Day 2: The Great Wheel Debacle and a Amazon Miracle (Sort Of)

It seems my attempts to make this thing look like a proper sports car hit a bit of a snag – a rather large, wheel-shaped snag, to be precise. Those 19-inch, 10.5-wide rims with a +35 offset, they didn’t exactly play nicely with the Shelby drop and the frankly prehistoric rear leaf springs. I'm not sure what I expected, really. The thing couldn't move.

And it gets worse. Not only was it immobile, but I almost mangled my front fenders and sliced up my tires – like something out of a low-budget horror film. Because, you see, those rims had decided to just drop lower and lower, and I hadn't even bothered rolling the fenders. A classic example of my legendary lack of forward planning.

So, I turned to Amazon – the purveyor of all things vaguely useful and often terribly made. I bought some Alibabaish fender roller, which had enough bad reviews to make me slightly nervous but was undeniably cheap. Why I expect any differently I will never know. Surprisingly, this cheap bit of metal actually worked. Go figure.

Then, I decided to do something sensible for once. I got some no-name front coilovers – just a temporary measure until I install the proper front and rear suspension with the engine upgrade. I also got some new leaf springs from CJ, and some Eibach 35mm spacers to try to get everything level. After I dropped it down off the jacks, against all odds it worked. The wheels didn’t rub. It moved! And, surprisingly, it handles rather well (if a bit light with the power steering) but we'll get to that.

So, there we have it – a potential disaster turned into a minor success, mostly thanks to a cheap bit of Amazon metal and some surprisingly good luck. I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual ineptitude soon enough, though.

 

So, a new steering wheel. Yes, I know, completely unnecessary at this stage. But listen, I couldn't get out of those bucket seats without wiggling about like a greasy sausage. I looked like a right idiot. And that's not the only reason. That Grant GT steering wheel – half-rusted, mind you – wasn’t just ugly; it felt like cheap, nasty plastic that a toddler would reject. Even if it doesn't look that bad in pictures, in real life, it was an insult to all steering wheels. So, naturally, I had to get rid of it.

 

So the steering wheel situation. I had two rather simple requirements: A racing-style wheel, about 14 inches, deep-dish, naturally, and I needed to be able to extract myself from this blasted contraption without looking like a beached whale. Now, simple isn't exactly in my vocabulary, is it?

I've always had a soft spot for MOMO designs, they're a bit more interesting than the bland rubbish most people use, and a quick-release mechanism seemed like the perfect solution for my exit-related challenges. So, I ordered an NRG 6-bolt quick release and a Mod 08 MOMO racing wheel. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, I don’t know, everything! The first wheel arrived, and the center mark was off, like it had a severe case of the bends. Disaster, absolute disaster. I ended up ordering the same bloody steering wheel three times before MOMO themselves stepped in – bless their cotton socks – and personally made sure I received one that wasn’t quite as wonky.

So, I had the right wheel, eventually, and then realized I needed a 3-bolt to 6-bolt adapter. Because of course I did. I managed to order it from CJ, waited for it to arrive, took off the old steering wheel. Then, being a complete numpty, I almost set the car ablaze, because apparently horn cables are rather tightly attached, who knew? I had to hack away at the end of the steering column bolt, because that was making contact with the 12v cables. Why is everything such a struggle?

Anyway, after all that nonsense, it's finally done. Which means, naturally, that something else will go wrong next.

 

The Mystery of the Humming and the Stalling

So, the car. Still not right, not by a long shot. I’ve got this irritating humming noise coming from the right side, and after replacing every bearing known to man – both inner and out – it's still there. It’s starting to make me question my life choices. And that’s not even the worst of it.

This blasted engine has a power delivery issue at low RPMs, a hesitation, really. The tachometer, that ridiculous gauge in the dashboard, shows it quite clearly. It's fine when it's screaming its lungs out, but try to get it going, and it's like it's running on one cylinder. And that's not good for a V8.

Moving it in drive or reverse is, frankly, embarrassing. The revs drop, it stalls, it has all the composure of a toddler with a tantrum. Anything above 2,000rpm and it's okay, and while it's in neutral it purrs like a kitten, but that initial move off the line? It feels like it’s trying to be a 4-cylinder.

As if all that wasn't enough, last Sunday, it decided it didn't even want to start at all. So, I'll be spending this weekend poking around trying to figure out the cause of this new nonsense. The answer will be somewhere on page 17, apparently. I am guessing that's as good of a place to look as anywhere else.

