Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Not far from the Dog @ Suds. Bob Williams and Ron Finney live right around the corner from me. Gearhead palooza!:D

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Is Dan Skelton still around there?
I bought the Dana 60 for the Camaro in my Avatar from him, he lived on the corner of Morgantown and Smith Valley roads

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Yep, Dan is still at the Suds every Saturday night. Think he's down to a couple of hundred cars though.:p

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Keep grinding on the Stang, someone has to finish one of these 2bbl 302's! Between the lack of warmth, lack of activity, and lack of funds, I am going nuts here!

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Hey Joe, go read the "Wagon Train" thread. These FFFords may be dead before we even get'em sorted out.There's a new car with modern technology lurking in the background. If the new cars make it to "U", we're all hosed, LOL!!!! If someone out there is going to build one. Hope it surfaces quick before I sink much more money down this rat hole.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

I am going to hope that it doesn't happen. Even if it did, who would want to spend that much money to only run13s-14s? Even if a guy did, he can only run one place at a time. I think we as a whole will be ok down in the lower classes. Worst case you could build a 2.3 and drag it to V-W? If anyone brought big bucks to there, then there's no help for anyone lol!

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Ain't gonna happen. Nothing new has a low enough HP rating or is heavy enough. Teuton is just pulling your leg. Summers is entered at the Gators as a U/SA car so SOMEbodys combo is gonna take a hit. Other than that, the only thing for you to worry about is a Caddy.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Billy,

Just tuggin' legs back. I've got the car, gonna finish it. I'm just going to use it for a combo car anyway. If Summers clobbers the 78's, that may be an issue. Like anything else in this sport, you pay your money and take your chances.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Hey Bob
just found this post of yours .

your know that spring is coming soon. an you know that we get no time off in the spring or summer time.. At work.. well some of us do..:D

I have got to get down to your place a see this car of yours that you have told me about.

Tod

I have got to talk to you about your new job.....see if the same as the days I work for them.:D or pm me.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Robert nothing wrong with the 4 lug wheels as long as you use quality parts we've run them for years on both Tony and Beths cars and in P, Beth's car is a tank.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Alex,

Nice to hear from you. Hope you are recovering well. My older brother has been through too many strokes and he won't listen to the doctors. Hope you take care of yourself, hopefully I get meet you and your family at one of these tracks someday.

As to the four lug wheels. Only considered them a problem in finding some. Found a good pair of 15x8's on Racing Junk. A pair of 15x3's surfaced in Cincinnati thru Craigslist. Just need to get some axles for the rear and long studs all around and I'm home with these.

Never thought I'd be taking another Ford to the racetrack. Other than the truck pulling the trailer.

Bob

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Hey Robert I'm doing hours and hours of therapy weekly along with taking a truck load of meds. Damn insurance company is killing us though, new year brings on a new deductable all over again, so the co-pays are many and costly :( But I refuse to give up even if we have to go broke and sell everything off

we carry the long wheel studs in stock

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Hey Bob how the car coming have not talked to you at work or seen you at all I guess I will not be seeing you at all now .. I am goin to 3rd shift starting tonight. going to 3rd shift mach on I-6 heads 8.30 pm to 5.00 am.. need more money for that old mopar of mine LOL.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

I'm jealous of those on here that have had time to get work done on their cars, LOL! This winter has been a rough one both weather wise and personally. Things have not gone as I'd hoped. That's life and we have to keep going.

I enjoy reading of others progress. Glad some of you guys are prepping to make it to the track. We spent a good part of the day prepping and rearranging the garage. The 79 Firebird which was slated to be an IHRA crate stocker has been tossed out for the time being. It has now taken up residence beside the garage with a car cover. At some point it will be restarted but other things are more pressing.

My old 66 Chevy II bracket car has now been moved to the 'birds old spot. As time permits we'll spend some time finishing the interior work, rewiring and plumbing the brake lines and fuel cell and it's lines. I know it's just a bracket car but I've had it so long, yeah, it's like an old dog, you get attached to it. I do look forward to the day we get to blast it back down the track as well.

I want to give a personal shout out and thank you to Alex Denysenko. He's gotten me a few odds and ends and taken the time to answer my questions. I can't express how much I appreciate that.

For now, the old Mustang II has returned to the garage. It is going to be the point of primary emphasis. We literally have piles of parts. Finally enough to get the project off the ground. We had hoped to get the car up on stands, get the 4:62 gear set in place, replace the wheel studs and remove the sway bar. Get the slicks bolted on. We ran out of day. We did get the slicks bolted on to check for clearance. The little 26x8.5 Hoosiers look funny. They fit and clear everything. One tiny step. Now I start with a clear plan and (hopefully) start to get this car assembled. At least to point we can take it to the track.

