My 1968 Mustang Rustang

[tbear853]

This Mustang thread caught my eye as when I was in my youngunhood, a family friend/coworker with Dad bought a new '68 GT fastback 4 speed, red with C stripes, he just sold it in '19 after a second mild restore. He had 3 sons and all wanted it, so he sold it rather than have them fall out over it. He liked the 4 speed because he said he liked to have it in a go gear when merging on the expressway on his way to work at GE. Another friend whom we knew through him worked at Good Year in Danville, he seen us a few times a year as we gathered at Ruffin in NC to go to Rockingham or Charlotte for the races, he had a exact same red '68 GT with same C stripes but his was an automatic, then in '69 he showed up driving a new yellow '69 428 Cobra Jet Mach I 4 speed. When asked what happened to the red '68, he said it just grew old when leaving work and another buddy with a new Road Runner and another with a GTX would leave.

Good times remembered.

I get long winded .... sorry.

[Brown_Muscle]

The V-6 T5 is that different from the V-8 version? I was able to pull mine off with a few bolts. If you open it up and end up replacing things be sure to replace the shaft shaft bushing’s. They are a little plastic tabs and most likely several of them have broken off

[Tiggie]

This Mustang thread caught my eye as when I was in my youngunhood, a family friend/coworker with Dad bought a new '68 GT fastback 4 speed, red with C stripes, he just sold it in '19 after a second mild restore. He had 3 sons and all wanted it, so he sold it rather than have them fall out over it. He liked the 4 speed because he said he liked to have it in a go gear when merging on the expressway on his way to work at GE. Another friend whom we knew through him worked at Good Year in Danville, he seen us a few times a year as we gathered at Ruffin in NC to go to Rockingham or Charlotte for the races, he had a exact same red '68 GT with same C stripes but his was an automatic, then in '69 he showed up driving a new yellow '69 428 Cobra Jet Mach I 4 speed. When asked what happened to the red '68, he said it just grew old when leaving work and another buddy with a new Road Runner and another with a GTX would leave.

Good times remembered.

I get long winded .... sorry.

Mustang stories are always good to share. I originally intended to dress this as a GT look-alike. Not sure why I changed my mind. Still like the GT stripe and emblem appearance.


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[Tiggie]

The V-6 T5 is that different from the V-8 version? I was able to pull mine off with a few bolts. If you open it up and end up replacing things be sure to replace the shaft shaft bushing’s. They are a little plastic tabs and most likely several of them have broken off

I will find out shortly. I think I had to pull the tail shaft housing off to get a look inside but maybe not. They should be similar. I will be digging into this in about a month to six weeks. Gonna do an inspection to see if I can find a problem before ordering the rebuild kit and any other parts.

Put the fenders on last week. Got a chip on the left door. Right side fit flawless. Left fit crappy as it always has. It’s a Ford fender but I swear Ford replacement sheet metal is not as good as the stuff that was on the assembly line. Also got the eyeballs back in it. A/C condenser went in as well.






Waiting on horns for that last condenser bolt on the top left.

The fender extension on the left side was again a Ford part but not original. It fits poorly also. Had to cut out an access hole that should have been open the whole time so the headlight bucket would fit.




Working on the grille. Need to media blast it. Then the outside will all come together like a real car...


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[P72Ford]

That sucks the tranny is noisy. T5s are a fairly simple beast in my experience, and no doubt in your wheelhouse.

If you have to rebuild... whether you plan to run it hard or not, the steel bearing retainer, bronze shift fork pads, billet keys, and cluster support are fairly inexpensive and worth while upgrades. Those modifications, combined with a Pro 5.0 shifter and a Hurst stick (the Pro 5.0 stub is a joke) made a night and day difference in my '90 LX.

This is a super nice car, BTW. You are skilled well beyond a typical "backyard resto" guy. Can't wait until you get it wrapped up and take some pictures of it all together.

[clutch47]

Had a chance to catch up on your progress.
You're doing nice work, and your car shows it. Wasn't sure how your carb issues panned out. I'm a huge fan of the Autolite carbs.
When rebuilt and set up correctly they work very well, in both the 2V and 4V configurations.
The transmission could be a multitude of things. If you like the ratios, I'd be inclined to rebuild it entirely.
I've had 3 different T-5s over the years but never behind big power, and never had one problem.

[87gtVIC]

That one chip you have is now a memory....I have lots of memories from the reassembly of my car not to mention the scars from working on it which also leaves one with memories every time you lay eyes on em. Guys shelling out cash to have a nice car will never have those memories.

