March 16, 2025, 04:36:09 AM

Author Topic: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project  (Read 612688 times)

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1695 on: September 20, 2018, 10:01:08 AM »
Sorry, updates have been sparse because the work has been boring.

Color sanding is on hold for a little while;  I am having issues with sanding scratches from the heavier grits on the orbital not being fully removed by the finer grits, causing them to be visible after polishing.   It isn't an issue at the edges where I'm a lot softer on my material removal.

As such, I've decided to tweak my method a bit.  I'm going to keep doing 1000 grit on my 3/32 orbital for initial cleanup or dust/orange peel on the panels that really need it (which is only a few).   I purchased a full Meguiar's Unigrit system, which I'm going to use after that to remove the 1000 grit and up through 3000 grit.  That will be done by hand with a "Holey Terror" soft sanding block.   On the panels that have less orange peel (which is most of them other than the roof and quarters) I'll probably start with 1500 by hand and go finer from there.  I just nib the big dust/crud with a straight edge razor, which has worked very well and polishes out great if you do it carefully.

For those interested, I'll be going 1500 - 2000 - 2500 - 3000 then Meg's M105 on a wool pad on a buffer, then M205 on a fine cut foam pad on an orbital.    On the areas where I haven't had any sanding scratches to futz with, it's actually come out very well, so I'm hoping that this final "path" will get me the results I want.

Annnd, on to electronics.

Since I've been waiting for sandpaper to ship (that shit is expensive BTW!) I've been working on the electronics some more.    I had originally ordered the wrong pins for my big Eaton fuse boxes (in fairness, they were linked wrong at Waytek Wire...) so they had a tendency to come loose easily and caused me a "no start" condition.    Can't have that, so I bought the correct pins, and reterminated the entire front Eaton box (still need to do the rear).  I also put a dab of solder in every wire where it crimps, just to 100% lock it to the pin.   It's forward of the strain relief, so I'm not too worried about work hardening.

I then started testing my CANbus control system.   Had a bunch of initial issues...  because I forgot to put the fuse in.  LOL.    After that I had a few more small issues that were primarily code and a loose wire in that Eaton box (hence the retermination).   Buuuut, finally it's working!   The headlight switches, repurposed wiper switch (I'm using the "window spray" function on the wiper switch for brights, since I don't want to put in a foot actuator or a different control), turn signals cycle, etc.   Yay!

The horn signal from the column is being weird (it won't release) so I need to tear that apart and see why, but everything else is working!   I need to wire up the actual headlights/turn signals and a few other things like door opening switches to turn on the dome lights (and... dome lights.. and...) but it's nice to see some basic functionality working.    Next up will be the rear CANbus box, which is my next concern since those wires have to travel 15-16' and noise, etc is always a concern.   Here's hoping for zero drama.  :)
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1696 on: September 20, 2018, 12:56:04 PM »
Oh, and I'm also designing a new engine breather system;   by designing, I mean stealing @1point3liter 's design.    Basically I'm building a baffled box with an oil drain at the bottom, a couple of bungs to connect to valve covers, and a big rectangular K&N filter (from a Peugeot in my case) on it.    Different from my previous designs where I did a more traditional round breather, but I think it's a nicer design to package.  I'm going to mount it to the strut brace with a couple tabs I think.

That's a few weeks out though.   Should be an interesting project and lots of TIG welding (I like TIG welding).
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline wickedrx7

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1697 on: September 20, 2018, 02:31:48 PM »
FWIW, I've always started with 1500 even if orange peel is bad.  I've found it hard to get even the 1500 grit lines out so I figured it would save time (and paint) starting with higher grit even if it means longer sand times with that grit.  Another thing I would do is not remove 100% of the orange  peel with the lower grit, this way I remove orange peel and sanding lines at the same time. 

I wish I would have read your tip of of "work hardening" connections when soldering them on.  I thought I was being extra diligent by soldering the spade fitting on my fuel pump relay, which caused one to snap off and leave me stranded....

Are you doing Auto locks and keyless entry? Would be so cool to program interior lights and parking lights to trigger when you unlock the doors.... like a modern car.


