1985 Mustang LX Coupe Project - Update

[JohnnyGMachine]

In the last 4-5 weeks a lot of work has been done. I disassembled everything off of the engine, bagged, boxed up, labeled and stored all the parts away until it's time to put the motor back in. Once I had the engine out, I also pulled the tranny, headers, and h-pipe. The early to mid 80's Mustangs are a breeze to work on especially cars with no A/C or any of the smog stuff is on it like mine.
With the help of my buddy John (who is also a Ford tech - great to have when I get to the stuff I'm not comfortable with doing by myself) we disassembled the motor down to the shortblock. I stripped all the old paint off, cleaned and prepped the front cover, block and intake manifold. The valve covers and heads will remain aluminum finish. Other polished aluminum parts such as the pulleys, pulley brackets, electric fuel pump, etc will keep their natural finish. Next I primed and painted the block. I went with graphite gray metallic on the block, front cover, and intake manifold. The polished stainless ARP engine bolt kit is beautiful and contrasts nicely off the dark gray metallic. Tomorrow I will be ordering my Canton oil pan kit and then I can paint it to match the block. The carb should be rebuilt and done soon - I'll leave that up to John since he's really good on carbs and settin' those up. The Tremek TKO should be OK but I will inspect it for any issues.
I still have to order the electric water pump, aluminum radiator, electric fan, and polished aluminum brackets for the alternator and steering pump. The rest is little odds and ends.