[Grabber70Mach]

Nice progress, it's looking good, keep chugging along and you'll get there before you know it.

 

[1970rusty]

Wow the car is looking great! Love the colour.

 

[kblagron]

I can't believe its been 2 months since I have posted an update. I have been chugging along putting in a couple of hours a day with the normal highs and lows of this type of fun.

I installed the new drum brakes and shoes on the rear, and that went fairly well but I do have to wonder who "invented" the drum brake mechanism with all of the springs and cables. It sure seems there would of been an easier design, but I guess it works.

Next up was the fuel and brake lines. I went with the Classic Tube pre-bent lines, and the fuel line went in with little issue. On the brake lines, I had a few issues - mainly in the front because my brake hose mount was in a different place since I was using the 1967 disc brakes. It required me to shorten both sides and reflare. On the line going to the rear brake block that splits the flow, the pre-bent line was too long. In my effort to bend it to shorten it, I kinked it, and since these lines are made with reinforced tubing around the areas to bend, I had to do a splice. Not a big deal, but didn't want to do that. The splice is in the driveshaft tunnel and secured between two clamps, so it should be fine.

 

[kblagron]

For the upgrade from manual to power brakes, I ended up getting a power brake assembly from ebay. It was an automatic, but was easy to convert to a manual by cutting the pedal. I installed that with the Malwood Hydraulic Master Clutch and it all worked out well. I was able to piece together what was left over (a complete NOS manual clutch / brake assembly) to sell down the road.

I used the Scott Drake Brake Booster, and it bench tested fine. The bracket for the original bendix booster is built into this booster, so it is not needed. I got the booster installed along with the master cylinder and all of the lines made up. Everything tested fine except the distribution block - it was my original rebuilt unit that was leaking through the brake pressure sensor. For now, I am going to plug that off, but will eventually get it repaired / replaced.

 

[kblagron]

The ZRay brace I received didn't fit as it should. For whatever reason, the driver side upper control arm is 3/16" higher than the passenger side, and the bolt wouldn't slide through. After discussing with ZRay, I took it to my body shop and they rewelded the hole in the spot needed and it fit perfectly. From what I can tell, the frame where the motor mount / upper control arm mounts points slightly upward from the other side causing the 3/16" difference.

Here is the brace modified:

 

[kblagron]

I installed the dual exhaust floorboard reinforcement plates, but decided to not plug weld as was done originally. Using the seat belt bolts and the exhaust hanger bolts, I used a thick coat of JB-Weld steel epoxy between the plate and the floorboard, and tightened the bolts to let it cure. Since the rear brake bracket was opposite the driver side plate and was missing, I decided to mount those with bolts through the exhaust hanger plates rather than welding and used the epoxy on it as well.

I purchased the complete Magnaflow Street Series exhaust system and was able to get the muffler and the rear part of the exhaust pipe installed and everything seems to be fitting great.

 

[Grabber70Mach]

Nice progress, that exhaust looks nice you'll have to post a sound clip of it when you first start it up.

 

[kblagron]

As with most builds, on some days you have some good news and bad news. I consider the bad news a minor setback, but this happens.

The good news - I finally got the car off the lift after several months and got the Max Jax lift out of the way so I can fully open the doors and begin working on the wiring.

I also got the Classic Auto Air out of hibernation in the box, and did a function test, and it all checked out great.

Now the bad news - On the brakes, I had a leak in one of the pistons on both calipers. I worked with Chock to get them sent back to his supplier, so hopefully it will be an easy fix and I can get them back soon. I also found out that the wheel cylinders I had installed on the rear were actually for the front, but that was a cheap and easy fix and that is all sorted now.

