Hill's 65 Restomod

Hill x 21

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What's up guys. It's been a long time and I was hoping to post this up sooner but lets get started! Sold my 96 GT a while back to a member here and got the itch again. I originally wanted 99-01 Cobra, Mach 1 or a '11-'12 Coyote but everything was either too high miles or ridiculously priced (if not both). I saw this car up on the NH CL and was interested after seeing the fuel injected 5.0 in it. Made the two hour drive up, looked over the car a bit, drove it for about 20 minutes and was sold. Haggled around on price and picked it up the next weekend. A buddy from work was going to give me a ride up there but he ended up sleeping in, costing me about $500 for a flatbed lol.


Turns out buying someone else's project isn't always the best idea! Car started out needing nothing but tires and minor exhaust work. Almost two months ago, drove the car to work. Went to move it in the morning to take the truck and found the Mustang spilling gas all over the driveway. Got that squared away. Not even six days later I was cruising around and stopped at a red light. Car's water temp gauge was sitting at about 190 and jumped to 230. Now there's some white smoke coming out the hood. Pulled into a parking lot fearing the worse. As soon as I got the hood open, saw white smoking coming from the top of the radiator fins and coolant spilling out the same hole. Bought water from a local pharmacy while the car was cooling down, dropped most of it in and limped the car home. Turns out the guy that did the resto 15 years ago put in a 160* T-stat which had decided to get stuck closed. I found this out after ordering a Stant 180* and new rad cap. Got the t-stat done after lots of cussing. Now I'm just waiting for funds to line up for a new rad. Car currently has a Howe Racing rad 21"x21"x3" modified to clear the hood. Since everything on Summit with those measurements is $600+, I'm probably going to just go with a Mishimoto given the lifetime warranty.


So what mods does it have? Front disc conversion, Mustang II front end, 5.0 HO motor w/small cam, built auto, FLSFC, ladder bars, 3.50 rear gears.


What do I want to do? Rear disc conversion, clean up all the wiring, Mod Swap when possible, wheels/tires, fix body lines



As of right now (11/3/15) it has the following issues:
- No start; can't tell if it's battery, distributor or fuel pump (Will be getting new battery Fri/Sat)
- No rad fan; wiring is a mess and haven't found the power wire
- Hole in rad; have new rad, won't install until fan dealt with
- Rear end chatter; most likely no friction modifier added with Posi install
- Smell of fuel from the rear; I've got the parts to replace everything but the tank itself
- Right exhaust hanger popped; reweld it












Feel free to let me know what ya think. I plan to do as much work as I can out of the driveway to save $$ so advice/help is always welcome.



Edit; don't kill me for where the front plate. Had to drill the bumper because the lower valance looks like it lost a fight with a curb.
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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[MENTION=10547]CC'S95GT[/MENTION] Nice! I hope you post up a build thread. I don't know how far you are from the Mustangs Unlimited shop in GA, but the CT store has had just about every part I've gone there for thus far.

Oh, also, the radiator fan is another issue. I'm not 100% sure it's from a Fox, but it's electric and does not come on. Looking into a slightly larger fan and either wiring it to a toggle switch or ignition.
 

Vegasfilter

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beautiful car man.....the way I look at it, if something brakes, your just one step closer to being a complete rebuild. lol
 

CC'S95GT

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CC'S95GT Nice! I hope you post up a build thread. I don't know how far you are from the Mustangs Unlimited shop in GA, but the CT store has had just about every part I've gone there for thus far.

Oh, also, the radiator fan is another issue. I'm not 100% sure it's from a Fox, but it's electric and does not come on. Looking into a slightly larger fan and either wiring it to a toggle switch or ignition.

I'm about an hour away from the Ga. MU. They do seem to be a bit higher $ than other places but they're close if I'm in a hurry. Year One is just up the road from MU too. And Summit Racing is about 5 miles from the house.
I'll definately start a build thread but there won't be many mods. Just a nice clean driver. Maybe a "shelby mod" and dics brakes.
Fox's didn't come with electric fans stock. You can get a kit for a temp controlled fan too.
 

Burninriverdiver

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That's my favorite year, and the dark green looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for it
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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I've added a few more pics to the 1st post. Geez you've got all the heavy hitters real close! If Mustangs Unlimited wasn't an hour away I'd probably be broke by now.
[MENTION=19212]Burninriverdiver[/MENTION] Thanks! When I bought the car I thought that it was an original color, just repainted. Did some digging in the two manila envelopes that came with the car just to find out it's actually Amazon Green Metallic from 2000. At first I wasn't big on it, but after the first wash the flake in the paint had me sold. Whenever I get the body work done, I'm sticking with the color.


