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P-86/93 Mustang project
Hey guys and gals. I figured I'd post my project here since I'm happy to have found this website. I just cut and pasted from another forum that I do all my updates on, so there may be some responses to some of the posts there.
Here is a link to the thread: http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/pr...6-mustang.html
I'm going to build this into a auto-crosser thats loud, obnoxious, and nasty. Kind of a HMMWV meets Mustang kind of thing. Scroll down for more details.
Day one, 86 Notch, former 4 banger:
There were all kinds of surprises!
This should have been a sign of things to come!
The car was musty so I pulled the cowl. I found this:
Which turned into this:
Oh well, makes it that much lighter!
I started the tear down:
The junk pile:
Engine out, thanks to Jeff and Ed (and Wade for letting me borrow the hoist):
More pressure washing:
LSC rear end:
End of the day:
So where is this whole thing heading?
I was sitting in our office one day and noticed a toy I had gotten my son (well it was my excuse anyway). I thought, wow it would be cool to go with a military theme. Since I was in the Army and always loved military vehicles I though why not.
Then I came across the F-Bomb Camaro and Chip Foose's P-32. I really liked what they did, but it wasn't really "Army" enough. I've always liked traditional hot rods and "rat rods" and the raw simple look they have. I'm also a huge WWII airplane buff and after visiting Fantasy of Flight I was hooked on the "theme".
We all were affected by 911 and one of the stories I always followed was that of Pat Tillman. Name one other "star" or athlete who gave up money, fame, etc to join the military after 911. I thought Pat did what my grandparents generation did after Pearl Harbor, they joined up to do something! He paid the ultimate price while "doing something" about it. I'm going to incorporate the number "40" that the NFL wears into the theme.
So thats it for now, I have some other tricks up my sleeve, I just hope I can stay on track with the build.
My sons toy:
F-Bomb Camaro:
P-32:
A few plane pics:
This is the interior color I'm going with:
P-51 cockpit:
A cool hot rod interior:
Tillman #40:
It was a nice day for wrenching so I pulled the tank. After getting a lung full of fuel, I busted out the shop vac to get the suction going,,, I'm just glad I didn't burn the place down. I was stoked to see there was no rust in the trunk area and everything was straight. Its amazing the amount of dirt that was still up there! Time to get the pressure washer out again.
I also picked up a tilt column on the cheap from Adam. I like my wheel low so this should help out a bit.
Thats it for today.
A little more from today. Tore out the steering column and pedal assembly. The rust zombies really tore this cowl up!!!
I'm going to do the hood flat black where the stock GT stripe goes. Instead of the "GT" I'm doing something else.
I'm still debating the engine bay/interior colors. US tanks/APC's generally have white engine bays while the trucks just go with the OD green. I like the contrast of the white engine bay and interior, just not sure which way to go.
More photoshop from my favorite 5.0 engine bay ever:
Some Stryker pics:
Here is a HMMWV engine bay:
Here are a few under carriage shots
***
So I'm going to run a stripped interior. Here are a few examples:
I'm going to make up a gauge pod using my old pro mask and Auto Meter NV gauges, should be pretty sick when I'm done. It will mount right over the steering wheel. I was happy to find the gauges were the perfect diameter. I'll be making a fiberglass mold to hold them in.
So I want to be able to tote the kids around in their car seats. I finally decided to to build something like the HMMWV rear seats. This model used a removable seat back that you could lay across the bottom seat to make a platform (any of you military guys know what I'm talking about). I'm going to make something similar. I just need the seat cushions and seat belts to fit the kids car seats.
***
A quick update.
So I've been going back and forth on which paint source to use. The MILSPRAY looks like some good stuff but its way expensive ($189.00 a gallon).
I was lucky to find a few Jeeps at the Bay Pines VA car show and talked to the owners. Both use the Gillespie paint which is kind of the standard WWII restoration paint. Its super cheap too at $30.00 a gallon (well plus hazardous shipping charge).
I also found a military restoration board and posted some questions over there. They were very helpful and I've decided to go with the cheep stuff.
Now I just have to find someone to prep and paint the car. I figured I'd do this back wards and paint the car first, that way any scratches and dents while putting it back together will give it some character.
Heres a link to the Gillespie stuff for anyone that cares:
Army Jeep Parts Inc., O.D. Paint, Gillespie Coatings Inc. manufactured.
***
Thanks to John for the T5 hookup. Now to find the time to clean it up.
**Edit for my records, its a 89-90 2.3 trans 13-52-194**
***
Well the project took a new turn today when ChrisN1313 posted a 93 notch roller for sale. I couldn't pass up the price ($150.00) and figured this would be a good shell for all the 4 eye parts. I went back and forth on what to do with the cowl rust on the 86 and for 150 bills it was magically fixed. This was a former 4 banger also.
Here are a few pics of the black beauty
Wow look at all the free goodies that came with it
***
Heres the cowl on this one,,, no comparison:
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Originally Posted by SeeingRed
I'm lucky to have a big group of Mustang owners here in the Tampa area. I've gotten all of my parts so far from local sales. The only retail stuff I've bought was a few trips to Lowes and Home Depot 
