Wow, awesome! I guess I missed the post where you had it back out on the road. That’s great!
Maybe now I’ll see you at Cars & Coffee in Wilsonville some time?
Car looks great. Excellent update posts, as always. Can’t wait to see what’s next 
What is wrong with the sending unit?
Thanks Mike! Not a bad idea, I’ll have to see if I can make it one of these times.
I’m kinda mystified… repro stainless steel standard sending unit (this one) was reading about 1/4 tank with the tank full of gas (right after filling up at the station, 10+ gallons and it splashed out of the filler neck a little). Tested the gauge to make sure it was ok by grounding the wire for the sender, which made the needle peg past full. Also did the test light on that wire and got the pulsing signal, so that all seems fine. Once the tank was close enough to empty, I drained it and removed the faulty sending unit. Took it to the bench and tested the resistance from empty to full and it all appeared to be within spec. Tested the float and it was fine. Even plugged it back in to the car using a jumper wire for ground and played with the arm, and got it to read full on the gauge. So I have no idea what the problem was. For now I’ve installed one of the cheaper generic units (this one) which also seemed to test ok, though it’s not as well built as the stainless one. At this point I don’t know for sure what the status is, since I only had about 4 gal from the fuel can to pour in. It’s reading around 1/8 tank, somewhere in there. Guess the only way to know for sure is to go fill 'er up again.
All the hard work (and re-work) is paying off: Snowball looks great!
(And I’m happy to see you included pinstripes.)
Details, details… amazing how much there still is to do even when it seems mostly done. This past weekend I did a couple of cosmetic projects, the easiest of which was to restore the original jack.
Before:
Bead blasted:
All finished, after painting with VHT Rollbar & Chassis paint (it’s been a good go-to satin black paint) and applying the little “See owner’s manual for jacking instructions” decal.
So now I can never use it again.
But I did put some grease on the threads just in case I’m in a pinch sometime. Guess the various joints on it should be lubed too, but anyway, the plan is not to use it if I can avoid it. Here’s everything installed in the trunk. I scored a nice spare wheel & vintage tire from Don. Obviously all of this stuff is mostly for looks. I’m not exactly sure how old the tire is, but it would probably be best not to drive long distances on it.
Next for a little nerdy touch… I splurged and got a NOS gas cap from someone on ebay.
The main reason for getting an original is that the repros don’t vent in both directions, which I learned from Kurt Lawrance at the 2018 WCCC open house (there’s a little segment on it in the video). Here’s the thing, though. I don’t think this NOS one vents in both directions either. I just drove to the gas station yesterday to fill up, with this cap installed, and as soon as I popped it off, there was a WHOOSH of pressure being relieved. Not sure in which direction. But there shouldn’t be a pressure buildup if this cap worked correctly, right? Ironically, I’ve never had that happen with the repro cap that I had on previously.
Anyway, on to the bigger project of the past weekend. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. It’s another case of deja-vu, since I did this after the first time the car was painted. Point is, I wanted to black out the pinch welds, and while I was at it, fog over some of the white paint overspray that got on my previously nice looking undercarriage. Here are some before pics, pardon the dirt.
Let the masking marathon begin again…
More to come in next post.
So this time around, I decided to go a little further outboard with the black paint than the factory did. I basically wanted to black out the whole horizontal bottom surface on the rockers, quarters, and fenders. Part of this choice was to hide thin paintwork, but I also thought it would provide the cleanest body line when looking at the car from the side. The fenders originally did not get any blackout paint on the bottom, but I went for it, in order to follow the same line that was established on the rocker panels. This worked out well on the quarters too, because it ends up creating perfect-looking corners where the valance meets the quarters.
A couple “pre-spray” pics:
This one shows the section of the fenders that got painted, and the beginnings of improving the underside.
This is a much-improved floor area after fogging with black. I did partially mask the front part of the fuel line, but it ended up being easier to quickly wipe it off with wax & grease remover while the paint was still wet. I did put masking tape over the parking brake cables. You know you’re a nerd when…
Here are some initial “finished” shots on the ground. You won’t get the full effect until I can get some good full-body pictures outside, but I’m really glad I took the time to do this detail. It makes the bottom body line look clean and crisp.
