1981 Mexican Mustang Restoration Thread

[amxron]

Those shrinking rubber parts are tough sometimes you can elongate the mounting holes to help align. That mexican heat will really shrink up plastic/rubber parts. Time to import some cold country parts!
Goodluck,
Ron.

[85GTTops]

That front bumper cover is really heat warped. That's due to age. I think the shop did a great job "polishing a turd". But, that is probably as good as it's going to get.

My suggestion? Grab a remanufactured cover.

[homer302]

That front bumper cover is really heat warped. That's due to age. I think the shop did a great job "polishing a turd". But, that is probably as good as it's going to get.

My suggestion? Grab a remanufactured cover.

The front bumper has nothing to do with heat or age. Look at the very first picture posted in the thread. There is your explanation for the way the cover looks.

[blueandsilver]

This is a big letdown... I really really like that front end, but guess I´ll have to find a regular 1981 bumper cover in good condition... I already located one but didn´t buy it because I thought mine was going to look good.

It´s actually not the weather around here, as we have very temperate weather all year long here in Mexico City. I guess its a mix of old age, old painting and scrubbing techniques used in the cover and the license plate holder that bent the cover...

[tcruise]

OK time for an update... I am not happy with what I saw today, the front end looks like total crap. If anyone can help out pointing out what the problem is and how to fix it will be greatly appreciated.

Here´s the re-assembled front end. Even though the metal bumper is not bent or anything, and the bumper cover and air dam were pretty straight when off the car, when re-assembled they deformed like they originally looked in the car when I got it. The middle portion of both the air dam and the fascia fold down and towards the hood in the center section. Is there a central part that gives support to this part of the car? it just looks horrible.



The upper part of the bumper cover also looks ondulated now that it´s mounted back to the core headlamp support and even though the hood is aligned there´s a horrible gap in the middle section... Ughh ... really need the guys at the shop to start fixing this up.

On the carburetor. I checked it thoroughly and the only codes that I could find were these... hope they help.


The final bad note are the side mouldings. I measured the door mouldings and they have shrunk a good 2 inches...

Frustrated... I wasn´t expecting it to be easy, but here in Mexico we have a saying that goes : "The Devil is in the details", and those "details" like the crooked front bumper cover and shrunk side mouldings are the ones that spoil the looks of the car.

Any advice on what to do with the cover?

Thanks for posting a photo of the carb part number. I'll see if it means anything on this side of the border!

On the deformed front bumper/grille: Check the crossmember that the radiator sits on top of. On my 83 Mexican Mustang, this part is bent OUT. If that part is badly bent. especially if it's bent IN, it could pull the ends IN, which could cause a problem like yours. I'm glad my Mustang has the Capri front end, which has a separate hard plastic grille instead of integrated into the soft bumper plastic. My front end looks fine even though that part is bent. Here's a picture of the bent part:

[tcruise]

Following up on the problem of the front bumper/grille deforming when installed on the car... I humbly disagree with the statement that it's time to get another one, because if it's straight when OFF the car, it's not malformed, it's an issue of fitment.

Please ask the body shop guys if they had to push the ends of it IN to get it to line up with the fenders. If they DID, they may not have installed the FENDERS correctly or something along those lines. Getting body parts to line up correctly can be a real pain in the butt, especially when they are aftermarket parts. amxron suggested elongating mounting holes ("egging out" is a common term for that), and I agree that this may be needed. If the shop has another similar bumper cover sitting around, have them put it on and see if that one malforms too. If it does, you KNOW it's not the cover.

[blueandsilver]

Thanks a lot. I´ll check the radiator cross member to see if it´s bent.

in the afternoon I´m going to check the car again, this time I´ll spend the necessary time to lift the car and check all the bumper installation.

The upper section of the bumper cover where it looks like waves whas straight when he fixed the cover, but the problem is that he used rivets to hold it to the headlamp skull ( I don´t know how you name this part, the one where you connect the headlamps and runs all the way behind the bumper cover). I told him to remove the rivets and use screws to put them together and to not force the screws all the way to bend the bumper cover, just tight enough to keep it straight.

The middle section I´ve been thinking about giving it some support with styrofoam (like the ones that many modern cars behind bumper covers) to straigthen it up.

I´m not ready to quit on this bumper cover. But the good news is that I located another one in a yunkyard in the border, just in case. It´s expensive but I know it´s there.

