Upholstery work isn’t something I like doing either. Headliners, vinyl tops and seat covers gets farmed out. I just don’t have the nack either for making them turn out right. Nice to see you’re making some good progress.
Well, I’ve been somewhat tearing into the engine… got it separated from the trans and onto a stand. Have been taking off some of the components, getting ready to clean things up, replace what needs replacing and throw some paint on it. I just got a big box o’ paint (all VHT products except for a couple cans of SEM Trim Black for when I do the grille and whatever else). From the research I did, I ended up getting “New Ford Blue” engine enamel, supposedly that’s the right one. I almost got the “Dark” blue but it looks like that is actually too dark. Will post test pics soon. Also some Cast Iron grey high temp exhaust paint, some satin black “rollbar & chassis” paint which is supposed to be a nice durable finish (will be useful for a lot of things), and also some engine primer.
Getting close to getting the engine bay painted… think I’m going to go with the PPG DP90LF epoxy primer with a topcoat of DDL 9423, based on recommendations from you guys. Have to figure out how much to get and what other stuff I need to go with it (catalyst? reducer? hardener? I don’t know much about paint…). I think I just need to enlarge the hole in the firewall for the addition of a brake booster (going to snag a complete PDB setup from a 70 Cougar, stay tuned) and maybe get some of the steering stuff out of the way.
Other coolness - found the engine tag, it was mounted on the oil dipstick tube nut.
And, not that I’m surprised, but it’s very cool to know that your car has its original numbers-matching drivetrain:
Progress feels slow, but stay tuned for more updates! Thanks for the continued interest & advice.
Way cool. Progress is good, even when slow. Unless you’re SeanD, anyway. LOL.
Car is coming along nicely!
For the primer you’ll need a quart of paint and catalyst. Mixes 2/1. Lately I’ve been using the PPG “Shopline” paint, priced lower and I feel is still a top quality product. Comes in black and grey and I believe red oxide color.
Topcoating; First coat should be a “dusting” coat, transparent, not too thick. Second coat, a little thicker. On the last coat you want the first area you sprayed to still remain wet when you finish the last area. Last coat thick as possible without running.This way you minimize the overspray and all dries evenly without streaks. You select reducer by the temperature/humidity. Hot and dry you want a slower reducer, cool and humid you want a fast reducer.
Again, I like the Shopline paint for topcoating. A quart of paint, quart of reducer and a small bottle of hardener is all you need for the engine compartment.
Always spray a test panel to confirm the paint isn’t too glossy or flat. Slower reducer will tend to add a little gloss.
I’m no expert but this is what I’ve learned over the years.
Had to share some shiny objects… one of my favorite things about a restoration is taking something old and ugly, cleaning it up and giving it a good paint job to make it look brand new. Such was the case with my air cleaner and exhaust manifolds last week.
It turns out that I got the wrong blue, but I actually ended up liking it enough to keep it and use it. It’s a darker, richer blue than the correct original one. I’ll take a comparison shot at some point. But if you’re looking for the correct original engine paint color, don’t get “New Ford Blue” (VHT # SP138).
Here’s my air cleaner, complete with new decals. Not sure if I used the correct Autolite parts sticker, but I chose that one because I thought it looked the best.
Did the inside and underside of the lid in black:
And here are the exhaust manifolds. Very happy with how these came out. They really do look like clean bare metal. I’m going to attempt to use the same paint on the rusty downpipes so they match.
That’s pretty much it for now! Took out the steering box this weekend and it’s pretty much shot. Luckily I know where to get a rebuilt one 
I have so much work to do on just about every part of this car, it’s kinda hard sometimes to figure out what to do first. Oh well, it’ll get there eventually!
Nice!
Just keep plugging away, one piece at a time!
What type of paint did you use on the exhaust manifolds? Is it a heat rated paint. It looks great, I wish mine looked that good.
Steven
Yep, I used VHT Flameproof paint in “Cast Iron” (their part # is SP998). Very happy with how it looks, hopefully it will stand the test of time. You do need to heat cure it, which you can do by running the engine for certain intervals of time. They outline the curing process on their website.
Usually the manifold paints don’t last very long, only a few months at best. Ceramic coating works much better, but of course costs much more. The exhaust paints work better for the rest of the exhaust where the temperatures are lower.
Looks great Andrew.
Plastikote 224 is a very good match for the original Ford Blue. I did a comparison with it and Duplicolor - forget the number - DE1606? but was also supposed to be Ford Blue for '69 (and?). The Plastikote was a much closer match (on an air cleaner lid).
