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Update - Passed MOT first time today. Have also changed the thermostat which seems to have reduced the overheating issue I experienced in London back in January. Had a lovely day in the sun driving round Essex making a lot of noise in it. No other big changes though, just really enjoying driving it!  Picture just after passing MOT this morning. |
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Congrats on passing the MOT, whenever that time comes i always get nerveus like a little kid in trouble xD
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Congrats on passing the MOT, whenever that time comes i always get nerveus like a little kid in trouble xD Haha same, it helps to have a car which encourages conversation though. If the inspector is too busy asking you history and telling you they've never even had a mustang in before you tend to do quite well  In all fairness to the car though, I got to see it up in the air for the first time and it looked surprisingly solid. With all four wheels off the ground everything looked stable and no signs of movement in the wrong places. And the final test of the brakes which I was dreading most, it sailed through happily. Handbrakes not amazing but a pass, fronts were excellent. |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 52
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1981 Ford Mustang RHD foxqwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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Really do love the look of this! Glad it passed the MOT.
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Mar 25, 2014 17:35:40 GMT
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I have a few photos I took of it at work a couple of weeks ago, which I'm quite pleased with.    Not a huge amount of updates other than putting some miles on it and a new tax disc etc. Will be making some new parts to fix the passenger side mirror and now the weather is improving getting back to working on the interior a bit! |
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,420
Club RR Member Number: 52
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1981 Ford Mustang RHD foxqwerty
@qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member 52
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Mar 25, 2014 19:54:06 GMT
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Great pictures! Lovely looking car.
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So I've been forced to do some real work on the car now. Last week I discovered the drivers side carpet was very damp under the rubber mats the car came with. As the car has a cover over it all the time, rain leak was ruled out and I pointed the finger at the heater matrix which sits behind the dash. To get the now soggy and smelly carpet out the dash has to come out anyway, which I tried last year and struggled with two bolts. I ended up snapping both of these getting them out, but at least they were out of the way, and after a very long struggle including dropping the steering column slightly to get the dash out, the seats, belt holders, centre console and carpet are all out.  Next is to rebuild literally everything. While the dash is out I can use it to rebuild the foam dash top completely a lot easier than when it was in the car. Spray that, and the dash itself and glovebox lid if I can find a shade of red that matches the door cards well (suggestions welcome!) and then get some new seats, rewire and fix some of the issues behind the dash, put in proper wiring for a full sound system and replace all the sound deadening. Finally, the guys at fox doctors gave me a spare red carpet from a later model conv so I need to see if this will fit, otherwise try and repair the one I've just taken out, although that doesn't look like it'll be living to see another day at the moment. A lot of work but it should be worth it when it's done. Under the carpet, I found this 10 pence from 1977  Given its age and the fact its obviously UK currency this must have been dropped during the RHD conversion in 81/82. Thought this was quite an interesting find! And some pictures of it at the Little Totham Car Show, as soon as I got home I started taking the interior apart, so I guess this'll be the last show it attends for a while.   Having said that, the seats bolt back in easy, and if I tie wrap the gauges up and refit the centre console it should still drive ok... |
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Jul 17, 2014 12:12:11 GMT
