Day 3725: Nothing is Happening

The Frankenstang project has been on hold for years since my son was born and it doesn't look like it'll be getting started for a few more. I just thought I'd say that even though this site hasn't been updated in years doesn't mean we stopped, car projects can last a lifetime and I'm very excited about all the progress we've made so far, and the prospect of finishing it with my son someday. 

Nothing is happening, and that's OK! 

-Tim

Day 2113: Stuff is happening!

We're moving Frankenstang to a new garage temporarily while we look for a home.

In the meantime I'm working on the headliner, some interior stuff, electrical, and getting the engine back in the car... which requires me to finish the oil pan, so the oil pump and pickup... the dipstick... and the oil pan itself all need to be properly installed and torqued.

Right now this is just a notice post, but there's more to come! I'll have pictures of the headliner installation and engine work soon.

Tim

Day 1845: Yesterday I Didn't Finish Much... But I Started Tons!

Yesterday was a good day in the garage because I got a lot of projects started and cleaned out a ton of empty storage bags, boxes, and old sandpaper.

If you read the blog post two days ago, you know I forgot that some of the interior metal stays visible and needs to be painted black before I can continue.

So I went down to the garage with the intention of painting the interior first. And I accomplished that!

Here's some pictures:

Basically the only metal that stays visible in the interior is the dashboard (not the top though which gets covered with the dash pad) and the 2 vertical roof supports in the front (the rear ones get covered with the headliner, as does the entire roof).

With 3 coats on that, sprayed thin to avoid dripping, I'm really happy with the way it looks! There's more to be done inside with black paint... specifically I need to paint the front kick panels, the rear quarter panels, and the inside of the doors... but all that can be removed and done outside of the car. For now everything that has to be painted INSIDE the car, should be done!!! ;) 

So next I decided to tackle the headliner.

First of all I figured I would just lay it out to get the wrinkles out but honestly it unfolded pretty nicely and it wasn't stiff at all. I laid it on top of the car:

Heck it looked so good I figured I'd get started and get it in!

So first thing is finding the rods that hang it up. I was really concerned that we hadn't written the order and figured I'd need to check the blog, but "past us" really came through (thanks past Tim and John and Brian and whoever else...):

Check that out! The order is perfectly easy to determine based on how we marked it front to back and numerically. OK, I'm on a roll. What's next?

Well it says to put in the screws for the coat hangers, sun visors, and rear view mirror so you can easily find them to cut holes later. Perfect! Again, "past us" came through. I found all those screws in no time since they were in my tote labeled "interior" and all marked appropriately:

Guys seriously, proper cataloguing of your parts is HUGELY HELPFUL.

OK so I put the screws in their places, here's some examples:

 

And then I started with the rear one. The rear one is where the instructions for the new headliner says to start, because it uses these 2 springs that pull it back and keep tension on the headliner (see image above for bag that has springs).

BUT HERE'S WHERE I HAD TO STOP WITH THE HEADLINER...

Because I forgot one important thing, ROOF INSULATION! Duh. So at this point I went and ordered some Dynamat roof insulation and laid the headliner back on the roof. I have to wait on that unfortunately.

While inside I also ordered a new firewall insulation one piece and new front kick panels. We're going to put those in right away so I can start running electrical and other interior engine bay stuff like the heater, steering column, and instruments panel.

OK SO BACK OUTSIDE...

I couldn't call this day done yet, so I washed down the whole car with a wet towel and a dry towel to remove all standing dust from the past 2 years. That took a while.

Then I started really organizing remaining parts in the garage, separating what I know we won't need (either because it's been replaced or phased out with a new setup) and throwing out empty bags, old sand paper, trash paper.... etc...

After cleaning up the whole garage and car, I decided to work on the trunk a bit.

First thing I did was rebuilt the lock mechanism so I could actually get into the trunk:

Then I figured I'd lay the carpeting I bought in there to see how much it covers and what would still need to be painted. As it turns out I bought an aftermarket solution that covers literally the entire trunk in black carpet that matches the interior!

This isn't what it would have originally looked like in 66, but it's so cool because it means I can do very little in the trunk and have it still look sharp as hell.