 

The Agony of the Backorder (and a Car That Won't Cooperate)

Here we are. The conversion parts, all neatly ordered, and what happens? A few of them are still "backordered." Naturally. It's always something with these things. The whole blasted Fastback sits there in the room, mocking me with its almost-complete state, waiting for those few, elusive parts to arrive so I can actually start the work. Home appliance, Flooring, Automotive design, Gas, Wood - all of that is not happening today! This is pure torture.

It's like a kid on Christmas Eve looking at a beautifully wrapped present, but someone’s forgotten the batteries. Utterly useless. And just to make things even more irritating, the car has decided that starting is optional, so I've still got that delightful "no-start" issue to grapple with. At least it will keep me busy, while I wait for those parts to appear. Probably.

 

The Checklist of Despair

For tomorrow’s grand attempt at fixing this mechanical abomination, I’ve got a list of things that might actually help, or, more likely, will just cause further frustration. I've acquired new coils and spark plugs, and a new fuel filter. Because that's what sensible people do when a car refuses to start.

I'll be having a poke around to see if the fuel pump is still functioning, or whether it's decided to give up the ghost. If it’s knackered, I’ve been told to get a Carter M4009. Apparently, it’s designed for older cars, but some “experts” – I use that term loosely – are claiming it’s actually better for this thing, even though my engine isn't of that particular vintage. It has a 289 block, apparently, which seems to be some kind of mystical qualification. But don’t quote me on that. (If it's wrong, please let me know, before I waste more time and money!)

I'll also have a look at the sparks, or lack thereof, and then, brace yourselves, I will be inspecting the carburetor. Now, I'm no carburetor whisperer, so who knows what I'll find in there. Probably more bad news. But, apparently, it's a thing you're supposed to do. And then, finally, I’ll check the tranny fluid. Because it would be too easy to fix, of course.

Of course, the battery is brand new, and the starter spins the engine, so that's all fine, but it just won't start, would it? Because that would be too straightforward. Let's just hope the engine will actually do it's job and work this time.

 

I thought I'd just see if, by some miracle, the car would spontaneously fix itself. A bit of wishful thinking, really.

And, as expected, the magic didn’t happen. It continues to sit there, looking rather smug in its refusal to start. So, it’s time for the unpleasant reality of actually having to dig into this mechanical disaster.

 

She wants to…..

 

nice ride ! I love the color

snaptube vidmate​

 

Welcome, I’ll be following.

 

welcome

 

Thank you guys!

 

Saturday. I had big plans. I was going to wrestle with this car, solve its refusal to start, and emerge victorious, covered in grease and a mild sense of accomplishment. But then, because this is Florida, the 3pm storms rolled in like a particularly inconvenient army, and my plans got completely rained out. It’s like the weather has a personal vendetta against my automotive adventures.

 

The Rust-Annihilation Mission

Rust. It's like some sort of automotive cancer, isn’t it? Coupe has a lot of it around the panels, so I had to get medieval with a grinder and sandpaper, because why do things the easy way? After a liberal application of wax and grease remover – which frankly sounded more like a spa treatment than car repair – I slapped on some self-etching primer.

The result? Well, the car looks like it’s survived some sort of post-apocalyptic nightmare. Not my best work, I’ll admit.
Then, because I clearly have a serious aversion to rust, I used 2K sealer. It’s utter madness, I know, but if it stops the rust, then it’s all justified. At least it should hold until those two mythical items for my conversion show up (a quarter/door frame assembly kit for the driver's side and a rear roof brace). Who knows when they will arrive?
And the color? Absolutely no idea. What do you lot think?

 

Wow, nice project. Will follow it

 

Sunday morning. The weather was being unusually cooperative, which, in my experience, is always a bit suspicious. But I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It was finally time to tackle the "no start" issue. So, before I did anything remotely sensible, I thought I’d just see if the blasted thing would start on its own. No such luck, of course. The car remained stubbornly lifeless, as expected.

So, I popped the hood, took off the air filter, and was greeted by a carburetor that looked like it had been living at the bottom of a coal mine. It was completely black inside. I grabbed a can of carburetor cleaner from AutoZone (because where else would one go?), sprayed it a few times, and doing some magic moves that make no sense on the dashboard, to my utter astonishment, the car started! It actually started! I was half expecting the sky to fall.

There were some misfires initially, the tachometer needle was jumping about like a startled rabbit, but it was actually running, which is a huge step up from a non-starting thing. I also noticed that one of the vacuum hoses had popped off, which is exactly the sort of thing I would expect from this heap. I put it back on, and now it drives in D and R, without the usual stalling. I'm not sure if that was the cause for lack of power below 2000rpm, I'll have to take it for a spin, but the fact that it moves without a complaint is something, to be honest.

