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1970 Ford Mustang Project High School Hauler - The High School HaulerIntroducing Our New '70 Mustang Project Car, A Street/Strip Warrior With A Rough Past And A Bright Future From the April, 2011 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords By Justin Cesler Photography by Justin Cesler, Mark Houlahan
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If my memory serves me correctly, the 18-year-old version of myself was quite an awesome dude. I was a 155-pound ladies man who knew everything about everything. Besides killer good looks, teenage Justin was about to earn his first million dollars and already drove the coolest '70 Mustang money could buy. With a stock 302 under the hood and a set of long-tube headers flowing into a pair of Flowmaster mufflers, my Mustang was, in my eyes, the hottest thing on the streets of Florida. Today, 9 years after purchasing my Mustang and after a 3-year stint as my daily driver, life seems to be a bit different. Teetering at the cusp of being 25 pounds overweight and educated enough to realize I know practically nothing, the thought of an 18-year-old "super Justin" seems laughable. As an automotive journalist, I'm still working on making that first million, although it seems much more likely that I'll never even be able to save up that first few thousand, let alone actually buy a house or put some money into retirement. As for my once untouchable '70 Mustang, well, I still have it, which is great; but looking at it today, in the harsh light of reality, it doesn't seem to be quite the car it once was. Truth be told, it has always been a little rough around the edges, but I always chalked that up to a little thing I called patina. Sure, 'Old Blue' has always had some issues, like the fact that it wouldn't start unless you pushed up and to the right on the stock shifter, but back in the day that seemed really cool, like some sort of trick anti-theft device, as opposed to a major wiring issue that could have left me stranded at any moment. From 30 feet away, the High... From 30 feet away, the High School Hauler looks pretty good, but as you get closer, the flaws become much more obvious. Once inside our World Headquarters, we loaded the '70 up on the lift and got to work on finding each and every flaw, so that we could form a game plan for future modifications. So, how did it get this way? Honestly, besides the rust, most of it was completely my fault. Many of the modifications were done with zero research, a lack of mechanical knowledge and as little money as possible-a perfect storm of haphazard workmanship and a naiveté that could only come from a teenager. Some issues aren't a big deal, such as my homemade battery box or my egg-crate-lined trunk; while others are truly terrifying, like the lack of a hose clamp on my fuel line or the fact that the Mustang stays running after you remove the key from the column. Look, our newest project car is rough, I admit that; and it's full of issues and practically about to fall apart. So you're probably wondering why you should care? Well, to be honest, this car represents the vast majority of old Ford projects out in the world today. Whether you have held on to your classic for years, as we have, or you're thinking about going out and buying a low-priced project, you'll no doubt find a plethora of large and small issues before you can get started on the really fun stuff. And that's okay, since nothing you find can't be fixed, but it's crucial that you understand the importance of starting with a solid base, before you jump into something drastic like an engine swap or paintjob. After all, there's no point in installing a 550hp crate engine if your existing wiring is about to burn the whole car to the ground, right? MUSTAN...yeah, it's missing... MUSTAN...yeah, it's missing the G, which looks silly. Our Mustang's metal is in pretty good shape, even from the rear, which is encouraging. Notice the cracked taillight lens and rusty bumper. Both small issues that, once fixed, will make our '70 look much better. Without further ado, we present to you the High School Hauler, a '70 Mustang coupe that we plan on taking from rags to riches in a series of affordable, repeatable, and obtainable steps. To round out our fleet of past and present projects, the High School Hauler will serve as a basic street/strip warrior that can get us around town and down the dragstrip, while still maintaining a vintage look and feel on a real enthusiast's budget. Now, that doesn't mean we aren't going to spend some money on our '70 coupe, but it does mean we're going to do it realistically and we aren't going to step beyond the line of what your average enthusiast could afford to do on a modest salary.  These tires have been on our...  These tires have been on our Mustang for at least 9 years and have the dry rot to prove it. Obviously, these aren't safe to drive on, so they have to go. Luckily, our American Racing wheels still look great and we plan on keeping them for both the vintage look and the fact that we already own them, which will help keep our costs down.  The High School Hauler's interior...  The High School Hauler's interior is about as plain as can be, with no radio or climate control to clutter the dash. The carpet and steering wheel could use some love, but the seats, both front and rear, are in great shape, which is a definite bonus!  Now, for the real problem...  