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1968 Mustang Restoration Project |
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ciaowdy 
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Joined: February-19-2024 Location: Apache Shores Status: Offline Points: 22 |
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 Topic: 1968 Mustang Restoration ProjectPosted: March-13-2024 at 9:42am |
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Well, I'm a total newbie to working on boats and despite that, I've taken on the challenge of bringing this old hunk of fiberglass back to life. It seems like I'm on the right track, but everything has been very much one step forward, six steps back...
It was mostly complete, but in pretty rough shape as it had been sitting uncovered and exposed to the elements for the past six years. Below is a pic from the day that I picked her up.  |
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 9:45am |
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Not looking so bad after a little bit of cleaning:
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 9:47am |
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removed decals, but they left a yellow shadow on the white gelcoat. still, looking 1M x better:
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 9:53am |
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this is where things started moving in the wrong direction... rebuilt the original log style manifolds from glenwood, and when I cranked it up, they started leaking like a sieve. thought I was getting close to a water test.
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 9:55am |
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turned out there were micro cracks in the aluminum, and the risers were completely rusted through. ended up purchasing and installing a new set of PCM manifolds and risers. while I was at it, decided to embark on EFI conversion with a Sniper 2 kit from Holley. this was when things really fell apart.
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 10:00am |
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after installing the manifolds and EFI, I did what I had been avoiding all this time, and I checked the motor mount lags. Two were completely rusted through about 1" into the stinger, the other two pulled right out of the rotten wood of the stringer. Same for the tranny mounts.Stringer work is now on the table, so I begin pulling all of the foam (which I discover is completely waterlogged. Guess it's time to pull the engine.
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 10:03am |
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foam removed and ready to get going on the stringer work. wimped out and decided to take it to a pro to do the job. going into the shop this week - they estimate a 3-4 week turnaround.
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 10:07am |
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in the meantime, I made matters worse for myself by attempting to take the aged/weathered layer of white gelcoat off and bring the boat down to the original red gelcoat. I'm about tapped out, so putting it on my tab at the boatyard. they'll finish the prep and gelcoat the entire boat. Hoping to go with candy apple red to match the factory tint, but money is a factor, so may just be a fresh coat of white due to budget constraints.
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ciaowdy
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 10:12am |
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looking at the order of thee pics, it certainly appears that the project is moving in the wrong direction
 boat goes to the yard this friday, and in the meantime, i'll be working on building a new wiring harness, building out new seating and then sending off to the upholsterer, accumulating the remaining engine/exhaust parts needed, and building out the stereo system. Hopefully I'll actually get this boat in the water at some point before my wife finds out how much I've spent on it.
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67 ski nat
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Joined: July-19-2018 Location: Santa rosa Status: Offline Points: 1194 |
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 10:26am |
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Welcome. Cool boat, wife will love it when done
Your progress is moving fast. Keep going. Do not get to far ahead or you’ll have an attic of wrong useless parts |
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fanofccfan
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Joined: December-13-2009 Location: North Bend NE Status: Offline Points: 1781 |
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Posted: March-13-2024 at 2:09pm |
When my wife stepped on the fender to look inside the Marauder her exact words were "what do you think you can make out of this sh-t hole?" She sure is not the cussing type either. After it all came together she has enjoyed it as much as I have.
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2004 196 LE Ski 1969 Marauder 19 1978 Ski
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Morfoot
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Joined: February-06-2004 Location: South Lanier Status: Offline Points: 5320 |
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Posted: March-14-2024 at 5:57am |
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Yep, keep up the good work and progress. Nautiquehunter drug home a 67 Mustang that he got for free I believe. The boat was a basket case. His BIL asked he why on earth did he bring home that POS!! I show up and was thrilled that he brought it home. OHHHHHH Man this thing is awesome. He was gonna change a lot of things to it by cannibalizing a Supra and incorporating many parts of it into the Mustang. No Hell your not. I won't let you destroy this classic like that. If you are then give it me and I'll restore it properly. He mostly followed my advice and restored the boat beautifully. Even took a page from many of us and named the boat " Tweety" as it's canary yellow. He and his wife's hard work paid off as it's a beautiful boat, turns heads wherever they take it, and they've brough home The SE Nautique Regatta Oldest boat award.
Gstarr has another mustang restore story and his was a basket case as well. A few of us are "fighting" over the rights to his mustang if he ever decides to part with it. Not sure why there is even a discussion about it because I'm at the top of the list anyway! There have been MANY basket case boats in this forums and all have turned out beautifully. It's a labor of love but when your all done and cruising round the lake in a old boat. The wows and high fives you'll get is worth the labor you put into it on top of the smile already on your face because ...You Did It!!
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"Morfoot; He can ski. He can wakeboard.He can cook chicken.He can create his own self-named beverage, & can also apparently fly. A man of many talents."72 Mustang "Kermit",88 SN Miss Scarlett, 99 SN "Sherman"
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67 ski nat wrote: