Build Thread 1990 Lx 5.0 Restomod Build

David Pepiton · Sep 18, 2012

very nice diagram need to hit up the hardware store here in a few.

boostfrk · Sep 18, 2012

David Pepiton said:
very nice diagram need to hit up the hardware store here in a few.

Remember that only 3 of those 7 bolts are actually "bolts". The rest are studs with the 5/16" - 18 thread on one side (that threads into the timing cover or block depending on the bolt) and the other side is a larger thread that's used to hold the A/C compressor and P/S pump bracket on. I'm not sure what size the larger thread is but I suspect it would be difficult, maybe impossible, to find this stud at a local hardware store.

David Pepiton · Sep 18, 2012

Yeah oreilly has replacement studs in the help section

boostfrk · Sep 18, 2012

Not sure if O'Reilly's carries Dorman or not (there isn't an O'Reilly's close by me), but it should be part number 23744. It will have 2 studs and 1 bolt I believe in the package.

I was going to buy this kit but decided not to as all but 2 of my bolts cleaned up just fine with a wire wheel.

madspeed · Sep 18, 2012

If you havent yet, you can take the switches apart. Mine were gunked up. Cleaned up all the little contact pieces and worked like new!

Sent from my rooted, rommed Galaxy Nexus....

David Pepiton · Sep 18, 2012

yeah just picked up the pump and one of the dorman kits and some bolts from Ace and some aluminum polish cause im gunna buff and polish in inside of the pump... dont ask Ive got some extra time on my hands.

boostfrk · Oct 2, 2012

Finally back at home after being gone for 2 weeks for work. I'm starting the strip down process to get ready for paint.

Removal of Accessories for Paint
Here are some general beginning shots of the car. I took these so I can do a good before/after comparison.

I started by removing all the trunk interior panels, trim pieces and rear seats. I need to be able and get access to remove the quarter windows, as well as remove the taillights and the fender moldings that are behind each rear wheel.

All the stuff sitting in the garage

I removed the front FORD emblem. There are two nuts that hold this emblem on. You can access them be reaching up through the bottom of hte front bumper.

I measured the location of the 5.0 emblems on the side for when I stick the new ones on weeks down the road.

Same for the rear FORD emblem

boostfrk · Oct 2, 2012

I removed the front fender linings to gain access to the front fender moldings (in front of the front wheels). Each of these moldings have 4 nuts that hold them on. The moldings have a plastic stud that passes through a hole in the sheet metal, then a nut threads over the plastic stud. Pi$$ poor design, because after decades on the road the nuts are corroded and when you try to loosen them they just twist the plastic stud, the stud breaks, and then you're f&*^ed. I broke 2-3 studs at various locations around the car. When I put these moldings back on I'll probably have to add some 3M adhesive tape to make sure they don't fall off.

While I have the fender liners out I'll probably also clean and spray a light coat of flat black paint on them.

I soaked the nuts for the fender moldings in PB Blaster for a few minutes. While it helped on some, I still broke a few. This is the rear left molding shown here. 3 nuts hold each of the rear moldings on and 4 nuts hold on each of the front ones. All the nuts are 13mm.

Removal of the spoiler, and trunk key lock was next. I'll probably end up replacing all the key locks with a new black set from LMR.

Once the plastic panel is off you'll see 4 holes that allow access to the nuts holding the spoiler on. You'll also have to remove the 4 grommets shown in the above picture, as well as two oval shaped grommets at the far outsides of the hatch (they're just out of view in the above picture). That gives a total of 10 nuts for the spoiler. All were 11mm.

Lots of dirt trapped under the spoiler. I'll have to figure out how to minimize that from happening when I re-install it.

I put all of the screws for various panels, parts and pieces in Ziploc baggies and labeled them. OCD, yes. Will I thank myself later, absolutely.

boostfrk · Oct 2, 2012

Tomorrow I'm going to try and get the mirrors removed, drip lip and belt molding removed around the windows, and perhaps the quarter windows removed. After that all I should have left is removal of the (6) door moldings, wipers and cowl cover, and trim around the windshield and rear hatch window (<---no idea how this is going to go). I'll also have to figure out how/when to remove the door handles and door lock cylinders. Not sure if I'll wait until the last minute to remove those or let the painter remove those right before he paints.

When I drop it off for paint I'll pull all the lights as well.

Hopefully that will be everything.

boostfrk · Oct 14, 2012

Alright, final push to get ready for paint.

I removed the quarter windows. Passenger side shown. There are (9) 11mm nuts (I believe) that hold on each window. Pry the window out gently; the last thing you want to happen is to crack one of these puppies.

Then I pulled all the body moldings off. I used a hairdryer and a flat, 10" wide drywall putty knife. I would heat up a section of the molding, then slide the putty knife another 6-8" down the molding. After I got the moldings off I removed the metal strip on the backs. The moldings came off straight but developed a slight curvature to them. I didn't see that they would be able to go back on straight and the guy that's painting it says he nearly always pulls the metal strip out. We'll see how well they go back on.

