Average Joe Restoration

After I removed my Mustang from Paint Shop Prison II (PSPII) I went to work starting with a Dry-Build to see how the sheet metal would line up and document those issues before I got into the body work and structural issues that remained.

I new that I had to take a good look at the floor pan replacement that PSPI had performed. I also knew that PSPI didn't' complete the job and some welding had to be done. I was fortunate enough to meet a local Mustang enthusiast that was a welder by trade and he provided me with a way to get the Mustang onto its side so it could be worked on without laying on the ground.

Notisserie - Totaly AverageJoe!

To get the Mustang on its side I used what I like to call A notisserie, provided by my local friend and welder. It would be nice to have a real rotisserie, maybe one will magically show up on my porch some day.

The notisserie is comprised of six steel wheels and a length of 2.5 inch 1/8 wall square tubing all welded together to make it all work. To lift the car an engine hoist is used and then the contraption is braced with 4x4's to keep it stable and secure.

Floor Pan Replacement

The floor pan on Project Playboy wasn't completely rusted out and I could have just patched the sections under the passenger feet but I opted to do a full replacement to keep things clean.

The inner floor frame supports where pretty banged up from being bottomed out so the decision was made to replace those while I had the welder on site; the driver side strut rod bracket was also replaced since it appeared to be bent also from getting bottomed out when this old mustang sat low in front.

One thing you may overlook when replacing a floor pan is to remove any of the old brackets that you may need from the old pans before they go to the scrap yard. You also need to measure and document where these should be placed on the new pan. The parking brake cable brackets and the back seat brackets needed to be savaged and placed on the new floor pan.

Spot Weld Remover

To remove the floor pan, frame rails and just about any other part that is spot welded together you should use a spot weld remover. Using one of these tools can make things easier and maintain originality of your Mustang since you wont be drilling big holes all over the place or cutting things up get old parts out.

Sealing the Undercarriage

No, this isn't the step where I apply seam sealer and undercoating, All I want to do at this stage is apply some epoxy sealer and then get back to the body shell and panel work.

Sanding the surface

I used an orbital with 180 grit sand paper to scuff the major surface and then followed up with a scotch bright pad in all the nooks and crannies. Scuffing the surface insures that the epoxy sealer has something to get a bite into, if the surface was completely smooth the sealer may not adhere to the surface and later begin to flake off. The final step is to mix up the sealer and apply it to the undercarriage.

There was quite a few things to finish up on the undercarriage that didn't get wrapped up at PSPI, although I am very disappointed with PSPI in some ways I'm glad they never finished; there is less disappointment and I know that the work is now being done correctly.