Project Mustang. Larry Lyles
Karla Austin, Director of Operations and Product Development
Nick Clemente, Special Consultant
Barbara Kimmel, Managing Editor
Ted Kade, Consulting Editor
Jessica Knott, Production Supervisor
Indexed by Melody Englund
Copyright © 2007 by I-5 Press™.
Photos copyright © 2007 by Larry Lyles.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lyles, Larry.
Project Mustang : the step-by-step restoration of a popular vintage car : from Auto restorer magazine / by Larry Lyles.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-933958-03-3
eISBN 978-1-620080-14-6
1. Mustang automobile—Conservation and restoration. I. Auto restorer. II. Title.
TL215.M8L95 2007
629.28’722—dc22
2007002951
I-5 Press™
A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™
3 Burroughs
Irvine, California 92618
Printed and bound in Singapore
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Contents
CHAPTER 2 BEGINNING THE TEARDOWN: THE EXTERIOR
CHAPTER 3 CONTINUING THE TEARDOWN: THE INTERIOR
CHAPTER 4 REPAIRING THE SHEET METAL
CHAPTER 5 REPAIRING THE DOOR AND THE DECK LID
CHAPTER 6 REMOVING THE MAJOR PARTS
CHAPTER 7 REMOVING OLD PAINT AND REPLACING RUSTY FLOORS
CHAPTER 9 PERFECTING THE METAL
CHAPTER 10 WORKING WITH PLASTIC BODY FILLER
CHAPTER 11 PRIMING AND SANDING
CHAPTER 12 REFINISHING THE COMPONENTS AND THE UNDERSIDE
CHAPTER 13 REFINISHING THE DOORS, THE INTERIOR, AND THE TRUNK
CHAPTER 14 REFINISHING THE BODY
CHAPTER 15 WIRING THE CAR AND INSTALLING THE DOORS
CHAPTER 16 APPLYING THE COATINGS, REBUILDING THE SUSPENSION, AND INSTALLING THE BRAKE LINES
CHAPTER 17 INSTALLING THE VINYL TOP COVER, THE HEADLINER, AND THE GLASS
CHAPTER 18 REBUILDING AND INSTALLING THE ENGINE
CHAPTER 19 INSTALLING THE FRONT SHEET METAL
CHAPTER 20 INSTALLING THE EMBLEMS, THE BUMPERS, THE STRIPES, AND THE CARPET
CHAPTER 21 INSTALLING THE CONSOLE AND RE-COVERING THE SEATS
CHAPTER 22 REPLACING THE FRAME RAILS
CHAPTER 23 COMPLETING PROJECT MUSTANG
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the people who spent a lot of time and put in a lot of hard work helping transform this tired old Mustang into a very nice California Special.
John Sauer, AAPD; Pat Sikorski, The Antioch Mustang Stable; John Kenemer, American Designers; Auto Restorer magazine; I-5 Press; Troy Willford, California Mustang; John Sloane and Jim Richardson, the Eastwood Company; Perry York, First Paint & Supply; Legendary Auto Interiors; Kevin Marti, Marti Auto Works; Rick Schmidt, National Parts Depot; Norton Abrasives; Tom Eddy, Paddock Parts; Gary Wright, Painless Performance; PPG Automotive Refinishing; R-Blox Sound Control.
A special thanks to Dwayne Roark, the owner of one very nice California Special Mustang, and Ted Kade, editor of Auto Restorer magazine, who helped transform the articles first published in Auto Restorer magazine into such a great book. And finally, thanks to Pat, Bryan, and The Biscuit for their patience and understanding.
Introduction
For more than thirty years, I have been repairing, restoring, and rebuilding cars of all types. For the past ten years, I have shared much of that hard-won knowledge with the readers of Auto Restorer magazine and through the publication of two books, Project Charger and Revive Your Ride. If you have read any of my published articles or purchased either of my two books, you already know I use a detailed, hands-on approach to explaining the methods I use to repair and restore old cars. I don’t just grab a handful of tools and dive in expecting you to follow along. I try to keep you, the reader, right there with me as I work.
I feel it isn’t enough to tell you