Old Mustangs: practical?

[Thepeug]

How practical is something like this '65 Mustang as a daily driver: http://adcache.collectorcartraderonl...0/67191630.htm ?

On a tight budget, is it a good first car, or something better suited to a middle-aged man with some money? I'm in college, so I need reliable, reasonably cheap transportation, but performance is a must. Generally speaking, how much would it cost to restore a car such as this one to excellent condition? I'm assuming it would need a new motor. How much would a high-perfomance swap cost? Are parts for such a car hard to find, and are they expensive? I apologize for the generic questions, but I obviously know nothing about Mustangs, especially old ones. Any help is appreciated.

[StangNut86]

i would say, you'r elookin at a lot of money just to make it run good. there's a great chance it'll be in really shitty shape from misuse and poor care.

if you're looking for a relatively reliable and cheap, go with a mid-to-late 90's coupe of some sort. brand doesn't matter. remember, there will always be a muscle car for you to build when you need one and have the time, money, and patience to put into one.

[Thepeug]

Thanks for the help. I'm not really interested in the newer (1980's-present) Mustangs. Though I know they have potential, I really like the look and heritage of the late 60's and early 70's models. Unfortunately, I figured such a project might be a little pricey. Oh well, maybe when I'm 40 years old and (hopefully) have some real money...

[Tony H]

High performance on a tight budget is tough no matter what you get. It would most likely cost quite a bit to finish it (its hard to say though with the info give on the site). Once they are restored they are relaible. But in general, the higher performance you go, the less reliable it becomes from personal experiance. Parts aren't that hard to find, but can be expensive.

[Thepeug]

Originally Posted by Tony H

High performance on a tight budget is tough no matter what you get.

Sad but true.

[flex339]

I had a 67 mustang for a first car. The body was decent and the thing ran fine. Just keep up on it and it will do fine. The best and first upgrade you should have is aftermarket ignition.

[Tony H]

Originally Posted by flex339

I had a 67 mustang for a first car. The body was decent and the thing ran fine. Just keep up on it and it will do fine. The best and first upgrade you should have is aftermarket ignition.

I agree
points =

[Thepeug]

Originally Posted by flex339

I had a 67 mustang for a first car. The body was decent and the thing ran fine. Just keep up on it and it will do fine. The best and first upgrade you should have is aftermarket ignition.

Was it a pile of crap that you restored, or did you buy a car that was already in good shape?

[flex339]

well I bought it for $3000. It had bodywork that was done to it. It had a vinyl top and freshly redone interior. The paint was faded with no gloss. the engine was a 302 with a comp cam 280H, edelbrock single plane intake, and holley 600 DP carb, and full exhaust. The engine ran great and had about 75K on it. The car was raced and abused, but it held together. I had to replace the radiator, starter, steering wheel assembly, and heater core. The car was a blast. A lot of people would check it out too. Over all it was a great car and if you have half a brain that car is a piece of cake to drive and work on yourself. Just look for one in decent shape and you will be fine.

p.s. if you get one with a c4 automatic get a shift kit. It will rock your world

[Thepeug]

Originally Posted by flex339

well I bought it for $3000. It had bodywork that was done to it. It had a vinyl top and freshly redone interior. The paint was faded with no gloss. the engine was a 302 with a comp cam 280H, edelbrock single plane intake, and holley 600 DP carb, and full exhaust. The engine ran great and had about 75K on it. The car was raced and abused, but it held together. I had to replace the radiator, starter, steering wheel assembly, and heater core. The car was a blast. A lot of people would check it out too. Over all it was a great car and if you have half a brain that car is a piece of cake to drive and work on yourself. Just look for one in decent shape and you will be fine.

p.s. if you get one with a c4 automatic get a shift kit. It will rock your world

Sounds like a fun car. Thanks for the tips. I'll keep my eyes peeled for something similar, becuase I'm looking for something in the same price range. One other question: do any of the classic mustangs have manual transmissions, or are they all automatic? If so, why?

[Tony H]

I'm not sure of the ratio of manuals to autos, but there are a lot of manuals out there. I paid a little over $2000 for my 67. brand new interior, origional paint covered by 1 layer of spay can 2 weeks before I bought it, only thing is thats its an I6, but I figured I could drop in a 390 or 351W at the price. I later decided to build up the six instead.

[flex339]

yeah they have manual classic mustangs. earlier mustangs had 3 speeds and later on they put in a 4 speed. I'd shoot for a 67-69 mustang. These were the most aggresive looking and they where wider for the bigger engines that ford put in some models.

67 fastback or 69 Mach 1




_________VS._________

Mustang Camaro

[Thepeug]

Originally Posted by Tony H

I'm not sure of the ratio of manuals to autos, but there are a lot of manuals out there. I paid a little over $2000 for my 67. brand new interior, origional paint covered by 1 layer of spay can 2 weeks before I bought it, only thing is thats its an I6, but I figured I could drop in a 390 or 351W at the price. I later decided to build up the six instead.

Good price. What was mileage like on the I6? How long do such engines usually last before needing replacement?

[Tony H]

67 and later came with better safety stuff too such as the duel brake resvuoir. 68 had a safety steering column.

I really don't remember how many miles were on it, but it had just been broken in not too long before. I6's are worth looking into. They have a 7 main beearing bottom end making them practically bulletproof. They hold up as well as V8s, though I'm fairly new to the I6 design (only been working with it for 4 years). Everything is in easy reach on them, I change my oil from under the hood. I get around 24mpg, 30mpg is my goal. You won't make as much power building a 6, but still not too bad. Its not too hard to get them up to 200hp (doesn't sound like much, but its a few hundred lbs lighter than the v8). Max is around 250hp. I made a post on I6 performance not too long ago. Converting from an I6 to a V8 is a big job.

[Thepeug]

24 mpg? Wow, that's better than I thought. While we're on the topic, are there any online websites from which one can buy motors such as yours or newer, fuel-injected swaps for '60's Mustangs? I've been searching on google and haven't been able to come up with anything.