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A lot has happened in the last month - the list I created in my head got longer as I pulled more and more out of the interior but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Firstly, fitted the radiator up front which I had bought a few weeks before the heater matrix died. Bought from Customville.  And this is the leaky heater matrix and slightly worn pipes  Whilst pulling everything apart in the interior I found lots of these hand-fabricated (as this was a low production RHD essentially prototype parts) with no E-coating and therefore rather rust. All have now been stripped and painted gloss black or red to keep from rusting any further  Got this shiny new heater matrix from the states, along with a restrictor tube which was fitted to late model Mustangs and apparently prevents the pump surge from prematurely killing the matrixs.  One of the aforementioned brackets sprayed up and in place - this ones the rear centre console bracket  I have to thank the guys at Fox Doctors for the low mileage carpet out of a late model convertible, slightly lighter shade but in much better condition. Another guy took the original away to try and repair, as it is a RHD model carpet with heel bads on both sides I believe. However it was beyond repair apparently.  Anyone elses car have six seatbelt clasps but only two belts in the back?  There's been lots of little bits to fix like this, the ventilation tubing seal for the windscreen demister. Thankfully easilly fixed by modern adhesive NVH foam (pictures later)  I actually managed to take it out for a drive like this...  Although it was incredibly warm with no floor insulation! Also stripped the late seventies style factory clock down to repair some broken transistors in it  And replace the aerial which has never gone fully down  Both fixed, with fantastic retro turquoise clock characters show here  I then spent some time Dynamatting the interior, replacing the heavy, rotten and often waterlogged original insulation. New wiring has been put in for a full rear stereo system and some spares for possible later additions so the carpet doesn't need pulling again to fit, for example, heated seats or an additional rear fuel pump (which could be needed). Extra thick insulation seen in the silver there as that area heats up dramatically from the exhaust being so close.  And this is the new carpet in. It needed some new holes adding as the rear seatbelts are different in the convertibles, and as it came from a late model it fits slightly different around the centre console, but only I would probably notice!  There is a light at the end of the interior tunnel, and it's bright red! Seats wanted next... |
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Last Edit: Jul 17, 2014 12:17:28 GMT by uncleterry
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Jul 17, 2014 12:49:11 GMT
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that red vinyl is sublime
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Jul 17, 2014 16:25:59 GMT
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Yeah it is, took a lot of work to get looking like that again but it'll be worth it so much more when everything is the same shiny red as that!
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Jul 17, 2014 20:32:43 GMT
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Really looking forward to this xD
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Jul 17, 2014 20:43:54 GMT
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Saw some of your pics on Fox Doctors the other day, didn't realise you were Uncle Terry on here! Interior's looking well, nice to see an early Fox being looked after |
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Jul 21, 2014 18:10:27 GMT
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Ah cheers guys, yeah D73 I've seen you on both here and Fox Doctors haha. Sometimes a bit too busy to go and link the two together though! Yeah hopefully it'll be worth all the effort. A small update from the weekend, went and rewired the clock, got the centre console all in and straight (along with the seats and belts now being bolted in on top of the new carpet, so it's fully functioning again) and cleaned it up again. Clock works perfectly, and I removed the naff grey retrim from the gear selector handle at last returning it to stock chrome and black, looks nice and retro!  Lots still to do but hopefully get to take it out for some good drives the next couple of weeks! |
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Jul 21, 2014 19:16:22 GMT
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Great, great work. And a lovely car, too. You must be a proud "parent" |
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Jul 21, 2014 20:59:50 GMT
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Notchback Foxbody with early front and later rear lights? In black? Rhd? Be still, my aching heart! Love the plans for it as well  *n |
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Top grammar tips!