 

I still didn't figure out how to open the hood. What a shame. I pull all the pullers and etc in the cabin, then trying to pull latch under the hood and sometimes it works sometimes not. Not sure what to do.
I was wondering if I should dismount the lock and replace it with some smart pins to hold the hood by them instead. Let me know if it makes sense.

 

Following!

 

Right, a quick run down:
#1. That humming sound on the right? Still there, still annoying. Turns out it is from the rear and guess what part is the origin of that, that it is the gearbox.
#2. Learned something from CJ, the one to never trust. When you order parts that they do have not, they will not charge right away, but also, will not let you know. If you miss that, your problem not theirs. For that reason, I now take over their business process and order them before. That helps me to avoid any problems, also helps those clowns to get their income faster.
#3. What those are willing to repeat to those crazy one, it is that one person said that they said so that that list from this chap, Scott Harness. A very nice guy. If you want to repeat something, you will find those list all over the internet and email him to make sure to get more options over different years.
#4. Back on that power loss from under 2000RPM? Well, changing the cables and sparks. As you now, it's what the chaps say in the Youtubes. Wish me Luck, all I will say now, is just WISH ME LUCK.

 

Looks like an interesting project for sure. Couple of questions popped into my head though. If you are going to cut off and discard a large amount of the rear of the car why sand and primer all that stuff?
Also you said "A lot of rust around the panels .." How was that rust damage addressed exactly?
I see you didn't bother to remove the emblems on the side of the car before primering. Guessing because you are just going to throw that stuff away. OK, but it's a lot easier to sand without it on there. Could just be me there.

 

Yes, I will be cutting the metal and getting back to building what matters, but I just didn't want the car looking too crazy while I'm waiting for the parts. I actually do this for the rest of the build. Taking it for a ride every so often to test things, so it is best to make it seal what the weather is like and to not look that much out of sync - only for the time being. It took an extra 15 minutes, it's really not big of a deal.

Those parts are not ready and only have a week, so it is time to actually take my time and get moving on with some cutting to those parts while I am at it, but I am getting them off as some of them are more urgent then others. For the door, yes, a new face skin will have a whole new look in just the last few hours over the weekend that I should be aiming for. For the A pillars, it is just what I can do for now so it will be just something. This are going to be replaced when it's done so what it comes down to is getting that body over it all!

Yes, you are correct. Everything and the fender has got the same look. If people are doing something, they’re not too focused about some things. This will require some attention, especially when removing some tags like on the car is supposed to look something.

 

Hi Pete,

While waiting for the rest of the parts to arrive will you start with the body works on parts that will not need to be replaced? I see there is a big hole in the drivers side fender in the area that normally is covered by the rocker panel moulding.
Should be a good starting point for the body works.

Kind regards
Björn

 

You right. I did cut a big rust hole there a couple weeks ago, sealed the edges and picking up metal sheets on Saturday morning so it will be new fun video hopefully.

 

What you were planning to do is a huge task. Emphasis on the word huge. The other problem is you either end up ruining a coupe or having a fake fastback. My 65 Fastback also had a ton of rust, was in the body shop for almost 2 years. Then we had to put it all back together again (thank you Chuck Wiltens). I can’t even imagine changing a coupe into a Fastback. I don’t want to be Debbie downer but you might want to reconsider what you’re planning on doing.

 

After rebuilding a few tiny cars for my equally tiny car collection, my daily BMW where pretty much everything has had a tweak and a complete custom, this Mustang conversion feels like a slightly bigger project. But nothing to be scared about, or be afraid of!

And I do all of these projects for fun. For the enjoyment of it! It's so fun to get all oily, and have all the things around you to make it work. And, honestly, this project has made me realize that time is actually the most limited resources.

So, about “real” or “fake." The difference between Coupe and Fastback? It’s something like $25k. And in both cases, unless you’re spending serious money, like $150k, you’ll still get a pile of…something. So what is the point? You might as well get a coupe, and then just fix what it is.

 

So, just when I thought things were going smoothly, it turns out I'm missing longer bolts. And, naturally, I only figured this out after I'd put everything else in place, the plate, the gaskets, the whole lot. Of course. You've probably guessed where I’m getting the new bolts from. CJ Pony Parts here I come, ordering now before it's too late to finish it all. It’s like they deliberately do this.

 

by the way it's pretty cheap. here's my google sheet with current expenses

 

Did you smear silicone all over the place on that carb?

 

I didn't notice when it fell of my hand but I cleaned that mess, nice and shiny now.