1986 svo

[Primetimesvo]

Hi My name is Mark Atherton from San Diego; About a month ago I purchased Joe Tenney's 1986 SVO mustang which was located in Lake Havasu, Arizona.. Joe was a long time member of this forum. The car had 207,000 miles on it. Joe had put 200,000 miles on it. He previously bought it from a family member (first owner) in California. Thirteen years ago Joe had overheated the engine (Blown head gasket) as it turns out, and it has been sitting in his driveway ever since. The Arizona sun has not been good to the paint. I own a classic car restoration shop in San Diego, (Beach City Broncos) so this project was right up my alley. Joe was a real gentleman and gave me a great deal on the car and his main concern was for the future of the vehicle; Well, a month later, the car is repainted and engine is rebuilt with new injectors; The head was resurfaced (bigger valve head) the engine surprisingly did not need too be bored out and the crank was polished (still standard bore and standard crank.) I was really pleasantly surprised. Joe had a 3 inch downpipe but he still had the original downpipe with cat which I need for California smog. I sent the injectors to a guy on the east coast for rebuild. Sent the radiator out for service, all new hoses, water pump, thermostat, belts etc. We also replaced all the weather stripping. The good news, it is from Arizona...not a spec of rust anywhere on the car. The bad. news, it is from Arizona...many of the plastic parts are disintegrated from the heat so we are replacing these as needed. I have ordered a new windshield and hatch glass which should be here next week. Car now has bigger fuel pump, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, new tires etc. This is my first post so I hope I don't goof it up. Hope to fire it up soon. Mark in San Diego.

[JTurbo]

Welcome to SVOCA - you did that SVO justice with the work you've put into it. Nice Job

[roberto2000]

Hey Mark

Looks like your shop does some nice work! although something in me screams that the patina from sitting in the sun would have been awesome to clear coat and preserve that look.
looks like it will be excellent when it is done.

with the new Bronco being released soon has your business seen an upswing?

[MIKESVO]

Looks great! I'm a bit surprised the spats are still in good condition. They usually crumble into pieces from age and sun.

[gbeaird]

Hey Mark

Looks like your shop does some nice work! although something in me screams that the patina from sitting in the sun would have been awesome to clear coat and preserve that look.
looks like it will be excellent when it is done.

<SNIP>

Trouble with clearcoat over rust is it doesn't last long. The rust can continue to react, and flake the clearcoat off. Too bad you can't do that, as there are some cars that DO look good with the patina.

@Mark, you put a small block in it? That engine picture looks like a 302!

[Primetimesvo]

Trouble with clearcoat over rust is it doesn't last long. The rust can continue to react, and flake the clearcoat off. Too bad you can't do that, as there are some cars that DO look good with the patina.

@Mark, you put a small block in it? That engine picture looks like a 302!

I mistakenly posted the wrong engine picture. I corrected it with another post.

[gbeaird]

Looks great! I'm a bit surprised the spats are still in good condition. They usually crumble into pieces from age and sun.

They still can, unfortunately. One day fine, the next, they're laying on the floor.