That’s it for now!
I would have thought the jack would sit on top of the spare. But I must confess I really don’t know.
Looks great Andrew! For some reason the pinch welds always grab my eye when they aren’t blacked out.
It doesn’t go on top, but I may not have done it exactly right in my picture. Never thought I’d be researching exactly how the jack goes in the trunk, but here we are. Here’s a look at the decal in the trunk. I think this might be why the top part of the jack swings up, I was wondering about that. Looks like it hooks to the J bolt, or the bracket in the floor. There are marks on the arms of the jack which I think show where you’re supposed to set it for stowage.
I’ll mess with it and report back.
Thanks! I agree, it makes a big difference. Many people just don’t think about this detail.
If they are working properly original gas caps only let air in the tank. They don’t let fumes out of the tank. So the classic mistake is to fill the tank up on a cold night and then put the car in a warm garage. The fuel will expand when it warms. If you inadvertently remove the gas cap it will give you a face full of fuel.
Not sure what Kurt is thinking. That’s how they are supposed to work.
Interesting. At least I spared you all the details I learned from the Mustangs guys about how it’s dipped not sprayed and how many inches on the screw can have paint…etc.
It has to be kinda gratifying to be at this point in your restoration.
Nice work on paying attention to detail Andrew 
, I had my paint guy do the same thing on the pinch welds, front valance tabs, front fender extensions & the tabs behind the center grille ornament.
Regarding the placement of the jack assembly and wrench, the Body Assembly manual on page #47 shows the locations depending on what wheel (conventional steel or styled steel) and what tire (full or space saver).
Guess I just wasted $60 on a gas cap then. Hooray! At least I have bragging rights that it’s NOS I guess
It is! And kinda surreal. I haven’t quite gotten to the point of enjoying it yet, because I’m still stressing over some final details and making sure it’s going to be reliable to drive. But yes, it’s crazy that the to-do list has gotten pretty short, I almost don’t know what to do with myself anymore.
Thanks! I still need to take my center grille apart and black out those tabs, thanks for the reminder. These kinds of details can make a big difference overall.
I do have a few little things to update. First of all, I had put on repro hood springs when I did the hinges, and they’ve never really held the hood up all the way. I even discovered recently that if I held the hood up all the way with one hand, I could take the springs right off the hinges with the other. Not good! They’ve only been on there for a year or two and they’ve already stretched out. Meanwhile, all the 50 year old orignial hood springs are still perfectly fine and have all the tension in the world. So I nabbed a set of original springs, bead blasted them, then had to figure out a way to paint them and get inside the coils. This is what I came up with.
Here’s a dramatic comparison for you. On the left are the reproduction springs, which started out the same dimensions as original before they stretched out. On the right are the refinished 50 year old OEM springs.
Now the hood stays ALL the way up with no trouble at all. P.S. - I know the hinges and springs are supposed to be “natural” bare metal, but I’m content with black.
Next, while I was in there I realized I still hadn’t installed the hood bumpers. I had attempted it once before, but broke all 4 of them in the attemt. The rubber is somewhat hard and brittle, and it seems impossible to install them as they come. I tried greasing them, tried boiling them in water to soften them up, no dice. So finally I concluded that the only solution was to trim a bit off the “ears”. This ended up working out fine and the bumpers still fit tight.
I’m not sure if I get the point of these things. My hood didn’t rattle before. All these have accomplished is to push the hood up a little so it doesn’t line up as well with the fenders. Cool?
Anyway, lastly, I finally installed restored wheel lip mouldings. For a minute I did consider the much less pricey, not-correct-but-works repops. But I’ve gotten picky and knew I wouldn’t be happy with that, so I stuck with the restored originals. I ended up taking the wheels off, which made it much easier. I did have to drill a few holes that were missing in the body. All in all it went well and I was pleasantly surprised that none of the screw holes stripped out.