Now, for the real problem area: the engine bay. Even from back here, several problems should jump right out at you, including the completely unsafe and un-clamped fuel line on the carburetor, the missing air cleaner, and the rusty long-tube headers. At 18, this probably seemed... At 18, this probably seemed like a great way to "plug" a heater hose line, but today it seems ridiculous and extremely unsafe. Yes, that is a giant bolt, a roll of electrical tape, and a hose clamp keeping coolant "blocked off." Surprisingly, it hasn't ever leaked, but we must replace it before going any further. And, as you would expect, we plan to show you each and every step on our journey, even if it means admitting to our past mistakes. And trust me, I've made many mistakes-a few of which are outlined on the next couple of pages. Some may look very familiar to you and your project, while others may cause you to laugh out loud. Either way, we hope that the High School Hauler can motivate you to restart an old project, or begin a new one. The hardest step is always the first.  This is the starter wire,...  This is the starter wire, which has been burned through thanks to the long-tube headers. Amazingly, the car still started, but this is a major short in the electrical system, which can cause all types of havoc during cranking. Young Justin may have let this slide, but we're going to replace it before burning the Mustang to the ground.  The main engine harness, which...  The main engine harness, which runs into the passenger compartment looked horrible and after a minute of holding it, even with the key off, became hot to the touch. You can see several wires are burnt completely together and most of the shielding is almost completely gone. To fix this, I needed to call in the big guns-namely, MM&F Tech Editor Mark Houlahan, to re-wire the harness.  In order to remove the harness...  In order to remove the harness from the engine bay, Mark had to trace and disconnect each of the wires in the engine bay. Luckily, Mark is a master of the Mustang bay, so this took him just a few short seconds. For those of you at home, remember to take photographs or notes of each wire's position, so you can easily hook everything back up after you repair it.  In the course of just 12 inches,...  In the course of just 12 inches, our Holley fuel pump has three different color wires and two butt-splices connecting it to a 12-volt power source. I'm not going to say who is responsible for such poor wiring-although his name starts with Justin-but I will say it needs to be fixed!  With most of the harness disconnected,...  With most of the harness disconnected, Mark found this section of wiring, which was melted to another part of our long-tube headers. Luckily, after peeling back the tape, we found that most of the damage was cosmetic and were able to re-tape it without having to re-wire it.  Poking around the carburetor,...  Poking around the carburetor, Mark also found this missing vacuum plug. Even if you aren't missing any, make sure you take the time to inspect each and every plug for cracks, as it's common to see them dry out with age, which can lead to a high idle, lean air/fuel mixture, or even a no-run condition.  Inside the car, Mark pulled...  Inside the car, Mark pulled the wiring harness through the firewall and cut away the tape. As he got deeper into the harness, it became apparent that someone had already tried to fix this area once, although they clearly did a poor repair job.  Luckily, they left us enough...  Luckily, they left us enough good harness to work with, otherwise we would have been on the hunt for a new '70 wiring harness.  More burnt wiring, this time...  More burnt wiring, this time from underneath our Mustang. Anywhere heat and wiring can be an issue, you need to check on your project. While this hasn't caused a major issue yet, it could very well leave us stranded on the side of the road, so it only makes sense to replace it now.  Noticing a pattern here?  Check out this sweet exhaust...  Check out this sweet exhaust job! Instead of removing the original exhaust hanger, I decided it would be easier to have someone weld a new hanger in place to hold my Flowmaster mufflers. Really, how difficult would it have been to remove that one bolt?...  ...Note the lack of finishing...  ...Note the lack of finishing work, leaving the entire hanger rod in place, without even trimming it once welded to the muffler. This is just embarrassing!  Yes, that shock is on upside-down....  Yes, that shock is on upside-down. In fact, the previous owner, for reasons beyond us, installed both of them that way. Otherwise, besides some surface rust, the rest of our suspension and rear actually looked pretty good, which was a major relief, at least for the time being.  With the entire chassis and...  With the entire chassis and drivetrain looked over and the wiring fixed (thanks Mark!), we loaded our Mustang onto our DynoJet dynamometer to make some initial horsepower pulls. The dyno is a great way to test in a closed environment and can tell you a lot about the condition of your motor and driveline, without having to test them out on the street. On top of that, the dyno will allow us to make fair A-B comparisons moving forward, so that we can really show you what each future modification does to our project.  After strapping the High School...  After strapping the High School Hauler down and bringing the engine and transmission up to operating temperature, we made a baseline run on our in-house DynoJet and recorded 177.1 rwhp and 249.3 lb-ft of torque. Considering the age of our project and the basically stock engine, those figures look great. Next time you see the High School Hauler, we plan to increase its horsepower and make it a little more presentable under the hood, so make sure you stay tuned!
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