New car

Hey guys and girls, I recently purchased a 71 mustang coupe and I'm focused on complete restoration. I can't do too much on the body, I don't have a garage to stick this thing in. But I am replacing any and all parts that have gone bad rusted or just need replacing and I'm trying to remove as much Rust as possible. I know a little about cars. Mostly from holding a flashlight for my stepdad for a few years. But right now I'm just going through books and fixing parts with the diagrams on the Chilton manual. Is anyone in the Oceanside area in California? Any help on this page would be awesome I've done a little bit of looking around and it sounds like this is the right place for me to be. Thanks everyone!

Very nice looking car...looks to be in great shape. You should get all the help you need around here.

She has a lot of "cancer" most of which I'll have to deal with piece by piece and eventually go loud and cut out and replace body parts. Looks like the previous owner put a new paint job over rust. And the passenger door has a rust hole about the size of a hockey puck all the way through... I don't know what I'm going to do about that just yet... But I'd like to fix it without replacing the door... But it looks like I'll have to

Looks to be pretty complete. I'd say its a good candidate even with some rust.

Looks to be a great car to start with.. You will get all that help you need here..

Congrats on the purchase! As long as you allow yourself to enjoy the restoration process it can be as much pleasure as driving it. It can be frustrating dealing with rust but if you scored your baby for the right price you'll do fine. Looking forward to your build.

Congrats on the purchase! As long as you allow yourself to enjoy the restoration process it can be as much pleasure as driving it. It can be frustrating dealing with rust but if you scored your baby for the right price you'll do fine. Looking forward to your build.

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You are very correct, haha. Rust is being a pain. But I don't mind. The biggest thing is waiting for parts to come in. I am fully enjoying it though and I'll keep everyone updated. Haha more bloopers than anything else more than likely. Thanks everyone

From the photos you posted it appears to be a nice restoration candidate. You mentioned it had rust issues but from my experience when someone in California says the car has rust issues it probably means cosmetic rust where a person in Michigan would probably be talking about structural rust issues. Good luck on your project and welcome to the club from Washington State.

Jim

Other big areas besides this cancer is the wiring, ha, gonna be interesting.

If anyone comes across any parts they think would help that they see in any of my pictures EVER! Ha feel free to let me know and I'd love to figure out a way to get my hands on anything to help fix her up.


I have an old 4 barrel Holley on my 351c. I have bubbling when I step on the gas. I have not checked the timing yet. Should I put up with a rebuild kit? Or get a new carborator? I know rebuilding a carborator is a pain. Also, I have slipping in my automatic transmission going from 2-3... Just replaced fluid and filter with amsoil atf and in order to get it to shift I have to let go of the throttle all the way and wait for it to shift itself... Anoying... Any suggestions? Thanks


Tranny is a c6

From the photos you posted it appears to be a nice restoration candidate. You mentioned it had rust issues but from my experience when someone in California says the car has rust issues it probably means cosmetic rust where a person in Michigan would probably be talking about structural rust issues. Good luck on your project and welcome to the club from Washington State.

Jim

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Thanks Jim, yah, I grew up in northern Wisconsin, I know exactly what you're talking about when you say structural rust. I posted on another thread with pictures of some of my rust problem areas. And it hassome pretty good bumps and games. Thanks for all the help everyone.


Dents* not games

You were right when you said someone painted over some rust. DAMN......

I have never seen door hinge pins that were almost rusted thru before.

It makes me so mad when people do this to other people. Who ever sold this to you knew what was under the paint and should have priced it accordingly or not sold it at all.

If you have a name we can make him and his business famous on the internet to the point that maybe you get some money back. We are world wide and some of us can be vicious (in a legal way) when provoked.

Don't put any more money into this - it is no longer even a car let alone restorable.

Did Gas Monkey Garage do this car? Seriously!

- Paul

I didn't buy it from a dealer. It was an owner. And it was 3,800. I am interested in replacing all these pieces if possible. And taking out the rust. I'd like to see this thing back in good shape no matter how much work I have to do

Wow.

You'll probably want to see if you can find some "new" doors (if the driver door is anywhere close to the same condition). Looks like new cowl metal, quarters, and outer wheel houses, for sure. Maybe also rockers, forward and rear floor pans, and torque boxes, too. All of that new sheet metal is available through OMS, for sure. Don might have some torque boxes and rockers available as well. Your best bet (for savings) is to see if there's a local salvage yard with a couple of donor cars.