1993 Touring, 2012 L99, T-56, Ronnin 8.8, Ohlins, Speedhut, Samberg and lots of custom parts
Build Thread - http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=19354.0
Pictures - www.flikr.com/wickedrx7

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1698 on: September 20, 2018, 07:44:54 PM »
Point taken on the grits;   I really only did 1000 grit on the areas that really "needed it" to flatten out.   The first few panels I shot were a little dry on the first coat and thus had a lot of peel in them.   The later panels I shot were much flatter to start with.

I do leave a little bit of peel in when I finish the 1000 grit;   I take it until I can just see the sparkles from a few of the low "dots" at a shallow angle, then I start moving up the grits, and generally by the time I hit the last grits, it's pretty dang flat.

And, all that said, SUCCESS!    Using the Meguiars paper by hand finished out the panels pretty well.   There are still a few straight line scratches, and I think I found one or two small pigtails from the earlier power sanding, but honestly they're hard to see even when I know to look for them, and at the end of the day, I'm building a driver, not a show car.   If the paint looks great from 2' away, I don't really care if you can find some imperfections at 2" away.    My request when I was getting quotes from bodyshops was paint that looked as good as my 60k mile '13 Focus ST.   This paint looks better.    Obviously getting it out in sunlight will be telling as well, but again, I think it's coming out very well.   I can always go back and touch up the small imperfections, as well.   The issue before was that I had enough imperfections in the paint that it "broke" the gloss enough that the panel looked wrong.   What I have now quite literally looks like the panel is coated in a layer of glass/jewel.   I'll get pictures once I get a bit more completed/cleaned up.

I am making a hell of a mess in my garage and car with the buffing compound, so once I'm done with all of this crap, I'll have to clean powered compound and little specks of it out of every crevice of the shop and the car, but whatever, it needed cleaned anyway.  :P   I'm getting better at not making a mess, but honestly, it's just a messy job, period.

Once I get the panels on the car done (or about 8-9 days from now, whichever comes first) I'm going to re-block the hood/decklid with 320 grit and reshoot base/clear on them, then I'll re-do the color sand on them once they're cured, and I can finally get them on the car and start finishing stuff like light surrounds, door handles, etc.   I want to get the front/rear glass in soon(ish) too, as I really think getting all of the panels on and the big pieces of glass will really get me a solid idea of how the car will look finished.

Anyway, after a couple weeks of frustration between electronics and paint, I'm glad to see my perseverance starting to pay off, at least a little.   Now I just have to not screw up the rest of the paint finishing... ;)
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline Cobranut

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1699 on: September 20, 2018, 08:55:31 PM »
Wow, what a lot or work.
This is going to be one bad-ass ride when you're done, Blake, but reading this thread has further convinced me that I just DON'T like bodywork.   :afro:
1995 FD, 7.0 Liter stroked LS3, T56, 8.8, Samberg kit.

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1700 on: September 20, 2018, 10:07:22 PM »
I... hate... bodywork.    So help me God the next car I build will not need any (or minimal anyway).

FWIW, I'm flirting with a Aston Martin Vantage with a 2JZ.   I have issues.
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline frijolee

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1701 on: September 20, 2018, 11:55:40 PM »
Dude, all you do is rub something until it's flat.  I'd have thought your OCD would be in love with that stuff.
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1702 on: September 21, 2018, 12:38:44 AM »
My OCD is not down with sub-perfection in outcome.
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline freeskier7791

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1703 on: September 21, 2018, 08:01:27 AM »
Glad you are happy with the result, and seeing how you are I bet it looks awesome even if you are not 100% satisfied with it.  2JZ vantage would be cool
https://www.youtube.com/thedriftingdad
1985 Mazda RX7 GSL Drift Car

CCVT

Offline wickedrx7

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1704 on: September 21, 2018, 08:23:51 AM »
I... hate... bodywork.    So help me God the next car I build will not need any (or minimal anyway).


Yes, but you have an extra 20k in your pocket.. While maybe 18K after materials...

