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De-Mothballing, Part Deux (LONG)

63alf

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2003
Messages
17
Well, I joined this board and made my first posts earlier this year. At that time I was wondering what to
do with my CS, which had been in storage in the garage for the last 15 years. It is the first car I ever
bought in 1975 while in High School. It is black on black with an x-code 390 2v and is a Marti verified
GT/CS.

After a few comments and suggestions by others on this board, I began the de-mothballing process.
Cleaned out the fuel tank, threw on a rebuilt carb, new fuel pump, new master cylinder. Changed all
of the fluids, etc. Was nice to hear her fire up again - I had become complacent and had not kept up
with her monthly starts (to keep the juices flowing) for some time. Due to my own poor care, there was
now a clicking from the right cylinder bank which had not been there before, as well as a hole in the
exhaust system before the muffler. Got a quick muffler patch on, but that did not solve the most
major potential problem - too much smoke (gray = oil!)

Well, after some more pondering I decided to continue with the process at least to get her back to the
point of being a reliable daily driver. Found a local shop which has rebuilt and maintained several
classic 'stangs, and called up for a flatbed tow truck. When following the tow rig to the shop, I remembered
something which I had long since forgotten: Even on a tow truck, the GT/CS turns more than its share
of heads on the road, and mine does not even currently sport a stripe kit!

Anyway, the shop has confirmed low compression in at least 2 cylinders, so time for a top and bottom
end rebuild. I'm going to rebuild the existing motor because it should be in good condition and all
the numbers will still match. This also gives me the opportunity to have some modernization upgrades
performed such as replacing valve guides with types more appropriate for unleaded gas. Also, due to
the lower octane of today's fuels, I will probably have the compression lowered a little. Will let her
run a little better on today's fuels, and the 390 will still put out plenty of power for that vehicle.

While the engine is out and being rebuilt, the shop will go through the suspension and brake system, and
begin to install a completely new exhaust system (stock type, from the headers all the way back). Then off
to the paint and tire shops. Hopefully this will give me another 35 years out of the old girl!

I plan on taking some photos as the work progresses on the "mid-life rebuild". I will post them on this
board as a chronology, if there is interest.

Thanks to all for their comments and assistance, and I can't wait to get the old girl back on the
road again.

Tom
 

rjw

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 22, 2002
Messages
257
Congratulations, Tom!
You bet this forum is interested in your progress...it inspires all of us in going to the next step on our own cars. (And we all learn along the way.) Looking forward to seeing the "work-in-progress!"
Richard
 

darb

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2003
Messages
200
Welcome!! It will be wonderful to hear the stories and see pictures of the progress of your big block gt/cs! Goodluck on your restoration, and congratulations on owning the car for so long! It definitly is rare, keep your hands on it.

-Brad
 

68sunlitgold

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 20, 2002
Messages
1,357
Tom,
I think everyone would love to see the pics of the car as it progresses from "moth-balled" to "daily runner". I too remember the day I got my CS and started her for the first time in 11 years. I took me some time to keep her running, but once the carb got fuel, it started and ran good. Now that I am far, far away from her (Korea) my dad is starting all my cars every once and awhile to make sure they will still run once I get back. I am chopping on the bit to get to work on her when I get back so she will shine like she did when she was new.
Keep us posted!!
Doug
 
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