Front frame rail installation (& repair)

[@TheJoefussGarage]

For those, doing this job, you must keep in mind, looking from either side of the car, your frame rails, actually are canted downward slightly, in relation to the straight portions of the lower rocker pinch weld flanges... It may not sound right, though go look at a few cars at a car show, and you will see it... The point is, to mock up, the rest of the car, before you lock in, the angle of those rails.. That means core support, aprons, shock towers, Export brace and and monte carlo bar.. This should get you, into the "ballpark".. Remember, these cars were not built the more precise standards and tolerances of today's cars.. Plus or minus a 1/8" of inch is 1/4" !!! That's close enough for an early mustang.. That's why there's so much room more adjustment in the fenders and number brackets... Just think 🤔 erector sets, make sure it's all straight and square, before tighten all of those tiny screws !!!!

[@XikirRM]

My left rail was the same way, I ended up cutting the spot wields and fitting it to the subrail.

[@H21sidewinder]

Excellent video…your explanations, clear shots and detailed step by step process are super helpful. Great job and keep’ em coming

[@norrisnetllc]

Where did you get that manual for the measurements?

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

I got mine from my father. It was his car, so I assume he got it shortly after buying the car in 1967. That said, I believe there’s a reproduction available on Amazon. Here’s a link to one I found a few minutes ago. www.amazon.com/Cougar-Fairlane-Mercury-Intermediate-Mustang-Detroit/dp/1791406319/ref=pd_sbs_d_sccl_1_1/132-6790794-6097326?pd_rd_w=kdQgR&content-id=amzn1.sym.f7f035a5-ff07-4412-8a3c-9301028ec36b&pf_rd_p=f7f035a5-ff07-4412-8a3c-9301028ec36b&pf_rd_r=X0SE9EZ3XQFS402ZJMCB&pd_rd_wg=hgeph&pd_rd_r=504c3c0f-f246-4d90-8e63-2b5fa9a27b17&pd_rd_i=1791406319&psc=1

[@norrisnetllc]

@@67mustangcouperestoration thank you!

[@BlindFoxXx515]

Trying to figure out what sequence i should tear mine down in. I want/need to replace all of the sheet metal like you're doing. Is the cowl the best place to start? Could you summarize the sequence you've done to this point? Love the content 🙏

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

Decisions on sequence can be tricky, because all the panels have to be welded back in, so in my case, I wanted to avoid welding a new panel to an old rusty panel that I’d have to replace later, so I tried to start “inside” the car and work my way out. I did the cowl pretty early in the process because I was concerned the body might flex if I didn’t at least have a solid cowl and firewall in place before cutting out the entire floor. In hindsight, if the front end is removed, running a single brace between the two front edges of the rockers would have been all that’s needed to retain the side-to-side dimension. I know some guys like to install the Dynacorn one-piece full floors, but I was apprehensive about spending the $3K and then have to figure out a way to suspend the entire body during installation. I would have also had to devise a way to get the new floor under the car by myself, which seemed like it could be pretty difficult. I don’t own a trailer, so I wasn’t sure how to get the floor into my garage because of the size of it. That’s why I deciding to do everything in smaller, more manageable pieces. A lot of what has determined my order of operation was the extent of the rot and the idea that certain parts/panels need to be removed to access other areas. I initially pulled the trans, motor, and rear differential, just to get them out of the way and lighten the body, which reduces the stress on everything else. With how much rot this car had, the extra weight of those items kept me from even jacking the front of the car, because the jack points couldn’t support the weight of the car. So after those were removed, along with the hood and fenders, I started removing/replacing in this order: 1. Removed upper and lower cowl. 2. Removed firewall. 3. Removed front portion of DS inner rocker. 4. Removed/Installed DS kick panel. 5. Installed front portion of DS inner rocker. 6. Installed firewall. 7. Installed lower and upper cowl. 8. Removed floor pan, transition pan, trunk pan, rear torque boxes and frame rails. 9. Replaced the rear portion of the DS inner rocker. (This is the portion that the rear torque box was attached to.) 10. Replaced tail panel, but didn’t weld it to the quarters yet, because those may be changed later. 11. Installed trunk/transition pan sheet metal (just vise gripped in place). 12. Installed rear frame rails. These are welded to the tail panel and rockers and the the trunk/transition pan are welded down to the rails. 13. Installed convertible inner rockers (this is just something I wanted to do to stiffen the body). 14. Installed floor pan. I’m currently still working on the front frame rail installation. I’ve got them temp installed right now and my measurements are pretty good, but I want to test fit the fenders before I weld them in. I need to know my door gaps are right. To do that I need the install the aprons. Unfortunately the aftermarket aprons I bought are garbage, so I’m going to use my old shock towers and aprons instead. I’ll just have to do more repairs. Once I get all that done, I plan to replace the rear window panel (the panel in between the trunk lid and rear window). Then I’ll presumably replace or repair both rear quarters and wheel housings. That’s probably way more info than you were asking for, but this is the sequence I’m using. Everything depends on the amount of damage/rust you happen to find along the way. Some can be repaired, while other panels may be easier to replace entirely.

