Once relatively clean I used the old standby, black rust-oleum hammered:
You can paint it right over rust if you wish, it brushes on thick and is self-leveling so you'll never see any brush marks, it's strong as hell and it's "hammered" finish hides surface imperfections very well. I use it everywhere. you can get it in a spray also, but I like the brush on when the application permits. The black actually looks like dark dark gray, not black really. Some folks even roller paint their cars with it, although not the hammered finish variety. do a google search & see for yourself. basically you thin it way out & do a lot of coats with sanding in between. back to the wheel wells:
here's where I fuck up:
I got the whole suspension rebuild kit about 6 months ago. I couldn't remember what springs I specified, but I thought I went with stock height and would cut to suit. cutting will lower and stiffen. I thought I read that cutting one coil off would drop the front by about 3" and that new stock height coils would likely be 2" higher than 40 year old ones. The control arm drop (see last post) results in about 1/2" lower ride height. The new coils were exactly the same uninstalled height and the coils were made from material of the exact same diameter. From that I ascertained that they were stock replacement type units. So I cut one full coil off and the car is way too low. I called the place I got the stuff from the next day (they were closed on Sunday) & the guy said they were probably 1" lowering springs, that's what they usually suggest to folks. So basically I lowered the car about 4 1/2" when I only wanted to lower it 1 1/2 to 2". I know I should have put them in first & then pulled them out to cut, but I hate using coil spring compressers, I really think that's what's going to kill me someday. Those fuckers are dangerous. I'm not sure if I'll re-use my old springs & cut out a coil or go get a new pair of 1" lower springs and see how they sit. I could get a 1" spacer, but it wouldn't be quite enough and my cut springs are probably too stiff now anyhow. I was thinking they were stock replacements but according to the seller they are actually stiffer even before cutting. (which doesn't make ANY sense to me -how could they be 1" lowering, have the same uninstalled height and be stiffer? stiffer+equal uninstalled height should equal higher installed height right?) whatever.
Anyhow here are the goods installed:
the rust at the bottom in front of the arms is from a leaky windshield wiper bottle. not much structurally going on in front of the arms, so I'll get to it when I do.
The dog is fucking STOKED about all of this:
he's been hanging out leashless in my open garage and was pretty good all weekend until my cousin came by Sunday afternoon. Then he got all super excited about seeing him and showed his enthusiasm by bolting straight down the alley and running away through the neighborhood. When he's all worked up he won't come when called, but thankfully he is powerless to resist squeaky toys.
and for the record, so am I:
Edit: here's what I decided to try- someone here in vegas said I could have a set of 1" lowering blocks for the rear if they were useful. I went down to the local mustang hop up joint and got a set of 1" spacers for the front (which actually measure 3/4" for some reason). I'll try those and see what it looks like. Right now there is exactly 3" between the ground and the car's headers. 
They're $50 swap meet deals so no biggie if I drag them sometimes, but I'd rather not. I can roll the fenders for a little more clearance too. If it's still not high enough or the ride is too rough I'll use the spacers and cut some from my stock springs. That should work out reasonable. I do have a thing for ratty ultra low cars although that's not really what my original plan was. corners should be alright with the stiff springs and 1" sway bar. it's really speed bumps and driveways that worry me. We'll see.
EDIT AGAIN:
I put the 3/4" spacers in last night and guess how much they raise the front? only SEVERAL INCHES. Seriously, it's at least 2 inches higher than it was. After getting it assembled the first time I read that the suspension components should not be tightened up until the car is sitting on the ground, so this time around I loosened everything, put the spacers in, set the car down, then tightened everything up. It's at least as high as I want it, probably perfect after settling itself over a few weeks. I can't comprehend how tightening everything up when the suspension is extended would make it compress more once the car is down. Nothing about this deal makes any sense, I need a nap. I'll do a rough alignment & drive it around a bit & see what I think.
