COD's 85 GT RESTO Thread

[codell85GT]

Originally Posted by 91GTStang

Wow a NJ car with that little of rust must be a rare find! LOL Great work so far, keep it up and you'll be done in no time.

LOL. Don't let it fool you! The doors are history (at least the drivers) and the quarters will need work. The passenger fender is also pretty bad off.

I was just really happy to see the floorpans without a hint of it!!!

As ugly as the undercoating is it did what it was supposed to! I'm really on the fence about stripping it now.

Any ideas about leaving it but making it look better? Can it be painted over?

[Scott Peters]

Codell85GT,
Man I hope your Garage was heated ! I'm in N.J. also and it's To Dam Cold for Oct !!

There is no 4 eye'd Mustang that should go to the Crusher unless it has met the Rust Grim Reaper...and even then there are a lot of parts that should be parted out....and it kill's me to think that any Mustangs went that way in the Cash for Clunkers Scam... Your GT looks to be in decent shape and will be a Fun Project.

I would not remove any factory Under Coat unless you know for sure there is a Rust issue. You need to remove your seats...pull the carpet and look for Rust, Cracked floor boards by any seat mounting point and check the toe boards were the floor pans meet the firewall.

I too had to replace my drivers door with a "Decent" 87+ door and had to fill the Holes as mentioned in previous posts. POR-15 the Heck out of them inside and out. Take a wire wheel in a air Grinder and go to town on those lower seams on your new doors. Make sure you get the seam sealer out as well. I have no idea what ford was thinking when they made our Fox Body Stangs/capri's/cougars and T-Birds...but they all rust out ! at least you will keep your Stang in a garage and will limit any future damage.

BTW: if you in fact have a NOS SVO front Bumper....It's worth Gold !
How did you find so much NOS anyway?? Great finds.

Since your pictures show no Heater hose's attached......May we assume the Heater Core is Dead as well ? There's a nice weekend Project ..

If the Motor still runs and I guess it would since you drove it there, you may not have to do much to it if it passes a compression test. You have the 1st year roller motor with 215 H.P. and a Carb....You will Hate that Holley 4180....and if it's sat that long.....

This post is to long already...But keep us All informed on your Project as we are all here to Help.

Scott

[codell85GT]

Scott,

I can't believe how chilly it has been!

No, I don't have heat in the garage. The garage is a rental. My garage here at the house is too small to work on a car. I'm thinking of getting some sort of heater though. Are kerosene heaters available? If I remember correctly they were banned years ago.
An electric heater may cause problems with the landlord. The electricity in the garage is piggy backed to one of his apartments. The other issue is my compressor blows a breaker everytime I have used it.

What I planned on doing with the doors is exactly as you described. I have the 90 doors here which I'll move to the garage and take the 85 doors here.
I can heat up my garage pretty quickly. I planned on stripping the inside of the doors and just like you I'll be painting them with the por-15.

Can the outside be stripped and painted with the por-15 or would that be a nightmare for the bodyshop?

The car hasn't started in at least 8 years!
The motor is about ready to come out. It's going to get freshened up. I have a target of 325hp which I think is conservative.
The heater core is going to get replaced eventually as well.

Lastly, that SVO bumper cover isn't mine. There is a guy in CT with the NOS items and some good used ones as well. He knows what he has and yes it might as well be gold because he wants $800 for it.
He also wants $500 for the NOS 85-86 GT cover which is why I just jumped on this one on eBay tonight. Got it for $98. Yeah it is a little ruff and needs a tear repaired but I see it as insurance for the future. Where else could I get the cover, header panel and turn signal lenses for $98?

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[Scott Peters]

Codell85GT,

Nice find on that nose !
I've been using a Kerosene Heater for Years. I also use a Propane Blast Heater to Heat the Garage up 1st ( I'll not in there ) for 10 min's to up the temp some , that way I don't have to wait 2 Hours for the Kerosene heater to work. Look in Home Despot for one.

As far as using POR15 on the outside of the door, I would try not to , as your painter might indeed run into problems. The problem is that you have to brush it on and then "Try" to wet sand it so it's smooth....Not easy.
I should have clarified was that I used it on the outside of the inner door where the rust forms and I brushed on heavy on the inside as well . You might want to invest in a small "Spot" sand blaster as well for small spot removal on the out side of any Panel.

After that eng is out, really check those inner frame rails . a lot of rust can form there. Last spring I pulled my Eng to clean and reseal it and to get to the rust in my frame rails. While I was knocking the rust away I found that the cause of it was Leaves that had gotten past the cowl grills !

I'll try an post a picture of it and the repair . I used a LOT of POR15 . After it dried , I used ethching Primer over it before Painting the Eng Bay Black.

Where in NJ are you ?

Good Luck with your Project !

Scott

[codell85GT]

Originally Posted by Scott Peters

Where in NJ are you ?

Scott

I'm located in Clifton. How about you?

I'm surprised the kerosene heaters are still sold! I thought they were made illegal years ago!

I haven't found any rust at all (so far) on the frame rails and hopefully I won't!

I was planning on using the por-15 on the inside and outside of the inner part of the door. If it isn't perfect no biggie since the door panel will hide most of it. I was hoping to use it on the outside of the door as well but figured it would cause problems.

Charlie

[Scott Peters]

Hi Charlie,
as N.J.ers say Exit 120 !
I'm in Cliffwood Beach.

Were you able to find that Heater?

Also, how is the condition of all your interior Parts ?

Here a picture of my car at an Auto-X event this last Summer.

Hope you making Progress,

Scott

[codell85GT]

I haven't looked for the heater yet but will be soon.

Not much progress since the last update. I might be able to get some work done this weekend (I hope).

Good looking car you have! Where did you attend the Auto-X?

[Scott Peters]

Hi Charlie,
Thanks for the complement.
That picture was taken at Commerce Bank Ball Field in Somerset. We use the main Parking Lot.

I race with the BMW club and they are fun bunch of Guys. This Sunday is our last event for the Year... It will be at the Ball Park again.

You should have good weather this weekend to get some work in.

Scott

[codell85GT]

Scott,

Isn't that where the Somerset Patriots play?

The weather usually doesn't play a role for me until it is consistently below 40 degrees.
This weekend brings the normal "Honey Dew" list of excuses not to get anything done but I still plan to try.

Got to keep the little lady happy you know!!!

Hey, good use of "BMW" and "fun" in the same sentence. I didn't think that was possible. LOL

Charlie

[Scott Peters]

Soooooo,
Anything new??
or
are you still doing
Honeydew?

BYW: last auto-X of the year was a blast.
BMW's and Mustangs share alot. They are Rear wheel Drive Performance Cars and although Bimmers cost twice as much, both owners love to mod and improve there Rides.

In the Photo's taken at the event...My car clearly had the most pictures Posted by the guy taking pictures for the event...Must have been the sound of American thunder...but those M3's sound so good as well.

Can't wait till next year..

Keep us informed on your project,

Scott

[codell85GT]

Hey Scott,

No Honey Dew but I have had a lot of other distractions. I swear sometimes it seems like I'll never get around to the GT. It's hard to start something, stop, then pick up where you left off 4 weeks later. Sooner or later I need to get into a rhythm.

Had my eye on a couple of heaters I saw at Home Depot. Both are Kerosene.
I'll probably end up with the cheaper of the two. Still not cheap though at 3 bills.

Charlie