Just a couple of pics, mostly showing body work that needs to get addressed.

Driver side drip rail


Pass side drip rail


Drivers side top corner (RTV coming soon for temp fix)


Pass side top corner (RTV coming soon for temp fix)


Drivers side lower corner


Pretty sure the hoods didn't have that little curve lol
 

CC'S95GT

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RTV will cause more corrosion. But as long as it's a temp fix and not long term you should be good. Don't be surprised if it doesn't hold.

I'd say the hood bow is from worn out hinges. It might be able to be straightened with some well placed counter weight once removed.

The vin# on the door post can be partially be decodded from the info in the haynes manual and other sources too. Mine was origionally red with a white vinyl top and a front bench seat (which is gone).
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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Alright! So I've had the new rad from Howe Racing for about a week now. Before I pull the old one I want to pressure test (something I should've done 2 months ago). Also want to check the rad fan. Followed the wires, found the ground but no luck on finding the hot side. Basically the wire goes into a little red plastic box, and then the wire size gets smaller.

In an effort to simplify the engine bay wiring, a friend suggested getting an engine harness and ECU from a Fox. Did some reading around, looks like I'm going to go with a harness from an 89 car. How soon this'll happen I don't know. I'm overwhelmed by the wiring in the car and the only quote I got to do it was $5k.. I'll be doing some messing around with the car tomorrow, so details and pics will follow.
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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Wow I haven't posted in a bit. Got caught up with doing some work on the truck, then picked up an AR15 so the car hit the back burner. None of the posted issues above have been addressed haha. Car now cranks but won't fire so I'm crossing fingers that it's not getting spark. With that said, just got back from Mustangs Unlimited and grabbed an MSD ignition coil and cap/rotor. If that doesn't solve it, spark plugs and battery will be next! Just in time to throw the cover on her.


In terms of covering it for the winter, I plan on washing it, then a soft cover followed by a tarp. A guy at work suggested putting wood blocks under the tires but couldn't explain what it was for. Any input on that?
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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Just like every other time I try to do something, there's a setback. Cap and rotor install was super straight forward. Got the coil unplugged, grabbed a 5/32 allen key and went to work. The guy backed the allen bolts with mini nuts. The nuts spin with every turn and no wrench I have will fit between the outside of the nuts and the bracket. Sounds like I'll be picking up a mini hacksaw. I'd use my cutting wheel but I think the wheel is too thick to be effective.






[MENTION=10528]lutter94[/MENTION] Will give it a shot first thing in the am. I swear if I had a garage there wouldn't be a damn thing left inside that engine bay. I respect the work the last guy did himself but the corner cutting is a major pain in my ass!
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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lutter94 Worked like a charm. The last bolt was a PITA but came out after some finagling. I tried to get the MSD coil in before I had to take off but didn't have enough clearance from the top or bottom. I'll probably end up dropping that plastic panel above the mount. I'll have to pick up some bolts/nuts and a file anyways. I got a feeling the mount may be a little too think for the new coil. Will update with pics tomorrow of the minimal progress haha.

[MENTION=10997]g36 monkey[/MENTION] Yeah I know it ain't pretty. I'm hoping an 89 Fox harness will clean up the bay as well as switch to MAF.
 

CC'S95GT

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I'm not so sure about the fox harness being a direct conversion.
1- the computers are different.
2- dizzy's are different,
3- TPS and MAF and TB are different.
Not saying it can't be done, but why?
People have done a wire tuck and simplified the wiring using the SN harness before.
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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So as usual nothing goes to plan. The MSD coil was everything but a drop-in install. Had to take a dremel and shave down both sides as well as the first notch on each side going toward the front of the unit. At first I thought shaving the mount itself would've been easier but realzised it would probably be a royal b**ch.





After two hours of dremeling and sanding, the unit barely fit in place. Zip tied it for the time being just to see if the car would start. No bueno. Starts to crank but just drops off. The battery gauge in car shows 12.5 volts. I attached my self jumper w/ half charge and it showed 10.5. Tried it again with the jump attached and it cranked but wouldn't fire. Battery, distributor or fuel pump...?


