Project StinkBug: Open Wide

A milestone day last week as the new crate 350 dressed in '57 accessories was mated to a rebuilt turbo 350 transmission and a higher-performance torque converter. I painted the transmission cast gray, which if I read the detailing materials correctly, was one of a couple correct colors for the transmission (usually a two-speed Powerglide) that year.

The transmission has a polished and finned pan on it, which probably isn't correct, but it looks good and seems high quality and leak-free. All the other bits and pieces, such as the dipstick tube, kickdown cable, etc. will be replaced for new.

Hopefully, I don't see this sight again for many, many years...

I found a stock-appearing flywheel cover (in black with no vents), and we will bolt that on shortly, along with some new linkage pieces to get the turbo 350 to work in this car.

With the radiator core support removed, the engine and transmission pretty much go right in, but the firewall area is a tight fit.

I'm hoping to have another evening or two to work on the car before shipping it back to my house from Josh's garage.

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Rise and Shine

I had a chance to pull out the '66 Mustang yesterday from its many-months hibernation. I had been chasing a few minor coolant leaks with it early last year, and with the Bel Air taking up my time more and more, I just let the Mustang sit. And sit.

So yesterday, I finished repairing the leaks. I installed new heater hoses at the heater box, charged the flat battery, changed the oil and filter, siphoned some year-old gas, poured in a couple gallons of fresh gas, and it started up after just a few seconds of cranking. I was surprised it started so quickly, but the EZ EFI fuel injection really works awesome.

Well, I also bolted on the original California black license plate that had been on the car since, most likely, Day One. I've had the original front plate on the car as long as I've owned the car, but just decided to clean up the rear plate, and replace my modern North Carolina plate with it. (North Carolina allows classic cars to wear NC plates from the year of manufacture, in this case '66. I'm going with the CA plate, since it's original and similarly styled -- black and yellow.)

The incredible part is that after I peeled off stacks of registration stickers from the plate (and saved them in a baggie!), I found the original 1967 registration sticker underneath in nearly mint condition. It blows my mind that the original owner put that sticker there -- nearly half a century ago.

I'd be driving it again today, but after being in the 70s and sunny yesterday, we are in the 20s and snowing and will hit the mid-teens tonight. A sixty-degree swing in just over 24 hours...

Wearing the black and yellow plate again...

Project StinkBug: Grime Time

In my spare time the past few weeks, I've been completing a pretty nasty task: cleaning and refinishing the undercarriage. By the looks of things, the undercarriage was completely original, and with a (pre-PCV system) draft tube venting engine oil vapor below the car, it was a grimy mess.

I had started cleaning things by the time this photo was taken, but the frame and floors were caked with dirt and grime.

After hours of work with a simple paint scraper and a Harbor Freight angle grinder using two wire wheel attachments, I could see bare steel with remnants of the original red oxide primer (by now a chocolate color). In the upper left, you can see the floor before I removed the grime.

Fast forward at least 20 hours of filthy work under the car, and three cans of Seymour red oxide primer, and I ended up with this...

and this...

and this...

and this. I used some simple Rustoleum Satin black spray paint on the frame, after cleaning thoroughly with 3M adhesive spray cleaner. (The front floors are a bit "drafty" — so some metal replacement is in the near future.) I also replaced the rotted body mount cushions with some black Energy Suspension pieces. And coated certain areas with 3M undercoating as original.

I used the opportunity to clean up the rear axle and rear suspension pieces. I used cast coat grey and satin and semi-gloss black where called for in the manuals for an original-style restoration.

I'm mostly done with the rear axle here, except for the rear brake cable, which is in the tumbler.

Here's the brake cable in the Harbor Freight tumbler before I poured in the glass beads and liquid degreaser. (Took a couple years before I found out that you add water or degreaser to the tumbler basin or it won't clean anything...) It comes out clean, and then I hose off and spray can clear it when dry.

And ready to go under the car. I was exhausted at this point and didn't realize it wouldn't roll under the car, which was on jackstands sitting too low... lol

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