Birddog0347 rescues a Fox

[bird_dog0347]

In the last couple of weeks Kevin was able to get the driver's side door, front and rear fenders, and trunk lid aligned and gaps worked on. He and I discussed my previous floor pan repair that was documented earlier in this thread... while a good solid repair that would last for another 30-50 years easy given it's storage conditions, I felt it wasn't acceptable to have that repair easily identified when all of Kevin's work was made to look 100% factory correct. Thus, he also fixed my B- repair job with his usual A++ work. Next up will be the sandblasting of all the undercarriage, engine bay, and any yet to be explored parts so we are 100% sure it's a straight clean shell. I also ordered the Cervini's Terminator style heat extractor hood for clearance of the 97 Cobra engine (and the looks).

[bird_dog0347]

Hahaha, headed in the right direction 🙂

Exactly. Next week it goes to the media blast guy to blast the whole front clip that was replaced, the under-carriage, and the interior so we can determine how much of the floor pan to replace after I patched it but it doesn't look factory. It doesn't make sense to leave my repair in place (even though it is structurally sound) when his repairs look like it was factory panels.

[DON SVO]

Thanks! After 25 weeks he has finally started blocking body panels instead of replacing them, lol.

Hahaha, headed in the right direction 🙂

[bird_dog0347]

Wow. Keep on truckin’ man, great progress.

Thanks! After 25 weeks he has finally started blocking body panels instead of replacing them, lol.

[DON SVO]

Wow. Keep on truckin’ man, great progress.

[bird_dog0347]

Door Jamb

[bird_dog0347]

Well Kevin had another busy week with the Frankenstang and the shell is now rust free, and free of crappy "repair" jobs. Since we had a complete and almost perfect front clip from the donor car (the cowl wasn't perfect) and there was a ton that would have to be replaced due to rust or damage on mine, Kevin just swapped the whole front clips. He did have to swap the cowl with a good one he had on hand though as well as the core support, but other than that it's all from the donor. He also replaced the whole driver's lower rocker panel as it also had rust issues. You can't even tell they were replaced though as it's all done to look like the factory with the factory looking spot welds.


Next up will be getting the doors (the red one in the pics is just one he had laying around), fenders, hood (which I will likely have to sell and buy a cowl to get the engine to clear it), and bumpers test fit and make sure the gaps will be good... then it will get the engine bay smoothed from the shock towers forward and finalize the T-Top frame install.


At this point, the only original untouched parts of my car will be the back half of the roof, the passenger door and front fender, and the fuel filler door.












The Rocker

[bird_dog0347]

Man, this is a rescue job if ever there was one!

That's the fucking truth!

[TX_92_Notch]

Man, this is a rescue job if ever there was one!

[bird_dog0347]

Kevin also noticed a lot of cracks in my dash and was able to repair them (plastic weld) and refinish the whole dash so we have something pretty to look at.

He also finished stripping the entire 92 down to it's shell, and he purchased the Engine/Trans setup from me as well as the 97 Cobra roller is sold, so the Supercharged 4.6 T56 setup basically cost me $3k. I also scored a full fuel system capable of supporting up to 1k HP today from Whiteboy for another $1k... Tank, pump, AN lines, rails, reg, return system now I just gotta get a few things shipped to TN.

Anyway, more work coming for the 92 as it still has a damaged cowl, and rust on the A pillars and driver's side rocker... The car is gonna get cut in half and the donor front end will be welded on as it's MUCH less work than replacing each part and you'll never be able to tell where it was grafted in when he's done. I asked Kevin how he would fix it if it were his car, and this is what he came up with so that's what he's going to do.

[bird_dog0347]

Some more awesome work this week... the donor car gave us it's all and the rest is going to the scrap guy (last pic). In the end, we likely should have replaced the floor pan, VIN tag, and roof skin (plus T-top conversion) and just used that shell as it might have been less work... but oh well.

[Rick Modena]

Yes sir, he's doing a remarkable job. I've done more than my share of resto's. Usually only one or two a year as long as the customer wasn't in a hurry because insurance work comes first. One of my favorites was a green/white '57 Belair hard top that we painted all BLACK, everything, the interior, the trunk all the jambs, complete color change. Thing that blew my mind was the car was straight and original, lol.
Though money and it's not my car prevails, had to take out all the factory glass and replace the mouldings was a chore, but it got done and I charged him $25k and this was 1995 money...

[4bangen]

looking good.

[bird_dog0347]

Well, Kevin has been a busy boy this week! He managed to get the T Top frame test fit, and to no one's surprise his cuts were exactly correct and it fits perfectly. He also managed to get the passenger rear fender replaced with the one from the donor car and shot it with epoxy. Next up will be the driver's A pillar and rocker to repair the rust in those areas.

[bird_dog0347]

if you part out the SN, can I have dibs on that front clip?

It's not getting parted out, already have a deal on it when we get the engine/trans out of it.