I'm on here often answering questions for other people but rarely mention or show what I'm doing to my car! Well, here's a write up with pics on installing the Tinman subframe connectors.
BACKGROUND:
I decided I wanted to add subframe connectors years ago to my car and ordered the Total Control products ones. I had them sitting around until I sold them to a member over at the VMF. They were nice but being tubular they would stand out a bit under there, I wanted my car to "appear original or stock". I'm not concourse or aiming to be. The Tinman connectors are square tube that "extend" the front frame rails to the rear and will appear original and factory to most non-Mustang people looking under there. So I ordered a set of Tinman's the beginning of April and it with winter gone it has warmed up here enough to get to work on the car.
SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF AND A WAY TO FIX IT:
These are being installed on my 68 coupe. Another project I have going is the replacement of the gas tank and fuel lines so they are removed. In 1968 the fuel line is run UNDER the rear frame rail on the driver's side......directly in the path of where the rear mounting point of the subframe connector will be, so the fuel line had to be removed. I debated on how I would reinstall the fuel line when the time comes.
Ideas:
1- drill a hole for the line through the installed subframe connector
2- reroute it under again and modify the protection bracket
3- go around somehow
Well, I was thinking about this a bit trying to figure out what to do and make it look neat and not a hack job. Some of you know I am a member of the VMF forum too and I posted this question over there and got a response from another member who had already had this problem, and a clever solution it was, and one I didn't know about! Use a 1969 fuel line, it is routed the same as 1968 until the rear torque box where it stays outside the frame rail and goes up where the front of the rear leaf spring attaches. I then ordered the stainless steel 1969 style 3/8" fuel line for my 68 coupe. I test fitted it today, it tucks right up there and follows the contours of the rear floor near the inner wheel well and finally crosses over to the gas tank right by the rear axle bumper with minor tweaking....absolutely PERFECT and looking dead factory! What a great idea/trick
Last week I welded my Tinman subframe connectors in and dressed the welds. The next day I put some 3M Fast and Firm seam sealer to help smooth things out and later primered the bare areas with Rustoleum primer that I had a quart can of. Later this week I will paint them with semi-gloss black Rustolum that I have too. I had already painted the top portion that you can't reach once they are welded in earlier last week.
The welds in the rear on the top area weren't ground down, I just smeared the seam sealer over them to smooth them out some. With the aftermarket dual exhaust the mufflers are in the way. My 90 degree die grinder wouldn't fit, I did as much as I could with my 4.5" Milwaukee grinder would reach up there. I also have a 7" grinder I tried but the disk was too wide. When I have to replace the exhaust I'll address those welds then. I could take the exhuast off but decided not too, it would become a "run away train", I already took the parking brake cables apart and have been detailing those parts plus the complete fuel system has been removed. I'm also cleaning and painting the underside with the semi gloss black Rustoleum. If I keep going I won't have the car back on the road for the summer!
The other thing is I have been working part time, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off alternating due to lack of work. I have been informed I'm back full time now. It's great to hear that, don't want to complain since other people aren't as lucky, it's just that I expected with a good two weeks off I could attack the car, now I'm aiming to have it all back together by Memorial Day. So I won't know how it feels with the subframe connectors until then.
Here are some pics of the process, I'll have to get a full pic showing them underneath.
the Tinman's slide into the front frame rails where they were cut open and are lifted into place. I used a bottle jack to hold them up and a pair of welding Vice Grips to clamp them tight to the rear http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...clamp_rear.jpg
then I went back and finished welding the front, including the bent down tab. There was a gap in the inside(backside?) between the frame rail and the Tinmans. I filled it with the MIG welder since I didn't have any thick stock handy and ground it down, no pics of that though. http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...weld_front.jpg
I have some pics of them fully painted now that I will upload when I get a chance. I'll also upload some shots of the 1969 fuel line routing for those that are curious about it.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
I forgot to mention something in my first post. When installing the subframe connectors you want the car "at rest normally" which means supporting it's weight on all four tires. Basically how the car would normally sit so the body isn't twisted when they are being welded in place.
I did the installation myself at home and have the car on four ramps, see pic below
(and no, I didn't have that packing blanket laying under there while welding )
Here's what I was refering to about the fuel line. This is the original fuel line (and protection bracket) with the rear of the driver's side subframe connector held up near where it welds too. The line and backet are in the way http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...llineinway.jpg
I wanted this thread to center on the Tinman's for people's reference but I'll post some pics of other stuff I've been doing since once you start working on the car or taking something apart it starts getting out of hand!
