My '83 GLX T-Top Coupe Junk Yard Find

[Davedacarpainter]

i trust the yard owner.

Unfortunately, the car will probably sit there for another month, and possibly even two. Hopefully after sitting in that exact same spot since he drove in there fifteen years ago is a good sign that it will be there through February.

[blubyu90]

Man this is an awesome restoration thread! You're doing a killer job!

[Davedacarpainter]

Thanks man, it's a lot of work but i love doing the work. I can't say it will be as fun as driving it one day.

You have an '83 t-top coupe as well? I'm going to have to go to your home page. I got to see it.

Crazy as it sounds, i've already got my first real drive of it running in my mind. Of course i'll have to be cranking Dr. Feelgood on the stereo with the t-tops off! I'll have to find a giant slurpy to be drinking too. I'll pretend i'm 21 again, maybe I can get a mullet growing by then.

[foxylady]

Wow amazing work so far. I love the color

[82GTforME]

One to show that i re-seam sealed the hood as well, i used flowable seam sealer for those that wonder

Attachment 107706

Dave, I am going to be doing the seams on a hood I am working on after seeing that you did yours (which looks easy). How thick do you put it on and did you smooth out your edges after applying and pulling the tape?

[Davedacarpainter]

It just takes a small bead. I used a glove on my hand to spread it as I put it on there. I masked the area first and then used blue fine line tape to make the final line for the seam sealer. I did this because within a couples minutes after application I had to pull the tape up to allow the sealer to barely flow out the tape line edge. Gives a smooth look that way.

when the sealer says flowable, it means it'll run on a non horizontal surface. I had to do the front edge separately, albeit just a couple minutes later. I had to prop the hood up to allow the front edge to be horizontal for its application.

This stuff hardens quickly. You only need to wait 2 or 3 minutes before you pull the tape. Spread a small amount on a seperate place (for me, that sheet of paper in the middle of the hood). When it starts to string away when you touch it with your finger, pull the tape.

[Davedacarpainter]

I repaired more stuff today. The windshield trim had several cracks and a broken off piece that were destined to only get worse. Fixed that. The cowel panel cover had one small crack in it. Got that fixed too.
Same fix as the rest of the stuff I've been repairing. Panel Bonding Adhesive and dry wall mesh tapeFront and backside like usual.

I also painted the kick panels, glove box and passenger seat cover bottom too.

[Davedacarpainter]

Before I can do the seat cover back, I'll have to do something about this zipper.Time to sow some more.

[Davedacarpainter]

Here's a picture of the passenger seat cover bottom, glove box and kick panels.

[pre89street]

nice work on your plastic repair !! which glue did you use for the kick panel repair and did you put promotor on??

[Davedacarpainter]

nice work on your plastic repair !! which glue did you use for the kick panel repair and did you put promotor on??

I used 3M's Panel Bonding Adhesive, pn: 8115. I will use a plastic adhesion promoter before putting anything on plastics, PBA, bondo, paint, etc....

I've tested out of curiosity the adhesion of bondo on plastic with and without adhesion promoter, it proved to be far more secure every time when using the AP.

[pre89street]

Ok thanks ! I take myself 3m 8223 i think(3 minute version of 8115 ) for small bumper repair and i had more success with this panel bounding than any kind of bumper repair one , so I think you have the same conclusion to that ?

[Davedacarpainter]

That's actually a plastic repair you're talking about, but it is very good stuff.

im kind of hooked on 8115 since they first came out with it. I had to piece back a bumper that was literally torn in pieces when there was no way to get a new one. I used it on that and it held all of the pieces together like a champ. I believe the repairs are tougher than the surrounding plastic.

Admittedly, the PBA is meant for bonding new panels like 1/4's for trucks and cars. But, it works good for what I'm doing too.

[blubyu90]

Thanks man, it's a lot of work but i love doing the work. I can't say it will be as fun as driving it one day.

You have an '83 t-top coupe as well? I'm going to have to go to your home page. I got to see it.

Crazy as it sounds, i've already got my first real drive of it running in my mind. Of course i'll have to be cranking Dr. Feelgood on the stereo with the t-tops off! I'll have to find a giant slurpy to be drinking too. I'll pretend i'm 21 again, maybe I can get a mullet growing by then.

I unfortunately sold the car a couple of years ago. I regret it to this day... I need to update my signature. Haha.

That sounds like the perfect first drive!!! I can't wait to see this car completed!

[Davedacarpainter]

I unfortunately sold the car a couple of years ago. I regret it to this day... I need to update my signature. Haha.

That sounds like the perfect first drive!!! I can't wait to see this car completed!

I understand selling it. I know fox bodies aren't exactly collectibles, but, i had a $4k offer on it before they knew i already started on the resto.

