Saturday on the Farm!

Since our funds for completing the Mustang EV are growing short, Mr. Butler decided to let us dip into his stockpile of mustang reserve parts. Since our car is a 1988 Hatchback LX, it can be compatible with both coupe and other hatchback parts from various models. It just so happened that Mr. Butler had a late '80s 5.0 Mustang coupe. This car happened to contain the other suspension and 5 lug bolt pattern upgade parts that we needed. The only drawback was we had to remove all of the parts needed from the 5.o Mustang and then replace the removed parts with the parts we had taken off of our EV. What a job that was!

Our first objective was to relocate the 5.o out of a field and into his shop. As you can see, the car was on cinder blocks and in dire need of some T.L.C (tender loving care). Mr. Butler told us that the car hasn't ran since he graduated college. Our path around the car was completed by using Mr. Butler's four wheeler to mash down the weeds.

This is a shot of Michael and I aligning the trailer with the rear of the car. It was such a tight squeeze between the two treelines that we had to shimmy the trailer into alignment by using Michael's pickup as a bulldozer. This, in turn, slid the trailer sideways into position.

This is a shot of me (Ben) making sure that the car was sucessfully making its way onto the tailer without rubbing, dragging, or snagging.

This is a pic. of Mr. Butler wenching the car up onto the trailer using a come-along cable. We weren't allowed to be in his position due to the fact that the cable could snap and create a safety hazard.



This is a shot of Michael and me posing near the car after a brisk morning workout. A successful load!

Unloading was a piece of cake! After safely returning to the shop with our prize, we quickly rolled the 5.0 into the bay. This is a shot of me moving around the rear of the car to align jackstands .

After removing both tires and the outer shell of the rear drum brakes, our next objective is to remove the axles and drop the rear end out from under the car. This component is going to allow us to convert the EV to a 5-lug bolt pattern. And instead of using rear drum brakes, we are going to convert over to rear disc brakes. Rear disc brakes create a more reliable stopping power.



This is a shot of the "hogs head" after removing the backing plate off of the rear end. You have to do so in order to knock out pins and "c' clamps that hold the axles in place.

After removing the pins and "c" clips, Mr. Butler and I slowly removed both axle shafts.

This is a shot of Mike inspecting our work after we removed the rear end from beneath the car. "It seems more complicated than it really is," exclaimed Mike, "Who knew only a few bolts held this thing together?"

A shot of the undercarriage where the rear end once was.



After our return from a short lunch break, the next project was to remove the engine so that the needed front end components could be removed easily. Mr. Butler also plans to use this car as next year's EV. This is a shot of the motor being lifted out of the car on a motor hoist.

Slowly but surely.

Who can't help but smile at pic like this? Two young guys and a massive power supply! Priceless!

Now that the engine is removed, our next goal was to repace the 5-lug rear end with the 4-lug. This is a temporary exchange, only so that Mr. Butler can move the car in and out of his shop.

This is a shot of me disassembling the rear drum brakes so that the parking brake cable can be hooked back up. Who doesn't love drum brakes?(Sarcasm)



Mike taking on the right side.

Teamwork is the key!

What a great way to end the day! A completed transfer.

Even though we didnt get any pictures of the front end disassembly, we did manage to get a new sway bar, control arms, performance struts, brake discs, interior parts, transmission crossmember, transmission, driveshaft, and 5-lug rear end.

After about a 12 hour day of success, it felt like it was time to retire to our showers and sheets.

That's what I like to call a Butler Barn Bustin'!