Backhalved Fox Mustang... UPDATED 5-31-2018 IT'S ALIVE!!!

the Coug wrote:John I think the sheet metal is the fun part making it all fit is like a puzzle

It is. I've actually pretty amazed that I've done a decent job with the sheetmetal so far. Just wish I had a bead roller...

Damn!  Been two years since I last posted in this thread.  I'll give an update...

All of the welding is finally done on the car.  Installed a new midplate from KFM Motorpsorts.  Fabbed up a tube steering column to get the wheel where I wanted.  Installed a Wilwood brake pedal assembly to move over the MC to make room to pull the valve cover.  Driveshaft enclosure, etc...

It's been a bunch of little time consuming things that eat months when you only work on it a few days a month!

Engine and trans are complete and waiting to go in for the final time.  Sheetmetal is about half done.  Wiring and plumbing are up next.

I'll grab some pics next time I'm at the shop and post them.

Jon your car is lookin good,i'm glad you are taking pic's because i'm putting together a 91 foxbody  with parts I've picked up completely from friends,forum members,and swapmeets. The chassis is setup for smallblock so I will be making some major adjustments in the drive train.and chassis.Thanks for the pic's and ideas.

Rick, most everything on this one is from guys on here too. Only a few items were bought new...

bbf-falcon wrote:Jon your car is lookin good,i'm glad you are taking pic's because i'm putting together a 91 foxbody  with parts I've picked up completely from friends,forum members,and swapmeets. The chassis is setup for smallblock so I will be making some major adjustments in the drive chain.and chassis.Thanks for the pic's and ideas.

Rick  my motor cycle has a drive chain... The only car I know that  had a drive chain was John F's old funny car, he said it had a
Ford Cammer in it mounted sideways and was driven by a chain... He also said it was a torkie MoFo

Sorry bout the misspelling Coug,ah.ah I mean Keith.

update John !!!

Not much. Nearly sliced the tip of my left index finger off with a .095 cutoff wheel cutting out a piece of the frame rail on the Futura (damn rust!!!). That was about 2 months of downtime. It is still numb and sore so it limits me somewhat while working...

Been working mostly on my Futura lately so I can get it rolling around on the suspension again. Got the rear end mocked up underneath and the crossmember came in from Team Z for it last week. Need to weld it in and stuff the housing with axles and brakes and bolt on some wheels then bolt the tube front end underneath it and get the car moved out of the way. Been sitting on jack stands for too long...

Been making room for the girlfriend's '56 F100 that will be showing up here in another month...

The Mustang needs one little thing welded on it than it's full bore on the wiring, plumbing and sheetmetal. Work is slow so I should be able to make some progress once the weather cools off...

I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel but it's hard motivating to walk towards it when the shop is about 10 miles from the house...

This is going to be nice when done.....

gmsmkr wrote:This is going to be nice when done.....

If it ever gets done!

I've owned this thing going on 10 years...

jbozzelle wrote:

gmsmkr wrote:This is going to be nice when done.....

If it ever gets done!

I've owned this thing going on 10 years...

Mine took 18 yrs.

I don't feel that bad then. I've owned the Futura for 23 years except for a few where I sold it (eventually bought it back though).

I guess I have to get rolling on these two cars I have. My kids are bugging me to cruise around in them!

Update...

The car is for sale. My new job doesn't pay enough to finish this so I'm keeping my Futura, which I've had since I was a teenager, and selling the Mustang...

I have enough parts to make the Futura whole in the near future...

Figured I'd update this again.  Late last year my wife and kids convinced me to keep the Mustang and not sell it.  I had a few bites on it and a few guys wanted to swap it for a Fox body driver but none of them ever came through.  Guess it all works out like it's supposed to.  

After the start of 2017 I got the fire again and rattle canned under the hood and started on the aluminum work.  My brother and I fooled around with some scrap aluminum I had laying around and quickly realized it looked like crap so we scrapped those pieces and reevaluated another way to do the tin work.