Bought = purchased. Brought = relocated
Lose = misplace/opposite of win. Loose = your mum
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Jul 24, 2014 20:22:30 GMT
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Ah cheers guys! Yeah I'm proud of it when it works  And yeah the whole mix of my favourite front/rear is a big part of the look. Desperately needs some nicer wheels and some paint/decal adjustments soon though to compliment those! I have got a few new panels on the interior now, but didn't get any pictures tonight. Instead, took it out for a spin and got a couple of shots with the setting sun in a field nearby    Unfortunately while taking these it got a little warm and the fueling issue happened again. Only seems to occur when it's very warm and sitting still, and usually results in a noisy fuel pump, splutter from the carb and no fuel delivery. Let it sit for thirty seconds and its fine again! My attempt at heatproofing all the fuel lines and pump made no difference, so I think it's time for a brand new pump, and eventually perhaps a relocation of the pump. It will be solved! |
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Jul 28, 2014 19:16:08 GMT
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I've been working on a few things at home in the garage and with the help from some friends as well. Firstly, all of the interior plastics are being cleaned up, primered and then given a shiney coat of Renault Estruscan Red - the closest match I can find on the shelf in UK halfords (and trust me, I tried a lot of their different reds!) to the colour on the door cards. You'd be surprised how close a match it is! Some of the plastics had been sprayed and were becoming increasingly difficult to clean up to the original colour without stains, and some of the panels simply never matched out of the factory due to the RHD dash being such a low production item and a completely different material to neighbouring parts. So it's all being sprayed exactly the same colour now to get a match. Firstly, the sill plates;  And secondly, the glovebox. The latch has been cleaned up, getting that chrome out and gleaming again, lock freed up so it works perfectly again, and then the body and inside has been sprayed the same red. The whole dash will be sprayed to match so this will fit right in again.  Finally for today, the armrest. The centre armrests on the early foxes are foam with a vinyl coating, mine should be all red vinyl. During the retrim many years ago this was obviously stripped and retrimmed in the ageing grey leather which I havw since removed from the rest of the car. This left me with an armrest which didn't match and was quite uncomfortable in the heat. A friend of mine at work is an expert in interior trimming, having all the industrial machinery and said he would have no problem replicating the cover in a different material for me. I decided to do something different and use a pair of jeans. These are actually the original Levis 511s I was wearing when I picked the car up from the previous owner, and worked on it in for most of last year. They were quite worn, full of holes and stains but we found the patterns could be cut from the back of the legs which had aged a bit but were nice and clean at least.  It was a bit of a mission to find suitable thread which was both strong enough for the machine and to sew through denim and hold together, and in a jeans-colour gold. Franklins haberdashery in Ipswich provided this thread in the end, and it held together perfectly. The next step was to steam the cover onto the armrest, and glue the underside in place.  I'm quite happy with the results so far, hopefully it'll create a centrepiece once in the car and will age and wear nicely to give a unique look.  That is the back, by the way. It hinges from under there, with a push clip on the front. |
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Speedle
Posted a lot
Need a Country Rock band in the Hampshire Area? https://www.facebook.com/DirtRoadDiaryUK
Posts: 2,221
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Jul 29, 2014 10:52:06 GMT
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Very cool and original idea chap! Love it!
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Aug 21, 2014 20:05:30 GMT
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Thanks! It's certainly more comfortable than the rather hard leather that was in there. Looks a little out of place with the grey seats at the moment, but I'm hoping they will change at some point. The last two weeks have been a lot of work. The fuel pump has now been replaced with a genuine Facet item near the rear of the car by the tank. This should have reduced the high temperatures the previous one was experiencing in the engine bay and the pump now has less distance to pull being closer to the tank. I have yet to take it out for a proper test drive, I have suspicions there is something out of adjustment with the fuel bowl ventilator in the carb, and have a guide to adjusting this and a handpump but it was a little dark trying to adjust it today and it seemed to run a little worse after. Needs trying again in daylight. The interior is continuing repair and restoration. The dash top has been completely rebuilt but that will be part of an update another day. The main dash has been cleaned, fixed and completely resprayed to match the rest of the interior as closely as possible, along with the quarter trims, sill plates and glovebox lid as seen in the previous post. It's been a lot of work over the last 12 weeks or so but the dash is finally refitted;  There are some wires hanging out of the dash behind the centre console, which is somewhat due to the car not being built with as many speakers as it now has, but I think that can be tidied in situe. The wooden panel visible will be replaced by a new fabrication (hopefully fixing the wonky vent), but holds a bracket with electrics on the back so is refitted for now. There are a few new parts in here and coming soon as well. A fellow Fox doctors member passed on some special parts, one of which has been sprayed and fitted, the other is waiting for the new fascias to go in before everything fits together.  I'm enjoying how the stereo glows red to match the interior now. Restored clock, shifter handle and new gauge masks also in this picture. Note big round hole that's appeared in the dash between the heater controls and the gauge as well, which will hold the secondary (and more accurate) temperature gauge in the new fascias I will be fabricating. Coming together, just need to take it out and drive it now! |
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sweep
Part of things
Posts: 411
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Aug 21, 2014 20:21:01 GMT
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That arm rest is badass!
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