Resurrecting my first car..

[Thumpin455]

After 19 years of sitting it's finnaly getting done!

Have been workin on getting all the filler out, the vinyl top off, and everything back to bare metal so I can start bumpin the dents. I have found two rust spots, one next to a dent in the rear quarter. A patch about 4"x4" should do that. And a 4"x4" patch in the other quarter near the bottom. the metal around it is good, no rust from behind at all outside the 2" area where each hole appeared.

Need to fix the floor pan on the passenger side front, it was rusted when I bought it, other than that, I havent found ANY rust on it anywhere. even up under the quarters in the wheelhouse and the cowl is just fine! Its a nice change from my 71 mustang and 65 GTO, they are both extreme rust buckets.

The Cougar was apparently a California car for most of its life. Its really nice to remove bondo and find dents..lol.. yes they will probably need cut and replaced, but its not a nightmare of red oxide... How many of you would kill someone to have a 67 with only two small areas of rust in the quarters? if only it were a 427 car... life would be grand. As it is the 351C is waiting patiently, and I have a choice of 2V or 4V Clevelands, the 2V is for the Mustang, but it might find its way in the Cougar instead. At least for a while..

If the weather is dry tomorrow, I will push it outside and get some good pics of it for you ECI's to drool over. And if youwant to feel good about your car, I can always post some pics of the Mustang or GTO, trust me.. they will make you feel good about nearly any car you own.

Heres what I took today..

[MR CJ]

Thats a nice project....take your time and good luck with it....

[Thumpin455]

Not in a rush, just 24/7 to work on it.. So it should go faster than most provided I actually go out and DO something everyday..lol

[C Gauch]

Cool man, keep the updates comin'

[Thumpin455]

Still no rust under there. Cowls look even better through the drains. Not even any rust on the frame rail under the upper control arm. Nothing rusted out under the battery even.. simply amazing to me to find no rust except the floorboards and two very small spots on the quarters.

If everything goes well, I could have it driveable before the snow is even gone, hopefully completely painted too!

Just thought I would share so people could see what a rust free 67 looks like.. I am a bit too gidy about it..

[C Gauch]

Lucky dog.

[Zogman]

24/7, yup, you lucky dog! Go get em

[Thumpin455]

LOL.. lucky but gimmped... if I could walk and stand all day life would be grand, but then I wouldnt be able to work on the cars whenever I wanted to..

[6T9XR7]

Looks real nice, I always liked the 67 interior and three spoke wheel. Is that the original dash pad? I had a bench seat 67 in Idaho but always wanted the center console with buckets. It was a CA car too with AC, I could never find the correct brackets for the AC idler, it appeared to have had air injection which had been removed. What exterior color are you going with?

[Thumpin455]

As far aas I know its the original dash pad. It was in good shape when I got it, and I never changed it. Apparently it had some sort of cover on it before I got it, there was a sticky residue on the top that took me a long time and plenty of elbow grease to remove. Working on the Cougar is a treat after working on so many other cars of mine that are rusted pretty badly. The Mustang is probably the worst one I have, and its worth the least too..

Bright red is what it was, I am going back with either the original color code, or the one for my 98 Formula firebird.. its a really bright red too.. Just want it too look good.

Got one fender media blasted on the inside lat night. Doing the other and the suspension and engine compartment today.. Might post more pics after its cleaned up a bit..

[Thumpin455]

Just an update since I got somewhere this week.

Its down to a wire brush and hand sanding to get all the remaining crud and undercoating off. I really should buy a rotisserie for this stuff. Its snowing today and doesnt look like its going to let up for a while, so no more sandblaster. Its not going outside in the snow. that means its all hand labor, a DA dont fit in most places.


Right after I took the pic last night, I disassembled the drivers side suspension after putting it up on jackstands. Later today the control arms and assorted pieces will travel through the bead blaster and get new polyeurethane installed. After that is done, the parts will get painted, and the underhood sheetmetal will get a semigloss black coat, along with the underside of the fenders. Still considering some sort of coating under the fenders to ward off rock hits. I dont need more dents to bump out, after all the paint is on..

[Local Hero]

Originally Posted by Thumpin455

Still considering some sort of coating under the fenders to ward off rock hits. I dont need more dents to bump out, after all the paint is on..

\

You do some pretty nice work and quick too.

For the fenderwell protection, check out the "damping sheet" from:

http://www.insulshield.net/

[greggieatthebat]

Thump-
Awesome work! I didn't go to the lengths you did (my engine was still in) but I still took the wheelwells and rad support down to bare metal. I just covered in cheap spray-on bedliner, it looks good and seems to be resistant to nicking and cracking. I've only had 2 problems with it: in areas where I didn't scuff the metal enough for it to bite; and when I sprayed too far from the metal. Get right up close to what you're painting and put a fairly heavy coat on (not like typical rattle can paint where you build up light coats).

[Thumpin455]

Thanks.. hadnt hought of bedliner, only really need it on the flat upper part of the fenders. I will check on the padding too. No plans to drive it in snow and salt. So undercoating isnt an issue either. Still amazed at how rust free it is.. especially compared to the mustang I call the Pit of Despair, or the rust nightmare..

Been having a rough time removing all the residue from the vinyl to. Have tried sanding, scraping, and sand blasting, but its a huge piece so the blaster would have a tendency to warp it. cant use chem strip since I dont have an outside water source at the moment. It would freeze anyway.

It really isnt that fast, since I dont do much else all day. Well aside from posting things online and keeping the house warm. If I could work at it like a real 40 hour a week job, I would have it done next month. The annoying thing is I have that much time, just cant work that much in a week.

[Coubra]

If you're serious about the rotisserie, try this:

http://www.accessiblesystems.com/

I bought one six years ago and it makes things a heap easier.

Have fun!