Build Thread '83 T-top Coupe - Welding Holes in My Rear

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Dave, no need to explain, but I understand. You made a huge change in your life. It's good that you have done all the things you have to work through it. Now it's just time to kick back enjoy life and get Booger rolling.
 
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I agree with @95BlueStallion ... we all have our own crap going on. That’s just life. My stang is my stress relief for sure. I can go out in the garage and forget about work (my major stress issue) and just relax. Luckily my wife knows this is what I enjoy and is ok with it. I don’t have the money to build this as fast as I’d like, but slow progress is better than none at all!
 
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Dave, what to say..I guess I can say that I understand. I think everybody needs a purpose or a diversion aside from the day to day stuff. Whether it's called a hobby or therapy we all need it. At the same time I feel for you. Getting into a routine, whether it's good or bad becomes such a part of our lives that when the order of things dramatically change it becomes tough to cope.

I liken it to a lot of things, a lot of careers like Soldiers or Cops, and Marriage or a relationship all intertwine with regard to that routine, and how people become to depend on it. And for a lot of folks, that loss of routine in their lives is just too hard to deal with. For me, I'd cannot imagine losing my wife...because for me that will be my "too hard" to deal with.

As much as I have, it all comes down to needing to work on my stupid car. It's not enough just to own it. MOF, if that was all I had to do with it, it'd be gone, and I'd be doing some house sht instead. There was a time that it was all consuming for me. Money, and time...every spare penny, every spare minute spent getting a new race car ready for Friday night. Now, I've evolved...the car can sit, but There is some stifled artist in me that needs the creative outlet, so if I have that car, I gotta be doing something to it. The other requirement for my diversions is...I gotta be moving. While I can certainly do the tedious stuff like building the ecu that runs my car,..if I had to read a book...or sit on a beach...( or sit on a beach, reading a book) I'd go batsht.

I don't "wait" well. I bore easily.

I remember in basic training, we were at the end and just a day before graduation. Kate was there for that, I was only months into the marriage, and I was trying to convince the DS to give me a pass to spend the night off post.

He wouldn't let me. Despite my best efforts. That guy tells me: ( and he hit it dead on) "Matkosky, I can tell that you aren't gonna last in this man's Army..Do you want to know why or how I know that private?" "Yes Drill Sergeant" I replied.." A soldier doesn't ask why, he just does...For you private Matkosky, things are different...you're gonna question an order, or you're gonna try to do it your way, not the way you were told to do it...and stuff like that is gonna be your downfall. I've seen guys like you come and go. I'd like to be wrong here, because up to this moment you've been an exceptional soldier,...but nobodies ever told you no yet."
For three years I struggled with that routine. I hated being told what to do, I hated not being in control of my life, I hated the routine. and In the end...Drill Sergeant Workman was right.

Turning back to you, it's gonna take time Dave. Things change for all of us, and we do what we do to get by. Most of us are resilient people, and we adapt, overcome, and move on. For you to come out of what you've come through between your loss and the divorce and still be here is a testament to your fortitude. If you read, read. The car will be there when you're ready to put down the book for a while and go into the garage. I've been fortunate to have spent time with you personally, I think you'll find your way back to where you want to be.

It's rare when the forum goes beyond the simple "here's what I did, here's a pic" but it's like I've always said....I liken it to us all being on the same street,...and when somebody drops a post...it's like you just stopped by cause you saw that my garage door was open .

Drop by anytime..I'll listen. But bring your own beer...I've moved on :cheers:
 
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Soooooo, I worked on a fox mustang today......

The kid that owns the red ‘93 finally put the vehicle together, so I nibbed the few dirt specks, buffed them, and it went to detail to be cleaned up.

The moldings aren’t on the car yet since I finally just got them yesterday. He ordered a set from LMR. They’re fairly nice, a few waves in them that most wont notice. They’re painted, the kid just hasn’t put them on the car yet.

I would have included pictures in the sun, but the detail boy can’t move the driver’s seat back after fully bringing it forward to vacuum. Tips anyone? They’re electric.

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I got to say, it really turned out beautiful. It is as slick as the pictures look.

I know the trim moldings look a little fubar, not my problem though. Kid said he’d take care of it. I only made $1200 off this paint job, kid should be thrilled.
 
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For you welding geeks, looky what I got delivered today!
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Open that box and there it is. A 17 flex head.
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I can’t wait to use it.
 
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Ok, doing some thinking tonight.

Here‘s a couple ideas I have.

One is replacing the cross bracing behind the rear seat with maybe rectangular tubing. Tubing size and type is in the air right now.

Why? I‘m going to remove the upper control arm mounts for the SRA and replace it with a tubing structure to provide the same side to side support it did, well, better really.
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As you can see, I can add in a rear shock tower brace with the new X-brace.
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This is speculation right now. I don’t want to put in a full roll cage or anything that will interfere with the t-tops. I DO want to make this car as solid as I can.

@Hoytster what do you think about tubing type and size?

Next weekend I’ll be welding in the chassis support, then I’ll build the upper control arm replacement bracing.
 
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Just to show I’m really working on Booger.
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The Murder Garage is going to take some getting use to. It’s a tiny little bastard.
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I have the car in position so I can get the passenger side chassis support welded in. That’s the first priority.
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That priority has a few steps involved before I can weld in the support.

Just like the other side, I need to seam seal first, then spray the rocker chip guard, then make it green.

I believed I could have that done before the weekend, and maybe still can.

This is the seam sealer i’m using for the bottom of the floor pan. I’ve used this through various tasks including the seam sealer on the doors when I was too stupid to have flowable seam sealer on hand. I only found this one half tube here at the house. I thought I had more, and probably do, just not real sure where.
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This sealer is fantastic stuff, and expensive (if I had to pay for it, that is). Though it says heavy body, it’s quite fluid when it comes out of the mixing tip. It gets deep in the seam.

So, maybe tomorrow night I’ll seam seal the floor pan. It’s perfect weather here to use this and have it harden properly overnight.

In theory, tomorrow night I’ll seam seal. Then wednesday night I’ll spray the rocker chip guard. Color on thursday, and welding Saturday morning.

Once that’s done I will have to do the death defying act of getting Booger fully up on jack stands and drop that IRS.

After that I’m trying to decide if I should go ahead with the hard tail or welding up a bitchin’ X-brace for behind the rear seat.

Actually, next I’ll be cutting out the upper control arm brackets and making the new brace between the subframes. Then the X-brace, or hardtail. Maybe a hardnose (the front mounts of the IRS).
 
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Make the body rigid as hell, and then let the mounts be rubber. I’ve learned with mine that poly mounts make everything else in the car rattle like a MF.

PS, glad to see you working on the car again!
Even with an IRS? Seems like the only places bushings would be needed are the control arms and the differential.
 
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