Oh, for anyone interested. We charged up the battery and fired the little Olds too. Want to get the header on it. Do a couple little other things. Maybe take it out later as well.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Keep it up! Looking good! I have only had spontaneous times to work, I am wishing I could build an actual garage I can fit a car in, vs the hobby shop/carport combo I have. Montana is trying to have all four seasons every week, so until that settles, I'm stuck here.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Well Joe, I think the weather here in Indiana is (finally) about to break. I couldn't go back to working without a garage. I kind of went thru that a little last year. I was working on the FWD Olds out in the driveway. Too much stuff in the garage.

I'm a little bit that way now. As you'll see from the picture, have a push mower, rototiller and still have the snowblower in the garage. It needs to go to the barn and the other two need serviced. Yard will need mown and wife wants her vegetable garden dug up. The chores of summer, ugh.

I now have the front tires on the Mustang. A set of 28" tall Mickey Thompson's. That I've had for 4-5 years. They've never been down the road or track. Mostly used for placeholders or set up tires. Like the rears they clear everything. Finally they get used for something.

Also found a nasty hole. The battery box was gone. It had been replaced with a license plate? I'll spend some time on it and make some kind of box. It will also need brakes and rotors, the passenger side looked pretty grim. Now it's down to doing some simple things to just get it ready to take to the track.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

That little Mustang is looking good! Welcome to the dark side.:D

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Lookin' sharp!!!

http://classracer.com/classforum/att...4&d=1397783417

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

HA, HA, thanks guys. Poor lighting and cell phone pictures can do wonders. It's finally getting to a point where it CAN start to take shape.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Just a little more clear image of the car. Those tall front tires give it a serious reverse rake. Maybe get some time to work on the battery box tomorrow. Want to get it fired again and see how it turns with the Mickey's.

Anyone know where I can find a trim piece for that vinyl roof. It won't take long to lift that top, under acceleration after a few launches. That's the headache with these cars, lot of little pieces that either don't exist or just plain difficult to find, LOL. That's why we run stock, right!

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Looking good! Are you looking for the trim piece right on top? There are a couple of those cars around my area, guys use them for demo derbies alot, so there should be trim pieces available...

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Joe,

Yep this piece right here. If I don't replace that, the vinyl roof will lift eventually. I remember seeing that all the time in the 70's. Guys would run the vinyl roofs and you'd see them lift going down the track. That's a lot of time. That thing would be a big air dam.

Since the car's a Ghia, I have to keep the roof. Also, it's tacky, like the interior, I kinda like that.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

I already have an email out to a friend of mine, I'm pretty sure he has a 77 with a bad V6 in his stash he might part out or derby.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

That'd be great if he has that piece. PM me, there's a couple other pieces I might be interested in, if he still has the car. Parts for these cars are hard to come by around here. There was a big Ford show over in Columbus, Ohio awhile back. I wasn't able to make it over there. There was supposed to be a guy with a lot of Mustang II pieces.

Did you ever get your converter ordered from Mark? I need to call him but since we're nowhere near ready to try the car. I haven't wanted to bother him. It doesn't look like any of us are going to get these cars up and running soon.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

I did, I just have to square up with him on the funds, and should be good to go. I probably drove him nuts with questions in the meantime lol. My project otherwise is close to completion...with a suprise...

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Since I couldn't be at Class Nationals today. Just means I needed to be out in the garage (trying) to get something done on the car.

Started fitting the headers on the car. Headers on a Mustang II, suck! There's no other way to put it. I've used generous doses of Kroil on the manifold bolts this week. They came out without a problem. I really expected the bolts to be an issue. The passenger side will bolt up fairly easily. Just removed the motor mount bolt and raised the engine a couple inches. Header slid right up from the bottom.

Driver side is another issue. I have come to the conclusion that I need to remove the steering shaft. We tried every method we could imagine short of this, that header will not fit, yet. If I have time, I'll give it another go tomorrow. It's funny, there's plenty of room on this side. The passenger side is the tight one. Got to be that steering linkage.

We also got out our tach and gages. Not really good stuff but adequate for the moment. Found the gauge set at a swap meet in Indianapolis in March. Tod found the tach at a speed shop down south on their clearance shelf. Just need to figure out the spot for placement and fab up some brackets.

Also spoke with a buddy of mine today. He just happens to have a valve body for a C4. Another piece to help this project along.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Robert you have a PM

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

So much fun working on old cars, LOL!!!!

Anyone have advice on how to "unfreeze" an old ancient intermediate steering shaft? I have all the bolts loose on the thing. It actually has a rag joint at the bottom of the steering shaft, so someone has replaced it at some point. I believe these had the plastic joint from the factory.

It would be easier to convert it to a manual R&P (which I plan to do, just not now). The header will eventually have to be removed from the car for one reason or another without removing engine. Have to move the shaft for now just to trial fit the header.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Here in the rust belt...lots of PL-100 (penetrating oil works incredible), next step is acetylene torch, and a cheapy trick is take one booster cable below the joint and one above, turn on "boost" for about 2-3 seconds. I've used that to free up stuck park brake cables, etc.

If you got a torch though, that is the best, torch and BFH!

