[northerndave]

Hello all, I posted quite some time back about a 65 coupe we bought for our daughter for her 16th birthday.

Well we've got everything in good sound mechanical order now and we are moving into body & paint work.

I thought I'd post up a few pics as we go along, hopefully I'll pick up some pointers along the way as I do have a couple of questions.

Here we are with the nose in the air as I buttoned up some steering work that needed to be done. The previous owner had put a lot of new front end parts in, some power steering components took the steering the rest of the way to being "new" again.

here's the little A code. We'll freshen things up a bit under here too, nothing serious, a little elbow grease and some rattle can work will be the extent of it.

My daughter removing tail light housings.

Tail panel had been damaged at some point and a generous slathering of body filler was the answer at the time :grin:

Front end mostly tore down.

Some hammer & dolly work once all that mud was removed.

There, I can work with that now, it will still need a skim coat of filler but not a half inch thick like it was.

My daughter trying her hand at the big gear driven sander.

And that's where we left off yesterday.

A couple of questions... The stainless trim around the front & rear glass. Is it held in with clips? is there a best method for carefull removing this trim? I think I will be replacing the front & rear windshield gaskets while we are doing this. Is it a "zipper style" gasket under that stainless trim or is it a full solid one piece gasket that's going to really test my skill & patience?

I've also got questions about creating a rear firewall for saftey, but one thing at a time I guess.

Thanks for lookin! :beer:

 

[franklinair]

What a great undertaking for you & your daughter. I'm sure she will cherish the car for many, many years since 'Dad' was involved, and her own 'sweat equity' investment. Best of luck to you & your daughter. Lots of help & advice here.

Neil Hoppe

 

[22GT]

Hello all, I posted quite some time back about a 65 coupe we bought for our daughter for her 16th birthday.
Excellent. Such kids don't collect accidents or tickets.

A couple of questions... The stainless trim around the front & rear glass. Is it held in with clips? is there a best method for carefull removing this trim? I think I will be replacing the front & rear windshield gaskets while we are doing this. Is it a "zipper style" gasket under that stainless trim or is it a full solid one piece gasket that's going to really test my skill & patience?

I've also got questions about creating a real firewall for saftey, but one thing at a time I guess.

Sure. Here's how they did it. Be careful. While you can get new mouldings, and I have installed them successfully, they are softer than originals, much more difficult to install. Buff them and re-use them:

Replacing the cardboard between the rear seat and trunk will increase safety, but such accidents are actually rare- 2 million cars, 45+ years, and about 100 accidents. Shark bite is a bigger danger. However, you should modify the roof rail to accept 3-point seat belts, install TMI headrests in the seats, and use 1967 arm rests, which are a direct, bolt-in fit.

Now I have a question- Are you going with the original color, Poppy Red? It's really rare, and really good looking.

 

[northerndave]

Thank you. Yeah I know this place is great, lots of knowledge & good folks willing to lend advice.

The steering pump & bracket shown in the engine photo came from VMF member 65fastback6.

 

[northerndave]

22GT, thanks very much for posting that illustration. Any tips for releasing the retaining clips?

We do plan on the 3 point seat belts. Also considering the headrests. I don't know about the 67 armrests though... what is different or better?

As to color, yes poppy red is the original color and I would love to put it back on the car. One problem, my daughter isn't warming up to the color... I have a couple gallons of a pearl midnight blue out in the shop that I never used for a once upon a time project and she wants to go with that.

 

[09Frank65]

There are trim removal tools available which simplify the removal of the stainless trim as well as minimize the chance of damage. A flat putty knife will work as well but you have to be careful. Slide it under the trim and lift. Work up and down the piece until it is loose.

Good luck with the project. It's good to see your daughter hands-on involved!

 

[22GT]

22GT, thanks very much for posting that illustration. Any tips for releasing the retaining clips?

We do plan on the 3 point seat belts. Also considering the headrests. I don't know about the 67 armrests though... what is different or better?

As to color, yes poppy red is the original color and I would love to put it back on the car. One problem, my daughter isn't warming up to the color... I have a couple gallons of a pearl midnight blue out in the shop that I never used for a once upon a time project and she wants to go with that.

Obviously she has never seen a nice Poppy Red Mustang. I guess the only PR she has seen is the cruddy old edges revealed during disassembly, which won't do.

The 3-point seat belts are useless without the head rests. When that Toyota runs into her, the 3-point will keep her face out of the steering wheel, and snap her back into the seat, where the lack of a headrest will fracture her cervical vertebrae. 'Nuff said.

The 67 arm rests are a moulded lump of foam, designed by a Ford engineer I once knew who had the plastic arm rest base of a 62 Fairlane surgically removed from his hip after a side impact accident.

I like this tool, easy and about the cheapest. I sharpen the points a bit, though, to get under the clips easier. Look at the side view of the clip. The point of the tool goes under the S shaped part at the top to release the clip from the moulding.