1993 Touring, 2012 L99, T-56, Ronnin 8.8, Ohlins, Speedhut, Samberg and lots of custom parts
Build Thread - http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=19354.0
Pictures - www.flikr.com/wickedrx7

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1705 on: September 21, 2018, 08:53:38 AM »
Yeah, more like 18k after materials.   Still.  Haha

I did buy a few more goodies last night;  I've been doing all of my work with a borrowed buffer and orbital (thanks @BeasTT ), which work well, but my pad situation was meh.   I'm using M105/M205 (almost out of M205...) and an older wool pad (which is fine, I keep it clean/dressed) and some cheap-o foams from Harbor Freight.   Those... don't work that well.  They polish, sure, but the results are so-so (well of course, they're cheap) and they're old and the "heavy cut" pad I use for areas I'm not comfortable using the buffer in started to disintegrate.

Soooo, I ordered up a set of pads and polishes from Chemical Guys.

For those interested, here's what I picked up:

6.5" Yellow "heavy cut" pad
6.5" pads "kit" - Orange "medium cut", White "heavy polish", Black "light polish" + 16 oz of pad cleaner
Compound kit - 16 oz each of V32, V34, V36 and V38 compounds/polishes

All of that combined was <90 dollars shipped, and it's enough to do a few cars I think (my Focus needs compound/polished as wel, as it has overspray on it from the body shop that replaced my rear bumper after a high school girl redecorated it at a stop sign over the summer).    I like the other Chemical Guys stuff I've used, so I'm going to give all this stuff a try.

That should help to really refine things.   I'm still improving my technique as well, so I'm hoping to end up with fewer/fewer deep scratches that I need to fix as I go, but honestly if I have a few here and there, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.    I do plan to put a glaze on it and then probably a carnuba wax (or hybrid) once it's all cut/buffed, and I think I'll be pretty happy with the final result.
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1706 on: September 21, 2018, 10:46:39 AM »
Here's the progress so far.   There are a few little things I still want to fix, but it's honestly "good enough" as is now;  it's no worse than my Focus ST, which was always the "best case scenario" target for this work anyway.

Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline KCDAN

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1707 on: September 21, 2018, 01:28:32 PM »
Here's the progress so far.   There are a few little things I still want to fix, but it's honestly "good enough" as is now;  it's no worse than my Focus ST, which was always the "best case scenario" target for this work anyway.



That is looking really good. And quite honestly, do you want paint so perfect you're afraid of putting some hard miles on it?

Offline digitalsolo

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1708 on: September 21, 2018, 01:57:26 PM »
^ Well, I'm okay with it getting beat up (a little) over time as I use the car, I just figure I'd like to start as close to perfect as possible.

I promise, my panels aren't PERFECT and my gaps aren't PERFECT, and there are a few waves, etc., all of which I'm ok with.   It's honestly a matter of me trying to figure out how to output the highest possible quality I'm capable of, and the learning curve has been frustrating me a bit.

Blake tomorrow should always be better at things than Blake today is, but sometimes waiting around for that guy to show up tomorrow runs me out of patience.  ;)
Blake MF'ing McBride
1988 Mazda RX7 - Turbo LS1/T56/ProEFI/8.8/Not Slow...   sold.
1965 Mustang Coupe - TT Coyote, TR6060, modern brakes/suspension...
2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Gen V LT4/TR6060, upper/lower pullies, headers, tune.
2021 Tesla Model 3 Performance - Stock...ish.

Offline KCDAN

Re: Blake's 1965 Mustang Project
« Reply #1709 on: September 21, 2018, 02:34:46 PM »
^ Well, I'm okay with it getting beat up (a little) over time as I use the car, I just figure I'd like to start as close to perfect as possible.

I promise, my panels aren't PERFECT and my gaps aren't PERFECT, and there are a few waves, etc., all of which I'm ok with.   It's honestly a matter of me trying to figure out how to output the highest possible quality I'm capable of, and the learning curve has been frustrating me a bit.

Blake tomorrow should always be better at things than Blake today is, but sometimes waiting around for that guy to show up tomorrow runs me out of patience.  ;)

I feel ya, and bodywork sucks.
You're fighting two things.. your own perfection-ism, and the fact that the bodies on these things pretty much sucked from the get go 50+ years ago. I'll stick to body work on my skis thankyouverymuch. Wet sand and polish, maybe a touch of gelcoat, done.


« Last Edit: September 21, 2018, 02:42:00 PM by KCDAN »