Dan's 1969 Mustang March 2006

MARCH 2006

69 mustang convertible

69 mustang Classic mustang

3/26/06

Spent this weekend finishing up details on car, removing parts needed from old engine before I install the new engine. Did final for real installations of car parts, torqued down, used locktite etc.

Car Work
Installed new boot on power steering piston
Installed steering box
Installed Idler Arm bracket
Installed battery tray and battery
Clamped down brake lines
Test fit Fuel line

Engine work
Removed intake manifold from old engine, stripped paint, cleaned, removed old gasket.
Removed valve covers, stripped paint, treated rust.
Removed Exhaust manifolds.

Going to take these to the auto club and clean then in the mineral spirit bath to get the old grease off of them and make sure they are like new. Then paint them with Duplicolor Ford Dark Blue. That is what I am told is the closest to original for the 69.

3/22/06

ENGINE IS HERE. The engine was even rolled into my garage by the delivery guy! What more could I ask for... The engine is everything they promised on the web site. Looks like a top notch re-manufactured engine.....no I take that back....it looks like a NEW ENGINE!!!

69 mustang engine 302

The new engine in its molded plastic case, strapped down, they really have their act together in shipping these engines. Engine wrapped in plastic bag inside shipping container with documentation.

mustang engine 302

Man isn't that pretty!! Painted Gloss Black, If it runs as good as it looks it's gonna be awesome!!

69 mustang engine 302 parts

This is the documentation, gasket sets, oil pump that came with the engine.

3/18/06

Engine should be here Tuesday/Wednesday I am going to see if I can get tranny next week and get them in the car next weekend. Also the carpet came today. I ordered cut pile.... Ok you purists out there will say that the 69s came with loop pile....I don't like that look so I went for cut pile. I couldn't help myself and put it in the car just to see how the color looks. The carpet still needs to relax from being in the box but OMFG does it look good!

I wanted to make this car look nice during this restoration but it is turning out even better than I had hoped!!!

69 mustang carpet

The new carpet minutes after it arrived at my house, just put it in for fun and to see how it looked...one word ..... WOW!!!!!

3/14/06

I ORDERED THE ENGINE!! After much debate and consideration I ordered the engine from Power Pro. They offer a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty and the most new parts in the engine. There were several manufacturers I looked at and here is the cost/info breakdown.

All prices were for a re-manufactured Stock 302, long block. I am not returning the core so I included that in my total cost.

Vendor	Cost	Warranty	Parts list	Notes
Power Pro http://www.powerpro2000.com/	$1195 + $160 Core Charge $0 Shipping Total $1355	5 year, 100,000 mile Full parts and labor	New parts: Pistons, rings, timing parts, rod and main bearings, cam bearings, cam shaft, push rods, rocker arms, valve springs, oil pump Remanufactured Parts: Head, block.	This is the one I picked. Best warranty, good references on web, most new parts.
ATK http://www.atkengines.com/	$1139 + $195 Core Charge + shipping Total $1478	3 year, unlimited mile Full parts and labor	New parts: Pistons, rings, timing parts, rod and main bearings, cam bearings, push rods, rocker arms, oil pump Remanufactured Parts: Head, block, valve springs, cam shaft (maybe new).	Close call with Power pro - good web search references, ATK and Power pro actually sell each other engines, both are good.
Mid-Atlantic (PAPA Auto Parts) http://www.midatlanticengines.com/	$1490 + $60 Core Charge + tax Total $1624	3 year, 120,000 mile Parts only for self installer, parts and labor for pro shop install	New parts: Pistons, rings, timing parts, rod and main bearings, cam bearings, push rods, oil pump Remanufactured Parts: Head, block, valve springs, rocker arms, cam shaft (maybe new).	Good Web and local references, expensive for local guy to buy direct and not through parts shop.
Precision Engine http://www.precisionengine.com/	$739 + $165 Core Charge + shipping $250 each way ($500) Total $1239	1 year, unlimited mile Full parts and labor	New parts: Pistons, rings, timing parts, rod and main bearings, cam bearings, push rods, oil pump Remanufactured Parts: Head, block, rocker arms, valve springs, cam shaft (maybe new).	If I lived near Texas I would have used these guys. Very good web references, BEST PRICE, The $250 shipping each way killed it though. Also they were the only one that would re-manufacture MY core and send it back to me to keep numbers matching. If it was not for the shipping I would have used these guys, very easy to deal with on phone.
Recon Engines (Advanced Auto parts) http://www.reconengines.com//	$1052 + $175 Core Charge + tax Total $1275	3 year, 36,000 mile full parts and labor	New parts: Pistons, rings, timing parts, rod and main bearings, cam bearings, push rods, oil pump Remanufactured Parts: Head, block, rocker arms, valve springs, cam shaft.	The price is right, but tax kills it. Recon standard engines had both good and bad web references.
Recon Xtream Engines (Advanced Auto parts) http://www.reconengines.com//	$1414 + $175 Core Charge + tax Total $1644	At least 3 year, 36,000 mile full parts and labor I think it was more but I did not write it down.	New parts: Pistons, rings, timing parts, rod and main bearings, cam bearings, push rods, oil pump, rocker arms, valve springs, cam shaft. Remanufactured Parts: Head, block	I listed Recon twice as they have a special engine called the Xtream. It is hot run dyno tested, you get the dyno report and it comes with tins. Good web references on this engine, lots of new parts

