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My 65 fastback build (mini tub, vert rocker, floor pan)

25K views 128 replies 31 participants last post by  Riley 
#1 ·
I'd like to share some of progress I've made on my car. The car started as a T code 65 fastback driver that I enjoyed for several years before getting into autocross with my other cars. This will document my v8 engine swap, vert inner rocker and torque box install, mini tub, one piece floor pans, transition pan, and trunk replacement. It all started several winters ago when I began replacing all the front suspension components with new v8 items:


The wheels shown on the rear are 18x8 coddingtons left over from another project, they will go onto the front I just have them mocked to start on my 9" conversion:
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Muscle car Motor vehicle


Auto part Vehicle Suspension


Here you can see the new control arms in place with the old garbage on the floor:

Auto part Vehicle Suspension


Lower control arm bushings are urethane as well as the spring perch rollers. Springs are 620s from street or track.

Auto part Suspension Suspension part Vehicle Brake


Brakes are 13" 03-04 cobra and the adapters I got from mustang Steve. The rotors and calipers were sourced from late model restoration. They came red so they got some high temp caliper paint in black:

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Auto part Metal


Hubs are drum brake replacements that I pressed new studs into:

Auto part


I shaved the grill ornament off and replaced it with a 66 center piece for a more intimidating look:

Motor vehicle Vehicle Car Classic car Sedan


After the brake install and taking 1/3 coil out of the springs, the front wheels were bolted up:

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Alloy wheel Wheel


I got some high temp pony decals for the calipers. Nice touch I thought:

Land vehicle Car Vehicle Alloy wheel Wheel
 
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#2 ·
I rolled the rear lips using an Eastwood fender roller. Used a heat gun and got them rolled to what I feel is the limit of what the paint could handle:

Automotive tire Tire Wheel Vehicle Auto part


The rear is an ebay 9" housing. I rebuilt a center section out of a 66 Galaxy and fitted it with a 3.73 tru-trac and moser 28 spline axles. The cobra 11" brakes are also shown and you can also see the Bilstein shocks sourced from street or track;

Wheel Tire Fender Automotive wheel system Auto part


Here is a pic of the interior before tear down. I had just installed the wood grain steering wheel and have yet to drive the car with it:

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And here is the interior being stripped:

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So that I can install the convertible inner rockers, torque boxes, and one piece seat pan:

Floor Flooring Automotive exterior Machine Tool


I had planned to just remove the fastback seat pans, cut a slit in the floor and slide the inner rockers into place but guess what. Found a pinhole. So I took an awl and began stabbing the floor to see what I had. Found some other pin holes and immediately decided on a one piece floor pan and began cutting:

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You can see I added bracing as well:

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More cutting:

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#3 ·
Prepping for the inner rocker:

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Drilled holes in the inner rocker and welded it in using rosette welds after much fitting and trimming.
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I split the torque box and welded in the bottom piece leaving enough room to slip the top into place. I had transfer punched the holes in the floor to the top piece of the torque box so all welding could be done from the top instead of the bottom. I'm a proficient welder but ONLY when I am in position and can see what I'm doing:

Automotive exterior Bumper Vehicle Auto part Car


The gray finish is weld through primer. I just sprayed it on so I wouldn't be getting oils ect on the bare metal. Most of it will be coming back off.

Here you can see I used a proper epoxy primer before sealing things up. I also added some small bracing and Sean welding before it got sealed up:
Floor Steel


And then the top piece of the torque box:

Floor Rust Steel


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The firewall extension came next and got clecoed on place:

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And welded in:

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#4 ·
I got some 17" donuts off ebay from a fox cobra. They will clear the 13" rotors and allow me to carry a spare. I picked up two so I could dolly the car around:

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Here is the 200 6 cyl with the fluids drained and the a/c compressor removed:

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Vehicle Car Engine Motor vehicle Auto part


Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Engine Auto part


I pulled the valve cover and used two of the head bolts to attach my leveler and hoist it out:

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Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automobile repair shop Classic car


