1986 Ford Mustang SVO-ND Part Deux

In March 2005, I pulled the long rod engine out of the car, and sold it to someone who will use it for what it's really good for: drag racing. After that, the car sat, virtually untouched for months. The only reason I even looked at it was to open the paseenger door, and throw more parts I accumulated for it in there. In November, I finally got motivated. I decided that the car would be painted someday, and it would be good if the engine bay looked good enough to match. I pulled the NPR intercooler and radiator out, and sold them. I then stripped the engine compartment bare. This was a bigger job than it sounds. You only think you know how much is under the hood of a car, until you strip it clean for paint. But paint alone was not enough. Fox body Mustangs have an overwhelming amount of small holes in the inner fenders and frame rails. I am told that most of them are left over from the tooling for so many options and parts that are no longer used. I decided to weld them up, and smooth them out, so that when painted, the engine bay would look 'smooth', and not like Swiss cheese. Hah! 182 holes later, I was finally done! After that, some body filler, and a whole lot of sanding. Here's what it looked like:

Wow! Yuck! So, after a final scuff, and several laquer thinner wipedowns, here's what the primer looked like.

OK, so it's finally showing some signs of hope. It was pretty cold for painting this day, only about 50°F. I had to keep moving the car into the heated garage, and back out for painting. Did I mention that I am pretty good at turning wrenches, but a complete amateur (idiot) at bodywork? Well, I guess I was due for some beginner's luck. Here's how it turned out!