The story is.....I have been trying to buy a 67 Mustang convertible from my brother-in-law for about ten years. He would never sell it.
He lives in farm-country (Dry Ridge, KY) which is not far from me. One Saturday morning, he called me asking if I would be interested in a Mustang a fellow farmer had stored in a barn.
The farmer had owned the car for about twenty years, but had only driven it for a short time before putting it in the storage building and forgetting about it. He decided to sell it and called my brother-in-law to offer it to him first. My brother-in-law told the farmer friend that he would pass on it, but he knew someone who might be interested.
My brother-in-law, who is not really a car guy, did not know much about the car. He told me he thought it was a 65 or 66, it was a fastback, and it had a V8. It took my son and I about 45 minutes to get there.
I really took a lot of chances even buying the car. Of course it would not run, there was no way to even start it, I could not get under the car to take a good look, no brakes, and the building was so dark I could not see much of the car including the whole right side which was against a wall.
When I first saw the car out of the barn I thought I had made a mistake buying it at any price. Since then I have had some good and not so good news.
The car was restored 22-24 years ago. It was not the best restoration, but we have to remember it was not really a classic then.....but just a nice old car. The engine was rebuilt then, but not the front
suspension. Believe it or not, I got the engine running after a full fuel system (carburetor to gas tank) replacement. The engine was carefully lubricated before starting and it still sounded like a thrashing machine when it finally ran. Now it runs fine and is not burning any oil. I have also had the body and all four wheels checked for alignment. The body is straight and it aligns well.
The factory four speed, power steering and power brakes were a bonus. The transmission and rear end seem fine. The car does not have any sign of having been raced or badly wrecked.
It needs some metal work, new paint and a lot of detail work. I also think I will pull the engine apart for a look, and at least rebuild the heads....and maybe install a mild cam.
I am a purist and plan to do everything stock or use options only available from Ford in 1965. I feel fortunate to have found the car, and to have literally saved it. It would have been junk before much longer.
Sorry for not getting back to you guys sooner. You have been a lot of help to me. I'll let you know how the restoration goes.
I'm still looking for a killer barn find like that. That's awesome. Congrats
...nice stable ya got there too!
