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Restoration steps in the correct order with a limited budget?

3K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  Acoustic 
#1 · (Edited)
So my project is starting to slow down, mainly because of budget issues and so many conflicting answers floating about the interwebs and shops I call for help. The elements I need to do now are related and seem to have to happen quickly in relation to one another. To top it all off, they aren't cheap.

I've stripped the car to the point of needing to be on a rotisserie/cart soon. I've only left the components on that are needed to keep the wheels on since I don't have a car cart/dolly.

I'm at a point where I'm not really sure what to do now, mainly because of budget and timing of the next steps.

I have enough to get the car media blasted so I know for sure what I'm working with regarding rust but not enough to do what I thought would be the next steps, which seem to have to happen quickly after media blasting.

I was quoted $700 for media blasting, but after that I know I need to get the metal primed but the quotes I'm getting for that are upwards of $3000. That is something that I
A. don't have right now
B. I know for sure I need at least repair work and maybe replacement on one front frame rails, one rear frame rail, and the floor pan in the front is pretty bad

So if I media blast, I need to prime relatively quickly, but do I prime then repair, or repair then prime? I'm in Denver, which is super dry and the car will be garaged so I'm assuming I have time before I actually have to prime.

I guess I'm at the point where do I just pause the project until I can do the media blasting, priming, and repairing the rust at the same time? I imagine that will be pushing $6000-$8000 looking at shop hours which will take me years to save up for. I could do the pan work but not sure about the frame work.

So does media blasting sound like a waste to do at this point if I can't do the repairs and prime all at once? I can't be the only one who doesn't have deep pockets and has to do little chunks at a time.

Lastly, what is the best way to know if something could be patched/repaired rather than replacing the entire element? I'm mainly worried about the frame rail issues, they seem okay except in certain areas.

Front frame rails look decent except for this one area on the right side, right in front of where the frame rail goes under the pan area.

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Rear frame rails look good except for the very back portion, maybe the last 8 inches or so where the leaf springs bolt in. The left side is bad, the right side doesn't look as bad.

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Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've had the car since 1999 so if I have to wait another few years to save up all the money at once to do the blasting/repair/prime so be it, but I'd like to be able to keep working on the car slowly like I have been rather than stopping for probably two more years to save that kind of money.
 
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#2 ·
If it was me I'd wire brush it off section by section, those rust patches need a lot of work and if you try and do it all you'll never get done. Work on a section, I guarantee the rust is bad if those areas are rotted through. Don't shove a load of money at it, I spent a couple of years dealing with the rust, it was hell. May be cheaper if its a coupe to get hold of a relatively rust free shell and use yours as a parts car. General rule with rust is similar to an iceberg.

Nothings impossible though, I took my hole underside, inside and bay to bare metal with a drill and brushes. Time is cheap of your doing it yourself. I'd focus on one section, see what fixing that is like and assess whether you can face the rest 😁. It's all part of the adventure, good luck 👍
 
#3 ·
I tend to agree. I would suggest getting it to bare metal yourself. Spray and wipe down with Picklex20, then work on it at your own pace. Even if you do media blast it, you can use px20 and work on it until ready to epoxy. If you do go this route, you will need to pay attention to the type of epoxy you use...SPI will not work. Master Series Silver works great for coating interior and chassis surfaces.
 
#4 ·
I'm in Colorado Springs. I had my Mach 1 media blasted and left it in bare metal for months. No rust. As you said, it's pretty dry here.

You might find my build thread helpful. Although, I'm not sure if the pictures will be working. I can never tell what Photobucket is doing these days. Anyway, here are my suggestion:

- Definitely have it media blasted. A wire wheel and stripper are simply not going to remove all that rust. Sure, you'll see a lot more holes when it's done. But that's what you want. You need to see what you're in for.

- I would highly recommend you do all the body work, and even paint, yourself. A good, professional shop will be just too expensive. Sound like you're on a budget. Small budgets and professional body work do not go together. I had never done paint or body work before. I bought a welder, a big compressor and some air tools along with the Kevin Tetz "Paintucation" videos. It took a long time, but I made it happen. And so can you.

- My car had a lot of rust, but my frame rails, torque boxes and rockers were solid. Looks like those components on your car will have to be replaced. It's definitely doable, but it's very involved. It will just take you more time.