Thanks for the info on the paint. Ceramic coating would last longer for sure. My manifolds could use a fresh clean look and the paint might be cost effective at least for now. If the paint lasts 6-8 months I’d be pleased. Either way Andrew yours look outstanding. I also like your choice for blue on the air cleaner.
Steven
Thanks! Actually the VHT Flameproof paint is classified as a header paint, and it’s supposed to withstand up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. They say it’s a silicone-ceramic coating. Should be pretty durable, but time will tell!
Bob, glad you mentioned the correct color code for those reading who want to use the original stock color. I hope it’s not something I’ll regret later, but I think my “wrong” color looks good. I’m thinking about giving myself the option of switching out the valve covers and air cleaner for chrome ones in case I want to dress it up a bit. We’ll see.
In other news, I got my headliner installed yesterday! Pics / story to follow soon.
Ok, no pics of the headliner yet… it came partially unglued so I’ll wait to show it off until the guy comes back to do the vinyl top & fix it.
In other news…
Took the whole front end out of the car, including the springs and shocks of course.
Rolled it outside to do some more cleaning up with the steam cleaner. Like my front wheels?
Also got the trans pretty clean while I was at it. I’m not planning on painting it or anything, it’s just bare aluminum.
Next, a very important but simple way to strengthen the weak shock towers on these cars. The “Boss 302” reinforcing plates.
Preparing the area:
Test fit:
Welded in place:
Welding done by Felix - here he is at work on the other side:
Look at the mess on the driver’s side shock tower. It’s been welded before, and it still needed a couple cracks welded up. In fact, there are a couple more since doing this that we didn’t notice the first time around. Argh!
In the end, I’m most likely going to have all the things in this kit to stiffen up the front end. The one piece export brace is a must.
Anyways, I spent the better part of Monday getting all the disc brake parts off of a 1970 Cougar parts car in the wrecking yard. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but I got everything I needed:
The booster will be a core that I’ll exchange for a rebuilt one. Same with the calipers. Master cylinder, I’ll just get a new one. The rotors will be turned on our resurfacing machine (lucky we have one). The distribution block, I’ll just clean up and rebuild with one of our rebuild kits. The pedal I’ll just repaint and put a new pad and trim on. For the pedal bracket, I’ll just modify my original drum brake one (pretty easy). More on that later.
Firewall modified to accept the booster. The car already had indentations from the factory showing me where to cut, so this was no problem. Just needed to drill out the bottom / center stud hole (outlined on engine side), and extend the large central hole upward (outlined on inside of firewall).
Anyways that’s the latest on the Snowball. I’m making videos about both the suspension upgrades and the disc brake conversion. No real ETA on when those will be finished, I’m waiting until I get the front end is reassembled so I can do some conclusion shots of the nice shiny stuff in place. Of course, this is the time to paint the whole front “doghouse,” so that’s coming soon as well. Hooray for progress!
I’ve found frozen cross shafts and bushings to break shock towers
In the end, I’m most likely going to have all the things in > this kit > to stiffen up the front end. The one piece export brace is a must.
That will really improve the solid feel of the car, good idea to weld in the cowl brace also
Anyways, I spend the better part of Monday getting all the disc brake parts off of a 1970 Cougar parts car in the wrecking yard. It was kind of a pain in the butt, but I got everything I needed:
Nice, good swap!
Time for an update.
Naturally, now that the front end was completely empty, it was the perfect time to throw on some fresh black undercoating. The original stuff was still stuck on there pretty good, so all I really did was clean / degrease the whole surface, mask off, and spray the new undercoating over the old.
Also, I got to work on cleaning up the new brake parts. The rotors are new re-surfaced and I even painted the centers and outside edges so they don’t get rusty again. Also painted the spindles and dust shields.
I used leftover exhaust paint on these and love the results. You can hardly tell that the central shaft and flat area are still bare metal, and the rest is painted.
Same on the rotors. Even painted the back side because I’m crazy like that.
Here’s the dist. block cleaned up externally, though I still need to pull it apart and replace the seals. Don’t know for a fact that I need to, but “While I’m At It…”
And here’s a “new” MC that I got a good deal on because it’s been sitting on the shelf forever:
So, before I started putting the brakes on, I needed something to attach them to. That meant it was time for new upper and lower control arms, spring perches, springs, rubber isolators, and shocks. The springs are the 1" lower Scott Drake “performance” ones, and are a little thicker steel than the originals. Hopefully they aren’t too harsh. The shocks are pretty ordinary KYB’s, basically a stock replacement (looks like I need to update the pic for the website, it shows a gray one, but they are black now). Oh, and don’t forget to do the 90 degree grease fitting adapters on the upper control arms if you ever want to grease your suspension.