Car all ready for paint. I dropped it off this afternoon and should take about a week or so.

gearheadboy · Oct 14, 2012

Great thread. I'm getting to that point too. I have to make one more trip to the welder to get my full length sub frames put in after I take the bolt in ones out. Also have a crack in the drivers floor for him to weld so out with the carpet and seats. I bought all the body stuff to get me to primer at the swap meet the other day. All I need is paint and clear. Plus quarter windows and I think I'm gonna replace the rear bumper.

boostfrk · Oct 14, 2012

I'll probably be replacing the rear bumper as well while it's at paint. My current one has a good bubble right under the license plate, as well as some pretty rough scratches and gouges on the belt line underneath the rear left tail light.

Sucks to have to spend all this cash to fix this stuff, but it will be worth it afterwards. Not a time to cut corners.

FoxMustangLvr · Oct 15, 2012

I'm curious why you restored your interior first and then ripped it all out to do paint? Seems backwards as people typically do body work and paint first. Anyways I'm taking lots of notes of how you did yours so I can apply it to my mustang that I just bought yesterday for $1100 here in Spokane WA. It's a 1987 Mustang GT T-top 5.0 and I'll be doing a full restore for weekend fun street cruising with my son and will be doing all body work and paint myself.

Thanks for doing your build thread it helps us sort out the process and fill in small blanks as we go.
What color are you going to paint it?

boostfrk · Oct 15, 2012

FoxMustangLvr said:
I'm curious why you restored your interior first and then ripped it all out to do paint? Seems backwards as people typically do body work and paint first. Anyways I'm taking lots of notes of how you did yours so I can apply it to my mustang that I just bought yesterday for $1100 here in Spokane WA. It's a 1987 Mustang GT T-top 5.0 and I'll be doing a full restore for weekend fun street cruising with my son and will be doing all body work and paint myself.

Thanks for doing your build thread it helps us sort out the process and fill in small blanks as we go.
What color are you going to paint it?

I knew someone would point this out eventually.

I don't really have a great answer, other than I thought of this as I was tearing the interior back out again. I thought..."well this is stupid". I had to save 2 bonus checks from work from 1st and 2nd quarter to pay for the paint job. I was able to piece together stuff for completing the interior along the way this summer, get the driver's seat repaired, etc. and restoring the interior kept me busy. Cost wasn't drastically high, but the amount of time involved was fairly great.

I'm having the car painted all white with the body moldings/belt molding painted stain black, so essentially back to factory OEM colors. I'll finish it off with black door handles, black locks, and all new emblems.

Good luck on your build! Glad I could provide some sort of helpful information in here.

FoxMustangLvr · Oct 15, 2012

I understand. Paint is more of a one time bigger expense and while your saving the money for it since the car is sitting there you can put a few bucks and a few hours here and there doing "something" for improvement instead of nothing. It's about winter in Spokane which mean freezing temps and snow so I'm about to have a lot of time (assuming my wife and son let me) to put into my Mustang. I have to finish two bathroom remodels in my house that are 80% finished before I can really start dismantling the car.

boostfrk · Oct 16, 2012

I just laid down primer coat #6 on the repair for one of the 1/4 windows. I masked everything off yesterday, sanded and sprayed one coat. I picked it up again this morning and have been working on it off and on. I sanded the bare rubber with 100 grit and then 220 grit. On the second window I may skip the 100 grit and just go straight to 220. I sanded coats 1 and 2 with 220 grit, then moved on to 400 grit for coats 3 and 4.

On coat #5 I sanded with 400 grit again, but this time used a spray bottle to keep the surface wet. The primer seemingly "melted off" as I sanded, except for the low spots which is what I want. The sanding after coat #5 left the surface much smoother than before and much more even. The hardest part to sand is along the line on the trunk side of the quarter window (what would be the hypotenuse of the triangle). It's hard to keep from sanding this line away, yet still sand hard enough to remove all the pits. I tried to get some up pictures of the surface but it's not easy. The camera has nothing to focus on.

I'm hoping to sand coat #6 and lay down coat #7 before I call it a day.

tca7291 · Oct 16, 2012

Are you following HolyChikin 's instructions?

boostfrk · Oct 16, 2012

tca7291 said:
Are you following HolyChikin 's instructions?

Ha, you remembered! Basically, yes. I'm using 3 levels on sandpaper and a filler primer, so basically the same. The one thing I've changed is wet sanding, don't remember seeing that in HolyChikins instructions. I had seen someone else mention and thought I'd give it a whirl, and it worked great.

I didn't get any more done today, but hope to finish sanding this window tomorrow, then I'll start on the other one. I want to get this one as perfect as possible though. Once they're both done I'll shoot the trim black paint.

tca7291 · Oct 16, 2012

Great! I wanna know how it turns out, I got 4 of them to do now!

boostfrk · Oct 17, 2012

I finished the driver's window late this morning. There are still a couple of very small pin holes showing in the primer right along the line on the back side (trunk side) of the window. I've tried sanding them out 2 or 3 times now but each time I feel like I'm starting to sand the line away and I don't want to do that. The surface looks 10x better than it did, so I seriously douby anyone will notice the small imperfections but me.

Build Thread 1990 Lx 5.0 Restomod Build

David Pepiton

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