Hello everyone. Figured I would use this thread to introduce myself as well as ask for some advice about my 67 S code fastback.
My name is Joe, better known as Utah after living there for several years then moving back to NJ. My 67 has been in my family for many years. My father originally bought it around 1974. It was in running condition, but the body had a number of dings and dents. When my dad bought it, he got it running, then had it repainted blue. It was a cheap paint and it looked ok from a distance, but you can tell it was not quality. For the next 20 years it stayed in basically the same condition, kept in the garage, driven a few hundred miles a year. In 1989, we drove it from NJ to park city utah rather than shipping it. We always had other projects going on, so the mustang just sat. Sadly in 1995 my father died and the car went to me. I had to keep it at some friends houses for a number of years until finally bringing it home several years later. In 2001 I pulled the original engine/trans and rebuilt/went through everything mechanical. So fast forward to today. The paint is now about 40 years old, and its looking pretty sad now. Few pics:
2003
Looks good here, but its a 50 footer for sure
Thats the distant pic, here are some close ups of the bad spots
hood
passenger door
driver door
drivers front fender/upper inner fender. it was replaced with a white fender when it was repainted years ago
passenger fender/inner fender
windshield is original, seal is shot, as is the rear glass
drip molding
when my father replaced the front valance, he never took the sticker off after buying it new from ford
trunk looks terrible, not much rust, original under coating is still on the quarter but the paint looks like it was applied over dirt
decklid lip
tried to get a pic of the spider cracks on the quarter
I would call the car rust free underneath. certainly not going to win any awards, but not falling apart
the one thing I did do is clean up the engine compartment...I know, totally backwards, but it was kind of a test to see if I could do something small, then maybe move on to something more complex
So here is what im looking for some advice on....
This car is a family heirloom, it will hopefully never be sold in my lifetime...would love to pass it along to my son one day. The rust is starting to concern me and I want to deal with it before it becomes too bad. I have brought it to a few body shops/auto restoration specialists in my area. Since the car has lacquer paint on top of the original dark moss green paint, everyone I have spoke to has suggested that I take the car down to bare metal. From what I have been reading, I tend to agree. I have gotten a quote to have the car media blasted, and also stripped by hand. But im very much considering doing it myself.
What I really wanted to get a feel for is how much should I tear this car apart. The windows should come out for no other reason than the seals are done as is the door weatherstripping. I would like to have the rust spots on the top part of the inner fenders fixed. The carpet/headliner are already out as mice once got into the car and damaged them. The dashpad is still in great shape, so while I didnt want to totally gut the interior, alot of it is out already.
Im thinking that I will at least remove all of the trim from the car, then I was thinking I would start stripping the paint myself. I would prefer not to pull the engine out if I dont have to. I did remove/rebuild/install it myself, so its not something i cant do, just not sure its needed. Im wondering whether or not I should pull off the fenders/doors. I was originally not planning on scraping done and refinishing the inner fender area, but its probably the right thing to do. The car has new leaf springs, but other than that, the suspension has never been touched in my lifetime, so I plan on going through that.
Well I figure that is enough info overload for now....any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Joe
My name is Joe, better known as Utah after living there for several years then moving back to NJ. My 67 has been in my family for many years. My father originally bought it around 1974. It was in running condition, but the body had a number of dings and dents. When my dad bought it, he got it running, then had it repainted blue. It was a cheap paint and it looked ok from a distance, but you can tell it was not quality. For the next 20 years it stayed in basically the same condition, kept in the garage, driven a few hundred miles a year. In 1989, we drove it from NJ to park city utah rather than shipping it. We always had other projects going on, so the mustang just sat. Sadly in 1995 my father died and the car went to me. I had to keep it at some friends houses for a number of years until finally bringing it home several years later. In 2001 I pulled the original engine/trans and rebuilt/went through everything mechanical. So fast forward to today. The paint is now about 40 years old, and its looking pretty sad now. Few pics:
2003
Looks good here, but its a 50 footer for sure
Thats the distant pic, here are some close ups of the bad spots
hood
passenger door
driver door
drivers front fender/upper inner fender. it was replaced with a white fender when it was repainted years ago
passenger fender/inner fender
windshield is original, seal is shot, as is the rear glass
drip molding
when my father replaced the front valance, he never took the sticker off after buying it new from ford
trunk looks terrible, not much rust, original under coating is still on the quarter but the paint looks like it was applied over dirt
decklid lip
tried to get a pic of the spider cracks on the quarter
I would call the car rust free underneath. certainly not going to win any awards, but not falling apart
the one thing I did do is clean up the engine compartment...I know, totally backwards, but it was kind of a test to see if I could do something small, then maybe move on to something more complex
So here is what im looking for some advice on....
This car is a family heirloom, it will hopefully never be sold in my lifetime...would love to pass it along to my son one day. The rust is starting to concern me and I want to deal with it before it becomes too bad. I have brought it to a few body shops/auto restoration specialists in my area. Since the car has lacquer paint on top of the original dark moss green paint, everyone I have spoke to has suggested that I take the car down to bare metal. From what I have been reading, I tend to agree. I have gotten a quote to have the car media blasted, and also stripped by hand. But im very much considering doing it myself.
What I really wanted to get a feel for is how much should I tear this car apart. The windows should come out for no other reason than the seals are done as is the door weatherstripping. I would like to have the rust spots on the top part of the inner fenders fixed. The carpet/headliner are already out as mice once got into the car and damaged them. The dashpad is still in great shape, so while I didnt want to totally gut the interior, alot of it is out already.
Im thinking that I will at least remove all of the trim from the car, then I was thinking I would start stripping the paint myself. I would prefer not to pull the engine out if I dont have to. I did remove/rebuild/install it myself, so its not something i cant do, just not sure its needed. Im wondering whether or not I should pull off the fenders/doors. I was originally not planning on scraping done and refinishing the inner fender area, but its probably the right thing to do. The car has new leaf springs, but other than that, the suspension has never been touched in my lifetime, so I plan on going through that.
Well I figure that is enough info overload for now....any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
Joe