Had they got me before i started, you would be reading about me finishing my '86 instead! Lol

Is that a picture of it as your avatar?

It's amazing how many offers i've had for this car though. Mostly low buck $2k.

The difficulty in getting one is part of why this one is so special to me, though there are many other reasons too. Now, it's almost a "mission from god" for me. I want to be the one that starts this mustang for the first time in fifteen years. I'll get great satisfaction from that.

[7993mustang]

This seems more like a Johnny Cash song, I took it one piece at a time...... Than a restoration thread. �� But seriously everything looks awesome that you've done so far. The only thing I disagree with is your cruising song. If you cruise with Motley, it's pretty tough to beat "Live Wire" or "Shout at the Devil". �� Just saying.

[7993mustang]

This seems more like a Johnny Cash song, I took it one piece at a time...... Than a restoration thread. 😀 But seriously everything looks awesome that you've done so far. The only thing I disagree with is your cruising song. If you cruise with Motley, it's pretty tough to beat "Live Wire" or "Shout at the Devil". 😈 Just saying.

[Davedacarpainter]

This seems more like a Johnny Cash song, I took it one piece at a time...... Than a restoration thread.  But seriously everything looks awesome that you've done so far. The only thing I disagree with is your cruising song. If you cruise with Motley, it's pretty tough to beat "Live Wire" or "Shout at the Devil".  Just saying.

I can't argue with "Shout at the Devil", but i love the intro to "Dr. Feelgood". That, blasted just a bit WAY too loud, flipping the bird through the t-top opening. I'll be quite the rebel, no? Lol.

[7993mustang]

You be da man!!!!!

[Davedacarpainter]

What have I done lately? A little, i'm running out of parts. I will make another run to the yard this week.

I sanded the cowel panel trim and painted it the same trim color on the hood and bumper. I cleared it with regular gloss clear to provide UV protection, then i sprayed the same satin finish I used on the hood and front bumper.

So...maybe i went just a little crazy. I painted the windshield wiper arms the same color. Instead of the Satin finish, i used the half an eggshell finish i used for the interior parts. I'll be using this finish in the windshield trim and rear window trim, though i will paint the lower windshield trim in the same satin finish as the cowel piece.

I ordered the new spring sets for both seats. Plus i ordered two new sets of studs, bolts and nuts for the seats. Taking out that left rear nut on the passenger seat taught me a valuable lesson. I'll reassemble the passenger seat when i get those in.

Though i need to go buy the new zipper for the passenger seat back tomorrow and get to sowing that on.

[Davedacarpainter]

What will i get from the yard this time, you might ask?

To start, the instrument panel. When i pull that i'll have to decide if i want to pull the air box or just drop in the new heater core and ac coil, depends if my little freaking rat friends have moved in or not. I'll get the ducting just to clean it. Bleach is my friend.

I will also pull the steering wheel. I need to put in a new lock cylinder housing, so it was going to come off anyhow. I'll also get the driver's seat and do the same routine as the passenger seat.

I want to see if i can do anything with the door panels. They're warped to hell. i was thinking about making them a little wet and running them through a fairly warm bake cycle in the paint booth (around 160*) with a nice heavy and flat board on top of them. This will just about finish up the interior repairs, except for that pesky package tray. I still am figuring on something there.

Though i got the driver's windshield trim in primer today also, the passenger side is missing a couple broken off pieces. I noticed one piece of it on the ground in one of my pictures from the yard, the other i believe is still attached in the interior. I'll have to get those pieces and fix it still.

I will finally get the exterior windshield and rear window trim and paint it the same as the rest of the trim with the half an eggshell finish. I want to pull the taillights too and clean them up. they're in pretty good condition, oddly enough.

[rodster]

Everything you touch turns out great!

Thanks for sharing your project and knowledge with us.

[Davedacarpainter]

Thanks, this is a lot of fun for me. I'm enjoying going over the entire car.

The seats are a good example for this. I can't wait to sit on them knowing they're essentially new just like back in '83. The interior will all feel new, the outside will look new, etc.....Pretty dang neat to me.

[rodster]

Trust me, we share your enthusiasm. You are the lucky guy that will get to enjoy it!

[Davedacarpainter]

So i got the rocker chip guard sprayed on the inside windshield trim and was stumped, I didn't have anything else to do!

I can't rebuild the front seats until i get my new springs in and go buy a new zipper and sow it in. I've caught up with the yard parts. Then i looked down at the floor. I have some of my body side mouldings!

So I cleaned up three of them just to do something. I then sanded them with 400 grit sandpaper and painted them.

B4:

After, there's no sun here today so i won't have any flashy pictures. It's amazing how Kona blue looks black whenever it's not bright out. I tried to get one that showed a little blue: