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Hi everybody, for christmas i was given the classic car of my choice to buy and restore. i chose a mustang, between 65, and 68, i got a 66, red with black interior, in decent condition, and running, and im planning to restore it, nothing incredibly nice, just easily driveable, and a good cosmetic makeover. its got the straight six and an automatic tranny, if posible i will be wanting to convert it to a manual. ill post some pics in a cupple of days, i was wondering what are some good tips for basic redoing. I am 14 and am planning on having it in good condition by the time i get my liscense. So, basic hints on restoring, what tools i should find. I am on a limited budget, i will probably be doing a home paintjob, so any ideas on that, my budget is around 500 dollars if i scrounge and sell some stuff, about 300 out of the bank from saving.
Thanks so much.
Michael Devereux
edit: so, im gonna fix a steering slop problem first, the n probably do the brakes and ive got a friend of my moms who owns a shop and will do compression tests for me, i think, i might just put a little touch up paint on the areas that are pretty rough, there is pne spot that is bondo and has cracked, and im gonna fix that and touch that up, and then get the rest of the engine pretty well along. then im gonna reupholster the seats and then paint it very last i guess, pics in about an hour
Welcome to the hobby. My first suggestion is to get printed books(not the magazines) and research and learn.
2nd, your budget is WAY too low...you can get a start but paint materials alone even if you do a home paint job are going to be way more than $500. You have taken a big step....car restoration is not cheap or easy....you will have much to learn and you will spend a fair amount of money. Fortunately for you the parts to build/restore your Mustang are cheaper than a Fox or newer Mustang and very plentiful...but the parts still cost money and you will find that $500 will not go far.
Again...read, research and learn....and most importantly be realistic and understand that you cannot restore a car on a $500 budget
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Current Collection:'94 GT, '66 Ford Ranch Wagon, '87 LX, '89 LX, '81 Black Magic Capri, '89 5.0 LX Hatchback, '67 Chevrolet Panel Van, '50 Desoto, '49 Chevrolet 3800 Delivery, '85 Hatchback, '67 Fastback(S code), '53 Ford Jubilee, '68 Coupe, '65 GT Fastback(A code), '69 Firebird, '69 Mustang Convertible, '66 Chevy II, '97 Crew Cab Dually(5 speed), '86 SVO(black-owned twice), '03 Infiniti G35, '72 240Z, '87 LX 5.0 Hatchback, '67 Coupe(S code), '68 GT Coupe(J code), '67 Fastback(T code), '66 GT Coupe(A code), '69 Mach 1(shaker), '68 Fastback(S Code), '83 Capri RS, '86 SVO(red-owned twice), '68 Cougar XR7, '69 Mach 1, '95 GT Convertible, '06 Magnum, '86 SVO(red), '90 Corvette, '64 Mercury Marauder, '67 Coupe, '65 Coupe(C code), 97 Crew Cab Dually(Auto), '67 GTA Fastback(A code), '65 GT Fastback(A code), '69 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Dan Gurney Special, '86 SVO(Teal)....as of 4-29-13....Warning, this list may have already changed by the time you have read this disclaimer.
At the age of 14 ... i would spend your money on keeping the car running. Create a budget, put some money away every month, build it into a seperate saving account ( or something like that ). If you can do this with care, you can have yourself a nice budget built up before you go into college to make your mustang a real looker.
If the car is decent, running ... you are ahead of the game. keep it running ... and keep this in mind ... paint is the last thing you want to do to that car.
You're lucky to be in such a position at a young age.
Let me give you some pointers so you don't make the same mistakes I did (I started a restoration and couldn't finish it).
For $500, there is no way you will be able to paint that car. You're better off concentrating on making the car run well. (I hope the body is in good shape).
As paul said, buy a good restoration manual, I would also buy a factory shop manual for the 66 as well. It was a very handy tool when I had my car.
The first thing I would do if I were you is get some kind of part time job to save up some money. Make sure that you get a good set of handtools if you don't already. Craftsman made in USA are good and usually can find them on sale.
In terms of the car, the first things I would do is get the car driveable and safe. The brake system should be checked top to bottom, all the flex lines and wheel cylinders are probably tired. Rebulding the carb yourself is also a good learning experience.
Good luck... try and learn from my mistakes and it will make things easier
__________________ 2005 Mustang GT, Sonic Blue, IUP, 5spd, DC Leather, 18" Polsihed Bullitts, Bassani Axlebacks, Body Color CDC Classic Chin Spoiler, MGW shifter, Steeda UDP's C&L Intake with SCTX2 tuner, 93 and 87 Perforamce tunes from Bamachips Whiteoak Ford c/o Steve Davidson
boy .. am i gald i have a 24" wide screen monitor and a personal T1 line ... sheesh!
congrats on the ride.
find a local repair shop with a lift, lift the car and take about 50 pictures, all corners, sides, underneath, outside the tires, inside the tires ... i mean everything ... looks like your camera has got some megapixel power ... take pictures everywhere!
find a local mustang shop and have the car looked over ... make a shoping list of the stuff you see wrong ... all the dings, seats, dirt, things you want dressed up, does all your dash gages work, ... i mean go through it hard ... windows, mirrors, ... you get the idea.
once you get your list, organize them by location on the car; group them by like categories. you have a lot of work and if you plan right ... you will have a sweet ride.
as far as what to do first; change all the fuilds now, check your brakes, do a pressure test on your radiator. run your car during the day idle for 5, 10 , 15 minutes ... measure the tempreture ... does your car overheat on idle ( like sitting in traffic ) ... while your car runs, idle or slow speeds, make tight turns with it ... turn the steering wheel all the way to the left and right ... does it stall the engine ( yea it happened to a friend of mine ).
i am going to guess and i am probibly wrong so take it as it is ... you are going into high school soon and probibly have a limited income, a part time job will help when you are ready ... this project will take a while to complete ... thats why the list is so important because as you build cash do fix your list, you can check things off one by one.
like others have said ... get a real repair book for your year.
One place i goto for help is JBA, you can always email the folks at ( http://www.jbaracing.com ), you will always get a repsonse.
my last bit ... do the body last unless if a piece is serious hanging on its thread ...
good color too.
good luck
eeeeeeeee
PS ... HEY MODS ... can you guys shrink the pics a little?
im getting compression tests on the whole thing, at a place with a lift, so ill take pics there, thanks for the help, im gonna fix the steering slop today or tommorow
hey, um can anyone tell me where the steering box is one a 66 stang, my steering is really loose, im getting about 4 inches of movement with no wheel action, and i wanted to tighten that up, can anyone tell me where to find it, and how to work on it
The steering box is directly behind the driver's side shock tower. The steering shaft runs out of the firewall at a 45 degree angle downward into the box.
They do wear out. I have never had a steering box go out on me, so I am not sure what the symptoms are. I know that they can be openned up and regreased. New steering boxes are rather expensive (about $425). Check everything else before you replace it.
While you have the car up on the lift, make sure all of your steering and suspension components are secure. You may have something loose or broken under there.
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Current Project: 66 C Code Coupe - Restoration Complete 12/05. Fresh Paint on Original Panels. Original Glass, Rust Oxide Floors, Black Plate CA Car. Auto, Power Discs, Ford Aluminum Intake, Autolite 4100 1.12, Manual Choke, Hipo Exhaust Manifolds, Export Brace.
the Multi-Quote King
1986 Ford Mustang SVO
Linear Mode
