I have been down for five days with a kidney stone. Ouch, everyone go drink some cranberry juice so you don't have to go through that.

I went back to work Wednesday and it was a lonnnggg day. I still don't have my strength back. I got home from work and decided even though I was a bit tired to put my new tank in.

Not to big of project. The only problem I had was one of the strap bolts wouldn't budge so I got mean with it and just replaced it.

I went for a little drive afterwards to celebrate. I like to do that every time I do anything to a car. Big or small project I still do it.

Now it is time to get it scheduled for the springs and some fine tuning.

 

73SR congrats!! its looking great, and glad things are better in the kidney stones. isnt it great to get it out on the road and watch all the stares. i took mine out a week ago for first time and it was great, but it took 49$ to fill her up. but none the less i went to local supported hang out sponsored by a cruiser club and had a blast. i took pics of her maiden voyage but they are formated too big to post here. good luck on your ride and enjoy!!! looks great. (bty i havent seen a single true mustang (71-73) in my area...lol going to catch flack on that comment!

 

bty i didnt get my dang door panels yet...lol i had a slight problem with over heating gauge, not sure if it was sending unit or actually getting hot. (it never peaked to the hot side but was more than 3/4 to hot, which is not usual) i dropped out the thermostat today and cut the guts out of it and put the restrictor plate back in and its running fine now. but iam still going to switch over to a 3 row radiator soon. iam planning to hit the sat nite hang out tomorrow.

i cant tell by pics but are you runing a 2 row rad? and were did you get your door panels?

 

With respect to the radiator ... I'd really encourage you to run at least a 3 row radiator. The cost for a 3 row is minimal when compared to a 2 core and if you have A/C , a 2 row will certainly not keep it cool.

As for the door panels, I bought mine reproduction about 2 years ago. They are unbelievably nice and fit perfectly. They are soft just like the originals and the color was right on the mark. I think I gave about $ 400.00 for them. I'm not 100% sure where I got them but I'll check on it.

 

looks good if theres any parts you cant find let me know i been part hunting for the 71-73 im geting me one soon

 

I put a new 3 row radiator in when I put the new engine in. I didn't want to take any chances with the old one. I bought my door panels in a kit through the Paddock it came with door panels, carpet, seat covers and headliner. My door panels are not soft like RSRXION said his were but a hard plastic, but they do look nice. I still need to change some things that were just painted to match that are old and brittle. Does anyone make interior quarters yet? I painted mine but they are so old and brittle the paint flakes off.

I have been struggling with my stereo this week. I got one of the ones that say Mustang on it. The KHE-200 it worked when i put it in 2 years ago but now that I have the car running it doesn't want to work. I doubt it is still under warranty after this long so I guess I am SOL. I went and stole the old Pioneer out of my 76 Bronco andthat oneworks fine.

I am taking Brutus back to the mechanic on Monday. He is going to re arch my leaf springs to get my hieght back after removing the overload shocks. He is also going to change the oil and check out the engine and do a bit of tuning to it. I have over 500 miles on it now and I will be driving it all weekend.

ghettoct;
Try using the paint program on your pix to resize them. That is what I do with mine. I reduce to 40%.

After the springs are done it is time for new wheels and tires. The tires on it now are 235 70 r15 on the rear and 215 70 r15 on the front. They have been on the car since 1995 and are weather cracked. I think i will go with a little shorter tire and 60s for a wider tread.

 

Re-arced spring do not stay 're-arced' very long. They spent some 35 to 40 years getting that way and an hours worth of back bending won't cure the problem. Get some aftermarket ones. You'll be better off.
Jim

 

I have seen listings for stock hieght springs and 1" lower springs. Does anyone make taller springs? Would adding a leaf work or would it make the suspension too stiff? I have heard that taller shackles change the ride too.

My overload shocks lifted it 1 to 2 inches. What is the best way to get that back?

 

Shackles will indeed change ride height, but they look likecrap from behind the car. I used the Mustangs Plushttp://www.mustangsplus.com/ rear leafs and front coils with the 1 inch drop all around. The car sits level and the stance is perfect. Re-arching springs is a temporary fix and in my opinion, money wasted. Buy some new ones. The kit I used is at this link http://www.mustangsplus.com/Merchant...ry_Code=handle . I upgraded on bushings, , sway bar diameter etc ...

The door panels I bought are EXACTLY like the originals. Padded foam and soft to the touch. You will need to use your chrome bar that separates the carpet and vinyl and you'll need your deluxe woodgrain inserts as well. Don't forget the deluxe door handles are different also. The hard plastic panels look good from a distance, but I wanted to return my Mach 1 to its' original glory. I think I got my panels from Don Witt at Ohio Mustang Supply . His number is 440-934-3520. I bought quite a bit of parts and accessories from Don and he was outstanding to work with.

Don can also help you with the rear panels for the fastbacks. Just atip though, the 73 rear panels are different than the 71-72. I don't remember exactly what the difference is but it has something to do with rear seat belt mounting.

Give Don a ring and see what he can do for you. His website is http://www.ohiomustang.com/. I've never heard too much from others about their experiences with his small company. I do know thatI used his parts on a friends 72 Mach 1 also and his car turned out very nice as well.

You'll see the door panels in the pic and the stance is nice and level in the other photo.

Hope this helps, Dean



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You can have custom springs made at any 4x4 shop. Get rid of the overload shocks as they will destroy your upper shock mount...it isn't made for that kind of stress.

You could also add air bags between the axle and the frame to adjust the height, but a custom spring can be made to give you the height without necessarily increasing the spring rate and giving a bad ride.