- Some people say it's not worth it to buy equipment for paint and body work and you're better off just paying a shop. I disagree. A good paint job completed in a reasonable time will be over $10,000. I figured I could screw up a paint job multiple times and not spend $10,000. Turns out I was right. Look for used tools. They're around. Do your research. Use good quality materials so you don't waste your money.

- I went with SPI for my epoxy primer, polyester primer and clear coat. I used PPG Deltron for the base coat. That stuff was expensive, but I wanted an accurate Calypso Coral and not just "Competition Orange". It was worth it. I get LOTS of compliments about the color. And to be honest, almost everyone is very surprised I got such good results on my own in a small, two car garage.

Have fun!
 
#5 ·
Depends on the primer, I used owatrol cip and to be fair, a wire brush doesn't beat media blast but owatrol cip doesn't need it perfectly rust free, though it wasn't far off after I'd done it.....

Many routes to glory, but if your tight with funds now then sinking 3 k into a media blast isn't how I would use my funds 👍
 
#6 ·
Pictures, pictures, and more pictures, of anything your doing... pictures if things you are removing from vehicle. Containers, boxes, baggies, and tags to label EVERYTHING! I took my 65 to bare shell, anything bolted or screwed to it came off and organized using the boxes, bags, and containers. Doors came off, disassembled and acid dipped. 200.00 for that. When they came back, very solid except the normal 2inch spot in front corner. I then spray painted the inside cavity with rustencapsulator from Eastwood, 20.00 a can but definitely worth the money..being in Indiana I did not leave bare metal for any time. Do as above and one area at a time. Media blasted myself and it showed me the bad areas, time well spent. Always look for parts because you never know when you will find them again. I lucked out and bought NOS full quarterpanels (fastback) front fenders, tailpanel. I have been on my car since 03. Have a idea of where you are going with it. And above all DONT GIVE UP.
 
#10 ·
Media cleaning of the entire car, while on the rotisserie is standard procedure for the shop here. Frankly, I don't see how proper repair of your above-illustrated rust can be done without it.

Priming is not difficult, the preparation before that is what's really critical, maybe 80% of the quality of the final results. Today's paint is a real eye opener. A couple years ago I decided it was time to sell my Mountaineer. The only obstacle was the paint on the hood was shot, beginning to peel. I spent 6 hours, with the proper equipment, prepping and smoothing the hood, and cowl. Then I laid on a BC/CC coat of paint. I'm not a paint guy, but I can follow the instructions of the pros. Next morning, in the cold light of day, I discovered the results looked nicer than the original factory paint.
 
#11 ·
Wow thanks for all the responses! @Klutch, thanks for the link, all your photos are showing they just have the photobucket watermark over them, I could still see them fine though.

Easy to be overwhelmed and lose hope with prices out there but doing a little at a time yourself and reading through the forums helps alleviate all that, so thanks for the tips/suggestions!

@2+2=GT350, yes I wish I took more photos of the strip down then I did, but I did organize everything that I took off the car. I should be able to reuse a lot which will help keep the cost down, I created an excel sheet so I know where everything is and what I plan to keep (attached).

On Monday I'm picking up a car cart from a family friend who doesn't need it, so once I get that I plan to remove the rest of the suspension and front wheels, the leaf springs, rear axle/diff and rear wheels. Once I get that finished I'll get her media blasted for $700 and get her back in the garage and really see what I'm dealing with, I'm hoping it isn't too bad, those photos from my first post are the only areas I see, I've cleaned up the car and did the "screwdriver test" to the rest and didn't find anything else that seemed more than surface rust or minor rust.

The other $3000 was from a different shop for the prep and prime after media blast which was something I couldn't afford. Seemed like a waste if I was going to be cutting out portions of the frame and panels to repair. Fingers crossed I can get the car media blasted and know what I'm dealing with by August.
 

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#12 ·
Fortunately the replacement frame rail sections are not that expensive. Can you weld or have a friend that can do the welding for you? This is the situation where it is a "lot" cheaper if you do the work yourself or with the help of friends. Also, you may find that you will get a better job done if you do it yourself as you will fix the issues to your level of desired quality.

