[Touring919]

Going to try to keep an index of the high points on this initial post

Page 1&2: intoruction, disassembly, rust repair of roof, floor, trunk and some misc areas.
Page 3&4: frame and suspension restore and engine tear down.
Page 5: quarter replacements and axle rebuild.
Page 6: third brake light design and performance drum brakes and vintage air mounting method
Page 7: three point seatbelt install how too.
Page 8/9: Paint work

Well I have a bit of a head start now. 250hrs worth! So I'll start sharing my progress. The plan will be to keep this thread going until it's done. Which has a long way to go.
Surfing the webs I was snagged in an eBay trap. Found a unicorn of a galaxie and couldn't resist. Saw there was an hour left with no bids so I got the guys contact and kept in touch after the auction ended. He received no bids! Can't imagine why.

 

[Touring919]

First things first. Total disassembly. And realization that there is so much more rust than I could have imagined. I knew the roof was shot. The floor though. Good grief.

 

[Touring919]

So why did I buy it? Why did I call it a unicorn? Because I have a thing for manual everything cars. Especially if they have above base level engines and are in full sizes. She is a z code (390 4v) 3speed manual, manual brakes and manual steering. I really wish Marti reports went back to 65.
Dude had it listed at 2500. We settled on 2k if he threw in a roof from another donor car.

 

[Touring919]

It didn't take long before I got a parts car anyway. And good thing I did!

 

[Dakar09]

You saved it, and I respect that! You're obviously not afraid to get into some serious work, either. I suck at bodywork, so welding and replacing panels is something I avoid at all costs. I can do anything mechanical, just not sheetmetal work. My welding is well below heinous.

Parts car:
1) Are the roofs the same? If so, that's pretty wild a 4 dr roof is the same as a 2dr. Either really good thinking or really lazy design by Ford. Either way it works!
2) Are those mid-80's Lincoln rims on there? I remember cleaning those on my mom's Town Car back in the day...they sucked, lol

Looking forward to this build!

 

[Touring919]

The hardtop is the same contours forward of the b pillar regardless of how many doors. BUT this parts car was an ltd. So roof was a little different so that there was a place to mount the extra trim above the rain gutters. So I had to get creative. The roof was what I attacked first as I figured that was the make or break repair item.

 

[Touring919]

Wire wheel. Cut. Find a patch from the donor roof. Weld. Grind. Repeat. The drivers side was separated the whole length of the gutter and one can see why. Grit holds moisture which makes more gritty rust against the steel and rusts from the inside out. The c pillar was thw same way. Full perimeter of the roof except where the windows went in. Thank goodness.

 

[gearheadct]

Wow! Great job. That is some tedious and time consuming work. Stay with it and you will be rewarded. Eventually. 😀

My ‘65 is optioned similar to yours. Z code, manual everything. Three on the tree. I should say “was” because it’s not stock anymore. I still have the trans and driveshaft if you find any issues with yours.

I look forward to seeing more of your progress. Please keep the reports and photos coming.

- John

 

[Dakar09]

Jeeebus, that is already a ton of work. The spread of rust never ceases to amaze me. Good thing you had that extra roof and you can weld WAY better than I can, lol

 

[m in sc]

nice. I have a buddy that loves this kind of work. me? not as much. nice work. btw i kinda dig those wheels.

 

[Touring919]

Wheels are from a 88 to 91 crown vic. I really like them and can't believe how well they work on a 65. Definitely keeping them. Not sure what I'll put them on.

Here is the sail panel once I melted all the lead out and welded over the joints. Oh and of course patched more rust. Not just the holes around the roof. The layer of metal under the drip rail was also shot on both sides. Had to cut off the gutters and drill spot welds. Cut out the roof skin that supports the gutters spot welds. Then put the gutters back on after putting in a patch. After this the rest of the car was a cake walk. Or so I thought it would be.

 

[ShotRod64]

Wow you are brave!! That is a huge project! It takes me forever, like years to put seat covers on, I would never get this far on a project like this! Excellent work, look forward to the final chapter!

 

[rickyracer1983]

Anyone can fix up a car that is rust free and completely there. But it takes a real dedicated individual to do what you are doing. That or someone with more money then time, paying someone else to do it. But then is for chickenshits.
Document everything you do especially as you take it apart and don't loose the faith. Mine was a 68 Cougar in "Making progress". Now I'm doing a 72 Comet GT. The underside looks like they used it for the video "******* Woman" all the mud I've scraped off.

 

[Touring919]

Thanks everyone for the support. It will get done. It is not the first rusty basket case I brought back. Probably won't be the last.

Got a 65 model that I hope to throw together soon to see my planned end result in 3d.

I love those early cougars. Looks great in that color.

 

[rickyracer1983]

Thanks everyone for the support. It will get done. It is not the first rusty basket case I brought back. Probably won't be the last.
Got a 65 model that I hope to throw together soon to see my planned end result in 3d.
I love those early cougars. Looks great in that color.

Wife picked it. I picked the GTE style.

 

[Touring919]

With the roof done step two was the floor. Man did I underestimate this job! I was figuring a week turn around once I cut the donor floor out. It took a month....or so.
As I cut the old floor out I got a good whiff of burning mouse nest.

Floor is out. Did this job while body was on the frame. I wanted it well supported while the floor was out.

An interim shot. You can see on the passenger side there wasn't much to work with.
I rough cut with the plasma around the perimeter of the floor. Once out I used a grinder to remove the spot welded flanges.

 

[Touring919]

Donor floor coming out. Rough cut the floor plus some of the inner rocker so I could precision. Cut the spot welds once out of the car with better visibility and elbow room.
After a week of scrapping I finally had a pile of undercoating on the floor and a realization that my donor floor wasn't that solid. But solid enough I could work with it. This pic shows a couple of patch areas already cut out under the seat supports.

 

[Touring919]

Oh look. More rust. Hit the lower firewall with the wire wheel. Toe boards I think some people call them. Wanted to be sure they were clean before welding in new to me floor. Well they were crap. In the end it worked out since the body bolts were not coming out without cutting. So these holes gave plenty of room for the angle grinder.
Patches came from the donor car as well as fresh sheet metal from the hardware store.

 

[Touring919]

This is in the shop manual body guide for floor install technique. My 8 year old daughter was working the camera and helping guide the floor in.
Below is the complete floor all welded in. Patches and all. Had to recreate the hole and channel for the Speedo cable. That wasn't actually too bad.

 

[gearheadct]

That’s some extensive surgery! Well done! Love that installation method and I’m glad your daughter was around to capture the moment for us all to view. 😀👍