Unfortunately it's really wrinkly so I'll need to hit it with the heat gun and let it sit out a few weeks before doing the glued down parts:

So after that I basically just kept cleaning up and doing little things here and there.

I organized all the suspension parts into one area, all the transmission parts into another, and all the engine parts into another. I'm totally ready to go with the engine, just need someone to come and weld/fix that dang oil pan!

Ultimately I'm feeling really good about this weekend. In 3 days I've gotten more done than in 2+ years for sure, maybe almost 3. 

Next up! Finish that headliner, install the firewall insulation, dry-run the electric, and finish the engine! Hopefully all before the wedding in 2 weeks! Eeeep.

Tim

Day 1843: Underlay and Carpets!

Obligatory "completed" picture first:

Yesterday I hit a snag with the engine so I'm moving onward. I've decided it's fine to work on the interior. I chose to start with the underlay and the carpet because they're 2 of the biggest boxes in my garage, and they shouldn't be an issue when getting the car painted. By then I intend on having glass back in, and they'll tape off the inside.

Unfortunately I forgot until after I was done that there's some interior painting that still needs to be done, so I guess I'm going to have to plastic tarp the carpet off and do that next!

OK here's what I did:

Last night I pulled out the underlay and carpet and laid them out to start getting out the wrinkles. I bought this stuff about 4 years ago, so I knew it was going to be an issue.

The underlay is kind of fragile, I'm not sure if it's always this delicate or if it's just from being old. But it seems to do the job ok. 

So I started with the underlay, and put the carpets in the sun:

OK so for the underlay it was in 3 pieces, so it's pretty simple to lay out and glue with spray adhesive to the floor. But I carefully cut through all the bolt holes and marked them with white spray paint:

I also completely forgot about the floor "drains". They're those 4 wide oval looking holes. They originally had a rubber stopper but I ordered steel ones and used a sealer. I don't intend on ever driving Frankenstang in the rain, but you need those sealed nicely so they're not soaking your floors with water.

OK after that I started fitting the front piece:

I used a lot of items in the garage for weight and dry fitted the right side. I took a heat gun to the corners until they were hot to the touch and then pushed the weights in the corners to take shape. 

Repeated on the left side:

OK while I was waiting for the weights to form the corners I started working on the wrinkles on the sides. I used the old door panel and kick panel for fitting, but I plan on replacing those later (just don't want the nice new pieces to get anything on them):

At this point I started spray adhesive gluing the center out, using the weights to hold down the carpet to the underlay to the floor. I sprayed quite a bit. Overall I used about 2 cans of adhesive:

Here's an example of using the door panels to hold down the carpet and check the fit/cut:

Just keep working from the center out, using the heat gun and glue in small spots at a time with weights. Be patient and let the spots dry before you move the weights and move on. I found about 30 minutes for each "spot" worked pretty well. 

Use the heat gun too! 

And all done:

Day 1842: Winter is coming... So let's get that engine out and finish it up so we don't have to pull it again!

OK not to be dramatic but we have a separated storage garage in PC, so it's not like we're going to be getting anything done during the winter. So the time to act is now.



We last left off with a car that had an engine in it that needed to come out. I have to properly torque a bolt that the extension for the rear pump is on (a cylinder head bolt), and we had to fix that unfortunate business from 2 years ago before we moved to Utah.

I don't think I even wrote about it... but we broke a bolt while putting on the oil pan...



First we had to get the engine out. Thanks to my fiancee Maddie, we made quick work of it. After doing a little garage cleaning and setting up this week after work, it only took about 2 hours today get the engine out.

Here's the process basically we just removed the hood and anything that was chrome (valve covers, carburetor filter, and just to make it easier the whole carburetor, and the spark plug cap). We used a proper load balancer this time which by the way, has 4 points of connection instead of an old chain which has uh, 2. Yeah I felt much safer doing this pull.

Here's the pictures:















OK So now here's where things get interesting.

As I said above, the point of this pull was to drill out the busted bolt from the engine so we could properly seal the oil pan.

Well get this! I just lifted up the seal and there was enough bolt sicking out for me to screw it out with a pair of pliers! Score:



OK so with that out of the way, I figured all I need to do is go rent a torque wrench, get that cylinder head bolt correct, and then put this baby back together and get it back in the car right!?