In order for me to weld in my subframe connectors, I had to clean the floors of my car. As recommended by someone here, I used a 4 1/2" angle grinder with high speed wire wheels from Harbor Freight. The high speed of the angle grinder, 11000 RPM and the wire wheels made quick work of removing 50 years of built up dirt and old seam sealer. Now that the bottom of my car is cleaned up, I am going to pass on media blast and invest in a rotisserie. The rotisserie will allow me to thoroughly clean the rest of the bottom of the car and provide an aid to body work and paint.

Personally I would rather invest in good tools like a welder and rotisserie and do the work myself.

Good luck, as said above take the repairs one area at a time and you will get there. If you do it yourself, you decide the schedule. If you farm the work out to a local shop, who knows when they will get it done.
 
#13 ·
I was planning on getting a nice used Mig welder and learning as I go. One of my friends has one that he loves, he could give me some pointers during the process. The thought of welding and doing major repairs is both exciting and daunting though.

Most of my jobs throughout my life have been mechanical, so I feel comfortable doing most the rebuild, it is just the major body work/welding things I've never dealt with before that gives me pause.
 
#14 ·
If you have the time, look my bulid..


low budget build. step by step.
not saying that the best way , just mine :)
 
#15 ·
And if your cowl is shot to pieces, skip crying after hitting it with a crowbar, although I feel it helped somehow 🤣

I ended up with the cowl one of my favorite touches, from one of my biggest challenges.





I stopped looking at the bigger picture at some point when it was too much and took it one five minute job at a time, it really helps 👍
 
#18 ·
Based on just those shots you’ve got a Varsity amount of metal work ahead. There’s going to be a lot more than that once you get it blasted. You could roll the dice, get it blasted and see how bad it is. If the rails are that bad it’s likely the cowl is shot and at least the lower wheel well, fender and quarters. Unless it’s fully toast a donor Fastback is going to be as much as the panels and tools and it still may need metal work just not as much.

For a few hundred you can get an Eastwood welder, another couple/few hundred in gas and PPE and you’re mostly there. Add a couple of low cost angle grinders, Dewalt has two packs for under a hundred, some consumables and clamps and you can start. It will be a few years before you’re back on the road.
 
#19 ·
You can find a lot of posts here about welders. I would suggest getting a name brand like Hobart, Miller or Lincoln. Not only are these good machines, but most any welding shop will have parts for them. This isn't the case for an Eastwood welder. I went with a Hobart Handler and I am very happy with it. 220V capability is nice, but you won't need it to restore a Mustang. It's all plug welds and stitch welds.
 
#20 ·
I got the Eastwood MIG welder because it was so much less expensive than the name brands. I've run several 10lb spools of wire through it and it has not needed any repair parts. Depending on how much welding you are expecting to do, you'll have to decide where you want to use your limited funds. Of course, this same logic applies to many other situations in addition to the welder. I will say, get the largest gas tank that your gas suppliers will refill for you. For me, the largest tank that I can own that they will refill is the 80lb tank. It is the one that is about 3 feet tall. The refill for this tank is only a little more expensive than for the smaller tank but it last much longer between refills. Any larger tanks around here are lease only tanks.
 
#21 ·
I'll start researching some MIGs, I think I've mentally prepared myself for the amount of rust that blasting will reveal, but trying to stay hopeful that some work has already been done at some point in the history of the car, I can tell portions of the pans have been done before and the rear wheel wells look oddly clean and are a different color than the rest of the interior.

I've read a lot about the cowl issues on Mustangs, fingers crossed right now, from what I can see from the outside and from under the dash makes me hopeful that is isn't too bad.

I'll start a build thread now that you all are motivating me.

One question about blasting... should I try to strip off the underside "rubber" coating in places or will blasting take care of that?
 
#24 ·
If you are concerned about rust after having it blasted . . . I would get a gallon kit of epoxy (like a qt of cat and a gallon of paint) then get some cheap brushes and rollers and just roll and brush it. If it were me I'd hit it with wax and grease remover first. It will be fine as long as you don't store the car out in the sun. Then work on it at you leisure and sand down what you want to work on. Autobody101.com is your friend; head over and read the stickies. Mel
 
#25 · (Edited)
First of all, I'd reconsider whether you are in a position to do a major restoration considering the limited funds. It may make more sence to just sell it as is and then put the cash towards a car that is completely done or atleast a good driver. It will cost a lot more to restote the car versus buying one ready to enjoy now, and you have years of work ahead of you to complete it.

