[Vic1947]

I'm kicking off a new build with a nice little 65 Fairlane 2dr HT as a starter. I'll be posting updates from time to time when I have something worthwhile to mention.

Currently, the plan calls for a 5.0 Coyote engine and T56 six speed manual transmission. Due to the tight engine bay, a TCI front suspension will be necessary to eliminate the shock towers. I'll probably do a Control Freak triangulated four-link or something similar out back. Big brakes, lowered stance, custom interior and very few exterior mods other than stripping paint and changing color round out the wish list.

Stick around if you find this sort of thing interesting. And I'm always open to suggestions as the build progresses.

Vic

 

[TROTTLEJO]

nice project good luck with the build

 

[Vic1947]

nice project good luck with the build

Thanks!

 

[Vic1947]

I'm deep into teardown at the moment. What I'm finding is a bit curious. It almost appears as if the car sat in a foot of water at one time or another. The floor pans from the inside appear relatively rust free, but from the underside look very rotted. Bolts that are above this level come out fairly easily and usually don't require penetrating oil. But the ones below have to be cut with a grinding disc or Sawsall. When I sent Cowboy Bob a couple of pictures of the rot, he was SHOCKED, SHOCKED to see the extent of the damage. But that's what happens when you buy a car in 8-degree weather that's sitting on a dirt floor. When it looks okay from the top side, you can be forgiven for thinking the rest is probably okay too.

I'll be replacing much of what's ailing it anyway, so I'm not going to worry about what's ahead. Right now, I'm focused on prepping the body for the trip to Pro Strip Indy for chemical stripping. However, I have started the search for parts. As I suspected, there's not a lot out there for this model. A few parts like some of the trim pieces carry over from the 62-64 models including the Mercury Meteor. Pretty sure the stuff is out there; I just need to get better at entering search criteria for the Google. But the challenge is what makes all this fun.

 

[TROTTLEJO]

yup been there heading to the rear wells for tire clearance and need to weld in replacement rad support then most of the metal work will be complete i had to make wheel well pieces for fire wall and outer trunk pans and rear piece that holds trunk pans to the tail light panel parts are getting scarce even replacement parts are disappearing from pages of catalogs hope something changes ??

 

[Vic1947]

yup been there heading to the rear wells for tire clearance and need to weld in replacement rad support then most of the metal work will be complete i had to make wheel well pieces for fire wall and outer trunk pans and rear piece that holds trunk pans to the tail light panel parts are getting scarce even replacement parts are disappearing from pages of catalogs hope something changes ??

I know exactly what you mean. Back in February when I bought the car, I looked up parts I thought I might need. The rear quarters were available at that time but seem to be sold out everywhere now. Anyone with NOS parts is wanting big $$$ for them. Fortunately, I have most of the sheet metal tools I need to fabricate simple parts.

 

[Vic1947]

Time for a project update. I've been keeping at it pretty steady in order to get a slot at Pro-Strip Indy. They said they could accept it the first week of November, so I need to finish removing everything that doesn't go in the stripping tank. The gas tank, some brake lines and brackets are all that are left to remove. Plus I have to weld up a cart to transport it on. I have a reservation with an outfit that will haul it to and from Indy in an enclosed trailer. T

The big news, though, is that the Coyote & six speed has arrived. Took a couple of weeks from California, but everything made it safe and sound. I paid a few bucks extra to get the headers and cats. The ECU and pedal assemblies were included with the auction. The engine came out of a 2017 Mustang GT with a bit over 10K miles. It's a MASSIVE engine! Even with the shock towers removed, it will fill up the available space completely.

 

[TROTTLEJO]

yea i put thought into doing that swap in my 64 but for me the $ was to high with all the extras that go with doing that swap they added up really fast and im not gonna live that long to enjoy it keep plugging

 

[Vic1947]

Nowadays, these cars are money pits no matter what route you go. I mulled over several options, and this was the most bang for the buck. A 347 stroker with tranny and etc. was almost twice what this setup will end up costing me. I just sold a project car, so I have a small stash to finance this one. That's the only way I can afford to do it, though.

