Restore or not to restore?

[amaterasu71]

So I bought a 73 q code (numbers match) mach with 351 c. I haven't run the marti report yet but im curuios to the opinions of the wise ones... It is a nice driver right now motor was rebuilt about 2k ago and paint is not gonna win shows but is respectable its orange now was orig a bright red.  Do I restore back to original or do i just have fun and do what ever I feel like doing? It was a air car that has the air conditioning removed (would have to buy replacement) other than that what do you think??

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

If this is your only Mustang I would enjoy it. If you get a perfect paint job then your afraid to take it out, lol. Since your are new. I never wash my Mustangs with running water unless been to a mud  bog race. The water gets in the cowl, inner doors, cracks around windows and quarter panels and feeds the rust. I only take clean buckets of water and micro fiber towels and wipe the car down. 

The AC on these will work fine with std. parts no need to spend thousands to get an new system.

I have a 73 Vert that has mostly original paint and all original interior. Some people say I should paint it some love it the way it is. Right now I could not tell you if I get a new paint chip but I could if perfect paint. Going to just drive mine. Trophies and plaques cost about $10.00- $15.00 each and are worth nothing when you do get them, lol. Enjoy and have fun.

 

[mach71351c]

I would say drive it, maintain it and enjoy it. If it was a Boss or a 429 car then I would go back to factory stock. My only recommendation is keep it loyal to the breed for value reasons.

Bright red is on the orange side of red. Are you sure the color is not correct? It looks like bright red to me in the pic.

 

[OzCoupe72]

As others have said just build it to what you want

My vehicle is Bright Red and in some photos looks "orange" so yours could be close

 

[donkost]

Great looking car, end of an era, just drive, maintain and enjoy. Is it automatic or 4 speed? Is anything left from the factory air? If you only need the compressor and then reconnect everything and look for leaks and so forth, that might be worth doing. If you need absolutely everything related to the AC system that would be more of a challenge, but not insurmountable. Is the interior stock and in nice shape? As others have said, your current color doesn't seem too far off from bright red.

 

[mustangandy]

Nice looking car, just maintain and drive it

 

[jpaz]

Drive it and enjoy it. It looks like a really nice ride, no need to tear it all apart. Hopefully it’s a good car with no hidden damage. Good luck with your car and I hope you can just have fun with it.

 

[MustangNJ]

on the 73 Mex Mach 1 I bought in the Spring as a barn-find, my strategy is to drive it until something breaks, then replace the parts with better-than-factory. since the car breaks regularly, I am chipping away at a mechanical restoration. My idea is to have a car that will remain rust free, will mechanically kick ass, but will always look a little dusty and vintage. I have other cars/trucks that I maintain and resto-mod to a very high finish, but sometimes you just want a car to drive and have fun and not worry about a scratch, or something

 

[72MustangSprint]

Summer is short in Wisconsin, drive it while it’s nice weather and fix things in the long winters. Did you buy the car locally? Looks nice