Project Mustang

The Step-by-Step Restoration of a Popular Vintage Car

Larry Lyles

• Publisher: CompanionHouse Books
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN:
  9781933958033
• eBook ISBN:
  9781620080146
• Topic: Technologie et ingénierie
• Subtopic: Transport et ingénierie de l'automobile

Project Mustang is a complete guide to restoring America's favorite muscle car, written by auto-restoration guru Larry Lyles, a regular contributor to Auto Restorer magazine. In this detailed 23-chapter volume, Lyles walks the car owner from the in-depth inspection of the vehicle and the beginning of the teardown to re-covering the seats and replacing the frame rail…and every step in between. The car restored for the project in the book is a 1968 California Special Mustang. The chapter titles themselves speak for what a straightforward DIY manual Lyles has written, as he details the step-by-step procedure of bringing a very cool rod back to life. Beginning the teardown, exterior and interior; repairing the sheet metal, door, and deck up; removing the major parts (driveshaft, engine, transmission, front suspension, steering system, etc.); removing old point and replacing rust floors; no-weld rust repair; perfecting the metal; working with plastic body filler; priming and sanding; refinishing the components and underside, the door, interior, trunk, and body; wiring the car and installing the doors; applying the coatings, rebuilding the suspension, and installing the brake lines; installing the vinyl top cover, the headliner, and the glass; rebuilding and installing the engine; installing the front sheet metal, emblems, bumpers, stripes, carpet, and console; re-covering the seats; and replacing the frame rails.
Each step in every chapter is photographed as the author progresses along, with captions to spell out exactly what has to happen. The book offers helpful advice about choice of tools and tips to make even beginners feel confident about tackling the many steps involved. With nearly forty years experience in repairing, rebuilding, and restoring classic cars (and lots of non-classic ones!), Lyles emphasizes the reader's need to organize his or her project by determining the course of the project, researching suppliers, making lists of parts and their conditions, creating spreadsheets of estimated and actual costs, and photographing each component as a reference for later in case the restoration goes off track. Each chapter ends with a "notes" page for the reader to record his or her progress, making this manual a practical workbook as well. When the reader gets to the final pages of the book and reads the sections "Start the Engine" and "Test Drive the Car," there will be a true sense of accomplishment. An appendix of part suppliers and an index complete the book.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Copyright
• Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1 PROJECT MUSTANG
• CHAPTER 2 BEGINNING THE TEARDOWN: THE EXTERIOR
• CHAPTER 3 CONTINUING THE TEARDOWN: THE INTERIOR
• CHAPTER 4 REPAIRING THE SHEET METAL
• CHAPTER 5 REPAIRING THE DOOR AND THE DECK LID
• CHAPTER 6 REMOVING THE MAJOR PARTS
• CHAPTER 7 REMOVING OLD PAINT AND REPLACING RUSTY FLOORS
• CHAPTER 8 NO-WELD RUST REPAIR
• CHAPTER 9 PERFECTING THE METAL
• CHAPTER 10 WORKING WITH PLASTIC BODY FILLER
• CHAPTER 11 PRIMING AND SANDING
• CHAPTER 12 REFINISHING THE COMPONENTS AND THE UNDERSIDE
• CHAPTER 13 REFINISHING THE DOORS, THE INTERIOR, AND THE TRUNK
• CHAPTER 14 REFINISHING THE BODY
• CHAPTER 15 WIRING THE CAR AND INSTALLING THE DOORS
• CHAPTER 16 APPLYING THE COATINGS, REBUILDING THE SUSPENSION, AND INSTALLING THE BRAKE LINES
• CHAPTER 17 INSTALLING THE VINYL TOP COVER, THE HEADLINER, AND THE GLASS
• CHAPTER 18 REBUILDING AND INSTALLING THE ENGINE
• CHAPTER 19 INSTALLING THE FRONT SHEET METAL
• CHAPTER 20 INSTALLING THE EMBLEMS, THE BUMPERS, THE STRIPES, AND THE CARPET
• CHAPTER 21 INSTALLING THE CONSOLE AND RE-COVERING THE SEATS
• CHAPTER 22 REPLACING THE FRAME RAILS
• CHAPTER 23 COMPLETING PROJECT MUSTANG
• APPENDIX