On a side note, rode up to a buddy's shop that does Mustangs and asked about 32v swapping and his thoughts. Turns out he's got an 80s Lincoln motor and a 99/01 Cobra he's having title issues with. Was told $300 for the Lincoln motor, and $3k for the Cobra motor with trans, all harnesses and ECU. I leaned towards the Cobra motor until he said install could run up to $5k alone. I think $8k is a bit of money to drop in a stock motor when 347 strokers go for about $4k. I know that there can be issues with the trans tunnel but $8k? Plus the fuel system would need to be almost entirely redone I'd think. I'm not looking to "purpose dedicate" this car, but I do want a little power behind the pedal.
 
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Hill x 21

Hill x 21

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Ehh alright so motor swapping is background noise. I just want to drive her one more time before it snows! Picked up an Optima yellow top as a be-all-end-all. Dropped it in. Car cranks but won't fire. Got a Walbro waiting to go in. Car has yet another fuel leak. I haven't crawled under but it looks like its either the tank or sending unit. I think this coming spring I'll be getting an in-tank fuel pump conversion, and maybe a tank if there's option to go from the 65-66 to 69-70 tank.
 

duh09

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Doing a 4V swap will involve basically reengineering the whole front suspension to do away with the shock towers. Plenty of kits out there to choose from to do the job but personally, pushrods > buncha cams.

Check your filler neck on the tank for leaks. My 67 will leak a little from there when the gas sloshes around, especially when it's full.

Figuring out the no-start should be pretty simple, just need to do a few things to determine whether it's a spark or fuel issue. The fact that it was running and now doesn't makes me think it's probably something simple.

Easiest way to check spark would be to pull a plug wire off and use a screwdriver to ground it and see if you can see a spark while it's turning over. There are plenty of videos online to show you how to do that, pretty simple and straight forward. If you're not getting spark there, we can assume it's either wiring or distributor related. Pickups in the dizzy's are known to be a common enough issue that if you're not getting spark, that's what I would bet is the issue. If it doesn't get spark, and a new dizzy doesn't fix it, then next step would be to go through the wiring. If it is getting spark, we can assume it's fuel.

What sort of fuel system does the car have on it now? Assuming a in-line electric pump? Def want to see if you're getting power to the pump and see how it was wired. If wired in through the computer like a OE Mustang would be, there should be a relay somewhere in line and the pump should power on with the key first turned for a few seconds to prime the system. If the fuel pump makes noise/shows power to it, we can almost eliminate wiring being the culprit. If the pump doesn't have power, it could be a number of things. Does the car have an inertia switch on it? Any FI Mustang would have one, it cuts power to the fuel pump when in a wreck. Large hit or shake will shut it down but I have had one of my cars switch just go off after a hard bump and another that just had a wonky inertia switch... either way, see if you can find one and make sure it doesn't need reset. Factory for Fox or SN is in the trunk. If that's not it, or it doesn't have one, I would check the relay that's powering it. In Fox bodies they are normally located under the driver seat, but with everything being swapped, who knows? Relay should click when turning the key on as it sends power to the pump, can't always hear but can usually feel it pretty easily. If it doesn't, find another relay on the car and swap them to see if it makes a difference. If the pump does not get power and it's not the inertia switch or relay, it's either computer or wiring. If the pump IS getting power and not pumping, then you've got a bad pump. If the pump IS getting power AND pumping, then the next step would be to check the fuel pressure. You can rent a fuel pressure tester from any local parts house, I believe factory spec is 39psi. There should be a shrauder valve on the fuel rail to check it at. If you're not building enough pressure, the fuel pump is probably weak but could also be a bad regulator or clogged lines/ fuel filter somewhere. May want to pop the fuel line off at the pump and make sure it isn't swollen shut. I've seen fuel lines that have had newer Ethanol mixed gas ran through them that made the lines swell completely shut on the inside and look 100% normal on the outside.

For your setup a good in-line electric pump rated for 40-45 psi would work just fine. If it was me, I'd go to a local parts house, pick up 15ft of the good FI rubber line (Gates Barricade is what we sell, not sure on other stores, just make sure it's ethanol friendly for this diluted gas we have nowadays), a metal in-line filter, and a new in-line pump if needed and run a whole new line up to the motor. No need to spend big dinero on a in-tank setups for just a simple FI 302 swap.

Good luck with it, I love these old cars. Hope I was helpful.
 

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