Mach1Mark's '65 coupe restomod

[Mach1Mark]

Post 400
Installed a shorter version of the turn signal lever, installed the carb linkage - throttle arm retainer clip, glued in the rubber strips on the wheelhouse edges, installed 6-8” of insulation on the clutch cable near the bellhousing to protect it from headder heat, installed and routed a longer radiator overflow hose to the catch tank in its new location and installed the trunk mat.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Today, I installed a plastic plug in the trunk where the OEM harness passed through, continued to adjust the cable clutch using a longer bolt, adjusted the pass side wheel toe-in adjustment, lowered the car to the garage floor and removed a lot of dust. Also test fit the hood to check clearance with the A/C compressor. Lots of room.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Since I had to remove the electric fan after installing the a/c condenser I reverted to a mechanical fan (against the advice of the a/c manufacturer). The clear between the rear face of the radiator and the front of the water pump pulley didn't leave me much room. The a/c compressor idler pulley is also cause for concern. I settled on a 1 1/2" fan spacer and a 15.25" Derale stainless flex fan. The fan is surprisingly heavy at just over 2 lbs. It is capable of speeds up to 8000 rpm. The good news is the fan is 3/4" from the radiator but that could also be the bad news. I have about 3/8"-1/2" clear from the compressor idler. I am so tight on space I am unable to install a shroud unless I custom fab a two piece unit. Bonus: to change the water pump I will have to remove the radiator as I cannot get a wrench on the bolt heads nor will removal of the fan be possible with the radiator in place.

 

[Horseplay]

My experience is that this set-up will not do the job well. You should fab up that shroud otherwise the loss of pull through the radiator will be an issue. Never been a fan of the flex. Yeah. Pun.

 

[Mach1Mark]

My experience is that this set-up will not do the job well. You should fab up that shroud otherwise the loss of pull through the radiator will be an issue. Never been a fan of the flex. Yeah. Pun.

Yeah. That's kinda my gut feeling too. Im hoping the four core aluminum radiator will get it done. Im going to continue to create a couple of templates for the two piece shroud.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Recently, I found a pretty good deal on some billet hood hinges. Initially I was against putting billet hood hinges on my 'Day 2' resto-mod (mostly because they were WAY over-priced and didn't go with my vision of the finished car) but as I began to try and install my 'glass hood I thought that they might lend some accuracy in aligning the hood that I had not been able to get with repop hinges from Taiwan. I found a new pair of hinges from a company that has since gone out of business for sale on Jegs.com, they had ONE set left for my application. Discounted 50% I thought that if I didn't like them Jegs would take them back. Anyway, they are installed and I will report how the hood fits but they hinges turned out to be Ring Brothers brand !!

 

[Midlife]

Nice score!

 

[Horseplay]

We will have to compare notes on the Ring Bros hinges. I got mine along time ago off E-Bay. One thing that I don't like is the limit to the height of the hood opening. Maybe yours are later design and open further. Be sure to confirm the cylinders are for a glass hood too lest you damage yours.

 

[Mach1Mark]

We will have to compare notes on the Ring Bros hinges. I got mine along time ago off E-Bay. One thing that I don't like is the limit to the height of the hood opening. Maybe yours are later design and open further. Be sure to confirm the cylinders are for a glass hood too lest you damage yours.

I appreciate the heads-up, Terry. The ad on Jegs said the pistons were for fiberglass hoods. I am weary as have had experience with 'glass hoods and getting the correct hinge spring tension. Ive cycled the hinges with the pistons in place and they seem too stiff. I thought of taking one off and then I thought about checking the application with Ring Bros.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Since my last update I've verified that the gas shocks for the Ring Bros. hood hinges are made for a fiberglass and been attempting to get it aligned. Cracked the paint at the rear of the hood. Still not done adjusting the hinge height. :-\

Last weekend it took me an hour to drill four holes in the transmission tunnel and get four sheet metal screws to thread in. I broke two drill bits and broke three screws. ARGH !! Today I reinstalled the front carpet and attached the shifter boot. Finally !! Looks good too. After much searching I found a diagram that shows each wire location in the two plugs for the six wires that come out of the bottom of the steering column. Be careful of repro harnesses as they don't seem to always follow the wire color of the original. At least the diagram made mention of that fact. Lastly, I worked on my nemesis . . . the stainless window trim. Previously, while working on the rear window trim I bent the brand new lower piece (its still bent). My new plan is to completely assembly the trim and temporarily tape it together to install it. I had to remove the driver side trim which I did but managed to put a nice big nick in the paint. I'm going to need to repaint my car once its finally assembled.

 

[Horseplay]

Don't sweat the paint nicks so much. With a little time and the right tools and approach they can be repaired to almost (if not) invisible condition.

 

[Midlife]

Geez...you should have asked me about wire colors for any Mustang prior to 1974...I know that stuff like the back of my hand.

 

[Mach1Mark]

Geez...you should have asked me about wire colors for any Mustang prior to 1974...I know that stuff like the back of my hand.

The thought did occur to me, Randy. Thank you for your offer. This seemed like an issue I should have been able to solve my myself and of course that's why we all love working on our cars. I still have the entire wiring harness to install so maybe I can put you on a retainer . . . ;-D

 

[Horseplay]

Mark, are you doing a factory style re-wire? Stock harness reproduction?

I started that way and kept evolving things at every turn. I added so many new things it ended up not making sense. Now I'm redoing some again as I changed my mind on instrumentation and am looking to swap to fuel injection right after break-in of the new engine.

 

[Mach1 Driver]

am looking to swap to fuel injection right after break-in of the new engine.

Who's do you have in mind?

 

[Horseplay]

Nothing radical about the engine I built for this first go around so thinking a FiTech unit will do the job. Want the reliability and fuel economy for long hauls this summer!

 

[Mach1Mark]

Mark, are you doing a factory style re-wire? Stock harness reproduction?

I started that way and kept evolving things at every turn. I added so many new things it ended up not making sense. Now I'm redoing some again as I changed my mind on instrumentation and am looking to swap to fuel injection right after break-in of the new engine.

Terry,
Ive been considering several manufacturers . . . the new Scott Drake harness (for OE + a couple of adds), Alloy Metal Products, American Autowire and Ron Francis (all for their ability to adapt to a restomod application). NOT Painless. Still trying to come to a decision, American Autowire is my choice right now. I like Ron Francis a lot, need to talk to them. Alloy Metal makes a great OEM harness but might not be what I need for my '65. They will probably be the maker I go with when I re-wire my '70 Mach 1.

 

[Horseplay]

I used many repo harness individual pieces either in their entirety or in part along with a completely custom "dash" harness I constructed. The back half of the car uses stock style harnesses with additional wiring for added stuff like trunk mounted battery, relay etc. The more modern stuff you add the more complex it gets and the less logical a stock piece becomes. This is especially obvious when you want to upgrade to a large fuse panel that can't mount in the stock location.

 

[msell66]

AA is a great wiring package IMO. Granted my setup is simple , but it was an easy setup for an electrically challenged redneck.

 

[kb3]

I second the American Autowire. Very nice setup and much better than Painless in my opinion. I was able to merge it with the Ford SEFI wiring harness with little issues.