73 Grande Restoration

[taby448]

Thanks for sharing the additional pictures. It looks light you have good bright lights!  Other than some oil leaks I don't see many surprises for a car 4 1/2 decades old.  You mentioned the trunk is completely rusted. How bad is it and what areas?  Not to keep peeling the onion back but another area prone to rust on these Mustangs is the cowl.  You might want to check underneath the dash with a good flashlight.  Sometimes difficult to see with all the under dash wiring and vents but take a look up on both the driver side far left and passenger side far right corners near the vents.  Hopefully the lower cowl panel is solid and not leaking.

I just checked the cowl, and it just has a small bubble! I'll make sure to take care of that one before it gets bad

[taby448]

Oh boy. I just drained the gas tank, and upon looking into the container after I drained it, I found rust chips. What would be the best way to clean out the gas tank? Someone at autozone told me to put diesel and nuts/ or rocks in there to clean it. 
Also, I purchased the oil and coolant today, along with an oil filter. goodbye $51.99!

[1969_Mach1]

Chunks of rust, I'd consider replacing the fuel tank.  Whatever protective coating the steel had is worn off which is why the rust has formed.  I've heard of people mixing oxalic acid with water to remove heavy rust and using vinegar on light rust.  CLR is also advertised to remove rust.  I have used it to remove that "white rust" from aluminum.  But, the tank will continue to rust after it's cleaned.

Do the steel fuel lines look okay, or are there signs of dust on those as well?

[Mustangmike]

I purchased the oil and coolant today, along with an oil filter. goodbye $51.99!

Welcome to the world of working on old cars.  There will be many more goodbye's!

[JTS71 Mach1]

Last time I checked a new tank was a little over $100.00. Might be well worth it. Yes the diesel and some rocks will clean the inside of the tank. Be sure to wash the excess dust of the rocks. Put the cleaned rocks into the tank, several good handfuls should do, add a half gallon of diesel or so, then shake the tank vigorously back and forth. This will probably take 2 people. Be sure the rocks are getting in the area where the rust is. If you don't cause any major holes from sloshing the rocks around. There is a chemical tank liner that can be used to seal coat the inside of the tank. I have personally used it and it works quite well, but you must follow the directions precisely. And you need to be fairly quick when coating it, to get it distributed evenly. Good Luck. 

JTS

[Mustangmike]

JTS is right... for the amount of time you spend and product you buy to do the job right you could have one delivered and installed by the weekend.

While we're are on the subject, I picked up one of these inspection cameras from Harbor Freight to peek into my gas tank. The Fairlane tanks are about triple the price of a Mustang tank so it makes sense for me use the original one.  With this camera you can really see what's going on inside the tank.   It is a great tool to have laying around the garage.  I used it to see where the linkage on my door handles connect.  It is also great to have for cowl inspections.  Bring it with you when you go to look at an old car and then you can really drive the price down!

https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-in...61839.html

As you know Harbor Freight offers 20% coupon so I paid $60 bucks for it.

[taby448]

Chunks of rust, I'd consider replacing the fuel tank.  Whatever protective coating the steel had is worn off which is why the rust has formed.  I've heard of people mixing oxalic acid with water to remove heavy rust and using vinegar on light rust.  CLR is also advertised to remove rust.  I have used it to remove that "white rust" from aluminum.  But, the tank will continue to rust after it's cleaned.

Do the steel fuel lines look okay, or are there signs of dust on those as well?

the lines look perfect inside

[taby448]

JTS is right... for the amount of time you spend and product you buy to do the job right you could have one delivered and installed by the weekend.

While we're are on the subject, I picked up one of these inspection cameras from Harbor Freight to peek into my gas tank. The Fairlane tanks are about triple the price of a Mustang tank so it makes sense for me use the original one.  With this camera you can really see what's going on inside the tank.   It is a great tool to have laying around the garage.  I used it to see where the linkage on my door handles connect.  It is also great to have for cowl inspections.  Bring it with you when you go to look at an old car and then you can really drive the price down!

https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-in...61839.html

As you know Harbor Freight offers 20% coupon so I paid $60 bucks for it.

Okay, So, I'm going to get the coolant hoses and thermostat housing, etc etc for the car today. I'm gonna replace those, then see what I'm working with tank wise. If I can't get all the rust out, I'm gonna replace the tank. When I got the fuel pump, it was the last one and someone else was trying to fight for it over the phone! The fuel sending unit is ok from what I know. I'll keep yall updated

[Mustangmike]

Sounds like a good plan.  If you are going to re-use your sending unit you should probably consider replacing the sock based on all the rust in the tank. Also, be sure to pick up a new rubber seal.  Here are a few links.

http://restorationpartssource.com/store/...bNEALw_wcB

https://www.cjponyparts.com/california-p...K7EALw_wcB

You can probably get these parts at one place to save on shipping.

[taby448]

The trunk lid is the same for 71-73 Hardtop Mustang's so there should be several available. if you can find a salvage yard with some old Mustangs. I know of several here in Arkansas. and they don't rust here as we didn't us salt back then. By the way where are you?

JTS

I'm in Texas! Just saw this, so sorry I didn't reply to it!