Progress Thread Ole' Rusty 83 Notch

Hello everyone,

Wanted to get a thread going to share the slow progress I am making on a 1 month old project I got myself involved in.

A little background on me and why I started such a daunting project; I was the owner of 5 mustangs between the age of 17 and 20. 3 fox bodies. I worked professionally as an automotive technician for the better part of a decade. Like so many professionals before me, making my hobby my career made working on cars the last thing I wanted to do, and so I got out of mustangs (and cars) completely.

I stopped working as a technician 2 years ago, but I still work in the automotive field. I work as a technical service rep for an auto manufacturer. I do not physically work on vehicles now, only assist in diagnosing from a theoretical perspective. After not working on cars for a few years I decided I wanted to get myself a project fox body and start again.

I was not interested in buying a car that was already done. I wanted something that would keep me busy as a hobby for a long time. I think I certainly found that with this car. My goal is to have this completed in 5 years.

I found a 1983 coupe that needed a TON of work, but the price was right. Just a roller, actually more just a shell to be honest. Lots of original 83 parts included, but most are just junk at this point.

I've owned the car about a month now, and am still in the tear down phase for the most part.

The short list of what I need to get taken care of before I start putting things back together:

Both front frame rails need to be replaced (have a test piece of steel on order that I want to check out.) If this piece doesn't work out, I will have to purchase the OE frame rails from LMR I suppose. It's actually only the right front rail that's rotten, but I'm not just going to do one side.

Complete floors. Going to be ordering both side floor pans this week.

Trunk floor patch. Possibly a complete trunk rework for a fuel cell, not sure yet.

A complete roof shell replacement. This car had an aftermarket sunroof at one time. Terrible job, looks awful, don't have the glass, it's gotta' go.

Once I get those items squared away I'll get to putting it back together.

I probably should have started this thread a month ago, as I've already done a bit, bit I suppose I'll start this thread with what I'm working with at this point.

Thanks guys.

Couple notable discussion topics I've run into so far;
Old window butyl is a PAIN. I've replaced hundreds of windshields and windows over the years, but this 30 year old butyl is like a ROCK. It doesn't cut like modern urethane. The windshield was already broken, so I didn't take much care in getting that out, but the quarter windows and rear glass is a different story, I don't want to break those guys.

I need them out before I start welding my floors, but I'm waiting for a day where my patience level is high so that I can just take my time, safely heat the butyl, and get them cut clean.

Next, are any companies producing a replacement cowl panel? Mine obviously had a hood incident, which isn't too terrible and could be repaired, but the right side hood hinge metal is a bit rotten, as is the inside of the panel. I can repair those items if needed, but a nice fresh panel would make me feel good on the inside. Junkyard is an option, but that section is one of those pain pieces to be pulling apart in a bone yard.

Also, one thing I wanted to add in my original post, but forgot;
My goal with this car is to complete the entire project myself. No outsourcing of labor. My background isn't in body repair, but I want to be able to look back at this project and reflect on how much I learned in the process. It will definitely increase cost and slow down progress, but I think long term it will be amazing to say I did the entire thing start to finish.

So, spent 3 hours in the garage this afternoon getting this thing ready for floors and frame work.

The cross brace was a bit of a pain, but a nice long pry bar made short work of it. Started using a spot weld cutter, ended using a series of sharp drill bits. I had better luck with the bits.


I moved onto the removal of the remainder of the body and engine harnesses. I am still amazed how absolutely destroyed it was. Every connecter was corroded together like I've never seen before. Just destroyed, so I ended up cutting it out for the most part. I saved all of it though. The wires and pins are junk, but the connectors themselves may come in handy.

Got the column and remainder of the heater boxes out along with the pedal assembly, booster, and master. Also removed the remainder of the sound deadening/fire retardant mat. (With a mask, god only knows what's in the stuff. I make it a rule not be breath in anything automotive related AT LEAST from before the early 90s).

So, this is the current condition of the floor ready to be cut out. I have a feeling some of the rot will extend upwards past where the new pans reach. I will likely have to weld in a few patch panels as well, which is no big deal.

And last, but not least, got both quarter windows out without breaking anything.

Davedacarpainter said:

Actually, I was meaning @Jersey5.0 .

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Nope, my background is in the mechanical side. I worked as a technician to start in an independent repair shop, quickly got my master ASEs and L1, then wanted a different challenge and went to work for one of the big German automotive manufacturers at a dealership. Spent 8 years as a dealer technician before getting a job with the manufacturer directly.

Davedacarpainter said:

Now THAT is a shell!

It'll be fun watching you do this, I'll be following up in about two months myself.

What are you doing for a wiring harness? Just to be partial, Ron Francis is incredible.

It looks like the passenger side floor pan is in decent condition at least, maybe a little patching.

What will your drivetrain be for this one?

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Gonna be sourcing matching late 80s or 90s engine and body harness, but I'm still researching which years. I know some of the 90s got a little whacky with some relays, so it's on my list of reading.

The drivetrain will be a 302 or 306 depending on block condition I find, but Ford small block for sure. It's a street build. Going with EFI for certain as I have a much better understanding, and I like the tuneability. It will be a low compression built engine with a supercharger so I can run pump gas without issue. Not looking for crazy HP, but enough to be fun.