Adios Old Mustang, We Hardly Knew Ye

Except for the engine and transmission, I've done all that I can (or want to) do. It's time to put her in the capable hands of a trusted, trained, and experienced professional for the heavy-duty work.

After checking out the local vintage Mustang scene here around Chicago, soliciting advice from some of its members, and a couple of shop visits, I've decided to outsource the rust exorcism to Mustang Restorations in Dundee, IL (about 30-40 miles northwest of my home in Chicago).



So yesterday morning the tow truck showed up promptly at 9AM and I wheeled the car into the alley (it was amazing how light and easy it was to maneuver by myself without any engine, transmission, or innards), and off she went.


"Where are you taking me now?"

Below is how my newly emptied garage now looks (time for a little cleanup):



At any given time, it looks like Mustang Restorations has about 20-30 cars at various stages of restoration or fixup, not exclusively Mustangs but clearly the vast majority. Chris, the proprietor (shown below in the white lab coat wheeling my car into his shop), clearly knows what he's doing and knows every screw and bolt on any 60s-70s Mustang. He even had a Mustang II in his shop (Yikes!).



Chris will take his time over the next few months (everyone I've talked to has stressed patience in this process) and remove/replace any rusted components, including the rocker frame rails, quarter panels, floor, torque boxes, battery fender apron, wheel wells, blah blah blah.

With any luck (and a few dollars less in my bank account), next Spring I should have a newly reconstructed car with zero rust, a painted engine compartment (we'll save the car painting for last) ready to plug in my newly rebuilt engine, transmission, and interior.

I know, I'm making it sound a lot simpler than it's going to be, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Rusty Old Car As Art

Gut Job

After getting the engine and transmission out, it was time to gut the interior and get it down to the bare metal. This included taking out the seats and seat belts, the door panels and interior trim, carpeting, and the convertible top assembly and hydraulics.



The seats are held in place by 4 bolts each that you reach thru 1 1/2" diameter holes from underneath. I had to go to the hardware store and pick up a extra deep 1/2" wrench socket to get at them. 4 of these 8 bolts were so rusted they just broke off instead of loosening.





One of the most important pieces of equipment in a restoration is a shop vac. After ripping out the carpet, scraping as much ratty old carpet pad and rust layer from the interior sheet metal, and then vacuuming it all out, you could clearly see the extent of the rust and deterioration, along with what metal truly needs replacement.





A few more minor things to dissect and then it's time to call the tow truck and the restoration shop.