Where We’re At Today – The Engine Is Out!

The Mustang has been “home” for a month. I’ve spent countless hours on the internet looking for parts and restoration tips (I’m anything but an expert here) and only a few hours on fixing the car itself. Most of our time has been spent finding a temporary home for the Mustang out of the weather and clearing shop space to work on it.

Here’s the Mustang’s new (temporary) home:

The first thing my brother in law and I (to be known as “we” from now on) fixed was the front drivers side tire. It had come off the wheel and made pushing the car difficult. It wasn’t much, but I had to include a picture of the old and the new tire here to commemorate the accomplishment of fixing something.

Why are we pushing the car? Well, the 302 engine it came with has a blown head gasket. I knew that when I bought it so this wasn’t a surprise. It’s an opportunity to learn how to rebuild an engine :)

So here’s where we’re at. We have a Mustang

• With no rust of any significance. It has a tiny bit of surface rust on the roof which will be addressed in due time
• With a little body damage in the rear passenger quarter panel and driver’s side door
• An interior with the following downsides:
  • A shot dash pad that will need to be replaced
  • A head liner that is likewise going to make some parts company a lot of money
  • Carpeting that needs to be replaced
  • A bench seat
• An interior with the following upsides:
  • Upholstery in good enough shape that I could probably get away with just cleaning it.
  • Clean and undamaged door panels
  • A working electrical system (with what we’ve tested so far)
• Needs a paint job
• An engine that needs to be rebuilt.

Last Saturday, we got started on that last item. We pulled the engine from the Mustang and brought it into our shop where my brother in law and I will spend the next few months rebuilding it.