66 Project

dlf

New Member
Nov 14, 2005
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Rincon, Georgia
I thought you guys and gals would enjoy seeing my 66 Mustang Coupe project affectionately known as "project mustang sally". I'm restoring the car for my daughter who will get her driver's license in about 11 months. I purchased the car in March and we're about 8 months into the project. Next month we will pull the engine for rebuild and install a T-5. If all continues to go well, the car will go to paint shop in February 06.

"edited web links on 1/29/06"
 

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I purchased the car locally and it has been stored out of weather for the last ten years. If you looked at the linked photo server, you'll see that it has rust in all the typical places. I'm busy replacing floor pans right now. Both rear quarter panels also had to be replaced. I hope to finish the heavy body workin with the next 60 days. I'm tired of cutting out rusted sheet metal and welding in new :)
 
Sounds like mine. New quarters, new pans, patches in the rocker mouldings. Mine kept getting stalled out, too many other things going on, but the past 2 months I have been on it every spare minute, and the payoff is here! See my thread http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=594725

It is all worth it. What does your daughter think of it? I love seeing kids that are interested in classics. Keeps the hobby alive. My son is 17, he drives an 03 GT, but he is dying to get to drive my 65. In fact, he was 11 when he drove it the first time, out in the High School parking lot, first time he ever drove.

Good luck with your project, keep the pics coming as it progresses :)
 
Great Paint Job

I saw your thread earlier tonight and the body work and paint look GREAT! I can't wait to get to the stage where we can start spraying paint.

Staying excited about our project at this stage of the renovation is indeed a challenge. Progress is slow and rewards are small relative to the effort. We depend on sites like this and local car shows to keep us modivated.

Is my daughter excited....yes! You see her in some of the photos on the site. She's investing a little sweat equity in the car and I'm hopeful that this investment in the project will modivate her to drive the car with great care. There's always a story behind a project like this and this car is not exception.

My daughter "Sally" plays fast-pitch softball and one of her travel team member's father has a restored 65 fastback that Sally fell in love with. This father pointed Sally to the car we are restoring. The car belonged to a friend of his who bought the car in the late 70's and fixed it up and then drove it for about 15 years before parking it in his barn with plans to one day restore it. He agreed to sell it to us for a reasonable price ($1500) knowing that I was committed to doing a first class restoration and putting it back on the road.

I maintain a website, (other than the photo server) on which we log the restoration progress, so the previous owner can watch the restoration and Sally can share progress with her friends. I literally have a stream of teenagers regularly dropping by to see the car and restoration progress first hand. Today along, I had two stop in for a look.

By the way, we call the project Mustang Sally because, my daughter's name is Sally and her High School softball team is the Mustangs. On the website you will see pictures of the SEHS Lady Mustangs along with the pictures of the Mustang restoration.

We both look forward to following the progress of your mustang project. I can point to your progress when Sally's spirits are low and say....this is the goal we are working towards.
 
Keep at it, you are in the toughest phase. I was working on mine at home by myself, as my friend changed jobs and got a new girlfriend, so it did a lot of sitting. At one point one of my son's friends tried to buy it for $4000, and I almost took it. But I had sold my 66 project last year because I knew I couldn't finish 2 of them. I wish I had it back now. I have had so much fun I am planning to moonlight at the body shop to make extra money for parts and such. I am working on the owner, he is a Mustang guy, I am sure you saw the Fox body cars out front, but he has a 67 he bought in high school, he is building a big block for it, and I am begging him to let me do the body work on it. He is having as much fun painting mine as I am. People have been stopping in out there just to see my car, and he even had one guy wanting to buy it!

Today I am going out there with boxes of stuff. As we do the final color sand and buff I am putting back emblems and door handles and stuff! I won't start with the windows until I bring it home, but little things that I can do to add BLING BLING as they say. In fact, I am going to get off this thing and go start collecting parts!! Keep watching, keep in touch, and don't lose the faith :D
 
66 Project Update...picture link included

We've moved into what I consider the fun part of the project. We're now installing new suspension components, brake system components, and preparing to rebuild engine. We're also preping the body for paint. I think I may see the light at the end of the tunnel....or is that a train?

Go Here for project pictures.
 
that is a beautiful car, I'm fourteen and I have wanted a classic Mustang ever since I remember, I have grown up around new ones my whole life, and I was just wondering about how much it costs to get a nice project car, and then how much it costs to restore it because i want to start saving all my money so that i can get a car sooner.
 
Cost

Stallionlover:

In this particular car, the base car cost me $2500 and yes, it was drivable (barely) and went into the garage under it's own power. My son, daughter, wife and I have put almost 2 years of labor into the car and although I did not keep good records of the cost (for fear my wife would kill me), I think we have about $12,000 invested in parts and outside labor.

I love to see young people interested in restoring old cars and with this project I tried to cultivate the same interest in my son and daughter, teaching them skills I learned when I was 15 years old, as my dad and uncles helped me restore a 1951 Chevrolet pickup.

My advice is to save your money, pick a solid car as the base for your restoration, set up a list of work to be completed, and then have patiences...lots of patiences. Our mustang seemed to fight us ever step of the way and it would have been easy to quit at anytime but keeping a web journal of our progress helped us not to forget the progress we were making and keep us modivated.

Last but not least, the restoration never ends. We continue to find things day in and day out that we want change or improve upon, thus the new paint job.

Good luck with your project. I'll be looking for photos here on the site of Stallionlover's project car.