Now the really bad news - As I was getting ready to install the blanking plate for the cowl to install the CAA unit, I noticed some pin holes in the lower cowl, about 10 total, none bigger than 1/16", and none anywhere except right above where the CAA unit goes. I had never seen them before, but bad on me for not looking at this closer. I inspected from above when I purchased the car, and they are not visible, and around the cowl vent hole there are no holes. Since this car was bead blasted and epoxied several times, I don't think there is any rust underneath the epoxy but possibly thin metal at these spots. They are very small and actually away from the vent pipe a bit, so not what I expected. After reading numerous posts on here and elsewhere on how to fix this (without removing the lower cowl), I decided my plan is to use the Por-15 Patch and squeeze that into the pin holes, then use the Por-15 Rust Encapsulater over the entire lower cowl. Fortunately on the 70, its fairly easy to access all parts of the cowl through the cowl vent holes on the top.

I was disappointed when I saw the holes, but after a while I looked at it as another challenge to tackle. Any comments or thoughts are welcome.

 

[jtfx6552]

I'd use epoxy, not POR-15.

 

[kblagron]

I'd use epoxy, not POR-15.

The Por-15 epoxy putty, or something different like JB Weld?

Edit - Oh, I see what you mean now - Epoxy primer/paint .vs. the Por-15 Rust Encapsulator. That makes sense since it is already has epoxy on it.

 

[Machspeed]

You've done a great job with this! Love the Grabber Blue too! You're in the home stretch now, a place I long to be. I hope to be where you are now by years end. Lots to do! Keep after it, following!

 

[Grabber70Mach]

Sorry to hear about the setbacks but glad to hear that you can turn those lemons into lemonade. Hopefully you can get the cowl all sealed up.

 

[jtfx6552]

The Por-15 epoxy putty, or something different like JB Weld?

Edit - Oh, I see what you mean now - Epoxy primer/paint .vs. the Por-15 Rust Encapsulator. That makes sense since it is already has epoxy on it.

I'm not sure exactly what your situation is, I read it as there are some pin holes in a place that the plate from the auto air will cover anyway. In that case I think you'll be ok as long as air and moisture can't get to the formerly rusting steel. I'd slather epoxy on both sides if you can get to it. Maybe after epoxy do some flowable seam sealer or cavity wax or both from the top. Keep in mind that stuff is very messy...

 

[kblagron]

So after reading a lot of methods to fix my cowl problem (and having fixed one on my 66 a few years back, I decided to use this method:

I first cleaned/degreased it, and then I used metal prep on the area. I decided to use rust preventative coating on both sides. Even though the drivers side doesn't leak, you could tell the epoxy primer didn't get toward the back of both cowl areas.

After that, I used epoxy putty and squeezed it into each of the holes, verifying that it was protruding through the pin hole from below. The photo below shows the pin holes with epoxy, and the paint is what spilled over from painting it from below with rust preventative coating.

I then painted the cowl with rust preventative coating, which also covered all of the epoxy plugs I had installed.

I did a water test and none of the pin holes leaked. Afterward, I did notice that the area where the pin holes were have water that doesn't doesn't drain out like it should. My plan, once I get the self leveling seam sealer I ordered, is to put that down so it has a nice flat surface back to the drain hole and then top coat the entire cowl.

I did get the CAA unit installed. As @RIBS stated in his install, the directions are not written well - some are carry overs from their earlier models, and you just have to figure out what they mean. Also kudos to him on telling me to install before I put in the dash - It was much easier that way.

 

[RIBS]

So after reading a lot of methods to fix my cowl problem (and having fixed one on my 66 a few years back, I decided to use this method:

I first cleaned/degreased it, and then I used metal prep on the area. I decided to use rust preventative coating on both sides. Even though the drivers side doesn't leak, you could tell the epoxy primer didn't get toward the back of both cowl areas.

