Progress Thread The next "big" project for my Cobra
- Thread starter LILCBRA
- Start date
I am in the same boat. Healthwise I have been as good as I am going to get for a month now. I just cannot get moving on the cars. My durango needs a battery. I fixed the brake line when it was still cold out. I test drove after charging the battery and it died overnight. havent driven it since. My green truck needs brake work. Don't even know whats wrong just pedal went to the floor about 6 weeks ago I said oh well and walked away. I noticed the gas tank on my red ram is hanging down and found the rear tank strap rusted away. The Mach I has been on the jack since before the tornado on july 6th. I just need to pull the front wheels and drop them off to have tires I already have installed. The coupe is ready for the engine to go back in. I believe I have all the parts to get it drivable.
The insurance check just cleared for the tornado damage so I put in the materials order today. I doubt I work on the cars for at least another couple months.
As for motivation. Rah Rah Shish Bam Boo. Blah blah. Yeah I'm sorry. That was pretty weak. Should have dated more cheerleaders way back when.
The insurance check just cleared for the tornado damage so I put in the materials order today. I doubt I work on the cars for at least another couple months.
As for motivation. Rah Rah Shish Bam Boo. Blah blah. Yeah I'm sorry. That was pretty weak. Should have dated more cheerleaders way back when.
So I went out there with good intentions earlier. I grabbed the new connectors, crimpers, strippers, heat shrink, and my heat gun. Popped the hood and grabbed a before pic for here just to show what a rats nest I ended up making everything when I installed the new tach and the new O2 sensor and AF gauge.
So I start chasing some of these wires and find that I have a wire that runs down to the O2 sensor isn't attached to anything. I don't know if it's supposed to be or not, so now I need to locate those instructions and double-check that setup. Some of the other stuff is running under this piece and over that.... all the while I'm dripping sweat since it's like 99% humidity today and decide that that was enough. So I grab everything and bring it all back in, close the hood and come inside only to have my legs itch like mad because the mosquitoes decided I was on the menu tonight. Yeah..... it's all gonna wait.
But, while I was snapping pics and had to dig into the shed anyway, here's those seats I picked up.
Which led me to do some searching on recovering them. I believe it was an 03 V6 vert that I grabbed them from. What I'm wondering is if these seats and the GT seats are the same and I can just use GT upholstery like @Enzio has, or if it would take different foam? From what I've found so far, the frames are essentially all the same from 79-04, they just had different foam for the different models. Finding the same style upholstery has proven to be difficult should I need to keep them the same, so I'm hoping that they're interchangeable....
So I start chasing some of these wires and find that I have a wire that runs down to the O2 sensor isn't attached to anything. I don't know if it's supposed to be or not, so now I need to locate those instructions and double-check that setup. Some of the other stuff is running under this piece and over that.... all the while I'm dripping sweat since it's like 99% humidity today and decide that that was enough. So I grab everything and bring it all back in, close the hood and come inside only to have my legs itch like mad because the mosquitoes decided I was on the menu tonight. Yeah..... it's all gonna wait.
But, while I was snapping pics and had to dig into the shed anyway, here's those seats I picked up.
Which led me to do some searching on recovering them. I believe it was an 03 V6 vert that I grabbed them from. What I'm wondering is if these seats and the GT seats are the same and I can just use GT upholstery like @Enzio has, or if it would take different foam? From what I've found so far, the frames are essentially all the same from 79-04, they just had different foam for the different models. Finding the same style upholstery has proven to be difficult should I need to keep them the same, so I'm hoping that they're interchangeable....
No way in hell I would sit on that thing. Just buy an aftermarket reduced weight seat maybe. I'm sure there's something else that would fit in there that's not too expensive. If you need more kushing just put some seatcovers. I bet those things stink. If mold spores go to deep there's no way you're going to get it stench free.
These are black leather seats I got from an ‘03 GT convertible,I did remove the shoulder strap things from the headrests - They look pretty similar to me
Hate to bring this up, but the seats that are in the car look a lot like that now too, except they're black vinyl. The problems you have when you don't do anything with stuff for an extended amount of time.
And I'm not buying aftermarket seats for the car - at least not for a long time if I do.
these are the same seats I'm using in a II.These are black leather seats I got from an ‘03 GT convertible,I did remove the shoulder strap things from the headrests - They look pretty similar to me
I'd recover them. Thinking the GT ones would work. Looks like the foam is the same.Hate to bring this up, but the seats that are in the car look a lot like that now too, except they're black vinyl. The problems you have when you don't do anything with stuff for an extended amount of time.
And I'm not buying aftermarket seats for the car - at least not for a long time if I do.
So I went out there with good intentions earlier. I grabbed the new connectors, crimpers, strippers, heat shrink, and my heat gun. Popped the hood and grabbed a before pic for here just to show what a rats nest I ended up making everything when I installed the new tach and the new O2 sensor and AF gauge.