That’s all for now! I’ll probably bolt my original wheels back on while I’m at it. The aluminum wheels and BFG’s look really cool and I like them, but they just don’t quite fit the theme I’m going for. I think my eventual plan is to do styled steel wheels and skinny whitewalls for a more original, classy-yet-sporty look. Will have to decide between 14" with trim rings or 15" with chrome outer, but that can happen later.
If I’m not mistaken hinges are supposed to be phosphate/oil. I’ve been wondering how to keep the springs stretched open while they’re in the near boiling solution. Or maybe they don’t need to be.
Good choice on the wheel moldings. I think the car looks much better with them. I like the rocker moldings as well.
If you leave the springs installed on the hinges while you’re coating them you should be able to keep them stretched somewhat, I think. Agreed on the trim, although my car didn’t come with the rocker mouldings so I’m going to stick with the plain look there.
I think what I’m proving here is that even the most basic, standard '68 Cougar can still be a damn nice car, without any of the fancy options. At least that’s what I tell myself
It is a nice car, no question about it. I’m not just a Cougar fan because of my GTE.
Little progress update. Since I did the pinch weld blackout and floor overspray hiding project, I was reminded of how much ugly overspray remained in the front wheel arches. See a reminder of how bad it was in post 238. This was bugging me, so I finally got it up in the air with the wheels off and went to town. Started by cleaning as best I could with an aerosol can of paint prep stuff (like a cheap wax & grease remover) and various brushes and rags, and that removed some of the white overspray on the suspension. Luckily I was able to clean up the silver portion of the upper control arms. Everything else would just have to be painted black. Once again I used the VHT Rollbar & Chassis satin black paint. By being careful with a piece of cardboard in one hand, and by masking various holes that led through to the engine bay or grille, I was able to do this pretty easily without getting black paint where I didn’t want it. Quickly after painting, I made sure to wipe off the brake lines, fuel lines, etc with paint thinner to let them show and look like things were done in the right order. Much better now! Glad to have this done and looking somewhat presentable again.
Aside from that, I made a wheel decision. I had been thinking that the Legendary GT5’s were just going to be temporary, for display and pictures. Once I put the wheel lip mouldings on and switched back to my factory wheels and hubcaps, I had to admit that it looked kinda dull, and let down the rest of the car somewhat.
I will say it was nice to see it this way again, though, since it’s how it always looked from the beginning, and throughout my childhood. But I just couldn’t do it. Seeing the 2005 date codes on the tires clinched it too, I had to at least get tires. And after 51 years of this car’s life, and the whole restoration it went through, I thought it really deserved to be dressed up a little. So I bit the bullet and bought the GT5’s and BFG’s from Don. I will be hanging on to the factory stamped steel wheels and hubcaps just for posterity.
Next little backtracking project was to remove the side mirrors and quarter panel emblems & reflectors to prep for some final paint detailing. There’s still some significant orange peel and finish issues in some spots, so I’m taking it to a detail guy to get that stuff wet sanded and polished out. Here’s an example. You can also see that I opted to leave the door panel in place and use a piece of wire as a snake, so hopefully I can thread the remote mirror cable back in without removing the door panel.
Finally, some fun. I got to take it on an actual drive the other night after work, which is probably the longest and most fun drive I’ve gotten to do so far. I headed out to Brian Aust’s place in Silverton, along with Darrell N., to do a little vacuum toubleshooting on Brian’s GT, and to generally nerd out about cars and have a good time.
Brian lives in the most idyllic place in the world, so naturally we had to take some sunset pics. These are just from my iPhone, and I was kicking myself for not having my real camera with me. Will just have to go back and do it again, darn…
It’s nice to be at this stage where I can start to enjoy it! This month is going to be expensive though, with the wheels, detailing, and I’m planning an AC upgrade kit as well. But it’s really close. I’m looking forward to the day that I can get my fancy camera out and do some real photos, and I should be able to do that within the next couple weeks. All for now!