So over the last year or so I've been gradually tearing down a Mustang much more than I had originally wanted to, and I'm about to begin the process of building it back up. This is how a car can go from "good enough for now" to a bare skeleton in one year.



This is what we started out with. Sort of. It's the earliest photo I have of the car. This is about 5 days after I bought it. Obviously it needed painted, and the plan was to just use a rattle can to do it in flat black.



But first the stock exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters had to go away.





I replaced it all with Holley Flowtech equal length shorty headers, an offroad x pipe, and a Dynomax Ultraflow SS catback system.

Unfortunately, I started the car up, and I didn't quite like how it sounded like a bone-stock 1991 302, so I ordered some speed parts for the engine.



I figured this would do well enough, but anyone who has ever done this sort of thing knows where this goes from here....

Yep. I decided to go ahead and pull the engine. I figured that if I was going to bolt on about 2000 dollars in parts, I had better at least clean up the engine and paint it while I was at it.



After 20+ years, this thing had seen better days.



So after tearing down the top end and leaving the clutch and flywheel on like a moron, I found that the internals weren't too bad, but I figured I should have it checked out by a professional just to be sure. So off we went to the engine shop, and before I knew it, I started saying "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Better do that, too." And I owed the engine shop several thousand dollars.



But, hey, it was painted at least. But here's the thing, I got to thinking... If I spent a few thousand dollars on engine parts, and I was going to spend a few thousand dollars at the engine shop... Why would I put a crappy paint job on there? And why wouldn't I just go ahead and do some of the other stuff I REALLY wanted to do?



So I pulled the k member, and then I pulled the rear end.

And then...

Then I figured I might as well gut the interior.



And then yesterday I decided that if I'm going to do paint, then I'm going to do it right, so I started stripping it to bare metal.

At this point, it's the unibody and not much else. Everything has been torn off of it. It's a shell of a car, and it can't get torn down much more than it is. From here on out, it's all putting it back. Well, putting back things that are similar, but not the same. Ditching just about anything that is made of stamped metal for a tube counterpart. Ditching the half-assed KYB shocks that were on it when I bought it in favor of coil-overs. Gonna do an actual good paint job, and a nice uncomfortable metal interior.

I got a sandblaster today, which should help in the paint removal process. I'm doing the majority of the paint removal with a DA sander using 34 grit discs, which will take the paint off in a hurry, but doesn't help much when it comes to door jambs, or the well around the sunroof.

I'll keep this thread updated with pics for anyone who cares.

Awesome! I'll be watching the updates for sure.

I guess you got carried away.

Nicemungous.

That must be what listening to people talk about computers is like.

I will never understand automobiles. I'm glad you didn't stick with that paintjob, though.

vroom

this operation looks as thought it is rather expensive

The rule is as follows: You can either have a project car that makes progress or you can have a happy girlfriend/wife. I currently have a happy girlfriend.

Both are expensive.

Or you can find a girlfriend/wife that lets you have hobbies because they aren't an awful, selfish, manipulative person.

No, really, if your SO has a problem with you spending time on your car, find another SO.

Also if your SO is like... a money sink for some reason.

I HOPE MORE OF the car pics in the future have you in them for scale, Antony`y

I spend significantly more time on my car than I do with my girlfriend. I also spend significantly more money on my car than I do on my girlfriend. She doesn't mind either.

Oh well that sounds pretty cool then. Oh, and this looks great so far. I wish I had the time motivation and garage space to do something like this.

Yeah sorry if the joke didn't come across as a joke. Its a project car cliche.

And hell, I don't have the time, motivation, or space to do this either. That's part of the deal.

What Antony really wants to say: "I get to screw things!"

GET IT?

BECAUSE OF double meanings.

you're a monkey sink

you're a monkey sin

Wrong. You're both menkey shins.

You don't have to take it down to bare metal for a good paint job.

But since you have, you get to spend a day flushing the body with thinner instead of taking a tack cloth over it.

The idea is to smooth It out, but rough it up enough for the primer.

I'm aware that the metal will need to be cleaned. I am also aware that not all of the paint on the car when I bought it was factory paint or the same chemical type as the paint I'm using. So yeah, I want the paint to last and look good, so I took it to bare metal.

If you buy good primer and paint it won't be an issue.