 3,759 miles over the week. I really wanted to take the Mustang, but it just isn't ready. There's something going on with the new trans, and I couldn't trust it for the trip.
Now that I'm back, I need to tidy up a couple of other projects. I have a 1962 Buick Skylark in which I need to fix the speedo, and put in carpet. Then, I have a 2000 Jeep TJ that blew a brake line. Once those are done I'll get back to the Mustang.
Somewhere in there I need to get some serious shop cleaning done. It's getting crazy out there.
One Owner 1982
Active Member
I completely understand the shop clean up!
broncojunkie
Well-Known Member
Glad to hear you got to attend Power Tour. We had some stuff come up at work and I've had my hands full. I did manage to get Pace Car #1 out to the local Cars & Coffee twice. I need to update some threads, but I've just been too tired by the time I get home.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
I understand the updating challenges. Too tired, and too much other stuff going on. Eventually, I'll get back to the Mustang. I just need to work through a couple of other things that went to the back burner first.
I'm glad you were able to get out to a couple of events. I'm going to be attending the Syracuse Nationals show in July with my 62 Skylark.
Erkenbrand
Active Member
It's been a while since I last updated the happenings with the Mustang. Quite a bit has been going on.
In the good news - I've been putting miles on it. I've been running on the Edelbrock carb and MSD ignition, and it's been running great.
With one really annoying problem . . . (that I figured out)
When driving under load it ran great. As soon as the load came off and I was coasting or decelerating there was a bad vibration from the driveline. At first, I thought it was a transmission problem. I put it up on stands and ran it in gear, and could hear noise from the trans case. After talking to some folks on the FB group somebody recommended to check my pinion angle. At this point there's been a lot of changes to the car since it left Ford in 1980. The 4 cylinder motor has been replaced with a 302. The 4spd trans is now a T5. The rear end is an 8.5 from a '91. And the driveshaft is a new aluminum Ford driveshaft. I had replaced all of the rear control arms with tubular. Turns out - the advice was correct. I replaced my upper control arms with adjustable, and added about an inch of length to get the pinion back correct. It was a couple of degrees beyond max, so the Ujoints were binding.
Once that was done I returned to the motor. I've been wanting to replace my harmonic balancer. The OEM one was showing it's age, and it was very difficult to see the timing marks. So I grabbed this one from Summit. I've used it before on other 289 / 302 motors, and it works great. I also like being able to actually make out the timing marks.
I took a break from all of the under the car work to return to the interior. It needed a bit of a creature comfort / look upgrade. I found this steering wheel from a vehicle being parted out. I cleaned it up, repainted the spokes and installed it. I like the deeper dish, and the padded wheel. It also looks so much better . . .
Now, I'm back on the motor. It's time to reinstall the Sniper system. I had the guy who made the Alternator / PS Pump / Coil mounts make up a mount for my Sniper CDI box. I've moved it into the wheel well to help prevent RFI on the ECU, and to get it into a cooler area in the engine bay. Please ignore the wiring mess. Once I have everything running the way I want it, I'm going to go on a crusade against the wiring harness craziness. For instance - this was a turbo car, and all of the turbo related wiring is still there just hanging out.
I hope you're all digging into your projects! I'm about to switch gears to my 77 Fiat that needs a motor swap. But only after the Sniper system in the Mustang is tuned.
In the good news - I've been putting miles on it. I've been running on the Edelbrock carb and MSD ignition, and it's been running great.
With one really annoying problem . . . (that I figured out)
When driving under load it ran great. As soon as the load came off and I was coasting or decelerating there was a bad vibration from the driveline. At first, I thought it was a transmission problem. I put it up on stands and ran it in gear, and could hear noise from the trans case. After talking to some folks on the FB group somebody recommended to check my pinion angle. At this point there's been a lot of changes to the car since it left Ford in 1980. The 4 cylinder motor has been replaced with a 302. The 4spd trans is now a T5. The rear end is an 8.5 from a '91. And the driveshaft is a new aluminum Ford driveshaft. I had replaced all of the rear control arms with tubular. Turns out - the advice was correct. I replaced my upper control arms with adjustable, and added about an inch of length to get the pinion back correct. It was a couple of degrees beyond max, so the Ujoints were binding.
Once that was done I returned to the motor. I've been wanting to replace my harmonic balancer. The OEM one was showing it's age, and it was very difficult to see the timing marks. So I grabbed this one from Summit. I've used it before on other 289 / 302 motors, and it works great. I also like being able to actually make out the timing marks.
I took a break from all of the under the car work to return to the interior. It needed a bit of a creature comfort / look upgrade. I found this steering wheel from a vehicle being parted out. I cleaned it up, repainted the spokes and installed it. I like the deeper dish, and the padded wheel. It also looks so much better . . .
Now, I'm back on the motor. It's time to reinstall the Sniper system. I had the guy who made the Alternator / PS Pump / Coil mounts make up a mount for my Sniper CDI box. I've moved it into the wheel well to help prevent RFI on the ECU, and to get it into a cooler area in the engine bay. Please ignore the wiring mess. Once I have everything running the way I want it, I'm going to go on a crusade against the wiring harness craziness. For instance - this was a turbo car, and all of the turbo related wiring is still there just hanging out.
I hope you're all digging into your projects! I'm about to switch gears to my 77 Fiat that needs a motor swap. But only after the Sniper system in the Mustang is tuned.