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1970 Mustang Coupe restoration in progress

52K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  jayr512 
#1 ·
I started this project three years ago, quite a few dollars later I have replaced pretty much everything. new quarters, door skins, floor, fenders, tail panel, and trunk. I kept the original 302 and had it rebuilt, I also upgraded several areas. The Transmission is a Raptor from PATC transmissions (AOD) Had to have the original drive shaft cut a little, and installed a Summitt Racing 355 gear set in the original axle, new suspension with 1" lowering kit in the front, Mallory ignition kit, Hooker ceramic long tube headers, new upholstery, and a lot of sweat...right now it is in paint, it will be Milano Red with two white stripes.
This car was a learning situation all the way through, We almost stopped when we had it sand blasted and really found out how much bondo was on it, but we decided to restore it the right way, no more rust anywhere. It should be a brand new car when I get done.
 

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#4 ·
I did the same thing with my '70 a few years ago. Mine on the other hand, went straight to the drag strip. It looks like you had a lot more work than what I had to do to mine. It took me 16 months to do mine. It is looking great so far. I hope you are enjoying the work just as much as I did doing mine.
 
#5 ·
My son and I are also doind a 70 Mustang. I noticed that your holes in the firewall for the A/C and heater look like mine. Mine were cut open by what looks like a hammer and chisel. I guess that is the way the factory did it. I also replaced the outer wheel housing and quarter panel. Our wheel housings were seam welded instead of spot welded. We had to cut them as close as we could then grind them down. Anyways, here are a couple of pics.


 
#6 ·
Nice going guys. Please keep the updates coming. I'd like to see how both turn out. You can also fo a build thread. I see them on other forums. Not sure if they are allowed here.


A lot of folks don't like 70's. I always have and glad to see people starting to build them.
 
#8 ·
Awesome, I have to admit there were a few times I questioned why I was spending this much money on a coupe, but the results are better than I expected. I love the way the car looks. It is still in the paint process.
I would love to see more pics of the other projects.
I did change up the instrument cluster, I took out the blue lens caps and it is much brighter that way. Has anyone out there made any changes to the instrument cluster?
 
#9 ·
I'm new here and replying to an old thread but I need some help. I was wondering where you found your whole quarter panels. I've looked in Year One, Mustangs Unlimited, and National Parts Depot and all I can find are for convertibles. How much difference is there between the coupe and convertible. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
 
#10 ·
I'm new here and replying to an old thread but I need some help. I was wondering where you found your whole quarter panels. I've looked in Year One, Mustangs Unlimited, and National Parts Depot and all I can find are for convertibles. How much difference is there between the coupe and convertible. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
The only panels they make are for the convertable (suposidly 69/70), but they will work on a coupe. I am not sure but I think they are a direct replacement on a 69 coupe/convertable, but are not an exact replacement on a 70, so some trimming up will need to be done or it will make it look more like the 69. The main difference is the top front by the quarter window, 70's had a bulge there where the 69 do not. If you look at my pict you can see how I cut the panel to keep this feature of the 70, but this adds a lot more work then is needed to just replace the panel.

The other difference is a v-style line from the rear wheel to the tail lights, it is the quickest give away if the panels have been replaced.

Hope that helps a some.
 
#11 ·
I had to use convertible quarters, the problems with that were the marker lights were different because I only found the 69 in stock, and the panel was shorter where the metal met the door, that was what the body shop told me? the other problem I am having now is the "deck lid fin" I purchased, the extensions on the sides dont really line up perfectly with the quarter panel, so the body guy is doing a little extra work to make them match..
 
#12 ·
Yeah the marker lights on the 70's are larger. I too have had to massage the panels to get them to fit right, and had a bit of an issue like youe body shop did on the drivers side panel. Not sure why but it just seemed shorter and the lip didn't want to wrap around the corner.

I would like to see some picts of it if you get a chance to get some. I'll post a couple of how the pass side turned out when I can.
 
#13 ·
Here are two pics, one of the original 70 quarter with the extensions on, and the other "all one color" of the 69 quarters with the deck lid extensions, I hope it is clear enough to see the difference, also when the body shop was installing the new quarters they seemed short at the door, I just hope the weatherstripping will seal the door when it is shut, my car is still in paint, some other projects of his took priority, but I am hoping to get it back at the end of April. on another note, I have some info if anyone is installing an AOD with Hooker long tube ceramic headers on a 302, if anyone is interested I have pics of that and what it took to make it fit, even with a complete conversion kit.
 

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#14 ·
Sounds good. You all used 69 panels right? So I found 70 convertible quarters so they should fit pretty good right? They shouldn't have the "style line" that the 69's have and the lights should fit the same. By the way all of your cars are looking good. We haven't got that far yet but hopefully it will look as good as yours when we do.
 
#18 ·
The fiberglass trunk deck lid does not have the spring on it anymore, I dont think the fiberglass will stay straight with all of the tension on it like the metal deck lids, I had to remove it, I am just going to use a chrome prop to hold it open. Also the original seal is too large to use, so you have to go to home depot or a hardware store and get a seal that is thinner.
 
#19 ·
Go to Home Depot! Support my work. :p Why wouldn't your fiberglass trunk support the tension that the metal trunk would offer? I ask only cause I was debating getting a fiberglass trunk for my Mustang. This wasn't an issue I thought it'd have since it's reproduced to go on a Mustang and all. c.c
 
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