This weekend I got the driver’s side brake put together. I exchanged my core calipers for rebuilt ones and got the semi-metallic pads. Did this side first to figure out how to do it, then I’ll do the other side in the video 
Somehow, I think what took the longest was installing the little rubber insulators. The bolts kept wanting to push them out the other side. Kind of annoying, but I got 'em eventually.
(I know, I still need to install the cotter pins)
Stuff is looking gooooood! One thing I realized is that I’m finally at the point where I’m putting stuff ON the car instead of just taking things off! It’s a big turning point… Also in the works, I’ve been cleaning up / painting the steering linkage stuff, struts rods, etc so they look presentable as well. Had to get a new idler arm too because mine was a little wobbly. Anyway, hopefully this week I’ll finish up the other side, and on a slightly unrelated note the vinyl top might get done this week too. Then I’ll try to throw the front and rear glass in, with some help of course. Then there’s no reason not to hang the doors, and paint the engine compartment, and start on the interior, and… you get the idea.
Good job Drew!
nice job, one thing leads to another,
Big news of the day… new vinyl top is on!
Very happy with how this came out. The only little thing that isn’t perfect is the RH stitch line, which is a teeny bit crooked. But otherwise it looks awesome. Good tight fit and everything. Oh, and ignore the saddle-colored trim pieces. I grabbed those from the shelf because I couldn’t find my original ones. 
Needed to paint mine anyway, so if they don’t turn up I’ll just blast & paint these ones.
Installed by the same guy who did my headliner, and the convertible top in our most recent video.
This is the top of the line, OEM material from SMS Auto Fabrics (link). They are slow to produce (mine took about 3 months) and expensive. But in my opinion, if you intend on keeping your car for a long time and you care what it looks like, or if you’re doing a concours resto, it’s definitely worth it. The quality of this material is just so much better than the typical one we sell, not to mention it’s almost exactly the same as the originals. I’ll talk a little more about the differences down below.
Finally, Don and I installed the front windshield using the rope technique. This pic is from before we started putting goop in between the rubber & glass, which was kinda tricky. I haven’t even started on the inside yet because I’m a little bit scared of messing up the white headliner. Anyone have tips for doing this with the glass in place?
Anyway, a little more about the vinyl top. I took a couple of comparison shots with the “average” reproduction that we sell (top in pics) and the “concours” version (bottom in pics) that I put on my car.
Texture comparison:
A couple things I noticed about the “average” one - the texture is a little bit rougher, and it has a shiny finish, which I don’t really like. Also, when you pull on it, you can actually stretch it a little, whereas the “concours” one is very taut and won’t stretch with your bare hands. The texture on mine looks more natural and precise and it has a more matte finish, which looks better IMO. Another thing about the “average” one that you can’t see here is that there is a fairly noticeable repeating pattern that you can see when it’s installed on the car. The “concours” one probably repeats the pattern too, but if so I haven’t been able to tell. Here’s the back:
If you’ve ever pulled an original vinyl top off a Cougar, then you will have seen a canvas-like backing material that looks like the bottom one in this pic (concours one of course). The “average” one has soft white fluffy stuff on the back that doesn’t seem like it would do much to stop moisture. I guess the good thing about it is that it would provide a little more padding to hide imperfections on your roof’s sheet metal. But the overall feel is just cheaper.
So, just to be clear, I’m not trying to put down anyone who has put the average top on their car. In fact, it’s been the only new vinyl top option that most people knew about for a long time (my car had that kind of top on it before). It does the job and looks good (see pics on the listing on our site of the Tiffany Blue '68). However, seeing it next to the OEM material, and seeing the proper one installed on my car… it makes a huge difference in the quality of the car’s appearance, in my book.
Here are more comparison shots of texture. An original vinyl top, the economy version, and this premium version that I used.
When the installation was all finished, I had to step back and absorb it for a while. It really looks great in person. That, and it’s starting to become recognizable as the car I want it to be.
Also, while I’m here, the front end progress is very good - I cleaned up and painted the drag link and tie rods (had to replace one of the inner tie rods) and put them in the car, with a new idler arm, rebuilt power steering ram cylinder (mine had a bent shaft and a dented cylinder), and hooked it up to a rebuilt steering box (mine was shot). Strut rods also cleaned up / painted and installed with new bushings. Brakes are essentially done on both sides except for the lines. A few things still need buttoning up / torquing / cotter pins / etc. Here’s a couple quick pics, sorry they are on the ground and you can’t really see a whole lot.
The Snowball rolls on!
Nice work!
That’s coming along very nicely Andrew. 
John