[@BlindFoxXx515]

@67mustangcouperestoration this is exactly what i was looking for, thank you so much! Which aprons did you get? Ill make sure to avoid them when i get to that point. I feel like i should buy the full floor pan but i dont really have anyone to help, so i plan on smaller, more manageable sections as well 🫡

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

@@BlindFoxXx515 I bought both forward aprons from Mustangs Unlimited before they went out of business. Those were labeled as Dynacorn, but the forward one where the battery tray is located was wrinkled really badly and looked like the sheet metal slipped during stamping. It was surprising that someone didn’t notice it before putting it in the box. I bought the two rear aprons from NPD. The flat upper surfaces where the fenders mount don’t have any of the mounting holes in them, so I’d have to put them all in myself, which shouldn’t be necessary. They are also supposed to have the outer edge of that upper surface bent downward, so that if stiffens that upper flange, but neither has that bend. It just seems like they cut a lot of corners making them. The passenger side rear apron also had a 2” long dent right in the corner. I’m not sure if it happened during shipping, but the box wasn’t messed up, so I’m thinking it was boxed up like that. In terms of quality and shipping, I’ve had better luck with Kentucky Mustang.

[@BlindFoxXx515]

@67mustangcouperestoration Dang, thats some crappy luck! Thank you for the feedback! Looking forward to future content 🤙🤙🤙

[@peterm7929]

What manual book are you using?

[@novarocker247]

here do you get the book?

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

I actually got mine from my father. It was his car, so I assume he got it shortly after buying the car in 1967. That said, I believe there’s a reproduction available on Amazon. Here’s a link to one I found a few minutes ago. www.amazon.com/Cougar-Fairlane-Mercury-Intermediate-Mustang-Detroit/dp/1791406319/ref=pd_sbs_d_sccl_1_1/132-6790794-6097326?pd_rd_w=kdQgR&content-id=amzn1.sym.f7f035a5-ff07-4412-8a3c-9301028ec36b&pf_rd_p=f7f035a5-ff07-4412-8a3c-9301028ec36b&pf_rd_r=X0SE9EZ3XQFS402ZJMCB&pd_rd_wg=hgeph&pd_rd_r=504c3c0f-f246-4d90-8e63-2b5fa9a27b17&pd_rd_i=1791406319&psc=1

[@waynepaul9276]

The top of that frame is not bent to a full 90 degrees. This will affect the width at the top of the frame. Drilling and re welding didn’t appear to change anything

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

The problem I was having with the passenger side frame rail was that the two pieces that make up the frame rail were pinched too tightly together when it was welded at the factory, so the rail was too skinny. As a result, the forward floor support wasn’t touching on both sides, so I couldn’t weld it, because the gap was huge. Drilling out the spot welds and sliding the two pieces of the rail apart a little bit allowed me to get it back to the correct width and then I re-welded it.

[@94thaerosquadron3]

Tricky the is a coup? But the rocker panel replacement was convertible. So will the front tork boxes . FYI ALL YOU BUILDERS. As seen , it’s done for strength. So is the 1 piece seat platform. It adds strength. Also do not forget the convertible under the car seat boxes with the bolt in metal plate.. Now no drive shaft guard is required . Roll bar supports are …… another secret!!!!

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

I may actually be doing something different under the car, rather than using the convertible lower seat pan boxes. I picked up some Global West subframe connectors and I am thinking about designing some custom support tabs/beams to tie the subframe connectors into the bottom of the one piece convertible seat platform. My plan is a bit conceptual currently. I will be trying to get the front end built and torque boxes modded first though. Unfortunately I had to get shoulder surgery a few weeks ago, so that’s slowed me down quite a bit for the time being. Sucks, because I really want to make some progress on the car.

[@94thaerosquadron3]

Looking forward to seeing it if you post it?@@67mustangcouperestoration

[@68mustangrestoration34]

With the spot welds popping like that leads me to agree with you that it simply was jigged and welded wrong under stress. When I restored mine I could not believe how out of size the replacement parts are and how much work was needed just to fit right. Great progress keep up the good work

[@67mustangcouperestoration]

Yeah, I didn’t include it in this video, but the crossmember that attaches the two forward floor supports together is going to take some modification to make it fit flush to the floor/tunnel sheet metal. It’s too wide (from tabs to tabs) by almost 3/8” and it appears that the features out on the ends aren’t formed enough, so it’s making hard contact with both floor supports before it’s seated up inside the contour of the tunnel. Should be fun times getting it to fit properly.