March 9, 2009 - The weather this past weekend was really excellant! Unfortunately, I was working on things other than the Ghia. I did manage to spend a few hours Sunday evening cleaning the wheel wells with concentrated detergent, engine degreaser, a scrub brush and hot water.
The rear wheel wells are ready to sand and coat the few small rusty spots, then they will get a coat of ruberized undercoating. I decided that I could handle this better than using two part bed liner...plus it should be easier to remove.
The front wheel wells were never very dirty, but I'm using this opportunity to do a "quickie" restore on the front suspension and undercarriage. Removing the grease and rust will allow me to spray everything with nice shiney paint...mostly gloss black, but also some "steel gray" on some components meant to be bare metal, and Ford blue on the oil pan. New shocks will be installed when done, and the restored front swaybar and new end links are already installed. The bushings and ball joints will have to wait a while.
March 22, 2009 - Over the last two weeks I've removed the exhaust manifold and starter so that I could clean the engine compartment. I cleaned the passenger side of the engine and worked on the oilpan and crossmember. In another week or so I should be able to put some paint on the passenger side of the engine and the oilpan. Maybe after I get some paint in the engine compartment I'll get interested in the rear fenderwells again. Meanwhile there are still plenty of nuts and bolts from the dismantled rear to refinish...
April 12, 2009 - Since the last posting I've had several good days to work on the Ghia. My original plan to do a "quickie" restoration under the hood has turned into a "not so quickie" restoration as I've removed the alternator, its brackets, AC compressor and its brackets, the cool air ducting for the battery, the radiator, fan, and pullies. All will get cleaned and painted before reassembly. This also clears areas on the inner fenders for cleaning and painting.
I've retrieved the radiator from my old '76 hatch from storage because it looks to be in better condition than the original one in my Ghia. I'm really considering completely removing the AC system, at least temporarily. Its not functional and its not likely to get that way soon, so why carry the weight around?
Must...get...back...to...work...on...the...rear...wheel...wells...
April 17 - 19, 2009 - Mustang 45th Anniversary Show at Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL. I actually worked preparing for the show starting Wednesday the 14th, and worked through the end of the show on the 19th. Big fun, but no work done on my own car during this time.
April 26, 2009 - I managed to get some general cleaning and degreasing done (who would have thought you could pack so much greasy gunk onto an AC compressor and its brackets!), but I didn't get anything painted or reassembled. I need to speed this process up so I can get the car on the road in the next few months. I think I'll leave the AC compressor attached to the engine (there is still freon in the lines) and just work around it.
April 27, 2009 - Yahoo announced they are closing Geocities at the end of this year today, so now I have to find a new free web host. Stand by for a new address...maybe a Blog format instead?
May 4, 2009 - I did some more cleaning in the engine compartment and some reorganizing in my basement this past weekend. Everytime I think I have the engine just about ready to paint, I find another greasy mess to clean up. I really am getting towards the end though...maybe next weekend I can finish cleaning the suspension crossmember and get some parts painted (exhaust manifold, starter, AC brackets, etc.). Then it's on to painting the engine and inner fenders.