So I start chasing some of these wires and find that I have a wire that runs down to the O2 sensor isn't attached to anything. I don't know if it's supposed to be or not, so now I need to locate those instructions and double-check that setup. Some of the other stuff is running under this piece and over that.... all the while I'm dripping sweat since it's like 99% humidity today and decide that that was enough. So I grab everything and bring it all back in, close the hood and come inside only to have my legs itch like mad because the mosquitoes decided I was on the menu tonight. Yeah..... it's all gonna wait.
You're going to be happy with the results when you're done. Nice rats nest.
Get up close to the foam and give it a good whif. If it's super musty it will make your car stink. If it's not, maybe there's hope. The aftermarket seats are cheap I think, I'm talking about the racing seats people put in to lower the weight and make their cars faster. There isn't much to them but I've heard good things about the comfort still being pretty decent.Hate to bring this up, but the seats that are in the car look a lot like that now too, except they're black vinyl. The problems you have when you don't do anything with stuff for an extended amount of time.
And I'm not buying aftermarket seats for the car - at least not for a long time if I do.
Yeah, not going with racing seats. I haven't noticed a smell to them, but I also haven't paid much attention to them. I'll check whenever I finally get back to the cars, which may be a while yet. I've got quite a few other things going on that pushed the cars lower on the priority list.
Momma warned me about peer pressure. She always framed it as a bad thing though.
Thank you for kicking my ass in gear. Truck has new gas tank straps. Oil was changed. Mach I has 4 tires that hold air and were made after 1992. Got hosed off. And made it to the stop sign and back. Christine got a proper bath.
I checked out the racing seats and they just look uncomfortable. I have checked with LKQ and the seats are cheap. $200 or so for leather like 03 mustang seats. Shipping was $1200 as they never seem to have any in the midwest. One of these days the stars will align and I can find a decent set for a reasonable price.
Thank you for kicking my ass in gear. Truck has new gas tank straps. Oil was changed. Mach I has 4 tires that hold air and were made after 1992. Got hosed off. And made it to the stop sign and back. Christine got a proper bath.
I checked out the racing seats and they just look uncomfortable. I have checked with LKQ and the seats are cheap. $200 or so for leather like 03 mustang seats. Shipping was $1200 as they never seem to have any in the midwest. One of these days the stars will align and I can find a decent set for a reasonable price.
When I was doing used car reconditioning a salesman left the window down on a Tacoma truck one weekend. If a used vehicle came in with gas the salesman would sit in them with the ac on waiting to pounce on customers. He then rolled them back up after getting the interior soaked without telling anyone. A week or so later I noticed moisture on the windows. It reeked. We had to replace the seat covers and carpet to get the smell out. The upholstery shop was able to dry clean the cushions. It was much cheaper then replacing them. You may have to call a couple places but I bet you can find a dry cleaner who will try it. If it comes to that.
Well, since I totally f'd up my vacation plans, I went out and did some wire cleanup today. Spent 2 or 3 hours shortening wires between connections and connecting them more properly. I still need to figure out the one wire I mentioned earlier and another that I found that runs inside the car. I can only assume it's some kind of ground, but I won't know til I open up the dash. It still may not look like much, but I think it looks better than the rat's nest I had before....
Next project, once I figure out the 2 wires, is to pull the carburetor, give it a quick cleaning and reset the floats. And - against the recommendation of @mustystang - I may go ahead and try to fit those other seats. By doing that I can clear some space to drop my clutch pedal and replace the pivot bushings. Hopefully I have the right ones....
Next project, once I figure out the 2 wires, is to pull the carburetor, give it a quick cleaning and reset the floats. And - against the recommendation of @mustystang - I may go ahead and try to fit those other seats. By doing that I can clear some space to drop my clutch pedal and replace the pivot bushings. Hopefully I have the right ones....
Well, since I totally f'd up my vacation plans, I went out and did some wire cleanup today. Spent 2 or 3 hours shortening wires between connections and connecting them more properly. I still need to figure out the one wire I mentioned earlier and another that I found that runs inside the car. I can only assume it's some kind of ground, but I won't know til I open up the dash. It still may not look like much, but I think it looks better than the rat's nest I had before....
Next project, once I figure out the 2 wires, is to pull the carburetor, give it a quick cleaning and reset the floats. And - against the recommendation of @mustystang - I may go ahead and try to fit those other seats. By doing that I can clear some space to drop my clutch pedal and replace the pivot bushings. Hopefully I have the right ones....
Good luck. After looking at the seats closer I see they are actually leather I think. They may clean up alright. Originally they looked like moldy cloth seats. I would still check where the seams split for any bad odors though. Maybe post a pic of the seats after you clean them some. The pic of the 1st seat is hard to tell if it will hold or not.
