Progress Thread New Here. Wanted To Start A Thread.

[MikeH686]

The question with the trans oil is all in what year the trans is, if it's prior to I think 86 or maybe 84 it will need 70w gear oil because of the internals now anything later because they changed the internals I think it was brass synchros it was the change was is where you will use ATF fluid Mercon fluid etc. I put ATF in my trans thinking they were all the same until I did some research but it's a pos trans so it don't matter to me but for you definitely find out the year of the trans and dont go by model year because my po put an 84 trans in my 91

 

[5.0notslow]

The question with the trans oil is all in what year the trans is, if it's prior to I think 86 or maybe 84 it will need 70w gear oil because of the internals now anything later because they changed the internals I think it was brass synchros it was the change was is where you will use ATF fluid Mercon fluid etc. I put ATF in my trans thinking they were all the same until I did some research but it's a pos trans so it don't matter to me but for you definitely find out the year of the trans and dont go by model year because my po put an 84 trans in my 91

Ok awesome. I should find out soon. The PO is sending me all the rebuilding paper work. The T5 has been rebuilt so hopefully the paper will tell me year and possibly oil used.

 

[2000xp8]

You would be surprised how far back from the dead you can buff red paint if you know what you are doing. Other than the hood, the rest of the car may be the same color red underneath all the oxidation.

 

[5.0notslow]

Unfortunately I'm not sure. The PO started trying to repaint it a different shade of red. And somewhere along the way when it was repainted the never sanded down the original paint so the original white paint is starting to show in places.. I could definitely try to wash and buff her up. May help some.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

A quick way to know if it's a half ass paint job is take a blow gun from an air compressor and blow it on the paint. The paint will just lift off and blow away. Most people don't know how to prep. A $200 quart of paint won't make up for cheap prep work any day of the week.

Enough posting for me, gotta get back to smoothing my engine bay. Have a great non-Labor day weekend y'all!

 

[5.0notslow]

Differences in color.

 

[mikestang63]

looks like a different front end. was the car hit?

 

[5.0notslow]

The car Fox said no. The color on the door is a color that the PO made himself. He paints all his Mustangs that color. At least I think it was the color on the door.. maybe the fender color is "his" color.

 

[A5literMan]

Yeah paint would definetly be high on the priority list for me. As long as it runs descent first that is. Somebody had to replace that frontend. The alignment is atrocious.

 

[5.0notslow]

Best way to fix that? I was hoping that when I replace the door hinges and bushing..

 

[omarimoe]

Best way to fix that? I was hoping that when I replace the door hinges and bushing..

Could be the fenders that are off and not necessarily the doors, so you might have to play with the alignment a little bit. Do the body lines match from the doors to the quarters? If they do then the front end is your problem.

 

[5.0notslow]

Could be the fenders that are off and not necessarily the doors, so you might have to play with the alignment a little bit. Do the body lines match from the doors to the quarters? If they do then the front end is your problem.

Door to the back fender.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

your door looks fine. Remember that these cars were made in the 80's when American cars had horrible tolerances so fender gaps were never lined up like a Honda would be. Ever heard of Tolerance Stacking? I have to deal with it all the time at my work because people get lazy sometimes. Your problem from what I can see is the top of your fender doesn't match up in height with your cowl. The lines are not aligned. The bolts you need to loosen are 8mm and located where your door jamb is, open you passenger door and look toward the jamb near the top of the fender. You'll need a long extension. Open your hood and loosen all of the 8mm bolts there too, should be 3 of them. There is also one more located at the bottom of your fender near the bottom of the door, loosen this one too. You do not need to remove them. Try to manipulate the fender to line up with the cowl while maintaining the gap with the door. When it looks good tighten one bolt down good and check all gaps. Open and close your door carefully to ensure door doesn't his the fender. If your happy tighten everything down if not loosen it back up and try again.

 

[5.0notslow]

Awesome. Thank you for the detailed instructions. I'm off Thursday so I will try then. The other side looks like it all lines up.

 

[5.0notslow]

this is where the front bumper comes up to the fender (passenger side)

Close up of the door to the front passenger fender.

 

[mikestang63]

take some painters tape and lay some on the edges of your fender and doors. You don't want to chip off the edges when you are aligning them and checking the door opening. Also, your door gap to the rear fender is wider at the top than the bottom. You can see where the lines don't match up on the upper and belt molding. Check the door bushings/pins as they probably need to tbe replaced. You can also try and adjust i a little with the striker.

 

[5.0notslow]

Thanks for all the info, tips, and guidance.. I appreciate it. I'm going to start working on the body and getting it as close to perfect as I can then hopefully a paint job right after that.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

On second thought, you may want to check if some (not so smart) person shimmed your fender. The shims would be located at one, if not all, 3 of the 8mm bolts under the hood. They would be sandwiched between your fender and the frame. Mine had a shim near the last bolt closest to the cowl/hood hinge. The front of the fender is off as well from the picture you posted. Loosening those bolts are a P.I.T.A. They normally turn on me. Spray PB Blaster on them and let them soak. Hit them with an air ratchet and they will have the best chance of loosening the nut instead of the embedded bolt.

Good luck bro!

 

[90lxwhite]

Unfortunately I won't be able to pull the engine unless the shop I take it to can do it. The PO redid the interior, and replaced the seats from an 03 mustang, so luckily the interior is really nice. Yeah I'm still deciding on an order to do things. But I think a paint job has moved to the top of the list. I don't like all the shades of red.

I say if the suspension needs addressing even general maintenance type stuff I'd do that before paint. Of course upgrading the maintenance items with better stuff to the level that you can afford. That way you're not getting beat to death on the way to 7-11 while you're saving for a paint job. As for painting the engine bay I ended up spray painting mine black (motor was in and the body is blue) after the car was painted.

 

[5.0notslow]

@90lxwhite I plan on doing weld in full length sub frame connectors and torque box reinforcements before the paint.
@FoxMustangLvr thanks for the advice. I'll be checking it out on Thursday hopefully. I don't have air tools so I may have to see of the body shop I take it to can fix that for me.