3/12/06

Didn't get a lot done today but I did test fit and tack weld in the passenger seat mount. When I got the car the passenger seat was tilted to one side due to the mount being put in wrong. (They also covered over the seat belt mount so there was no seat belt on that side.) When I put the mount back in and mounted the seat my wanting to keep the car like it was worked...the seat was still tilted. So I shimmed the mount and tack welded it in and now the seat is straight. I also did some other welding on the car that I was putting off in the rocker panel area.

69 mustang seat

Seats back in to test position.

3/11/06

Got the new Passenger side toe board and seat pan in today. Went in fairly easy. I plan to mount the seat mount and put the seats back in to see how she looks tomorrow. I might prime and paint the new seat pans too.

69 mustang toe board

New Passenger side toe board.

69 mustang seat pan

New Passenger side seat pan, the black area is where I primed painted so I can install the seat mount.

69 mustang seat pan replacement

New Passenger side seat pan another view

3/08/06

A long winters hibernation ended today for my stang. I put the tires on and it has officially become a rolling chassis!! I pushed it out of the garage and took some pictures. It looks almost like a real car. At this point it is no longer a rust bucket!! The under side of the car looks GREAT. In the sun light I got a good look at my handiwork. Man it looks sharp! I will post pictures later. But it had better look good its all NEW!! I can't hardly believe it has come this far! It is a warm day today and I can't wait to put the engine it and drive her off!!

69 mustang engine compartment

This is the engine compartment when I started in April 05

69 mustang engine compartkent rebuild

Engine compartment 3/06, Looks a LITTLE better!! So what changed from the before picture above? In this shot you can see the new frame rails, Shock towers, export brace, shocks, aprons....and of course the stuff that I did not replace I cleaned, rust proofed , and painted.

mustang engine restore

Engine compartment 3/06, another view

69 mustang engine v8

Passenger side, this is the first time the stang is off of the jack stands and in this sunlight since last spring.

69 mustang engine 302

Drivers side

3/06/06

Installed new springs and shocks. I went with stock springs but I cut 1 coil off to shorten them up. I decided to try this before I do the Shelby mod. I have talked to a lot of guys on the message boards and they are happy with this setup so I will give it a shot. The shocks I put on are Gabriel Classic Shock absorbers, they are described as "Gas Shock technology for classic vehicles". We will see how this combo works. I have not yet replaced the shocks in the rear, maybe later this spring.

69 mustang Springs

Passenger side shock and spring installed.

69 mustang shock

Drivers side shock and spring installed.

3/05/06

Worked on car a lot this weekend, got the rest of inner rocker removed, installed new passenger inner rocker, torque box and started fitting the new toe board. I'm tired.......any way getting darn close to done, I still have some more welding to do on the rocker and torque box. Now I can put the front coils and shocks in. I had to wait to do this as I had to drop the front suspension to slide in the new inner rocker. I plan to put the coils on this week so I can put the tires back on and roll the car out of the garage for the first time in a year. Need to clean up the garage some.

Once I have the seat pan and toe board in I plan to order the new engine. It will take about a week to get here once I order it and the new tranny, I actually got carpet samples this week to for the new interior, starting to feel like I am getting close!

69 mustang inner rocker

Rear under passenger window (rear seat) inner rocker removed, this was a real bear to remove the old inner rocker. At some point I am going to need to replace the torque box too.

69 mustang torque box

Passenger side with new inner rocker installed, before torque box installed.

mustang engine torque box

New torque box installed

69 mustang engine torque box install

New torque box, from outside in wheel well area.

Previous updates and progress
April/May 2005 - Engine removal.

June 2005 - Front end disasembly

July 2005 - Frame removal

August/September 2005 - Drivers front frame installation

October 2005 - Drivers seat pan, frame installation, inner rocker panel

November 2005 - Drivers inner rocker panel and outer rocker extension

December 2005 - Drivers inner rocker panel and outer rocker extension

January 2006 - Finished Passenger side frame, engine area

February 2006 - Passenger side inner rocker, seat pan removal, engine area finished

Links to other Mustang sites

This is what I hope to wind up with when I am done.

Email Comments/Questions

Custom Search

Copyright © 2008 Dan Linebarger. All rights reserved. Reader may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale or in any way exploit any of the content of this site, in whole or in part, without the express prior written permission of the copyright holder.