Author Topic: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored  (Read 2613 times)

Offline RoyceP

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Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« on: January 23, 2021, 11:22:11 AM »
This is a car I am parting out 8F93X57XXXX with a scheduled build date of first week of July 1968 - a very late car. The rear fender splash shields were bolted on after the body paint was applied. Notice the extra flourish of spray tar in the LH wheel well on top of the paint. I think this indicates the guy was waiting for the front fender to come and be installed because normally the final tar spray seems to have been with the fender in place and aimed front, rear and up.

1968 W code 427 Cougar XR-7 GTE Feb 23 Dearborn C6 / 3.50 open
1968 R code 428CJ Cougar XR-7 May 13 Dearborn C6 / 3.91 T - Lock

Offline RoyceP

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Re: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2021, 11:23:07 AM »
The splash shields at the front were plastered with acoustic spray tar.

1968 W code 427 Cougar XR-7 GTE Feb 23 Dearborn C6 / 3.50 open
1968 R code 428CJ Cougar XR-7 May 13 Dearborn C6 / 3.91 T - Lock

Offline J_Speegle

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Re: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2021, 05:19:11 PM »
......................... Notice the extra flourish of spray tar in the LH wheel well on top of the paint. I think this indicates the guy was waiting for the front fender to come and be installed because normally the final tar spray seems to have been with the fender in place and aimed front, rear and up.

Respectfully disagree. The application of sealer on the drivers side cowl lower section is typically found on all 1968 Mustangs and Cougars built at all plants

The purpose of that application is to seal a number of holes and retainers side as for the electrical loom on that side of the interior and had no connection with the fender installation or sound deadener applied to the front wheel wells. Fenders and splash shields were not sprayed with sound deadener directly after they were installed on the car. Lots more parts to install before that took place.

You can see in the pattern where a build up around one of the mounting holes that was sealed has fallen off since it was possibly built up around that post or came lose when someone removed that wire loom inside the car. Often you find this application as quick spray "dots" but in this example the specific worker covered the required points with a single pass. What I do find interesting and different is that for some reason for at least part of the 68 production year workers applied some thick different type of chalk or dum-dum over those holes before applying the spray over those points.


Another example likely applied by the same worker. This picture shows the three post/attachments I believe were the focus and purpose of the application. On this one  it appears the the guy doing the forward sealant may have applied sealant on one of the post suggesting to me that this is likely just a practice of may be one worker on one shift and he didn't get, always all the posts, post every time but does suggest the material, when the chalking sealant was applied, if it was and who was responsible for the practice




Another example where you can only see part of the area but shows a heavy application of sound deadener to the splash shields as you found on your example




And another that did not include the long curved pattern. Possibly different shift and worker




Passenger side did not have these holes or retainers so no need for the same application there




I believe this quick couple of second application of the spray product there on the cowl, was possibly done by the Dearborn worker assigned to the sealing of the firewall openings and attachment points given that its make up. The material is different form earlier years and some plants but at Dearborn the material is closer to what was used for the firewall sealant purposes
Jeff Speegle

Anything worth doing is worth doing concours ;)

Offline RoyceP

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Re: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2021, 06:49:13 PM »
That makes sense. Other Dearborn cars I have restored have had lh kick panel area just plastered with spray tar but the rh side not so much.
1968 W code 427 Cougar XR-7 GTE Feb 23 Dearborn C6 / 3.50 open
1968 R code 428CJ Cougar XR-7 May 13 Dearborn C6 / 3.91 T - Lock

Offline RoyceP

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Re: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2021, 11:51:13 AM »
Any idea why there is an "R" scrawled on the LH kick panel? This car is unmolested, never wrecked, original paint. I suspect when I pulled the fenders they had never been off since new. The car had the basic AM radio so no cut outs for the speaker cups that would be there for either of the optional radios. Maybe the R means leave the antenna hole open, or to drill the antenna hole?
1968 W code 427 Cougar XR-7 GTE Feb 23 Dearborn C6 / 3.50 open
1968 R code 428CJ Cougar XR-7 May 13 Dearborn C6 / 3.91 T - Lock

Offline jwc66k

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Re: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2021, 04:30:25 PM »
Any idea why there is an "R" scrawled on the LH kick panel?
Possibly an inspector's ID.
Jim
I promise to be politically correct in all my posts to keep the BBBB from vociferating.

Offline J_Speegle

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Re: Front wheel well details Dearborn 1968 unrestored
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2021, 04:41:31 PM »
Any idea why there is an "R" scrawled on the LH kick panel? This car is unmolested, never wrecked, original paint. I suspect when I pulled the fenders they had never been off since new. The car had the basic AM radio so no cut outs for the speaker cups that would be there for either of the optional radios. Maybe the R means leave the antenna hole open, or to drill the antenna hole?

ave not other examples in  my files from Dearborn cars with a mark similar to that one so don't have enough samplings to form an opinion of what they could be.
Jeff Speegle

Anything worth doing is worth doing concours ;)