[blueandsilver]

Does anybody have the front end installation diagram for the 1982 GT Mustang? I found this on the Haynes, but its the regular bumper cover. I´d like to see if I¨m missing anything on my car that is causing the cover tu bend in the central part, and also to see if my air dam is installed correctly

[tcruise]

Sounds like you're on the right track. If you use high-density foam, it will compress and return to its original shape if you bump into anything, where styrofoam will just disintegrate.

[blueandsilver]

Great, so its high density foam. I´ll search for it,

Thanks all for the help, will let you know if it works

[tcruise]

Great! Looking forward to seeing your Mustang when it's all done!

[Mustang Marty]

It looks like it's missing some of the supports. There is one that bolts the upper cover to the bumper and acts like a spacer that keeps the airdam where it meets the upper cover off of the metal bumper below. If the airdam is bolted or otherwise attached to the metal bumper it will be distorted. The photo that I attached would be a from the ground up view. You should be able to make out the notch where the license plate bracket goes. Below that is the support that I am talking about. There is a long black strip with six silver rectangles. If you need exact dimensions, I can measure the one that I have as a spare.

[85streetdemon]

You have definitely come a long way already and its looking good. Kinda reminds me of what mine looked like when I brought it home. Keep up the nice work. I love seeing somebody breathe life back into a neglected old steed.

[blueandsilver]

It looks like it's missing some of the supports. There is one that bolts the upper cover to the bumper and acts like a spacer that keeps the airdam where it meets the upper cover off of the metal bumper below. If the airdam is bolted or otherwise attached to the metal bumper it will be distorted. The photo that I attached would be a from the ground up view. You should be able to make out the notch where the license plate bracket goes. Below that is the support that I am talking about. There is a long black strip with six silver rectangles. If you need exact dimensions, I can measure the one that I have as a spare.

Thanks so much that picture is very helpful, I will check out in detail the car, it is probably missing something

[79mustangcobra]

Thanks for helping Mustang Marty!

[85GTTops]

Does anybody have the front end installation diagram for the 1982 GT Mustang? I found this on the Haynes, but its the regular bumper cover. I´d like to see if I¨m missing anything on my car that is causing the cover tu bend in the central part, and also to see if my air dam is installed correctly

Let me know if this helps:

[blueandsilver]

Thank you so much that`s great info

So I was finally able to go check the car today after 2 complicated weeks, but I had been speaking on the phone with the restorers. The great news is that the front end has been fixed and aligned, I`m very pleased with how they fixed it. it turned out it was indeed missing some pieces that give support to the central section where the bumper cover meets with the air dam. they built a new piece and used automotive styrofoam to shape it back.

They have also gone a long way with the doors, and now are ready to be primed.

Here are new pics





And here are the door pics




They are going to start working on the hatch now to align it properly, and the engine is ready to go back in its place

I really want to thank you for the diagram and the pics as they have been very useful to help us fix this problem.

Next week they will be working on the rear bumper cover, hope that one is easier, though I know they are notorious for developing waves in the top part

[tjstang]

Excelent work Compadre! keep it up...

[wraithracing]

That's looks much better!

The car is coming along nicely!


Trey

[blueandsilver]

Thanks, it´s going a bit slow but at least its back on track!

[79mustangcobra]

Thanks, it´s going a bit slow but at least its back on track!

Glad to hear and see they got the front right. I know it takes awhile but you will be happy that they did not rush it.

[79mustangcobra]

Let me know if this helps:

Good job Jeff with this illustration!! Thanks

[85GTTops]

Good job Jeff with this illustration!! Thanks

Not a problem. Any time!

[blueandsilver]

That illustration was very useful. They should keep it somewhere in the library in the site for others to see it when needed

[blueandsilver]

I haven´t checked the car in a couple weeks, hope to visit it this friday. In the meantime, here´s a pic of another great car I saw today. Its a 1984 Mexican Mustang Fastback, in great shape. This is the famous "burbuja" Mustang, the last year a Fox Mustang was offered in Mexico.

Car belongs to a neighbor that lives a couple blocks away. It used to be out on the street about 3 years ago, then it dissappeared and now it´s back... makes me want to make him an offer for the car... 84 was my first Mustang ever so I have a soft spot for 84s.