1965 Mustang rust repair

rusty428cj · Dec 16, 2010

This week we have a new project that needs a little rust repair. The first thing we have to do is the cowl and floor.

rusty428cj · Dec 16, 2010

This is what we found after removing the outer cowl panel

Next Brian drilled out all the spot welds on the lower cowl

2+2GT · Dec 16, 2010

I saw this car before & after in person, so repairs of something even that bad are possible if you are willing.

Flying Dutchman · Dec 16, 2010

Looks great! you should let some of the folks know how long it took and effort in do it. Some people just starting out will look at the pics and cry that they need the same work done.

rusty428cj · Dec 16, 2010

A few more pictures. The owner knows it needs a lot of work but she wants to save a Mustang.

Realmongo · Dec 17, 2010

That looks like a lot of rust for a Florida car. The floors look like salt damage, but the roof damage looks like paper mill fallout.

pyroman · Dec 17, 2010

How long did it take to remove the upper and lower cowl?

Also, how do you plan on repairing the rust in the driver's floorboard? I have issues in that area too, although not to the extent of that car. I would imagine that a new floor pan would take care of some of it but how "high" up does it go?

rusty428cj · Mar 4, 2011

Today I started sanding the back side of parts and epoxy primed. The parts are e coated but I want epoxy on the back side so there is no chance of rust.

View attachment 194859

View attachment 194860

Fstbk · Mar 4, 2011

So I am curious what kinda budget this cowl and floor work would require? Would you let us know a basic price range of what this kinda repair goes for?

rusty428cj · Mar 4, 2011

Fstbk said:
So I am curious what kinda budget this cowl and floor work would require? Would you let us know a basic price range of what this kinda repair goes for?

Every classic car has rust in different locations and it is impossible to give an estimate. Our labor rate at this time is $45.00 per hour

dennis112 · Mar 5, 2011

Fstbk said:
So I am curious what kinda budget this cowl and floor work would require? Would you let us know a basic price range of what this kinda repair goes for?

No matter where you take it, the cowl won't be cheap and I would estimate that $2K labor would still be on the low end for a basic repair like what I have pictured below. There is a lot of steps and as Rusty commented, it depends on how extensive the damage is. Although the aftermarket parts themselves can be somewhat inexpensive, this is a labor intensive job irregardless of the amount of damage found.

I do my own work (I'm reasonably knowledgeable and wasn't my first time) and during the last one I had a little over 50 hours installing the 2 cowl patch repair panels--and the rust damage wasn't that extensive. The time included R&Ring the windshield, interior, dash components (including dash pad, heater box and fire wall insulation), front cap (hood, fenders, valances, bumper), and anything else that is in the way OR you don't want to burn. There were 167 spot welds that needed cut and eventually rewelded. I did both primering and painting under the cowl before reinstalling.

In my case, the hats were in great shape, but other areas around it had rust damage. I decided that aftermarket patches was the best route and I installed them on both sides.

RH side:

LH side:

Under the upper cowl:

Doors didn't need to come off for the job, but pretty much everything else that you don't see was in the way,

Not shown is the work on the upper cowl. It was rusted through where it met the front aprons (which are directly above where the holes are shown above.) The cowl holes where hidden under the seam sealer and it wasn't until I scraped it away that the initial damage became apparent.

Full floor pans patches are much easier and I can do both (including R&R interior) in a couple of days.

Fstbk · Mar 6, 2011

Thanks for the info, I am going to be doing mine at some point. Part of the reason I ask is for valuation for insurance. For us guys willing to do the work ourselves the labor aspect is often overlooked yet is still needs to be reflected in the value of the cars policy.

If I just add up receipts these cars can be cheap compared to some cars that have little after-market support, but add in a shop bill and the game changes, and for guys that have never had a shop bill trying to figure out what to "Pay yourself" should really be based on how many hours it would take a pro, not actual hours spent in the garage.

rusty428cj · Apr 7, 2011

Yesterday we removed the engine and transmission and set it up on jack stands.

Today the suspension was removed along with a lot of other parts. We need to start out fresh to get the bolt out of the front of the leaf springs.

Realmongo · Apr 17, 2011

Any new progress on this guy yet?

rusty428cj · Apr 17, 2011

We have been working on the fastback. This week we will be mounting it on a cart and start the rust repair of the floor pans.

rusty428cj · Apr 18, 2011

Brian finished stripping the wiring, steering column, gas tank, and other parts today

Brian cut off the drip rail on the right side today.

The first thing he did was cut it off with a cutoff wheel.

Next step is to grind the spot welds and remove that piece from the windshield post.

That's all for today

rusty428cj · Apr 20, 2011

We modified a cart we had and welded it to the frame rails, sub frame and rockers

rusty428cj · Apr 20, 2011

The next step was to remove the roof by melting the lead and than drilling out the spot welds

Realmongo · Apr 20, 2011

Boy this job is really a labor of love to save a coupe that has deteriorated that far!

rusty428cj · Apr 21, 2011

1965 Mustang rust repair

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