That's when I realized I had all of the body panels from the dragster we wrecked sitting upstairs in the shop.  Some were banged up, twisted and had holes in them but a few pieces gave start to the trans tunnel and I decided to go that route and build the rest of the tin work off of that.  For not having done any real tin work before I think I did a halfway decent job.  I used what I could from the dragster panels and bought a 4'x10' piece as well.  Once I bought the 4' piece I made templates and cut it all on a shear.  Should've done that route in the first place since it definitely helped to speed up the fabbing of the panels.  Every piece except the rear bulkhead has been fabricated, test fit and cleco'd in place.

I may try my hand at bead rolling a few pieces but I plan to go with a medium gray hammer tone paint so I don't think the beads would show up and most pieces seem to be stiff enough to begin with.  Once the bulkhead is done I'll put all the tin work in the car to verify fitment and then move on to plumbing the brakes, painting the frame, cage and tinwork then move on to assembling it for the final time.

I also picked up a set of front exit headers and reinstalled the engine/trans to mock those up. The engine needs to come out one last time to paint the mid plate and weld out a clevis for the engine limiter then it'll get bolted down for the last time as well.

My goal is to have it done for the Bash in 2018.  I've set that goal numerous times and failed but I think I have a legit shot at having the car in Kentucky this year.  I just wish my Dad was still around to see it run.  Him passing away the Friday night of the Bash last year lit a fire in me to finish it and really changed my perspective on a bunch of things.  Life is short, grab it by the short hairs and live it...!  I know my Dad will be there in spirit to see it run.  Hell his presence has been felt around the shop lately while I'm there working by myself...


The pics below should get you guys up to speed on where I'm at today.  It's been eight years since I started this thread but it looks like the light at the end of the tunnel isn't a freight train after all...

Sorry about the screwed up pics.  Not sure why they're like that.

Oh and I know some of you will ask.  The Futura is still around.  It's slated to get a 466/C4 combo and be a driver once I weld in the wheel tubs...

Looks good John and keep after it. U.S. 60 would be a great place to break it out.

Thanks Jeff. It's coming together nicely. With some luck I'll have it done around April in time to make a few trips down the track before Kentucky.

Tin work is all cut, bent and cleco'd in place. working on plumbing the brakes. Then will move on to painting the frame rails, cage and tin work then put it all back together.

Tin work is all done.  Just need to bead roll a few pieces, scuff and paint.  Brakes are all plumbed too.  Just need to weld out a few engine limiter brackets and the engine comes out for the last time so I can paint the cage and frame.  Then reassemble, plumb and wire...!

Also, Keith Fulp is making me one of his coil brackets that mounts to the driver head and will mount my MSD HVC II coil.  He's also making a matching bracket for the pass side that'll mount my fuel pressure regulator.

My apologies for the rotated pics. Still can't seem to figure out how to fix that...

Limiters are welded up. Now to move on to painting the frame rails, cage and tin work. Thinking of going with this hammered look. Going to try and brush or roll it on instead of spray cans... Thoughts?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Stops-Rust-1-qt-Black-Hammered-Rust-Preventive-Paint-7215502/100670381


Also, what's everyone running for a typical 12 volt battery? Any advantage to the Optima stuff? Is there a good dry cell 12 volt battery out there that'll last?

dfree383 wrote:After going 16v I'd never go back to a 12v

Recommendations?

What about ignition boxes, fans, lights, etc... being compatible with the higher voltage?

jbozzelle wrote:Limiters are welded up.  Now to move on to painting the frame rails, cage and tin work.  Thinking of going with this hammered look.  Going to try and brush or roll it on instead of spray cans...  Thoughts?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Stops-Rust-1-qt-Black-Hammered-Rust-Preventive-Paint-7215502/100670381

I have used this stuff on lots of chassis parts to protect them from rusting. It goes on thick and it comes off gummy so you need a wire wheel for removal. It is a cheap solution to keep away the rust but I am not sure how it will survive once on the road ( my junk isn't finished).