[Tiggie]

That sucks the tranny is noisy. T5s are a fairly simple beast in my experience, and no doubt in your wheelhouse.

If you have to rebuild... whether you plan to run it hard or not, the steel bearing retainer, bronze shift fork pads, billet keys, and cluster support are fairly inexpensive and worth while upgrades. Those modifications, combined with a Pro 5.0 shifter and a Hurst stick (the Pro 5.0 stub is a joke) made a night and day difference in my '90 LX.

This is a super nice car, BTW. You are skilled well beyond a typical "backyard resto" guy. Can't wait until you get it wrapped up and take some pictures of it all together.

Thank ya. It’s been one heck of a project. I don’t ever want to go into one this deep for a long time. Takes too much time! If I decide to change careers and go into the restoration field, I think I this can be a good resume. As for the T5, I’ll definitely consider those parts. I put the steel bearing retainer in when I did the input shaft, so that’s a start.

Had a chance to catch up on your progress.
You're doing nice work, and your car shows it. Wasn't sure how your carb issues panned out. I'm a huge fan of the Autolite carbs.
When rebuilt and set up correctly they work very well, in both the 2V and 4V configurations.
The transmission could be a multitude of things. If you like the ratios, I'd be inclined to rebuild it entirely.
I've had 3 different T-5s over the years but never behind big power, and never had one problem.

Gonna give the old trans a look over and see what I can see. My dad swears (in a good way) on the Autolite carbs. I will try to get this one sorted once I can get some more road time. Seems to just have a lean condition at tip in. Will know more once I get some miles on it. It had 66 jets in the primaries! I swapped those to 54 or 57 in the rebuild which I thought would still be rich but maybe not. Or maybe it’s the big block boosters not liking the loss of 90ish cubic inches.

That one chip you have is now a memory....I have lots of memories from the reassembly of my car not to mention the scars from working on it which also leaves one with memories every time you lay eyes on em. Guys shelling out cash to have a nice car will never have those memories.

Nailed it. It doesn’t bother me too much. I wish it wasn’t there but it is, and touch up paint will make it much better. I’d never get over it if I paid someone to do it and that happened. But since I screwed up... not as bad.

[Tiggie]

Front metal work almost back together. Need a few little things. Pics soon.

Drove it to the gas station! Drove it on the highway. Long time since 60mph.

Dad rode with me. Well kinda laid out in the floor since there are no seats. He needed out of the house. From that vantage point of being basically laying down, he says the the rear axle howling. I leaned back as far as I safely could and indeed I think he’s right. He’s got some spare 8” pumpkins. Going to swap one in and see if it changes.

Heater valve leaks under. Boo. It’s a pretty looking original valve. Pretty or not, leaking is no good. Ordered a new old reproduction stock (NORS?) replacement to hopefully be functional, non-leaking, yet better in appearance than any of the current reproductions.

Bigger primary jets coming for the 4100.

Little things to do!

Crossing fingers for a good transmission. It shifts awesome and having OD is very nice. I am used to riding in these old things with the engine howling. To just be able to grab another gear is amazing.

[massacre]

Glad to hear you took her for a drive. And good for you for taking your dad.
You’ll get everything sorted out

[Tiggie]

Tightened the pinion nut... noise reduced. So it IS the rear and not the trans! Problem now is that I have no idea what I need to tighten that pinion nut to. I counted turns when I did the pinion seal and put it back but apparently missed the mark. May have to pull the pumpkin to check it out. I guess the contact pattern would be what to check? It sounds pretty decent now so I may leave it alone...

Also put 62 jets in the front of the carb instead of 54. It’s much happier now.

[Tiggie]

Recalled that I can pull the axles and try to tighten the pinion nut to result in a certain inch-lb reading on turning the differential (14 in-lb seems to be a good number). I think that’s next on the list.

[Tiggie]

Got about 100 miles on this now. Not really sure since I haven't hooked up the speedo yet. I like that it says 00000.0...

Been prepping two extra wheels for new tires. Got those done. The other two best wheels were on the car so I dismounted the tires today and started stripping the layers of paint. At least one of these was a chrome center wheel at one point I think (hence the copper coating). Not rusty, so that's an improvement over the other two wheels. Will continue to work on these throughout the week if time allows.





Also redid the front alignment that had changed slightly since the front end settled. Now the steering wheel is crooked. I can reset that if needed or fix the toe.


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[87gtVIC]

Whats the plan for then wheels?

[Tiggie]

Whats the plan for then wheels?

Sandblast and paint argent like they would have came in 68. Would be a good time for your powder coat. Do they have a dull silver?