I want to remove the fenders, door sills, etc. to see what the rust situation is under there. Good idea? Hard job to remove this stuff? What do I need to be aware of in removing and replacing these parts? I just bought this care not too long ago and it was freshly painted when I bought it. It's a 68 convertible.

 

Removing the fenders is a matter of disassembling the front of the car also. You can strip the front end and both fenders off in an afternoon.

By door sill, I think you mean the rocker panel trim? those have fasterners in the wheel wells that come off, then the trim snaps off the plastic clips. Be careful here, you can damage the paint.

 

not hard to remove, just be careful so you don't scratch that paint! The hard part is getting your panels/gaps lined back up appropriately when putting it all back together. Pay close attention to any shims/spacers put in place to get things to line up. I would recommend making alignment marks with a sharpie or drill alignment holes in inconspicuous places to make it easier to put it back together as straight as it was before you took it apart. If you are removing the entire front clip (bumper/grille/headlights ets) it'll be even more tricky. Myself, I don't have the patients for body work... I get it somewhat close and have someone else finish it off.

 

Before you tear into your Stang you might just want to take a flashlight and creeper and look for any evidence of rust or corrosion. If you find any then you can dig deeper. Start at the front and work your way to the back. Most of the rust you'll find, if any, will be on the floor pans, under a vinyl top, the frame rails, bottom of doors, truck area where the fuel tank mounts. This would be the easiest way to check. Then you can treat with POR-15.

Jeff
ASE-Engines