So far I have not found anything that GM has done better that I wish Ford would have done. Then again I am biased because I like Fords. This is why the car went to my son and not me. My son did purchase a few assembly manuals that have helped us a little too but often don't have enough detail to really help. I end up doing research on the internet to find the answers.
You have to Restore it. That's it, I know its a Chevy.But its a rare one from family and a father and son project, Priceless. I have no doubt it will turn out perfect. From what I have seen your cars are better than a lot of so called restorers. Check this out if you haven't already seen it. http://amkproducts.com/ I think it will save you a lot of time maybe some guess work. You can buy it all or just sections of the car. My Friend is restoring a Camaro and purchased the entire car hardware. I have seen the boxes they come labeled and ready to use. really cool.
Great story and good luck J.
Thank you J-Cobb. We already purchased all the bolts and clips for the rear suspension since a few of them needed to be cut off. Right now I have my son searching my mother's 8 bay garage for parts and bolts since he has more time and patience than I do. There also happens to be a Chevy parts store by the name of Ground Up Restorations about 15 minutes from where we live. It is very similar to a Mustang Unlimited so we can get almost anything we are missing, which is not a lot. Right now my back is out so both the Camaro and the Fairlane are on hold...temporarily!
(06-18-2017, 09:16 PM)Mustangmike Wrote: So far I have not found anything that GM has done better that I wish Ford would have done. Then again I am biased because I like Fords. This is why the car went to my son and not me. My son did purchase a few assembly manuals that have helped us a little too but often don't have enough detail to really help. I end up doing research on the internet to find the answers.
I am a bit biased towards Fords as well. I do like the E-body Mopars almost as much as Mustangs. They don't look as nice but for a 5'-10' or taller person the E-body Mopars are much more comfortable to drive than a Mustang. The 69-70 Camaro, primarily Z-28, would follow behind those.
I always wished Ford would have thrown their power assist steering with the hyd. cylinder and control valve in the garbage and designed an integral power steering system for the 65-70 Mustangs. The front suspension is always problematic as well. More so on the 67 through 70 Mustangs than the 65-66 Mustangs. On the 67-70 Mustangs the shock towers are usually littered with fatigue cracks and/or sagging inward making wheel alignment impossible. Either way, count on replacing them. Don't see shock tower issues much on the 65-66 Mustangs. I'm guessing because they are a smaller car and have less weight in the front.
I am not as familiar with the 67 and later models. My friend has a 67 Mustang and I know he complained about the alignment. He referred to the steering as squirrelly. Maybe it was the shock towers but wouldn't the export brace and Monte Carlo keep them in place? What is weird for me is not having an export brace on the Fairlane. I sort of miss not seeing the triangulation of the export brace and Monte Carlo bar under the hood.
The export and Monte Carlo bar will stop them from sagging inward. But the shock towers typically crack down lower. Around and a little above where the upper control arms attach.
Most people do one of two things when replacing or strengthening shock towers on 67-70 Mustangs. 1) Install big block shock towers which came reinforced towards the bottom. 2) Install a reinforcement kit like the one Pro Motorsports Engineering sells. I went the second route after replacing the shock towers. The kit comes with 14 different plates ad angles made from 7 ga. (3/16) steel and welds into place to strengthen the shock towers to prevent cracking.
Back in the early 1980's, when my older brother finally sold his 69 Mach 1. The shock towers were sagging inward and almost toughing the exhaust manifolds. They can get very bad.
These cars with power steering were never very stable. Always had a bit of a loose wandering feel to the steering. But your friend can have one or more of several issues. 1) Not enough positive caster in the front end alignment. Positive caster increases stability. 2) The steering box is worn and out of adjustment. Center steer adjustment it too loose. 3) If it has power steering, it's very common for the control valve to cause what he is describing.
You're exactly right M1FF. In the beginning I was doing most of the work and my son seemed distracted with other things (friends). I continued doing the metal work and as I made progress he started seeing the car come together and became more interested in getting involved. Now he is actually helping and doing things independently so it is definitely a father and son project . My back is still bothering me so right now he is working on sanding the car down to bare metal.
Thank you...it is coming along nicely. Easy car to work with since most of hard work was already done. You have a nice collection as well...it is nice to see diversity. I remember the T/A's becoming very popular when Smokey and Bandit came out. It is incredible how that movie impacted the popularity of the car. Who doesn't think back to the movie when they see a T/A? And the car was a chick magnet to boot! Thank you Bandit!