Progress Thread Barn Find - Twilight Blue 1991 GT 5spd

I was hoping to run to the salvage yard over the weekend to look for a dash but life got in the way. Friday I got a new fuel tank (JEGS), fuel pump and sending unit (LMS) and was hoping to get a hard copy of the 1991 Ford Mustang shop manual but unfortunately I got a copy of the 1996 Ford Aerostar manual instead. Seller is going to get me the right one and I'll send the wrong one back. My plan is to get the fuel tank installed and start prep work for getting the motor back in.

I was able to get some cleaning done on the upholstery though. I know it will have to be replaced eventually but at least I can make it look better in the mean time.
Seats prior to cleaning (by hand)
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Prior to the first past with the Bissell
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After 2 passes with the cleaner
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As far as the trim pieces go, I may try to repair them but I'm also considering a Cobra body kit. I loved the look of the LX style pipes coming out the back. Cervins has them for about $1,600. I wouldn't put any Cobra badging on it but after having one, I fell in love with the look.

@Mustang5L5 - Thanks for the tip on the paint color, I will definitely get a can or two. I need to pick some that will match the titanium grey as well since all the interior trim pieces will need to be re-done.
 
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I like the factory paint scheme as well. If I decide with the stock GT ground effects look, I will keep it two-tone. If I decide to go with the Cobra kit, it will just be twilight blue. I've had silver, red and black Mustangs but never had a blue one. ;)
 
This is going to depend a little bit. I don't know what the quality of the reproduction pieces are, but used it's a bit of a crap shoot on whether or not you will get something in decent shape. Those bumper extensions and the GT ground effects in general have often been ravaged by weather and time as far as used pieces are concerned.

Looking further at the pictures, the damage is also on the bumper cover itself, so that part would need to be repaired or the bumper cover replaced. The last time I bought a YCC reproduction for my Mustang project was 10 years ago, so I don't know what the cost (or availability) of those are anymore. The ones from LMR were pricey and again availability of a lot of these things are questionable as well as the quality.


To the OP - I think those are absolutely repairable. I probably would put some plastic filler in and THEN sand it down or you may take off too much material and change the shape too much.
I just bought new front and rear bumpers, hood, trunk, fender extensions, and the molding kit from LMR and while I haven't seen it personally @95steedamustang said it fits well and doesn't need much work which means it's only 192 coats of primer away from being ready for paint. It isn't too expensive, especially when you add up the cost to fix the old stuff.
 
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I spent some time this morning doing some more work on the interior. I got the center console and carpets out. The metal underneath looks pretty good. There are some small spots of surface rust but a wire-wheel and some paint should take care of that. I've been looking at replacement carpet since there's a chuck missing out of my passenger side front. I'm going to stick with the titanium grey color.

When I pulled the center console out, I noticed my parking brake handle has some play (left to right) which has been causing some rubbing on the center console opening. I'm not sure what is causing that but it's one more thing to add to the fix-it list. :nice:

I still need to finish buttoning up the block and get it back into the car. I need to get motor mounts, clutch, and either resurface the existing flywheel or pick up a new one from Rock Auto since they are fairly cheap. I've got the a new fuel tank, pump and sending unit waiting go in, so that might be next weekend project.
 
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It's been a while since I've had time to do anything to this project. I figured since the weather was nice, I'd replace the oil pump and install a new oil pan gasket. Well Mr. Murphy decided to pay me a visit and remind me that his law will always triumph over my good intentions. I snapped two oil pan bolts into the block and of course they are damn near flush with the block so I can't get a pair of vise-grips on them :mad:. Time to go visit the tool store and get a set of extractors. Hopefully I'll be able to get these out. Here's a picture to enjoy with your morning beverage of choice:

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Well no joy trying to get them out with the extractors. At this point I decided to just button it up with the new Fel-Pro gasket in place and tighten everything down. I did pick up a set of the oil pan reinforcement rails a while back so I'm hoping that that will distribute the torque evenly enough to prevent any leaks. I may revisit this issue before it goes back into the car if I can come up with any other ideas. This did prompt the wife to mention that maybe I should start looking into possibly of picking up a new block and building it out to be a permanent replacement for this one ;) . I said I would start looking but I'm still trying maintain a budget for this build but the kid in me is like "Oh hell yeah!!!".
 
Well no joy trying to get them out with the extractors. At this point I decided to just button it up with the new Fel-Pro gasket in place and tighten everything down. I did pick up a set of the oil pan reinforcement rails a while back so I'm hoping that that will distribute the torque evenly enough to prevent any leaks. I may revisit this issue before it goes back into the car if I can come up with any other ideas. This did prompt the wife to mention that maybe I should start looking into possibly of picking up a new block and building it out to be a permanent replacement for this one ;) . I said I would start looking but I'm still trying maintain a budget for this build but the kid in me is like "Oh hell yeah!!!".
You can "maintain a budget" by simply editing the budget to add whatever amount of extra funds you want, just look at how our government does it... they make it look easy!
 
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Crap, that sucks!
Oh, you still owe me five bucks :jester:
i don't remember them being tightened down :shrug:
Oh I over-tightened the crap out of them on the first try, so this one is all on me. It was "crank, crank, crank, PING, OH CRAP!!!". The bad thing is I didn't notice the second one had broke till I started taking it apart again. Not sure what I was thinking (or not thinking in this case). Rookie mistake, albeit a big one.
 
Try a reverse drill bit, use the blue one piece gasket I think they have the metal insert (?), I use a thin smear of blue rtv on the block and pan surfaces then snug em down, leave overnight and it is good to go, I think they only get about 6-9 pound foot of torque.
 
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Try a reverse drill bit, use the blue one piece gasket I think they have the metal insert (?), I use a thin smear of blue rtv on the block and pan surfaces then snug em down, leave overnight and it is good to go, I think they only get about 6-9 pound foot of torque.

Or have someone weld a nut to the studs....

I tried using a reverse drill bit but didn't have any luck with the set I bought from Harbor Freight. I had installed the molded perma-dry Fel-Pro gasket so I hadn't thought about using RTV since the instructions said it could be applied dry.

I had thought about the welding trick but 1.) I don't have a welding setup yet and 2.) The one that broke off at the back of the block is damn near flush with the block so I'm not sure it I'd be able to have a nut tacked on to that one (at least not with my lack of experience in welding). The other one is sticking up about 1/8 of an inch (if that).
 
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But a really good( not H.F.) Drill bit set smaller then the Oil pan bolts.
Use a center punch, and Carefully drill into the bolts.step up in size till you can get a small screwdriver in there and turn what's left out.
 
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