Steamy Date
Wanna get rid of all the goo and filth that's lurking on the engine andengine bay of your Ford? Well, plan ahead and think steam cleaner. Thesebrutes can be rented fairly cheaply and can definitely expedite theunderhood (and undercarriage) cleanup. We've used them several times andhave been pleased with the results. If you're crafty, you can rent itearly Saturday and keep it through Sunday without big penaltiesfinancially. If you can work fairly fast, you can also get a friendinvolved and split the cost. Of course, if your friends are like some ofour friends, you'll want to get the money up front...
Daily Grind
So, you want to get all your stainless parts bright and shiny. Don'tsend them out; do them yourself! If you have a bench grinder you can doas we did--strip the grinder down on one side and build a work stationas shown. We snagged some buffing pads and a polishing kit from thelocal Sears and got all the brightwork looking like new.
Be careful: Wear eye protection and gloves, and try not to do a HomeImprovement episode while buffing.
Buckets Of Fun
So you have a big, fat, old bench seat in that prized ride of yours andyou really want to go buckets; but what to do? The old stuff, likeTorino and Mustang high-backs, are getting harder to come by each day.What about getting a set of standard buckets from an '85-'93 T-bird,Cougar, or Mustang? These buckets can be had for nearly a song and areless "desirable" than the Sport buckets used on the Mustang through theyears. A slightly more expensive idea would be to use the buckets from anewer Mustang.
Be forewarned that you may have to improvise some to get them to fit.Also understand that at some point you'll need custom stitch work tomake the back and front seats match--unless, of course, you have aRanchero.
One Man's Junk
One man's junk is another man's treasure. So if you're able to makeyourself do it, buy used. It's one way to get the things you want andstay cheap--as long as you are a savvy buyer. For instance, we were at alocal swap meet two years ago and spied a dashpad for a '66 Falconnestled among the Chevy crap in a fellow's booth. The pad was marked $50and even came in a decent box. The pad was used but incrediblycrack-free. We waited until the end of the day as he was packing up andoffered him $25 for it. We made the deal and went home with a spare (andhard-to-find) dashpad for our '66 Ranchero, and he went home with 25smackers. Wanna know the cool thing? Everybody thought they got thebetter end of the stick.
But be aware that some deals are not really deals. We stay away fromengine parts and transmission stuff--in short, things that you can'tinspect. Look for a story in our October issue dealing with swap-meetbuys.
Roll Baby, Roll
Fender lips contacting restomod rubber can be a bad, bad thing. So werecommend rolling the lips (usually prior to paint). Of course, you canhave the shop do this and bill you for it, or you can get out the oleLouisville Slugger (we don't recommend the Sammy Sosa signature bat--toolight and corky), stick the big end under the lip between the tire andwell, and have a friend roll the car forward slowly. Get that? Roll itslowly. This should roll the lip.
We don't recommend this if you are prone to self-inflicted wounds likeTim Allen's character in Home Improvement.
More Paint Tricks
If the textured doors on your '65-'68 Mustang are pitted or missing fromyears of red-neck arm rubbing, you can reach for a can of wrinkle-finishpaint to give the door a more factory appearance. Though the colorchoices for wrinkle paint may be limited, you might be able to get awaywith using a base of the black with a top coat of the factory color. Ofcourse, if your interior is black you'll have no worries, mate.
Make sure the wrinkle paint and top coat are compatible. Lacquer andenamel don't mix well and will cause a wrinkle effect that you don'twant.
Dashing!
If you own a Ford built after 1963, there's a good chance you'll have aplastic dash fascia. Something that always disturbs us at shows is thatfolks take the time to re-cover seats, put in a new carpet and adashpad, but don't give the actual plastic dash parts the TLC they need.Paint is a cheap solution to the vexing problem of formerly platedparts. We have taken parts like the dash piece shown and used semi-glossblack and chrome paint. To be sure, the stuff won't look brand new, butit will look better than the sickly yellow plastic that haunts mostFords.
Displaced
With all the talk of "stroked" engines, one of the cheapest ways to go"displacement up" is to pick up a 351 Windsor for your Mustang or Falconand rebuild it on the cheap. The Windsor can be built quiteinexpensively (locally, the cheap build goes for around $1,500) and willgive you the added displacement of the stroker engines, plus good torqueand horsepower. Though the fit is a bit tight, the Windsor will slidehappily into the engine bay of your Mustang, Cougar, or Falcon.
Perfect PerTronix
So your car still has the points on it, and you're sick and tired ofdealing with the sputtering old V-8. Most aftermarket electronic systemsare great but can cost more beans than you might have rolling around inthe jar. Well, take it from us that the PerTronix Igniter is aninexpensive solution to the points dilemma. We have installed theIgniter on several of the Fords in our stable and are quite satisfiedwith the results. The car idles smoother and runs better. Best of all,the prices are reasonable--especially when tied to the results