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Too bad, so sad for you 6 cyl:
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#6 ·
With the engine out I began stripping the engine compartment using aircraft stripper. It is brushed on and peeling the paint in this photo:

Vehicle Motor vehicle Car Engine Auto part


The fenders came off and lots of aircraft stripper later:

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With both inner rockers welded in I felt there was enough strength put into the body to lift the car without the floor in. I had to sell one of my projects:

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But rewarded myself with a mid rise two post lift to get serious about the mustang:

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With the car on the lift I began stopping the inner fenders and installing the passenger torque box:

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You can see the rust hole in the radiator support thanks to years of battery acid
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#8 ·
Passenger torque box. Installed/welded from underneath this time since it was on a lift:

Vehicle Automotive exterior Automobile repair shop Auto part Car


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Rust Steel Metal


Also did the lower control arm eccentric:

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After some grinding:

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Automotive exterior Auto part Bumper Tire Automotive tire


And welded the plates in:

Auto part Bumper Automotive exterior Suspension Wheel


Used a dremel and enlarged only the outside of the holes(trying to add - camber not +) and bolted the adjustable plates in:

Auto part Automotive exterior Suspension


Using poster board and 5 minutes of my time I made some boss 302 style reinforcement plate templates and transferred them to some 20 ga steel for the shock towers. Primer first:

Trunk Auto part Hood Automotive exterior Vehicle


Then welded them in:

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#9 ·
Any pics if the inside of the rolled lip, I've alway wondered it looks like.
 
#15 ·
Not specifically but I can get some eventually. I'm at work till Xmas. I can tell you it's not a fun process and very time consuming when trying to salvage the paint. It would be much easier to use a bfh with no regard for paint damage while the car was stripped. I'm trying to do all my mods without painting the outside of the car.

This pic kind of gives you a glimpse sort of:

Automotive exterior Bumper Auto part Trunk Glass
 
#10 ·
Passenger side boss 302 plate:

Rust Metal Steel


Driver side:

Rust Auto part Vehicle


Got the cowl cleaned up and prepared it for my export brace reinforcement:

Vehicle Car Auto part Automotive exterior


Drilled holes in the reinforcement plate and rosette welded it to the cowl underneath the lip. Done deal:

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After stripping the rust damage by the battery tray was obvious:

Automotive exterior

Cut that crap out and began test fitting my new battery apron, radiator support and front crossmember:
Automobile repair shop Vehicle Service Workshop Auto mechanic


I then took them back off and sprayed 2 coats of SPI epoxy. I sprayed them both from underneath the car. I wanted to get the underneath coated well and then after welding spray two more from the top as you look at it:

Room Technology Floor Building Interior design


Automobile repair shop Vehicle Automotive design Luxury vehicle Car


Vehicle Automotive exterior Car Automobile repair shop Auto part
 
#12 ·
The interior was stripped along with the dash:

Automotive exterior Bumper Auto part Vehicle Vehicle door


And I painted it 65 medium blue:

Automotive exterior Bumper Floor Vehicle Auto part


Here's what's going on the back a nitto 285/35/18 r compound:

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Tire Automotive tire


You can see how it hits the stock leaf spring. Also touches the stock inner fender:

Vehicle Floor Trailer Auto part Automotive tire


The rest of the floor came out:

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And the inner fender got trimmed to fit the tire:

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Trimmed it in the trunk and found more rust on the transition pan:

Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Trunk Vehicle door


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Just can't win sometimes.
 
#13 ·
Reassembled the front end. Added seam sealer and began wiring. The steering is all new with a quick ratio box, roller idler arm yadda yadda:

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I am using adjustable motor mounts. They have green tape on them so I don't lose the bolts. Used a 11/8" sway bar and since this pic also added one of zray's lower crossmembers(highly recommended)
Engine Auto part Vehicle Automotive exterior Car


For the strut rods I used factory replacements with miaer racing bushings. These things are trick and allow full articulation with no fore aft movement.

