Back to Master plan 1!

First off, I would like to apologize for the length of the text of this post.  Like most people I usually come to these blogs and quickly read through the text to get to the pictures.

I had some great comments on the blog earlier this week by a fellow Mustang restoration enthusiast that I've been following for the last 10 months and it made me re-question the end result for my current plan (I've lost count how many times I've questioned it).
The thing I worry the most about this project is putting years of work into it and loads of cash only to have it considered either a conversion car or something that is not a true GT convertible. Or that people will think I'm trying to trick them by passing it off as a genuine car.  I thought about this the rest of the week and did some basic calculations and I think the best option that would hold true to the GT convertible is to rebuild the front end from aftermarket and donor car parts.

I looked into what it would take to just install a new front 'clip' on the original GT convertible and the sheet metal options today are much better than what they were 10 years ago.   I can actually replace the firewall, lower cowl and A-pillars that were almost completely rusted out when I started this project.  These are the major pieces I couldn't get before.  Those pieces plus the rusted out front frame rails are why I originally cut the front off of the first donor coupe to place on the convertible.

I've also found a few illustrations online that lead me to believe that there are some decent dimension of the frame in the back of the Mustang repair manual, so I can make sure everything is square and true when I put it together.

I know it sounds like I flip-flopped suddenly, but I've been on the fence about all of this for years. I just recently started pressing ahead trying to at least get some work done.  I figured it might help me figure out the best method as well.....hopefully it has.

Now that I've realized I need to replace more on the donor car than I thought, I'm not sure how much time I would be saving doing the conversion compared to restoring the convertible.

I also picked up enough steel tubing today from the local recycling place to build my own jig for the front end rebuild on the convertible.  I was amazed it only cost $80!  I priced this same amount out at the local steel tubing manufacturer and it would have cost about $250.   The extra parts I would like to get for the front end of the convertible that wouldn't be necessary for the coupe conversion are only about $800 (completely worth it).  I think I could get that number down significantly if I cut pieces off the coupe and patched things together, but in my experience this is sometimes more work than its worth for large parts.  The only pieces I'll probably use from the coupe are the front frame rails and shock towers since these are in good shape.

So without further ado.....here are some pictures of the car that will be the focus of my attention for the next few years.

I know this doesn't look like much, but this is the back end of my GT convertible.  

The trunk floor, trunk floor drop offs, rear quarters, wheel wells and most of the rear frame

rails need to be replaced, but so does the donor car.  The tail light panel and upper trunk frame is much better on this car than the donor car.

In between the original trunk lid and the rear quarter is the original windshield pillar 

and the dash.  The rest of the A pillars were rusted out so I chopped them.  I wasn't sure 

if I could ever buy an aftermarket convertible windshield frame so I luckily kept that.

Most of the stuff piled on top of the back end of the car are aftermarket and original parts

I've kept over the years.  I still have all of the original deluxe interior here. 

You can see where I chopped the inner/outer rocker panel, which is right next to the 

original transmission. 

Here's a shot of the B pillar and some of the other parts on the other side.  

You can also see the part of one of the original doors at the bottom of the picture.

Here are a bunch of the aftermarket sheet metal pieces that I dug out of boxes a couple days ago.

I wanted to get another tally of everything I had on hand and what I would need going forward.

Rear torque box removal

Since this is essentially a coupe being converted into a convertible I need to remove or modify the rear torque boxes so I can install the inner rocker panels which are a major structural member for convertibles.
This weeks progress also brought with it the removal of the remainder of the outer rocker panel.  I also used the wire wheel on the front frame rail then sprayed it with some rust converter.
I also got excited to test fit some of the parts that I have on hand just so it looks like I had more progress than I really did......it worked and got me itching to weld some of these parts into place, but that will probably be next week when I get the rear torque box and frame rail pieces.
I also had to remove a ton of surface rust from the "new" front torque box and floor support since they have been sitting around for 13ish years.
I just ordered the new parts I'll need to finish up the frame section on the left side of the car.  Once I get them I'll be able to fit everything together before tacking it all in place.....then I can say I'm actually restoring a car rather than just demolishing it.

Aft section of the outer rocker panel removed.

Rear torque box and the aft section of the floor was also removed.

You can see I got a little wild with the drill when removing the floor.

Removed the rest of the floor support from the front frame rail and cleaned up some of the 

spot weld high spots.

Front frame rail with rust inhibitor and new matching torque box with rust inhibitor.

You can also see the outside of the inner rocker rail that must have a small coating of oil on it since it only rusted slightly by the spot welds.

I need to close up some of these gaps between the torque box and front frame rail, but

it fit in there with little effort. 

Outer rocker panel held in place with some vise grips.....gets my welding finger excited!

Rusty rear frame rails

In my quest to get a solid frame under this car before I start chopping the roof off I found some more rust.   I don't think it would have taken a rocket scientist to figure out that there was going to be more rust, but I found it on a spot of the rear frame rails that didn't look rusty.
I was under the car cleaning the rear frame rails off with a wire wheel on my pneumatic tool when I uncovered a tiny pin hole.  I tried the screwdriver method of inspection.....that's when you hit the area in question with an old screwdriver and see if it makes a hole.  If it does, you have bad rust and now a hole in your metal, if it doesn't it's called a patina.
I guess I'm ordering a full rear frame rail now as well.....or maybe just some of the pieces that are really bad.

Passenger side frame rail with a couple holes of rust before the screwdriver test.

Passenger side Swiss cheese after wire wheel and screwdriver test.

Drivers side frame rail after the wire wheel, but before the screwdriver test.

Driver's side frame rail that actually surprised me when it failed the screwdriver test.

Collateral damage

Last week I was in a rush to cut out some rusty parts underneath my car and against my better judgement decided to adjust the guard on my 4.5" cut-off disc while it was running.   I've done it before without turning it off and everything worked out fine.   I knew it was a bonehead thing to do, but I always thought it was saving time when I didn't have to wait for the cutoff wheel to stop.  I guess all those times I saved a few second were just erased when I had to spend a couple hours getting stitched up.  Plus, you can add a few lost days of working on the car since my finger didn't bend very well.

The "lucky" part is that my new insurance for the job I started almost a month ago didn't kick in for 2 more days, so at least I got to pay for the whole bill instead of just the co-pay......

Well since I've been posting pictures of me cutting up my car I figured I should show pictures of me cutting up my finger (or at least the aftermath).

Not too bad looking when I straighten my finger.

Opens up pretty nicely when its bent (plus doesn't feel too good)

The doctor said I nicked the tendon, but it should heal if I don't stress it and break it soon.

Here are the 4 stitches after a few painful shots 

This is the day after removing the stitches (9 days after cutting it open)