Tom and Kate's Mustang Project

June 2004 to ????: For Kate's high school graduation we got a 1967 Mustang Coupe to rebuild. We looked at a number of cars on eBay and decided on this one since its engine and transmission had been rebuilt in 1994 and it had no serious body rot. It needs a LOT of work, especially on the interior and paint job but will actually be street ready within a few weeks.

We've already rebuilt the brakes, carburetor (engine starts immediately now), heater (no AC), windshield washer pump and hoses, and stripped out the dashboard area. The interior seats are ok except the passenger seat upholstery needs replacing because of a tear at a seam. The carpeting is a total mess and the clutch pedal and linkage need rebuilding due to substantial wear.

I'll try to chronicle the project as we make progress. For now I'll just post the collection of photos of the car (and pieces).

One thing I will mention is that this project is a lot more interesting than I had originally expected. I've found I've had to do a lot of sleuthing and use a lot of creativity to figure out what is wrong and restore this almost 40 year old vehicle. For example, the dashboard clock did not work at all. This was not too surprising as most restoration books say the clock never worked past 20 years but, with a little imagination and finesse, we were able to restore the clock to working order (no idea how long it will continue to work but it's fun knowing the original clock is working).

Another good thing about this car is that there is so much interest in restoring Mustangs that there is a very good supply of aftermarket reproduction parts. From what I've seen I think you could almost build a complete Classic style Mustang with brand new parts. Of course this comes at a cost and it is always a challenge to make those repair or buy decisions. I usually try to opt for repair to keep costs down and avoid the two week lead time on ordering parts. eBay also has a good supply of parts (if you know what you're shopping for). For example I picked up some used seat belts from an '89 Integra to provide the added safety of retactable shoulder belts (the original Mustang only had lap belts and even these were an option). It just took a little bit of creativity to get these to work in the 'stang.

Later...

Click here or on photo to go to photo album for this project.