[Moby302]

Here is the problem. We've got a 71 Mustang, while some folks have told me they don't think its worth restoring I disagree.
The body has been stripped and has sat outside for a couple of years [PO not us], currently there is an even distribution of rust and metal. Anyone out there ever done a similar sort of restoration, we need ideas, I was thinking in terms of making a fibreglass mould but that is apparently extrememly costly and time consuming. The alternative would be to weld sheet metal in place after cutting out all the rust. Trouble is, how to keep the shape.
Any idea's or suggestions, ditching it is not an option.

[adtkart]

Can you post some photos. Maybe we can come up with some ideas after seeing what damage you are talking about. Look under it real close. Since this is a uni-body car, you need to be real concerned with the floor and subrails.
Keep in mind that almost everything is available for the early Mustangs. Anything is possible. The question is if you are capable, financially and otherwise.

[milo]

I'd agree with atkart we need pics, here's a link of a lowwer quarter panel fix where fabing sheet metal was the way to go...
http://www.a2zautoforums.com/showthread.php?t=700

[Moby302]

Okay, going to post pics in the gallery now, only major problem we have is our location, SouthernAfrica, most of the stuff will have to be done locally, but I have learnt over the years that where there is a will there is a way

[unstable]

give it the screwdriver test throughout.

[Moby302]

http://hotrodders.com/gallery/showga...=500&password=

Hopefully that is the correct link, sorry it took so long, dial up, need I say more. Looking at the pics its scary, very scary, but..........

give it the screwdriver test throughout.

LOL, last time I did that to a car I dug out a ton of old newspaper, believe me, I am dying to get stuck into the rust, but don't want to lose the shape quite yet.

BTW, the engine [289] is is very good condition, the interior stuff is all restored and in perfect condition, the hood is also fine, this stuff was stored in the kids garage, only the body that he left outside to rot

Milo, thanks for the link, excellent, I gather that this was all done by you, hope you don't mind if I bug you for advice every now and again

[milo]

[QUOTEMilo, thanks for the link, excellent, I gather that this was all done by you, hope you don't mind if I bug you for advice every now and again [/B][/QUOTE]
No problem. I love this stuff, Posting projects helps keep them going. Here's a stang a m8 from down under is working on
http://www.a2zautoforums.com/showthr...0&page=1&pp=20

[adtkart]

Looks like you have your work cut out for you. I would definately do something with the areas that have only surface rust as soon as possible. I would also look for a possible donor car for patches. I found that it is usually easier to use stuff from other cars to patch with than using flat steel. Taking advantage of stamped curves as much as possible makes the job alot easier.

[Moby302]

Milo, going to check out that link now.
Adkart, yeah if I could find a donor car that would be the answer but they are kinda scarce round here, lol. This is why we want to restore this one, I would guess that there are about 50 in the country and probably only 10 or so 71's, thats a bit of a ball park figure. I see 66's and 67's in the autotrader pretty often, but they go for quite a bit of money, cheapest one I have ever seen is for a 80 mustang at R20K, thats about US$2620. Average price seems to be about R120K, US$15710. I paid US$520 for this one.

[4 Jaw Chick]

Wow, you sure do have your work cut out for you. The outside doesn't look too bad, but I think maybe fibreglass might be the way to go for the inside. Not the premolded stuff, the stuff you mold yourself. Be careful though, you'll need a face mask and heavy duty gloves.
Chances are pretty slim that you'll find anything workable from what you said is available. I guess there aren't many junk yards in SA are there?

Just my opinion.

Chickie.

[Moby302]

LOL, plenty of junkyards, just not filled with all the interesting US cars, plus they crush things that have been lying around for too long, plenty of SA cars, Jap cars, Vw's etc, even Jaguars but no mustangs, cougars, camaro's, and so on.


Fibreglassing on the inside is not a problem, I have done it on a couple of cars, but its keeping the shape on the outside thats my main hassle.

This was my original idea, take off whatever was bolted on, get rid of the surface and sticking out rust on what was left and sand it down, repair it as much as possible. Then make wooden panels to fit on a section at a time, then fill it up with that filler foam stuff they use on boats, that was untill I found out the price of the foam . This was going to be the plug, then I was going to make a fibreglass mould from the plugs. Then do the same thing with all the bits that I had unbolted. However in the long run it is not going to be any cheaper than actually importing fibreglass parts from US.

It would be so much easier if everything came off, like the cougars, you can virtually unbolt everything off a cougar. Space is another 'small' problem, only 1 garage. Addressing that problem at the moment, but all the laws re: building a solid roof structure in the garden, and the normal red tape is slowing that down. Unfortunately we live on a hill, the garden slopes down quite steeply so we cannot drive cars round to the back even tho' there is tons of space, the only way to get around that is to have the area filled up. Major expensive.

[Kevin45]

Moby...you have your work cut out for youi but it is not that bad. I've seen way worse put back together. That Mustang makes my '62 look way worse than I thought it was. I would start in the interior (it looks like the pans are good) and get the rust sanded down, cleaned, vacuumed, and primed so that is taken care of. A lot of the sheetmetal can be fabbed. Use 20 gage metal. Hopefully you will have access to a sheetmetal brake, shears, etc. as you will need them. If not, you should become friends with someone that has a sheetmetal company. Around here quite a few heating and air conditioning companies will help you out or let you use there equipment for a small fee. Good luck and keep us updated.

Kevin