Installation is not so hard, either. The big mistake most make, including glass "professionals", is not using enough 3M Glass Bedding Compound. You'll need most of two tubes for each glass.

Seriously- get her to a show and show her the rare original color of her car. If it helps, it came back in 69-70 as "Calypso Coral".

 

[northerndave]

Alright thanks guys. I might even have one of those tools out in the shop, it's been a while since I've had to remove any stainless window trim but I know you want to be careful with it.

Hey 22GT, I'll keep working on her with the poppy red

 

[22GT]

Alright thanks guys. I might even have one of those tools out in the shop, it's been a while since I've had to remove any stainless window trim but I know you want to be careful with it.

Hey 22GT, I'll keep working on her with the poppy red

Just take your time with it, the lower moulding on the front is the strongest, the lower rear is downright delicate.

 

[shaneh]

Awesome project with your daughter. My dad bought me a 65 coupe for my 15th birthdday and I still have it 25 years later. The 2 years he and I spent restoring it were the basis for me owning a chassis shop 12 years later and spending a lot of years traveling the country drag racing.

 

[67FSTBKRestoMod]

MarkStang has a video on trim removal
YouTube - markstang1965's Channel

 

[northerndave]

thanks for that video link, I'm going to check that out asap.

 

[northerndave]

update, more sanding tonight.

The only rust I've found on this car, lower front corners of the doors.

No big surprises under the paint yet, I hope it continues this way. I'll have to remove door handles, quarter trim etc & co back & hit those spots.

That's all for tonight.

 

[22GT]

OK, c'mon, get that chrome off the door and quarter.

 

[kenash]

Hello all, I posted quite some time back about a 65 coupe we bought for our daughter for her 16th birthday.

Well we've got everything in good sound mechanical order now and we are moving into body & paint work.

I thought I'd post up a few pics as we go along, hopefully I'll pick up some pointers along the way as I do have a couple of questions.

Here we are with the nose in the air as I buttoned up some steering work that needed to be done.

here's the grubby little A code. We'll make things a little prettier under here too.

My daughter removing tail light housings.

Tail panel had been damaged at some point and a generous slathering of body filler was the answer at the time :grin:

Front end mostly tore down.

Some hammer & dolly work once all that mud was removed.

There, I can work with that now, it will still need a skim coat of filler but not a half inch thick like it was.

My daughter trying her hand at the big gear driven sander.

And that's where we left off yesterday.

A couple of questions... The stainless trim around the front & rear glass. Is it held in with clips? is there a best method for carefull removing this trim? I think I will be replacing the front & rear windshield gaskets while we are doing this. Is it a "zipper style" gasket under that stainless trim or is it a full solid one piece gasket that's going to really test my skill & patience?

I've also got questions about creating a real firewall for saftey, but one thing at a time I guess.

Thanks for lookin! :beer:

Hi,

First, working along side of your daughter is one of the greatest experiences any father can hope to have. My grandaughter was my inspiration for the pic I have attached. Like your daughter when I discovered my 64.5's OEM color combo was Poppy red with a white interior and I purchased it as Rangoon Red with a black interior, it took me a couple of months to get used to it. However, I have gotten so many compliments and really love the color. I think you you and your daughter attend a few shows, which BTW, will aid in your restoration many times over, you'll may see the color in persomn and learn it is quite "striking". The pic was take for as "glamor" shot.

 

[northerndave]

OK, c'mon, get that chrome off the door and quarter.

Oh don't worry it's coming off.

I just went around it tonight. It's cold out in my shop right now, I'm in that springtime transition here in northern MN. The nice warm days I had a week ago have gone away It was about 38 degrees when I was out there sanding tonight so I didn't feel like tinkering with door handles & quarter trim.



Man, with every square inch of bare metal exposed inch by inch.... the more strongly I feel about putting the poppy red back on this car. I'm to the point of where I pretty much must insist.

It's my feeling that years down the road it will end up poppy red again anyways so why not make the future a little easier? Plus it opens the possibility for panel repaints in case of little accidents that I hope never happen.

Lots of reasons.

 

[northerndave]

kenash, red with white interior is the best!

It's what I want for my 64 galaxie XL 500 which is a 390/4spd car. I love the red whith white interior.

 

[Renegade600]

Poppy Red is a neat color...but remember, it is "her" car.....her memories will be of working on it with you and her putting her touches to the car.......I made the mistake of putting too much of my own ideas into my "father/son" Mustang, and he eventually lost interest......we ended up building another "his way", and that car eventually came out great i have to admit.....still, we lost that connection on the first project....just my $.02
Tom

 

[kenash]

Good point Tom!

 

[mikemstang66]

the trim tool is the ticket , i made one out of an old putty knife when i couldn't find mine recently ( of course two days later i found it )
as for installing the glass a long piece of 1/4 nylon rope and some patience is all you really need . do a search and you will find the how to it's super easy .
have fun !!