1990 country squire resto/lowrider in UK

[grandwagon]

cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[andyfanshawe]

Okay so its hood removal time so I can get that fender off



Really surprised me how many bolts hold the fender on! 12 in fact!

This is the only one that didn't come out. It loosedend and then kept spinning. No doubt the captive nut holder broke in half



So it was out with my air grinder to grind the head off



Fenedr came off but is that the remains of a bulb at the bottom of it?!! How the hell did that get there?



Doesn't look too bad at the bottom, but here's the other side





Looks a bit sad now!



I try to fire the engine up every so often, and today was it. But it wouldn't play ball-no dash lights or any life at all. Finally spotted this connector that had literally fallen apart! And I had pulled apart a connector where the air compressor used to be. Oops! Started up straight away then.



Andy.

[andyfanshawe]

Time to remove the inner skin from the fender and see how far the rust goes. I'll also need more space for the wheel to go up into the arch when it lays frame! So here is the cut...



Here's the main section removed



Just leaving this section on the lip. Here's my fav air saw cutting through the top layer - I hope!!



Here's how far the rust goes up the inside of the front of the fender - it reaches up further under the inner skin than I thought.



Here's a few views of the fender lip that is left. I now need to remove the inner lip clean from the outer one by grinding through from the inside and causing little or no damage to the outer





Just before I packed up for the night, I did a surprisingly satisfying job! Removed the chrome trim from the back of the fender near. the screen!



Andy

[andyfanshawe]

Excuse my ignorance but is this the 3G alternator or is my car going to burn down as soon as I have built it!!?


If it ain't I need an upgrade! May need your guys help for parts!

Andy.

[PICKUP6772]

Sorry Andy, but that's the 2G firebomb. Get the alternator for a '94-'95 mustang with a 5.0. ( Genco #7771 ). You'll also need about 5 feet of 4ga wire, and a 175 amp fuse, and the appropriate connectors. The whole job takes about an hour to an hour and a half. The results are immediate. There is a few posts on installation, but from what I've seen of your work, you'll have no problem at all.



MIKE

[andyfanshawe]

Sorry Andy, but that's the 2G firebomb. Get the alternator for a '94-'95 mustang with a 5.0. ( Genco #7771 ). You'll also need about 5 feet of 4ga wire, and a 175 amp fuse, and the appropriate connectors. The whole job takes about an hour to an hour and a half. The results are immediate. There is a few posts on installation, but from what I've seen of your work, you'll have no problem at all.



MIKE

Thanks Mike.
I may have to beg someone to ship me over one!!!

Andy.

[johnunit]

Maybe worth checking if a V6 Mondeo or Transit or some such thing had a useable alternator?

[andyfanshawe]

Maybe worth checking if a V6 Mondeo or Transit or some such thing had a useable alternator?

Good idea sir. I'll put that on my looooong list of things to do!

Managed to get an hour on the fender tonight and started to grind back the welds on the inside of the lip and peel back the inner lip. Here's the first bit bent back



And finally we are all clear



Rust has only gone through in 3 places but I will replace all the lip anyway.

I ran the grinder over the rusty steel and it looks far better than before



Rather than media blast the whole thing, I am going to use naval jelly(on liquid form) to eradicate all the rust. I am going to dip the fender into a BIG container and leave it for a day or so till all the rust is gone. then the welding starts.

Heres the back lower portion of the fender bent back to check for any rust under there.



Looks okay under there.

Andy.

[sly]

yeah... if you can find an older (re: 90s model) 3.0L v6 powered ford... it probably has the alternator you need.

You can see pics of the different versions here: http://www.alternatorparts.com/Ford_3G.htm

You want the "larger" one of the 2.

[andyfanshawe]

Here's the bottom of the fender immersed in deox c rust remover



And here it is a few days later



and etch primed


Now on to media blasting the lip and then start to reconstruct.

Andy.

[gadget73]

Is that a phosphoric acid solution or something else ?

[andyfanshawe]

Is that a phosphoric acid solution or something else ?

I think it may be phosphoric acid, yes

http://www.bilthamber.com/pro-introd...name=Corrosion Removal&name=deox-C

Andy.

[1990LTD]

lookin good andy. i love seeing progress on this old darlin

[grandwagon]

thats some mean shit there!!!!!!!!

[andyfanshawe]

that did a nice job of cleaning it up. To bad you couldn't stick the entire fender in the rust remover.

My exact thoughts!!

Bit more progress at last! I've actually restored another car in the time I've been away! Not a classic though. A small teeny everyday thing! A 1997 Ford Fiesta 1.4 Ghia





Anyway, back to the country squire. Time to weld up the light in the fender

Here is a patch cut to cover the hole


And the hole cut out very accurately for a butt weld


Tacked in


The welding caused slight distortion so I made a decision to replace the weak lip so I can panel beat it back to shape without losing the shape. So, a piece of wood clamped across to keep it all straight and out comes the first part of the lip









and new lip welded in prior to cutting to width


fully welded in


Now to panel beat it all flat.......................tomorrow

Andy.