By this point the drivetrain and interior had been removed and the car reduced to a bare shell. It was now to start stripping off the paint and get the car down to bare metal. It was decided that it was best to strip the paint by hand. However, since we were also painting and detailing the undercarriage we knew we’d have to blast it.
In the pictures below you can see the paint is being carefully stripped by hand. There were a few stubborn areas which would end up being striped by the blaster when he did the undercarriage.
With the paint gone you can see just how clean the metal is on this car.
With most of the paint removed, the car was sent to the media blaster to have the engine compartment and undercarriage blasted clean as well as removing any remaining paint. What came back from the media blaster can only be described by one word….clean!
The front fenders and cowl panel were striped clean and then removed to allow easier access for painting the engine compartment and front wheel wells.
The front fenders were blasted clean and then removed.With the front fenders removed, there is easier access for painting the front wheel wells.
Similarly, as we look at the rear of the car you can see the rear end caps were removed after being cleaned.
We can see the rear end caps have been removed.
The engine compartment was now completely cleaned off all paint. This allowed us a rare opportunity to view the VIN stamping on the front fender aprons. These stampings are normally covered by the front fenders.
Drivers side front fender apron with the VIN stamping.The VIN stampings are typically never seen as they are covered by the front fenders.
It also makes it much easier to see the added bracing around the shock towers. All big-block and Boss Mustangs in 1969 received this bracing which greatly increased the strength of the shock towers and help reduce flexing.
Shock tower bracing is easily visible with the paint removed.This added bracing greatly increased the strength of the shock towers and help reduce flex.
The firewall, like everything else in the compartment, has been stripped clean in preparation for receiving fresh paint.
Firewall and steering components have also been striped to bare metal.
Once the drive train and interior were removed from the Mustang, it was sent off to paint at Boss Auto Designs (B.A.D.), the restoration shop owned and operated by the President of the Early Mustang Club of Colorado, Dan Bybee.
Dan began by removing the front and rear bumpers, as well as the front and rear valance, grille, high beam lights and several bright metal trim pieces. With the bumpers removed, I set out to determine if they were the original bumpers born to the car.
Front view of the Mach 1 with the front bumper removed
Starting with the front bumper, I began by looking at the way the bumper is formed in the front license plate bracket area. On an original front bumper, the openings are more sharply angled than reproductions where the opening is much more rounded.
Upon inspection of this license plate bracket area I could easily see the openings were indeed the more angular shape, which indicated this was indeed an original Ford front bumper.
The sharply angled license plate bracket openings indicate its an original Ford bumper.
However, I needed to take it a step further to determine if it was the original bumper. This would require looking for the factory date stampings.
The date codes were always stamped on the inside center section of the bumper, and typically had the day/month/shift on one side and the year stamping on the other. In our case, the bumper was not the original one born with the car, but rather one that was created in September 1969.
The stamping on the top line shows M9 69. The letter M confirmed it was made in the Monroe stamping plant and the date of production followed, September 1969.
Moving onto the rear bumper, the easiest way to determine an original are the stamping marks and the date codes, which do not appear on reproduction bumpers.
Here again, the date codes were always stamped on the inside center section of the bumper. The stampings on these bumpers were typically the month, day, shift and year. Other stamped info might have included production information.
On one side of the bumper we could make out the stamping, 69 M 9, indicating this is a 1969 bumper created in the Monroe stamping plant in Monroe, Michigan
If you look closely you can see the original stamping 69 M 9.
On the other side of the bumper was the date stamp, 3 13 3, indicating this bumper was manufactured on March 13 during the third shift. Unlike the front bumper this appears to be the bumper that was born to this car.
The all important date code, 3 13 3, indicating this bumper was manufactured March 13.
Unfortunately there are no chrome shops left in the state of Colorado. This meant the bumpers would need to go out of state to be striped and replated.
To complicate things even a bit further, the shape of the front bumper made it impossible to find a suitable shipping box. As such these would need to be driven to the closest chrome shop which was located in Ogden, UT.
Disassembly continued with the removal of the door glass, outside door handles, lock mechanisms, the non-functional side scoops, roof side ornaments, the chrome quarter window boomerang mouldings and the stainless drip rail mouldings.
The original door handles and quarter window boomerang mouldings were taken with the bumpers to Ogden Chrome to be striped and replated.
Instead of attempting to refurbish the roof side ornaments, I decided it would be easier to simply buy a NOS set of the roof side ornaments. I was able to find a private seller with a set still in the original Ford packages.
NOS roof side ornaments in the original Ford packaging.
Dan also removed both the drivers side remote sport mirror and the passenger side companion sport mirror. You can still see hints of the original acapulco blue paint color.
Underneath the mirror pad, we can see the original Acapulco blue paint.
Turning our attention to the rear of the Mustang, we can see the quick fill gas cap and the Mustang lettering have been removed. The lettering was taken along with the other chrome pieces to Ogden Chrome to be replated.
Rear view showing the quick fill, flip open gas gap and Mustang lettering removed.
After many discussions, because of the unique brushed center and running horse tri-bar emblem, it was determined the flip open gas cap would be nearly impossible to restore to like new condition. It would be easier, and more economical, to find an NOS item.
This is where maintaining contacts becomes extremely beneficial as one of the private sellers I had purchased parts from in the past had this nice item, still in the factory box.
NOS quick fill, flip open gas cap in the original Ford box.