(I hate rust...and the rust belt)

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Already got out the BFH. I was ready to put the torch to it. Problem resolved. I can put this in the "I'm a dumba%$ category". The shaft has been replaced. It's "supposed" to have an adjustment in the middle of the shaft. A buddy of mine kept telling me just pry on it and it will uncouple, LOL! After I had him look at it, he understood why our conversations were confused. So, now I fully understand how this one was put in place. They had to unbolt the R&P, put the shaft in place then bolt it down.

So, the manual rack may get put on sooner than I planned. Then I get to make a steering shaft! I'll make sure mine can be taken apart. It is so much fun working on old cars!!!!

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Well spent today (Saturday) working on the Mustang II. After unbolting the R&P, that released the steering shaft. Once that was accomplished, the driver side header, pretty much slid into place. Only have them mocked up for now. Wanted to see if I had any clearance issues. Only current problem I see are the lines to the transmission cooler. John Pressing, if you read this, the headers fit great.

I've also measured out where the driveshaft loop needs to go. As well, I mocked up one of the universal traction bars. Looking at these, they just might work with minimal modifications. Originally, I had planned to cut the brackets off and weld them to another set of spring pads. I may be able to weld a couple of bars onto the bottom of these to make them adhere to the present spring pads. In addition use Billy Nees suggestion to clamp the springs. Just might have a workable combination here.

I have a laundry list of things to do to this car. I'd like to think I made some progress, in truth feel I've only created more work, LOL!

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

It's been awhile since any real progress on the Mustang II has yielded any results. Finally something to report. We're not ready to race the thing yet, not by a long shot. It is getting close enough to maybe, get it to a track before long.

Finally got the new rear under the car. Upon taking it apart, the rear brakes were trashed. The shoes were eaten down to the rivets. Both drums had nasty grooves dug into them. A trip to the parts store and new shoes, drums and a hardware kit were purchased. It's been at least 5 years since I've done a set of drum brakes. I had forgotten how enjoyable it is to do them (snark intended)! My one screw up, I got the shoes reversed on one side, couldn't get the drum on. Thankfully, we only tore down one side at a time, after looking at the opposite side, saw the problem, lol.

After finishing the brakes. New studs were installed in the axles. When we installed the rear, it pushed one of the studs in, had to pry it back out and reseat the stud. Only got a couple smashed fingers and a blood blister to show for this. Rear end is in place and new wheel studs installed. Just going to use the stock axles for now. After we get the car sorted out, I'm going to get a good set of axles.

Then we removed the front seats and installed the driveshaft loop. I think that was the easiest part of the whole day.

Next I have new rotors and pads for the front. Get the long studs on them as well. I'm getting antsy. We think we're going to put the MSD dist in, redo some wiring. Put the new water pump and fan on it. Then wire up the tach and gauges. Haul the thing to the track and bracket race it some.

Wish I could be as close as Brent and Rich are. It's just not ready for Stock, yet.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

You may be closer than we are buddy! :p

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Spent today getting some things done to the Mustang II. We removed the old water pump. Took off the PS pump and all the old brackets. Boy, that cleared up some space. Gonna flush out and clean up the radiator. Reroute the transmission cooler lines and add an exterior trans cooler. For the time being removed and looped the PS lines to the steering box together. Poor mans manual steering. Eventually I'll get a manual rack and change it out.

For now we only have the water pump mocked up. Need to work on some different spacers. Figure out some belt length. Had to scavenge a backing plate from an old water pump and made a couple simple modifications to it. Not happy about having the car down. Not everything goes together as simply as I'd like.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Spent a few minutes swapping bolts and spacers. After looking at a picture of a similar setup. Moved the aluminum bar around. This might be the best arrangement. Still need to determine a belt. This setup would allow me to use the fancy adjustment bar with the heim ends.

Got a pm from Mark. My converter is done. That changes the dynamic. So close, yet still so far.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Hello, i have a question when you said the "pads were reversed" on the rear. I just did a 9 inch rear for a friends 64 Falcon. It was a junkyard rear that I started with without brakes. I believed I assembled the brakes right using a diagram, but one side the drum is tight. Seeing this is my first Ford experience i seem to run into these problems (on third set of front spindles-right now) Could my pads be "reversed" They seem to be the same side to side> I do.t want to hijack this thread, but i could use some help.
Will Lamprecht I/SA 65 Impala inprogress.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

Will , Robt. was talking about rear "shoes" not pads. And no , switching a primary shoe with a secondary won't, in itself prevent the drum from slipping on.
New drums, news shoes....you're gonna start out on the tight side. I suspect the shoes weren't centered..that's all.

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

hi-I was wondering about the correct carb size for this combo-I looked on the NHRA website and it does not list venture size? tried researching the part number listed and found it is a 1.21 not a 1.08? thanks-Brian

Re: 1978 Mustang II
 

99 % of the 302 2v's have to use the 1.08 carb.
Apparently there is one that can use the 1.21,, but I'm gonna stay out of that situation.