cmendenh81

So about 1 year ago my GF and I bought a 1966 mustang 289 v8-c4 automatic for 8900. (In california looked around a bit seemed to be the going rate for the condition it was in.

Did a quick visual inspection,drove it around floorpans dont look like they were ever replaced nor have any rust so I figured hey go for it.

Now its 1 year later and I'm not a mechanic by any means I always took my cars to the shop for everything or just bought a new one. I'm not dumb and can figure everything out myself just gotta buy the tools so work isn't an issue for me to mentally handle.

-The transmission is leaking HORRIBLY from the pan and by where the drive shaft meets up and up front. Seems all the seals are basically gone. I add about 1 quart of tranny fluid every 5 days or so.
-Oil has started to leak from the oil drain plug and Under the hood you can see its leaking from what looks like the intake manifold and along one side of the engine.
-Coolant is now leaking from the big hose leading to the engine (easy fix)
-The cowl leaked into the car by the gas pedal when I drove it through a car wash (Looking through the vents it doesn't look bad in there but it is leaking now)
-The drivers side door when I put in the key its VERY hard to turn it almost feels like it is gonna bust the key.
-The bodywork is very nice and the interior was completely restored nice as well. But one spot of the paint along the rear window where that panel is between the trunk and the rear window the paint is peeling about the size of a quarter on that weld by the rear quarter panel.
-The instrument panel lights only work whenever they feel like working.
- The Wipers only wipe the windows pretty dang slowly wondering if I can get a new motor otherwise when its raining hard its pretty undriveable (only wipes at one speed).
(EDIT)-The brakes when I'm at a redlight eventaully lose pressure and I have to reapply the brake to get it to hold again. Probably master cylinder.

I've got 2 Tech manuals on the car and have 2 other cars and a motorcycle between the two of us so I don't need to be driving this at all. I was wondering what its gonna cost in the long run If I do as much as possible myself. I can buy an engine hoist eventually and gut the engine and rebuild everything in the garage.Never done it before but It cant be too hard I have a decent set of tools and a nice jack and jackstands but otherwise not really anything else. I've read up on the cowl and the million welds to drill out so I pretty much know what that project entails.

The motor was rebuilt less then 25,000 miles ago it just seems the seals are all going out. I bought it froma guy who works at a mustang shop and I checked around and they do have a good reputation. I don't have the money to have a shop do it but slowly over time piece by piece I can afford to do it myself.

Sorry for the rant just sucks to not have read up on these cars first or I would ahve been able to check out things like the cowl/etc beforehand thanks for any help hope to be talking to ya alot

4reboy

Sorry to hear about all the recent problems! All the leaks can be fixed will new gaskets and sealer. That shouldn't be too hard to handle. Your biggest problem is going to be the leaking cowl. This means you need a cowl replacement, which is very involved and can be expensive. Do a search on replacing cowl and you will see how much work it will take. You will definitely need to take the car to a pro for that.

Good luck with everything, it will all be worth it in the end

cmendenh81

ya the cowl looks to be a pain in the ***. drilling out welds etc. I run a papa johns pizza place and one of my drivers actually fixes up old trucks from the 40's etc. and is one of those 50yr old guys who ahve done everything on cars you can think of so I have a knowledgable person to give me a hand on alot of stuff. I take it the cowl is something that should not be ignored and should be taken care of since I'm gonna have to yank the engine anyway. Or else Ill get floorpan rust etc.

Soaring

These old cars MUST be maintained, and usually on a daily basis. You simply have to do the work yourself unless you are rich. So, get those tools and let's get started. First, get some WD40, and put the little red hose in the key hole and spray in there. Use your key to lock and unlock it several times. After it gets loosened up, get some white grease you can buy in a spray can and spray that in there. WD40 is not a good lubricant, so will go away in a very short time. You need grease in there.
Now, go get some valve cover gaskets. Get the rubber ones. Pull the valve covers and scrape off the old gaskets. Get the cover really clean, then put some sealer in the groove and press the new cover in it. Let it sit for an hour or so, then reattach the cover to the engine. Order a 2 speed wiper moter and exchange the old 1 speed with it.
We have a FAQ section up above that I have been building for awhile now, and in that section is a listing of just about every parts house in the nation. Check with them, starting with NPD for a 2 speed motor.
Don't drive your car into a car wash. That's lazy. Wash your car by hand, and avoid getting any water into the cowl vent. Don't drive your car in the rain until you get those cowl hats replaced. If you have power brakes, then you may be leaking vacuum at the stop light. Check your vacuum hoses, and replace all of them if they are cracked.

Bulldog66

If you're wanting to put the Cowl replacment off until you get the other stuff done, there's an after market part that covers the cowl vent near the window. It's made of Lexan and has 3 spring loaded compression type screws. Push the scren, turn it 1/2 a click and it locks under the vent grates.

Not a permenant fix by any meeans, it will, however, allow you to get home and out of the rain and allow you to wash the car without fear of water getting on electrical parts and ultimatly the carpet/floor pans.

It's realy about what you're wanting to do. If you dedicated x hours to fixing the cowl, you're looking at 40 man hours minimal. doouble that if you have help.

If you're just wanting to get it running properly and save money and put off the cowl repair, the vent cover is an option.

THUMPIN455

Or bring it up here give me a wad of cash and I will fix it all for you... LOL..

or you can always ask us how to fix it and we can walk you through it.. No time like the present to learn to wrench on your car..

Clu7ch

+1

They are usually a PITA! Just look at my gallery and you'll see what I've managed to do (or the lack thereof). If you enjoy a classic car, they are well worth it in the end and to be able to say, "I did this" makes it all sooo much sweeter.

unit91

Yeah..........I probably paid too much for mine too. But you know what, what the crap does everyone else know! I never had a car until I was 21 and working fulltime, so I like my car and I can live with what I paid for it. Bet you can, too.

cmendenh81

thanks for all your help so far Ill throw some pics up soon and you will see me be a regular on here. well gotta go back to work Updates to come.

UBY289

The only way to learnis read how to do articles,books and the net,ask lots of question with this forum and try to do it.I learned more in the last six months about fixing cars just by readingother guys posts and answers and posting .It has given me the alotconfindence to do alot of things that I wouldn't have even considered .One being the rust repairunder where my vinyl roof was.There is alot of knowlegde on this forum and I can't thank people enough for this site and its support. Rob