Clay's Mustang Restoration
by
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| Ever wondered about the risks of buying a classic car sight unseen? Well Clay's 66 mustang is a story to be told. From the first 12 pictures you would think that this 66 Mustang is a clean rust free driver quality mustang, as did Jamal and Clay before importing this vehicle from Florida, USA. |
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The car arrived to Abu Dhabi and the upon initial inspection the horror stories started unfolding. While the engine, tranny, electronics, etc seemed to function properly, there was no way of finding out from pictures that this mustang had rust on almost every panel, which was covered up with fiberglass and bondo and painted over! Not only that, but the frame rails were filled with newspaper and magazines and painted over!
Clay, being a classic car enthusiast from his early years, took the car in as a champ and decided he wanted to fully restore it. After all, he always wished for an electic blue mustang with a custom interior. Jamal and Clay teamed up together and started working on the car immediately.
The first step was to sand blast the car to see what the extent of the damage was. Once the car was back from sandblasting, a whole lot of metal needed to be replaced, including but not limited to all 4 frame rails, firewall, radiator suport, rear quarter panels, trunk area, floor pans, and the list goes on. All new sheet metal was welded in, taking over 6 weeks to complete. |
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| During this time, Clay had picked up the engine and started workin on it in his free time. Coming from a mechanic background, he decided to rebuild the engine himself. After importing all the necessary parts, Clay started changing out the wiring harnesses, water pump, timing chain, valve covers, electronic ignition, and miscallaneous filters, wires, plugs, gaskets and pipes. The correct factory engine paint was ordered, painted on the engine, and a set of long tube headers installed to bump up the power. Once all the body work was completed, Clay started installing the engine back onto the car and sent it back to the body shop for final prep and paint. |
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| We didn't forget the interior, it was at the upholstrey shop the whole time. After Clay chose the colors and desgins he wanted, the seats were completely stripped, cleaned, then wrapped in leather. This includes front seats, rear seats, dash, and door panels. A custom beige headliner was also fabricated using the orginial headliner patterns, and the kick panels were wrapped in the same color,making the interior colors come together beautifully. |
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| Soon after the mustang was back at the body shop, was put pack together, primered, sanded, and headed into the paint booth. The color Clay chose for his mustang was the Viper Blue, a color with a gorgous effects. In the shade, it looks like any other dark blue color, transforming to an electric light blue in the sun and light. |
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| After assembling most of the car back together, the interior installation process was started. Heat insulation material was installed throughout the floor boards, and new carpet was added. The custom headliner was also installed, along with the front and rear seats, door panels, and miscellanous interior trim pieces.
Next is to install the radio, custom package tray with speakers, and sorting out a few minor issues on the car before it is finally ready. |
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| "FINALLY COMPLETED, INSURED, REGISTERED, AND ON THE ROAD..." |
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