 

[TROTTLEJO]

Nowadays, these cars are money pits no matter what route you go. I mulled over several options, and this was the most bang for the buck. A 347 stroker with tranny and etc. was almost twice what this setup will end up costing me. I just sold a project car, so I have a small stash to finance this one. That's the only way I can afford to do it, though.

true i figured if i did that coyote i was gonna install a hair dryer on it i started mine pre covid bouught a crate 347 in the crate for 2600 that was on craigs list that someone needed money i guess so your probably rite today it would be 10k for trans and motor for my setup and your setup would be about the same

 

[Vic1947]

That's a smoking deal. I priced some engines only that were well over 10K and didn't include the FEAD.

 

[Project Gattago]

Looking forward to more progress, Vic!

Andrew

 

[Vic1947]

I built a body cart so the car could be transported to Pro-Strip Indy. It left here a few days ago and should return around the 22nd of this month stripped all the way down to bare metal everywhere and minus the tin worm. Then the serious work starts. Probably over half of the rot has no commercially available replacement panels. While the car is out of the shop, I took the opportunity to strip the Coyote of the factory harness and lines. I also removed the shifter as I plan to install a direct fit shifter from FormaCars. That will move the shifter forward about 12 inches and make it more accessible not to mention a big improvement in shift performance. The main gripe about the MT82 tranny in the Mustang GT is that the shifter feels like mush and is unreliable. Mostly I've been searching the interweb for any kind of info on the technical details of the engine and trans. I downloaded a service manual for a 2017 Mustang GT in .pdf format. It has around 9500 pages. I haven't found an index and it appears to have very few part numbers. It does have some nice detail drawings though.

 

[Vic1947]

Haven't been posting much lately for a couple of reasons. First, I've been helping a good friend with a project of his and second, I sent the Fairlane off to be chemically stripped. However, it recently made it home from Pro-Strip Indy in very clean condition. I pulled the trigger on a TCI custom IFS for the front that came with Ridetech coilovers, tubular a-arms, R&P steering, Wilwood brakes and dropped spindles. It's setup for the Coyote engine, so that should be a big help when it comes time to drop in the powertrain. (A long way off!) My next step will be patching the inner front fender sheet metal to prepare for the IFS installation. Probably best to do all that before cutting out the OEM suspension mounts and the shock towers.

 

[Project Gattago]

I've been keeping Vic busy with my 1970 GTO LS swap turbo project:

There are a lot of details at the link below, if anyone is interested:

1970 GTO Version 3.0

Version 2.0 found here: https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/40904-1970-GTO-Version-2-0 The first shipment of parts, for my GTO update, have arrived today. I am pretty excited. I don't want to spoil things, but it is going to be a fairly extensive update...

www.pro-touring.com

Andrew

 

[Briansshop]

Looking forward to when you get back on it.

 

[Vic1947]

Looking forward to when you get back on it.

There hasn't been much happening with the Fairlane since my last post but that's about to change. As Andrew mentioned, his '70 GTO is occupying one of the spaces in my shop. I agreed to help him put a turbo on it and it's been keeping me tied to the whipping post. When it arrived, it had no engine or trans in it and no kit or anything for the turbo, so all that had to be done. Lots of decisions along the way. It's nearing completion, so I've started sneaking a few hours here and there on my project.

...A few new things to mention. First of all, I bought a direct fit shifter from Forma Cars for the MT82 six speed that's mated to the Coyote engine. Seems to be a really nice piece. It feels very solid and has a nice short throw. From what I've read, one of the main complaints Mustang owners have about that trans is the shift quality. So, this should be a huge improvement.

I've also started the TCI front cross member installation. I can tell already I'll need to do some extra patching on the frame rail before the kit pieces can be attached. I've posted a shot of both sides to show how much room this mod creates. Hopefully, it's enough for that big, wide DOHC engine.

Once Andrew gets the GTO back to his garage, I should be able to post more often.

 

[TROTTLEJO]

is the outside of that rail just as eaten ? mine was like that on driverside i had crites make a custom length replacement rail that came out very nice mine was rotted with worms on the outside more than inside

 

[Vic1947]

No, the outside is in very good shape, but the underside is somewhat rotted. I plan to replace the underside all the way to the core support. Fortunately, the top/side boxing plates overlap good metal, so I should only have to patch a few bad spots. When they're welded in, the rail should be very stout.

 

[Vic1947]

Patched a couple of places on the inside surface of the frame rail. I used the existing holes to locate the rear patch and marked the perimeter, then cut out a window and welded the patch in. The remaining stuff is surface corrosion and won't affect the integrity of the IFS kit. Now comes the unpleasant part - laying on my back and patching the underside of the rail.