There’s A Hole In The Shop Dear Liza Dear Liza

The law of conservation of mass states that for any system closed to all transfers of matter and energy, the mass of the system must remain constant over time.

What this means in Mustang terms is that the mass that previously resided in the newly created hole in my shop today:

didn’t disappear. The mass was conserved by moving into a previously unoccupied hole in another shop not too far away. In my case, a body and paint shop:

Somehow, during the proceedings I got the lyrics “there’s a hole in my shop, dear Liza dear Liza” stuck in my head. This further lead to a recollection of a long-lost memory of a much younger me watching the following on Sesame Street:

 

Old Sesame Street memories and the Mustang going off to paint after being worked on for 18 months – yeah, it was a good day…

I plan on having the car painted 2016 Ford Race Red with a black stripe inspired by the 1970 Boss 302 Mustang.

Here’s an example of a late-model Mustang in that paint color:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4088/5198883853_220d8997ed_b.jpg

And here’s a yes-it’s-electrical-tape mock up of what the stripe is going to look like:

The strip will extend across the hood and attach to the corresponding stripe on the other side.

I’m also going to have the hood scoop and the “arrow” on the hood painted black in a way similar to my original Mustang from high school:

Being an engineer, it’s my predisposed nature to be a little OCD. Accompanying the Mustang today was a small instruction manual for what I wanted the shop to do:

 

• Body Work
  • Glass
    • Remove front windshield
    • Remove back window
    • Please do not re-install glass until after I can have the headliner installed

• The passenger side rear quarter panel is buggered up and needs some love
• There’s a small amount of rust-through on each door skin on the outside rear.
  • I have two new door skins to address that
  • Install the mounting rivets for the mirrors on both driver and passenger side
• Fix the surface rust on the top outside roof
• Clean up B Pillars where Mr. Previous Owner tried to hide the vinyl top molding holes
• Fill in rocker panel molding holes
• Fill in deck lid rear MUSTANG letter holes
• Clean up rear quarter to trunk joint
  
• Install Mustang side script emblems
• Paint
  • Black
    • Hood Scoop
    • “Arrow” on hood
      
    • Boss-ish stripe on side (crappy electrical tape mockup below)
      
    • Back of hood & top of fenders (extension of stripe above)
      
    • Tail light panel
      
    • Inner quarter vent panels
    • License plate bracket
    • Rear window molding
    • Doors (inner area that is already black)
  • 2016 Ford Race Red
    • Body
    • Fenders
    • Stone guard
    • Cowl cover
    • Inner cowl
    • Rocker Panels
    • Fender & quarter extensions
    • Front & rear valance
    • Mirrors
    • Outer quarter vent panels
    • Hood (Top and bottom with exception of the “arrow” and back stripe)
    • Deck lid (Top and bottom)
    • Doors (as shown below)
      
    • Door jams

 

I will also coordinate with them to get the door hinge pins and bushings replaced as well as getting the headliner installed. Doing the headliner now is a no-brainer since both the headliner and paint require the front and rear glass to be removed to do properly.

It’ll be a while before I get the Mustang back, but closing out my part of Project Paint feels awesome.

When she does comes back, she’ll no longer be a car that “needs restoration.” Instead, she’ll be a car wearing a beautiful garment of paint suitable to her heritage that only needs re-assembly.