With the gas tank being replaced I cleaned and repainted the trunk floor:
Nice job, and nice write up Jay. I totally agree with you with the whole train running away thing. I started my subframe project on my '65 I'm re-doing, and naturally, the rear suspension came out because the front eye bolt mounting area of the leafs were in my way (hey, I was going to rebuild the rear suspension anyway), now I've cleaned the entire underside of the car, and the next progression will be undercoating the whole underside. Maybe one day I'll think about putting it back together rather than continuously taking more and more apart.
Great pics for reference, too!
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2003 V-6 - the usual bolt-ons. Gremlin taking up residence in the idler pulley. I'll finish this one when I'm done with the other one.
1965 coupe - Born - straight six standard issue
Now - 5.0 motor, T5 tranny, R&P, full length subframe connectors, draglink bars, hedman headers
Coming soon - disc brakes, electronic ignition and a whole host of other stuff I forgot to mention. The list goes on and on. Basically, it's my new toy
Nice job, and nice write up Jay. I totally agree with you with the whole train running away thing. I started my subframe project on my '65 I'm re-doing, and naturally, the rear suspension came out because the front eye bolt mounting area of the leafs were in my way (hey, I was going to rebuild the rear suspension anyway), now I've cleaned the entire underside of the car, and the next progression will be undercoating the whole underside. Maybe one day I'll think about putting it back together rather than continuously taking more and more apart.
Great pics for reference, too!
Yeah, I came close to pulling the rear out too but had to stop myself. I detailed it the best I could under the car a few years ago and has held up well but taking it out I could do a much better job. It's just that I have to stop somewhere. Someday when it needs to be rebuilt or servicing I'll worry about it then, I'm not looking to make a perfect trailered car (I have to keep reminding myself that! ), I won't be putting mirrors under there, I just want it to look decent if someone glances under there.
I did the write up with pics since some people were wondering how these subframe connectors install, nothing like pics to go along with it. Tinman does send good instructions too, lack with the pics, but it's easy to follow what they're saying.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
Looks great i like the tinman ones since they look almost like the car came with them.
That is the main reason I went with them, I like to keep my car looking stock. By sliding into the front frame rails they essentially extend them making it look like a complete rail from front to back. They are pretty beefy too, about 1/4" wall thickness, thicker than the framerails on the car already.
In the next post I'll upload finished painted pics of them.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
Here are two finished painted pics of them, with the floor area and torque boxes painted too. They blend in well. I used Rustoleum 7777 Satin Black for those wondering, should be more than enough protection for the amount of use my car gets.
Here's some pics of my original fuel line off my 68 alongside the stainless steel 69 replacement. The original 68 line was broken in half over the axle area to get it out, you'll notice that in the pic.
mid area, you can see how it differs near the rear torque box now, it will no longer cross there or need the protection bracket laying on the floor near the original line http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...comparison.jpg
and the rear area, totally different, but amazingly works out. It was also easier laying this line in place to check fit than trying to get the original out from over the axle and exhaust (the reason I had to break the old line in half to begin with!) http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...comparison.jpg
Except for cleaning up more of the under carridge and exhaust brackets I'm up to date with the pics. The new fuel line isn't installed yet due to still doing some painting in the rear area. I did temporalily hold the new 69 line up there just to see how it fit before taking it back out.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
OK, I have the car back together and did drive it to a gas station to fill the new tank up.
The car now has a "heavy, solid" feel to it now. Feels like my Caprice going over bumps.
Here's a shot of the car I took today parked in front of the house after I hosed off the dust from all the work I was doing. The center caps haven't been reinstalled yet on the wheels.
You can see the subframe connectors from the center of the door and going back. They don't stand out of place at all and very little ground clearance was lost.
During the detail of the rear I bought new U bolts with the correct red dyed nuts and I got a better set of original shock mounts off Ebay than were on my car. I blasted and powder coated them.
The inside of the motor was very clean and I couldn't see any damage. The motor has always run well and the timing chain was tight so I just cleaned the pan out and then stripped the paint off and repainted it. I replaced the oil pump and pick up too while I was in there and them reinstalled the pan with a one piece gasket. The oil pressure has always been in the dead middle of the stock gauge, now it moved up slightly to 5/8, so the new pump has helped. The car has 87k on it.
Excellent thread! Thanks for documenting and sharing. Everything looks fantastic!
Why did you select Picklex? Have you compared it to anything else, eg Rust-Mort?
Thanks I decided to take all the pics and do the write up as a few people were wondering what it takes to install the Tinmans.
I used Picklex since I had it on hand. I have been happy with it. I used it last year when I butt welded patches in the lower rear quaters on my Caprice wagon. I've never used Rust Mort but I believe they are similar, kinda like using either Dawn or Palmolive to wash your dishes.
I've sprayed, brushed and wiped Picklex on areas depending on how accessable and the easiest way to coat the part/area. Picklex is an acid treatment that converts any rust although I do try to remove as much as possible, even surface rust.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
Tinman Subframe Connector Installation 
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