Unless you can do the sheet metal replacement work yourself, you're also looking at a lot of time and labor for a shop to take it all on as well.

Sorry for the bad news, but I've been there before myself - just trying to get you thinking along the lines of what you're up against. If the damage is limited to what you've shown here, you might get lucky to have it repaired/replaced for under $10K (again, much cheaper if you have the skills, patience, and tools to tackle it yourself).

Good luck Man - keep us posted. They're all worth saving... I just hope you're prepared for the down-time.

Haha I can weld and cut. It's all metal work in the end. I'm in it for the experience as well. Thanks for the reply. That's exactly what I'm looking for on this page. Where to start, who to get it from, and help along the way. I'm down for the elbow grease, busted knuckles, and puzzle pieces along the way. Haha

Zach, first of all: Welcome from West Texas!

I hope you have an Auto Hobby Shop at your disposal (ours recently closed, which is where I essentially rebuilt my car over the last 4.5 years) - I know that's more of an Air Force thing, but hopefully your base has something for you.

Seeing the other pictures you posted (and passing along some of the things I think you might need to consider), everything is more that doable - trust me, I've done it all to this point. Getting some buddies who have the skills you might need can be a huge help as well - I'm sure there are plenty of guys around who know something about something you might need help with. If you don't have a shop facility on-base, you're stuck with either paying a shop or getting your garage in shape to handle it yourself.

Good luck Man! We're here for ya - just ask anything at all... I'm pretty sure there isn't much we haven't seen around here... especially, after I brought mine into the fold. rofl

Good on ya, Bro! "In it, to win it," that's what I like to hear! ::thumb::

I know I've been bouncing between 2 other threads, but if you have some kind of an Auto Shop on-base (I'm assuming you're USMC), it will be a huge help in keeping the cost down - especially since you can work metal. Your skills will improve drastically after this project, and you won't be afraid of anything... trust me.

Zach, first of all: Welcome from West Texas!

I hope you have an Auto Hobby Shop at your disposal (ours recently closed, which is where I essentially rebuilt my car over the last 4.5 years) - I know that's more of an Air Force thing, but hopefully your base has something for you.

Seeing the other pictures you posted (and passing along some of the things I think you might need to consider), everything is more that doable - trust me, I've done it all to this point. Getting some buddies who have the skills you might need can be a huge help as well - I'm sure there are plenty of guys around who know something about something you might need help with. If you don't have a shop facility on-base, you're stuck with either paying a shop or getting your garage in shape to handle it yourself.

Good luck Man! We're here for ya - just ask anything at all... I'm pretty sure there isn't much we haven't seen around here... especially, after I brought mine into the fold. rofl

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Thanks! Yah they have some shops and I have a few skills, but knowledge is where I lack majorly and I'll be asking away as things come up. That and small victories along the way is what I'm banking on to see this project through.

Good on ya, Bro! "In it, to win it," that's what I like to hear! ::thumb::

I know I've been bouncing between 2 other threads, but if you have some kind of an Auto Shop on-base (I'm assuming you're USMC), it will be a huge help in keeping the cost down - especially since you can work metal. Your skills will improve drastically after this project, and you won't be afraid of anything... trust me.

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Haha yes we have a couple shops on base I'm going to look in to. Yes, usmc. After this next deployment I'll come back with some more money to put into her. Can't wait ha thanks for the pick up

You have joined a great group - take the time to listen and absorb what others have to offer. There are no agendas here just good advice. We have all learned somethings the hard way and are willing to share.

Coming from possibly the oldest member here: (I voted for Eisenhower)

Only one time in many many Mustang purchases has a private seller intentionally tried to rip me off. I have met many that were overly optimistic about what they thought they had but only the one that was overtly crooked.

When I confronted him he finally admitted that his son was ripped off by a used car lot and they were just trying to get their money back. I ended up buying the car but for 1/5th of what they were asking. It was a parts car and I paid a parts car price for it.

You could absolutely restore this car.

What is a good condition base model coupe worth according to the price guides? Haggerty says a nice driver is currently under $9,000

That leaves you about $5200 difference to spend and not get upside down in this car.

You just bought it so there is little of no sentimental value to it.

So keep it - because selling it to someone else would not be right.

Learn more - always fun to learn

Make your new hobby to find a 71 - 73 mustang that is an incredible buy. They are out there.

Paid to much for this one - Pay to little for the next one - it all balances out.

You end up with a good car to work on along with a rusty car for parts.

Not a bad place to start restoring your first car.

- Paul