If you are determined to restore that car, I would first get a good understanding of the process by looking at build posts to see the process of how other members did theirs. Mine and another good build theread is posted below.

As far as media blasting, I would not blast that car since the rust is so obvious on the frame rails and other parts of the car. I'd use that money towards a welder and new body replacement parts and epoxy primer. The first thing to do would be to identify all the troubled areas by basic sanding with a stripping disc on a sander. Also, you do not have to strip everything at this point. (For example the entire frame rail needs replaced, why strip it at all? Just replace it. ) Then cut out and replace all rotted pieces. Once you know the body has all good metal and all dents are bumbed to the best they can be, then finish stripping the entire car down to bare (white) metal with 80 grit on a DA sander and apply two full wet coats of a quality epoxy primer. At that point you can start leveling and blocking process with filler and poly primer.

Here's a couple good detailed build threads for your review on restoration the process:

Brian's Coupe (Similar to the amount of rust repair / metal work you have coming up) - Brian's 66 coupe build

Lenny B's Coupe (shows completed process) - Lenny B's 1968 J-Code Coupe Restoration Project
 
#26 ·
So after reading all of this, here is the path I have been down. First, yes, buy a mig welder. your first project is to pick up an old bed frame and make yourself a welding cart with wheels. Mine has the tank under and the welder sitting on top of the tank. Its a great little project and by the time your done you will have basic skills if it doesn't fall apart when you put weight on it. Watch you tubes and have your friend show you. Buy a 4 or 4.5" grinder with cuttoff and grinding wheels (lots of em). It will erase your welding sins and make things look like better than professional. Welds don't have to be pretty but they do have to have penetration so the peices stay together forever. For instance, when you cut out a rusty area, you are going to cut to good metal. Try welding on that good metal so you get a feel for welding material of that thickness. Cut the peice up so you can weld two pieces together. Don't work onthe car till you have it down. Each thickness of metal has its own characteristics and welding settings. One thickness might not penetrate, another thickness might blow through. NEVER throw away metal any more. Its amazing how often what you need will show up in the scrap bin.

Paint: Primer is hella easy to shoot and all sins can be fixed with sanding. By the time I had primered my first paint job, I knew how to work the gun, lay down a nice finish and was ready for real paint which is much harder. Read the instructions on the paint can, buy good materials and never deviate from the instructions in any way.

Finally, and most important, if you commit to this car (instead of looking for a better starting point) it takes a lot of dicipline to keep working. Its easy to be overwhelmed and stand there staring but just keep your hands moving at all times. you can do little projects in front of the TV like rebuilding a startermotor, cleaning a gauge, rebuilding a carburetor. Some bigger jobs, when I am done, I just put the tools down. That way when I go out again, I can work for half an hour without using that half hour to get tools and materials out. At some point you have to stop looking at the elephant and focus on the tail or tusk. You pick off the little jobs one at a time. There are a thousand brackets that need to be painted for instance...

Hang in there and good luck...
 
#28 ·
Thanks everyone.

The car definitely has sentimental value to me. I bought it when I was 14 back in 99 and worked at Goodyear all my high school time to pay her off. It has been in the "restoration" period since 2003, so I'm in no rush, I gave some background in my introduction post.

I'm an affiliate professor so I have two major factors going on. First, I don't make much money a year but second, and most important to me, I have a lot of time off throughout the year (nearly 5 months). So I have the time and can usually save around 3k a year to devote to the project. Not a lot of money, but after cataloging all the parts, I think I'm reusing 75% of the car, probably 95% of the interior is in excellent condition.

I guess the reason why I was leaning towards blasting is the $700 didn't seem too bad, and I was thinking if I do some repairs to the elements I know are bad, then blast it and see there was more to the repair then I thought, I'd have to start over again (Not sure if this is legit, I'd defer to all of the expertise here, just the way my mind thinks). If I blast first, then I could see yes, the entire frame rail on the LR needs to go or it looks good except for the last 10 inches.

I feel comfortable with most elements of the build based on previous jobs and what I did in the Marines except the welding/body work. It just seems like those two elements are an artform, like drywalling... seems easy enough but then the tape always bubbles. HA.

Thanks again for all the info and tips/suggestions. Great forum, I wish I would have found it sooner.
 
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