Man, I'm jonesing to fix my 69 Coupe now.


The possibilities are endless, but I am a huge fan of sleepers. I would suggest pulling the engine and trans for a rebuild. Throw some mild, okay, half adzed wild performance parts in there. Possibly switch from a carb to EFI. Upgrade the suspension and brakes (Brakes are a MUST). Aside from that replace any funky stuff on the interior and paint. Enjoy.

 

I would pull the drivetrain out, and get all the holes in the engine bay welded closed (screw holes and any holes you dont need) then smooth the welds, and paint the engine bay. Like so: http://www.soniccherry.com/enginebay.html

If you have any questions, the guy that owns that car (Dave) is extremely helpful with any questions you might have.

If you choose to do an EFI conversion, see the same above site for wire hiding tips.

I would then do some suspension work. swap in a 9 inch and do all of your suspension work. change the weak brakes out while youre at it. then paint the exterior afterwards so you dont jack up a nice new paintjob when youre installing your springs or something. (ask me how i know)

Engine wise.....

(IMO), i would do a low compression small block with a blow through supercharger or turbo setup. to me, thats more impressive than people doing the efi swaps into the older cars (only because they are pretty common these days).

For your tranny, i would grab a T56-6 speed transmission. (youll have to check for the bellhousing and tranny mount specifics) that way you can go to a set of steeper rear end gears (like 4:10's) and youll have that extra gear on the tranny for cruising speeds on the highway.

I (personally) dont like the sleeper look. If i build a fast car, i want it to look fast standing still as well.

The car that 50 resto did (i think it was a purple notchback) was almost perfect in terms of performance and looks... but i cant find a picture of the damn thing right now

I have it in a magazine at home, and ill look more for it later. i cant send you a PM (since im new) but i might be able to help you aquire certain parts for you project, just let me know what you need.

 

http://www.vintage-mustang.com

The folks there are as nice as they come and really know their stuff. All types of projects there as well, completly stock, resto mod, full out race...whatever you might want to do someone there probably already has.

(BTW I do refer people there to this site for all of their F-150 needs

 

Buy a manual for 68s. Helps with the project in many unexpected ways. I'm talking about one of the "how to" manuals.

 

No offence but he said wants something that looks nice to cruise around in and not a fast car. Seems a waste to bother with an EFI setup or a 9 rear. Plus he could spend up to $10k just on a supercharged or turbocharged engine. Then everything else on the car has to be able to withstand the power.

 

you scared me when you said 350 . I thought someone put a chevy motor in a ford. so ghey.

this is what i think you should do:


Ive doen a few mustangs myself. From the looks of it, it looks like you have an original gt without the original engine. an original gt obviously has a little more value.

What are you looking for? restomod or restoration?

$15k is a lot and you will get a VERY nice car when you are done. Ive restored about 7 classic mustangs and they have all turned out great without spending over $10k TOTAL (with the price of the car). But most of he work was done by myself.

the path i would go is: drivetrain, body, interior

If the engine seems good...keep it. 351s are strong engines. You should tune it up though. check compression, oil, wires, plugs, air filter, etc. You should replace any of that and make sure compression is good before you start working on it. make sure the engine and drivetrain is solid before you start going somewhere else.

make sure any rust is removed completely. it will make you feel like **** when you put 20-30k into a car and see holes in the floorboard or bubbles in your 5k paint job. bodywork is bodywork. it takes hard work and time if you are going to do it yourself and it never seems to come out perfect. get an estimate from a reliable shop. it seems like its in good shape though. and make sure the car is as taken apart as possible befoer it is painted. the more the better the paintjob will come out.

have fun with the interior. bucket seats would be nice if you are going restomod. id go analog guages but maybe stainless? or woodgrain? with a tach? a nice clean system would be cool too.

just my .02

 

I like how most of the magazine cars are just sent from shop to shop and then they laud the owners as if they've done anything more than just write checks.

 

I should have read the original post all the way through.. i guess i was just skimming my bad.

In that case, (if it was mine) crate motor, paintjob, rims, suspension and brakes.

 

Stiffer springs with 1" drop front and rear, good shocks, a big front anti-sway bar, rear anti-sway bar, export brace, tower to tower brace and subframe connectors. Replace any worn parts in the front suspension with modern, upgraded parts. You can drop the mounting points of the upper A-arms by 1" to greatly reduce camber change throughout the travel.

The steering box usually wears out on old Mustangs, so replace or rebuild. If the budget permits, you could look into a rack and pinion system and revised front supsension.

For wheels, Magnum 500s look good on any old Mustang, IMO. 15" x 7" with 225/60/15 quality rubber will fit nicely and look classic.

Warm up the 351 a little; rebuild if necessary. If it is a 2 barrel, put on a 4 barrel and an aluminum manifold. Carb with something around 600 - 650 cfm unless you go for a hot cam, too. Tri-Y headers and dual exhaust with cross over. Electronic ignition, too. Put in a bigger radiator and a flex fan.

Consider a 3.25 - 3.50 rear gear with a posi or Detroit locker, if the car is not already so equipped.



Upgrade the brakes (if it does not have discs up front, put them on!).

Put in a modern stereo, but keep it stealthy. If the car does not have a center console, see if you can find one.


Repaint (preferably the car's original color).

One alternative for the look would be to make it into a 'Bullit' inspired notchback. Use the 'Bullit' green paint color and wheels.


FWIW, I had a '67 fastback with 351W with FMX transmission, 600 Holley, headers/duals, and 3.50 rear with a Detroit locker. Big radiator, battery relocated to the trunk, and most the suspension mods I listed above. It was an outstanding driver; close to 20 mpg, decent handling and a mid 14 second car.

 

My vote goes for putting it back to stock form. I don't that exceited over modded Mustangs. Now a survivor, even a decent restoration gets my heart pumping.

 

Thanks for all the input, guys, and keep it coming!

I've spent most of the day over at www.vintage-mustang.com, seems like a good community and LOTS of great ideas. Thanks PBCrisis.

I'm going to have my friend go over the drivetrain with me and see if there is anything that needs upgrading first. Check out the alternator and other miscellaneous essentials under the hood. Then, the next thing on the list is brakes for sure. The current brakes are sub-par, to say the least.

My wife and I have agreed on sticking with the original paint color. Going to start doing some investigating around town to find the best shop to get the body done.

She wants to keep it as original as possible, but I'm indifferent about a restore. I don't mind putting in some modern components... we'll see how that pans out. The bucket seats are going to be a challenge. She thinks the bench makes it "neat". I hate being able to slide all the way to the passenger door. And the original steering wheel MUST go. It's like you don't have anything to hold onto, and the horn placement is just horrendous.

Again, thanks for all the ideas and suggestions, fellas.

Rock on