Here is the miaer racing panhard bar being installed. This not only adds chassis stiffening but will keep my rear end from moving laterally:

Auto part Automotive exterior Vehicle Car Engine


Motor vehicle Auto part Vehicle Automotive exterior Car


Motor vehicle Auto part Tire Vehicle Automotive tire


With that welded in I had enough bracing to drop the rear end and begin my trunk floors and transition pan. This is easy money with a lift:

Automobile repair shop Garage Vehicle Workshop Service


The doors got stripped somewhere along the way:

Vehicle Automotive exterior Car Bumper Auto part
 
#14 ·
Time to strip the frame rails and remove the transition pan and right trunk drop off:

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Here the new transition pan is being fitted:

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Here is a gratuitous pic of what will be powering this thing. I am documenting the engine build in a separate thread titled 'my explorer 5.0 to 289 4v build':

Engine Auto part Automotive engine part Vehicle Automotive tire


Engine Auto part Automotive engine part Vehicle Automotive tire


98 5.0 gt40p heads, Ed Curtis cam, 600 cfm autolite 4100, sn95 t5 and I will be using a hydraulic clutch.
 
#17 ·
Awesome work. I know from experience that trying to do all this while keeping the paint nice adds another level of complexity to the project.

You've commented in my build thread that my project reminds you of yours, and now I see why. Same color cars and very similar repairs going on. Ironically my dash was medium blue and I just painted it white.

Also, good choice spending money on the lift. It's the best money a gear head can spend.
 
#20 ·
Got the floor pan out and got ready to cut the rear torque box sections off :

Auto part Automotive exterior Bumper


Here is some of the prep work on the car. The floor pan, transition pan and right trunk drop down are cut out along with the inner wheel wells:

Auto part Vehicle Suspension Suspension part Wheel


Auto part Automotive exterior Fender


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Automotive exhaust Exhaust system Auto part Muffler Vehicle

Punched holes along the perimeter of the floor pan and stripped where it would overlap with the frame rails:
Automotive exterior Auto part


Automotive exterior Auto part


All holes were punched with my trusty roper Whitney #5 hand punch:

Metalworking hand tool Tool Pliers Tongue-and-groove pliers Monkey wrench
 
#21 ·
I wanted to add the crush tubes that go in the rear framerail on factory dual exhaust cars:

Floor Flooring


But first I had to trim some strips of metal as the crush tubes were not wide enough:

Bumper Automotive exterior Auto part Pipe Vehicle


These strips of metal mimic the brace on the inside of the framerail:

Rust Metal Steel


The crush tube will go in something like this:

Floor Metal


The crush tube will look something like this inside the framerail:

Hardware accessory
 
#22 ·
I stripped the frame rails and punched holes to mimic the factory spot welds:

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Auto part Vehicle Suspension Suspension part Wheel


The ecoat on the bottom of the floors was scuffed and then stripped where the front framerails would be welded.:

Automotive exterior Auto part Hood Bumper Technology

The transition pan and right trunk drop down were also scuffed and stripped:
Architecture Automotive design Metal Automotive wheel system Automotive exterior

After a thourough cleaning with laquer thinner and wax and grease remover, I used a 3" foam roller and applied 2 coats of Spi epoxy to the new pieces. I only did this because red oxide is sexy:

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Motor vehicle Vehicle Auto part Car Scale model


The framerails also got 2 coats of Spi epoxy:

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Automotive exterior Auto part Vehicle Car Bumper
 
#27 ·
I hacked up the old gas tank and used it to locate my transition pan and the right trunk drop down:
Trunk Vehicle Car Automotive exterior Vehicle door


Then with the help of my wife I was able to get the transition pan welded in:
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Tire Auto part Motor vehicle Automotive tire Vehicle


Automotive exterior Auto part Vehicle Bumper Pipe


My tires will be too wide for the factory bump stops which would normally go on the outside of the framerail so I prepped an area on the inside of the framerail:

Brown Footwear Leather Shoe


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And modded some Reman bump stops so I could move them to the inside:

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Vehicle Auto part Car Automotive exhaust Automotive exterior
 
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