Linking my other thread again since it goes hand in hand with this one now:
www.stangnet.com
I pulled the instructions up on 14pont7.com to find that the wire in question was for an LED warning light that I'm not using, so I cut it down to a couple inches from the controller. While I was under the car, I found that the way I temporarily stuffed the wires didn't really work to my advantage.
So I pulled the controller and wire from the car so I could repair the area. Luckily I used a connector on the opposite end the other day when I started on clearing the rat's nest. I gathered my stuff and got to work.
I intended to use another layer of shrink tubing but didn't have a large enough diameter piece. The good news is that I used heat shrink connectors, I'd think that they would be sufficient.
So I crawled back under the car, plugged everything back in, and zip tied everything in a more secure location.
I intended to start on other things but 2 things were getting to me. 1st, I'm out in direct sunlight and, even though it's a more moderate temperature today, I was still sweating like a stuffed pig. And my car is obviously black on black - that doesn't help matters. I did pull the dash pad off, I'll definitely need to go through there like I did under the hood, I don't like how I did it before. Which leads me to my second hangup - I really feel like starting all over with this car again. I mean most everything is 20+ years old now - body, paint, engine work, etc. My headers look like crap, and I had them powder coated. There's that rust spot in the passenger lower rocker, the discolored stripes from being out in the sun..... The list goes on. It seems that the more I do, the more I just want to start from a clean slate AFTER I have a garage.
14point7 Spartan 2 install, Holley 4150 tuning, & exhaustcapades
As I said in the BS thread, here is my thread on installing the A/F setup and gauge to try and tune my carburetor. As many of you know, I swapped manifolds a while back and replaced the Offenhauser 360 with a cheap Edelbrock Performer RPM Airgap knockoff a couple years ago and during that...
www.stangnet.com
I pulled the instructions up on 14pont7.com to find that the wire in question was for an LED warning light that I'm not using, so I cut it down to a couple inches from the controller. While I was under the car, I found that the way I temporarily stuffed the wires didn't really work to my advantage.
So I pulled the controller and wire from the car so I could repair the area. Luckily I used a connector on the opposite end the other day when I started on clearing the rat's nest.
I gathered my stuff and got to work.I intended to use another layer of shrink tubing but didn't have a large enough diameter piece. The good news is that I used heat shrink connectors, I'd think that they would be sufficient.
So I crawled back under the car, plugged everything back in, and zip tied everything in a more secure location.
I intended to start on other things but 2 things were getting to me. 1st, I'm out in direct sunlight and, even though it's a more moderate temperature today, I was still sweating like a stuffed pig. And my car is obviously black on black - that doesn't help matters. I did pull the dash pad off, I'll definitely need to go through there like I did under the hood, I don't like how I did it before. Which leads me to my second hangup - I really feel like starting all over with this car again. I mean most everything is 20+ years old now - body, paint, engine work, etc. My headers look like crap, and I had them powder coated. There's that rust spot in the passenger lower rocker, the discolored stripes from being out in the sun..... The list goes on. It seems that the more I do, the more I just want to start from a clean slate AFTER I have a garage.
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It's a good thing I took pics under there - I just noticed in the pic that the lower shock bolt looks loose..... 
It's easy to get in that "wait till I have all my ducks in a row to start" mindset. I am notorious for it. And then those projects never get off the ground.
I finally came to the realization I will never have all my ducks in a row. And if... by chance they are in a row... a hurricane... err umm life..... will come along and destroy the rare alignment of the duckies.
Christine sat for 20 years until a dying friend gifted me a carb. Was the carb holding me up? No. It was the "I am going to wait till I have my ducks in a row" mindset. We had a group of 5 who had been friends from middle school. 3 of which are no longer with us. Thats what kicked me into gear. If I wait til the stars align I will be dead before anything even gets started.
My worthless opinion is to do what your doing. Tackle smaller portions and then once you have the garage you won't have as many smaller projects to get done to finish the big project.
Hell of a catch on the loose bolt. Sometimes the smaller projects prevent a bigger project!
Get some wire loom for those wires that are near the header.
I finally came to the realization I will never have all my ducks in a row. And if... by chance they are in a row... a hurricane... err umm life..... will come along and destroy the rare alignment of the duckies.
Christine sat for 20 years until a dying friend gifted me a carb. Was the carb holding me up? No. It was the "I am going to wait till I have my ducks in a row" mindset. We had a group of 5 who had been friends from middle school. 3 of which are no longer with us. Thats what kicked me into gear. If I wait til the stars align I will be dead before anything even gets started.
My worthless opinion is to do what your doing. Tackle smaller portions and then once you have the garage you won't have as many smaller projects to get done to finish the big project.
Hell of a catch on the loose bolt. Sometimes the smaller projects prevent a bigger project!
Get some wire loom for those wires that are near the header.
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