After that, I used epoxy putty and squeezed it into each of the holes, verifying that it was protruding through the pin hole from below. The photo below shows the pin holes with epoxy, and the paint is what spilled over from painting it from below with rust preventative coating.
View attachment 875297

I then painted the cowl with rust preventative coating, which also covered all of the epoxy plugs I had installed.
View attachment 875298

I did a water test and none of the pin holes leaked. Afterward, I did notice that the area where the pin holes were have water that doesn't doesn't drain out like it should. My plan, once I get the self leveling seam sealer I ordered, is to put that down so it has a nice flat surface back to the drain hole and then top coat the entire cowl.

I did get the CAA unit installed. As @RIBS stated in his install, the directions are not written well - some are carry overs from their earlier models, and you just have to figure out what they mean. Also kudos to him on telling me to install before I put in the dash - It was much easier that way.
View attachment 875299

looks awesome! My CAA unit had a block off plate and does not allow external air, so i made an aluminum cover for my fresh air intake(the top of the top hat). And I sealed it on with silicone. Think similar to an upside down pie pan. Think about that so your intake doesn’t become a bowl of water that won’t drain….

 

[mustang#1]

Next up was the fuel and brake lines. I went with the Classic Tube pre-bent lines, and the fuel line went in with little issue. On the brake lines, I had a few issues - mainly in the front because my brake hose mount was in a different place since I was using the 1967 disc brakes. It required me to shorten both sides and reflare. On the line going to the rear brake block that splits the flow, the pre-bent line was too long. In my effort to bend it to shorten it, I kinked it, and since these lines are made with reinforced tubing around the areas to bend, I had to do a splice. Not a big deal, but didn't want to do that. The splice is in the driveshaft tunnel and secured between two clamps, so it should be fine.

I had a little trouble with the length/bends also on the rear classic tube set i bought. took a good bit of bending to get it to fit.
also, great idea with the self leveling seam sealer in the cowl, I'll have to remember that for the future. Car is looking really nice!

 

[kblagron]

looks awesome! My CAA unit had a block off plate and does not allow external air, so i made an aluminum cover for my fresh air intake(the top of the top hat). And I sealed it on with silicone. Think similar to an upside down pie pan. Think about that so your intake doesn’t become a bowl of water that won’t drain….

Good Idea! Thanks for the tip

 

[kblagron]

I got the lower dash installed, and it went pretty easy. I am still needing to add a brace that attaches the dash to the cowl that I didn't have, but found one on ebay, so should get that installed soon.

I started on my AAW wiring, and with the wife out of town, it was the perfect time to spread everything out on the dining room table. The AAW system was made for a 69, but provide a kit to "update" it to a 70, mainly wiring related to the ignition key on the column. Having never crimped anything, but purchasing their crimping tools, I took it slow and it seems like it all worked out. I have read the instructions several times now and along with the Dakota Digital gauges, I think I am ready to install.

AAW /Dakota Digital / CAS Slide Radio Kit laid out:

First couple of crimps:

Splice on Ignition Switch - I used an aftermarket 71 switch since the 70 switch is not available. I had to splice it to fit the old connector. I soldered and heat shrinked it - not a great job, but better than I expected.

I was originally going to install the steering column, and then do the wiring. I think I am now going to get most of the wiring in the dash first. Not sure if this is the best plan, but seems like it would be easier.

 

[mustang#1]

Nice pics

 

[kblagron]

I am still working out the final plan for the wiring. With both the AAW harness, Dakota Digital, CAA air conditioning, and an aftermarket one piece headliner that has electrical lights, I want to make sure I don't install the harness too many times.

I did finish the cowl repair. After the sealing of the holes I found, I used the SEM Self levelling seam sealer. In the photo below, 12 oz of seam sealer just made it past the air vent in the back, so there was definitely a low spot.

I ended up using additional seam sealer to fix the ridge from the self levelling sealer, and then painted everything. I also put a plastic top hat on the air vent along with RTV since it is blocked from below with the CAA plate. (Wife is still out of town, and I found a plastic cover in the kitchen that fit perfectly - Shhhh).

I plan on doing a water test to see how much water still sits stagnant once everything dries completely.