The Rebuilding ProcessThe Rebuilding Process
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| Here we have the prototype for a targa top Mustang fastback…..no, actually this was the start of the roof repair process. The damage was too severe to save the old roof so it was removed. We were lucky enough to find a roof cut from another car that someone had been saving for several years. |
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| The worst part of this process was separating the old roof skin from the inner structure. Eastwood Company makes a nice little spot weld cutter that helped speed the process. Getting the old skin off required drilling through one layer of metal. The replacement skin had to be drilled from the inside out through as many a 4 layers. |
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| On the right side, the damaged box structure (top) between the A-pillar and B-pillar had to be removed and replaced with a section from the new roof (bottom). |
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| The new roof in place. It's starting to look like a car again. |
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| The new roll cage is taking shape. As mentioned on the previous page, the old cage was lacking in many areas. After looking at ways to salvage it, we determined the best thing was to start all over. The cage is constructed from 1.75" O.D. .120" wall DOM tubing and is entirely TIG welded. |
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| After trying to fit all the new gages into the stock dash (which wouldn't fit), we decided to fabricate an aluminum NASCAR-style dash. This view also shows the tubular corner gussets we used at all critical roll cage joints. |
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| In order to mount the Butler Built racing seat as low as possible in the car, the original seat box was cut and boxed in (primer area). The seat mounts are welded between the inner rocker structure and reinforcing plates on the center tunnel. |
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| We fabricated these sub-frame connectors for the car. This is the left-hand side. The rocker panel side is welded to the panel flange and the inboard side follows the floor contour. The front end ties into the forward portion of the roll cage. The rear ties into the main roll cage hoop and the spring mount. Besides stiffening the overall structure, this provides a handy jacking point when working on the car. This part is made from 1" square steel tubing. |
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| The finished cage and interior. The door bars have U-shaped gussets formed to reinforce the weld joint at the center. |
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The happy owner after going through tech inspection on a sunny day at Lime Rock Park. |
