Interior Mustang Mods

20 feet would work. When my lifgate is open, the 20' tarp is too short. Mines about the same length bumper to bumper. I'll have to look again. I guess there's no point in asking you how it handles even light snow, huh?

 

Not too much snow up here, But I know they have ones that are made for heavey snow.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200333336_200333336

 

So about $650 to $700 plus taxes, up here. I'll check that out. Good sized uprights at 1-5/8" diameter.

Don't need a permit and might help reduce my snow shovelling time in the yard. Major PITA. Snowblowers run into $1,200 and up, and electric snow brooms last about 3 years, 5 if you're lucky at about $350. Ain't no way I'm starting a gas-powered snowblower in -40F or C :banghead3:

 

Norm
One word of warning, they will hold humidity so if you can get the vent kit for it.they can act like a green house.
I just leave the roll up door up on mine to get air flow'

 

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Tailgate update

I got the 2 tailgates apart and prepped the new one for some sheet metal work tomorrow. The blue one really had some serious rust on the bottom edge, and mine was in fair shape, so I used the jigsaw at slow speeds to do the surgery. (pics tomorrow)

Ready to install the patches and bondo and prime. Wanna get one coat of paint on by tomorrow evening.

 

I have to patch the bottom edge of a replacement tailgate for my wagon. I want to do a 3-year job. Within three years, I'll surely make at least one trip to Mexico, where I can pickup a rustfree tailgate. This one is not gonna last as long as I plan on keeping the wagon. My own Mexican tailgate lip is starting to rust, but it could hold out for another 5 years. I cut it out yesterday with my jigsaw and it did it so the joint would be under the woody trim. Then I cut out an angular piece to pop-rivet or braze or both, or... use a sheetmetal adhesive like this 3M product.

http://www.shop3m.com/60980029866.html

There' no structural stress on the lip. The weatherstrip seals on the inside shell, not the door skin, where the lip is. The section I'm replacing is in the middle about 33 inches wide, leaving the far left and righthand corners alone by about 9 inches on each side.

If I braze, I'll create more work for myself. If I use pop-rivets and the adhesive, I'll get a decent looking and strong enough job. At least I think so. What do think?

Here's some commented pics:

That's mine. The window frame got warped when I reinstalled it in 2008, and the window broke loose, but didn't break, so the gate is toast, but not rusted. I used the angular shape on the inside panel (LH picture) to make a new inside bottom lip. (its already undercoated and no rust.)


This is the replacement tailgate with the rotted section cut out. I wanted to cut right across, but the far side has a special boss stamping for the tailgate open warning switch, and this gate is strong enough on the too bottom corners:



Here is the view from the bottom. There's a slight curvature there, about 3/8" at the crown. the inside skin and outer skin have 4 braces spotwelded to maintain the distance. That gap doesn't exist at the bottom lip. Its flat right across at that point.


So my plan is to pop-rivet the angular piece to the inside skin, first, (apply the adhesive, before rivetting), then take my gate's bottom lip, apply adhesive, and rivet it overlapping this gate's door skin and rivetting it to this tailgate.

If I braze it, I have to sand and grind and fill the heat warps and use more bondo, which would be fine for a 10-year job. If I glue it, I only have to tap down the rivets, do a bit of filling and sanding and primer, paint, sand, etc.

Thoughts?

 

You should be able to find flush rivits. You'll just have to taper the holes and you'll need a lot less bondo.

 

Thanks. I've got some left over from a metal decorative birdhouse I made a few years ago.

I just wonder if it makes any sense to use that 3M adhesive ($40 per 200 ml package) or just use some leftover windshield urethane adhesive and then body sealer (proform's stuff) and then fill and refinish.

 

I'm thinking windshield adhesive will be too thick and will cause waviness on the panel. A brush on sealer or very thin sealer tape would be better I think.

 

Amen to that! I've got the thinable Proform brushon sealer. I'd like to get one finish coat on today. Rain's coming again by late Saturday or mid-day Sunday. This paint needs at least 10 hours between coats, and over 55F, which we are closing in on in the next week or so, at nite.

 

I would have thought riviting the panels together with the sealant wet would be the better move. But, without drilling all the holes in advance that would be a problem. You'd need a bunch of cliko's (spelling) to drill holes in advance. But you have a good alternative plan without welding them together.

But, you could have bought my rear hatch with the car attached.

 

Yeah but you don't have 3 ashtrays in the back. Those 2 armrests you sent plus the console rear ashtray.

I'm gonna try the windshield sealant on a scrap piece and see if it can spread smooth and thin (1/16" or under). I'll post progress pics.

 

The repair is stronger than mine was!

The nice thing about the Fairmont woody trim at the bottom edge is it hides all the rivets. I didn't buy the 3M adhesive. Just used ProForm's body sealer.

Here's some pics and comments:

This is the angle strip I cut from mine off the inside, interior panel pase. Clean, undercoated steel. I punched in the drill hole locations for the rivets, after smoothing the edges, drilled them and filed off the burrs. Also cut out the tailgate latch bezel location and debrred it. Since this is the critical structural piece, I placed it first and clamped it, then drilled the door skin holes, one at a time, rivetted and moved from Left to Right, using needle-nose Vise-Grips to make sure I had a tight fit. Rivets every 3 inches staggered to get the corner in tight and flat to the inside panel wall, as well as making the edge flat to the same wall.


Then I placed the outer skin strip with the molding trim rivets for the bottom lip, on top and clamped it in place to punch the drill locations, drill and rivet it into place. Here, I marked the rivet locations to sit just inside the underneath edges of the woody trim.



They changed the forecast from a clear nite to 40% POP (chance of rain), so I cleaned and undercoated the inside of the tailgate (wants 12 hours to dry) and used Zero-Rust to protect the bare metal overnight. Zero-rust dries to the touch in minutes, but needs 24 to etch in to the metal and stop the rust. So then I just positioned it into its new home until tomorrow's fill, sand and prime session.



Covered and duct-taped plastic sheet in case of rain, and called it a good day!

I tried to twist and bend it, which I could a bit on mine, but it won't move. Its strong, clean and will last more than my 3 year plan to replace it with another rustfree one from Mexico or some Texas junkyard. Andy was telling me that he dropped some serious coin at a pro Bodyshop for his old Monty tailgate, and the lip rust is starting again 5 years later. So, I'm happy that my new lip is rustfree.

 

hmmm I just realized where this one was rusted. I thought it was on the bottom edge of the window frame, which was where mine was bad. That old blue one must have had some water, or maybe ice sitting there or something.

Good job,