Well not so fast.

Unfortunately I just remembered/re-noticed this giant freaking tear in the oil pan:




So that majorly sucks. I bought this pan over 2 years ago, and I actually remember now seeing this then and thinking I should return it. But with the move I forgot all about it, which is definitely my fault.

So now I need to find someone in PC with a welder on their truck who can come and help me. There's no 220v line in there and I sure don't have a MIG or a tank.

Bummer guys. I may not get this thing back in there this weekend.

Off to get a torque wrench anyway to do the other stuff, no point in waiting any longer. It's been over 2 years after all...

-Tim

Update: I got restless so I pulled out the underlay and the carpet to sit over night. I think tomorrow I'll start on the interior!

Day 1755 - Wow.... really?

It feels like just a few weeks ago, or maybe a few months ago at worst, that I posted my last update. In that one I had to admit that I've been ignoring the car for our change in lifestyle and move across the country... but the time is just flying by, and I'm no closer to even starting.

It's been 472 days since my last update. Over a year. Since then I jacked the car up and tinkered with the transmission. Total I think I've spent about an hour or 2 on the car. In over. a. year.

This post is to remind myself that Frankenstang is out there, in the garage, waiting for a paint job and a rebuild. There's so much I should be doing right now.

I could be re-upholstering the seats.

I could be running the electric cables.

I could be working on the doors which I foolishly disassembled for no reason other than stupidity (that one's going to hurt, I bet I won't have windows for a while).

I could be pulling the engine back out that I put in for the move, but that is nowhere near ready. The new oil pump has an arm that sits under one of the bolts at the bottom of the piston shafts. That needs to be tightened properly with a torque wrench. Plus I stripped a damn bolt while putting on the oil pan. That needs to be drilled out and re-set. That dang oil pan doesn't fit perfectly. Hopefully over the time it's been sudo-bolted on it's taken better shape... who knows.



This post is to remind me of what I could be doing. Because I gotta tell you guys, I can't afford the paint job anytime soon. We're getting married and I'm buried in debt from my college years. The smart thing to do is to work on the mechanical stuff and save my pennies for a paint job some day, but who knows when that will be.

So what am I doing typing this shit? Well for starters it's been a long day at work and I'm tired. *cough* excuse *cough*

I just need to suck it up and get shit done. But when your list is long, it can be hard to find the motivation. Plus there's always that room in the house that needs painting, or the flooring job you want to do, or a re-finance you need to pursue, or work that's pilling up... aw well.



Frankenstang and I have come this far... no giving up now.

Day 1283 - Sorry it's been almost a year, but we moved to Utah!

I had to really focus my time and effort on other aspects of my life and in September of 2014 my girlfriend and I packed up our whole lives, including Frankenstang, and moved to UT so we could snowboard and mountain bike within minutes of our home. 

We drove a budget truck with a trailer and the mustang wrapped in pallet shrink wrap and taped up so no wind would tear it off:

We unloaded in UT at a storage unit while we looked for a place to live:

We ended up buying a condo a few months later and finally were able to get Frankenstang towed to my very own garage!:

And that's where she's sitting right now. A lot of the stuff in the garage will eventually be in the condo. We're working to get that furniture restored and then moved out:

And now here we are. Next Steps:

1. I need to pull the engine out of the car. We put it in for transport but before it can start to be setup I need to fix a few things. I stripped a bolt putting on the oil pan so I have to drill that out and fix it. I also installed a new oil pump but need a torque wrench to ensure all the bolts are set right.

2. Put the engine back in and start sourcing the parts we still need: alternator, power steering pump, belt setup, ignition system.

3. Run the wiring.

4. Start putting the interior back together including reupholstering the seats.

5. Get her painted.

That's what I'm hoping to accomplish this spring/summer. That would make it close to drive-able by next winter and then hopefully we can get this all "done" by next year. I'm trying to be realistic, I know there's a lot to do, but I've come way too far to even consider giving up and I'm quite honestly pumped to do the list of stuff above. I'll be posting update all along the way.

By the way here are some pictures from when we put the engine in before leaving. It just looks amazing to have something in there: