Progress Thread The "grátis" 1966 Coupe - final sheet metal repairs

Been a little while.

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I have been having trouble with the air compressor that made me think the motor or pump was going bad. Turns out it just needed a new belt as the original had become a bit stretched. One new belt later and it starts and runs like new. With my seemingly renewed air compressor running like a top, I decided to do a bit of work. I nearly got the final bit of rust repaired on the passenger quarter.

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Some of the wheel house was also swiss-cheesed.

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This is where I called it a night. I'll finish this up next weekend, probably. Nice to get some work done.

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This is the patch that will go in. Sectioned out of a CJ Pony Parts quarter skin.

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What’s been happening brother-

And don't think we didn't notice that you visited tonight at 7:21 PM and didn't update this thread. :jester:
Much apologies, y'all. It's been a little while. I'm in the final few weeks of what is hopefully my last trip to the sandbox. I definitely have some plans to get working on this car once I get back!

Biggest priority will be to finish the underside of the car and get the suspension installed so I can get it on the ground and off the rotisserie. I have an AJE front K-member kit and their 4-link rear suspension kit. The rear end that I pulled out of the Cobra will keep its 3.73 gears, get a reseal, and will find a new home under the '66. It shouldn't be too wide with fox axles and the SN95 brake adapter brackets (LMR now sells their own version). I may have to go with a little more offset on the rear wheels, but it shouldn't be too big of a problem. It'll only be one inch wider on each side than the original rear end.

I'm also collecting the final parts to finally build my freshened up 302. Way back in 2020 I found a 5.0 in very good shape out of 1995 GT at the local Pick-n-Pull. I had a machine shop go through it and check everything. It's been sitting in the garage waiting to be assembled along with the GT40 heads I acquired from revhead347. The only thing I still need to decide on is a cam. I'm still unsure if a custom grind would be worth it or if I should just go with a TFS stage 1. I'm not trying to get as much power out of it as I can. It will make at least as much power as the completely stock engine in my Cobra and will do so in a car that weighs nearly 1000 fewer pounds. I think it'll be plenty.

More to come!
 
Finally did something. I'll be installing a 4-link rear suspension on this and needed to remove the shock mount to install the rear cradle. Next up will be prepping the front side for the k-member. I also plan to redo some of my earlier welds that weren't so great.

Once I get the suspension sorted, I'm finally going to get the car dustless blasted and get it in one color. Very much looking forward to that. Then, I can go ahead and take it off the rotisserie.
 

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What will reinforce the removed rear crossmember? The new rear cradle? I've been looking at front K member possibilities after talking one of my '66 customer's out of the Mustang II aftermarket crossmember idea. I'm enough of a vintage classic Mustang purist to want to keep the stock shock towers.
This AJE K-member kit is one of the possibilities. AJE K-member explained
Here is a link to their site: ajesuspension.com
Keep up the good work, using only what you need from a larger repair panel is a sign of metalwork maturity. I'm referring to post #763, rh quarter patch work.
 
What will reinforce the removed rear crossmember? The new rear cradle? I've been looking at front K member possibilities after talking one of my '66 customer's out of the Mustang II aftermarket crossmember idea. I'm enough of a vintage classic Mustang purist to want to keep the stock shock towers.
This AJE K-member kit is one of the possibilities. AJE K-member explained
Here is a link to their site: ajesuspension.com
Keep up the good work, using only what you need from a larger repair panel is a sign of metalwork maturity. I'm referring to post #763, rh quarter patch work.
I'm going with the AJE front and rear kit, yes. You still need the tops of the shock towers, but a good portion of them can go. I was originally looking into the Mustang II-style coilovers, but all those kits are way more money than I have to spend.
 
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