Yonco

A few months ago i was lookign for a mustang on ebay and when i went to look at a 66 coupe, found out that his brother had this 71 mustang sitting infront of his farm for sale. Being 18, working 50 hours at a machine shop being an apprentice got me the $$ i needed and kept my project well funded( and still does). Im pretty good with my hands and mechanics although uneducated about old fords( i know more now!) Im doin everything pretty much by myself, reading online and books onwhat to do and how to do it, and my dad helps wirewheel and paint parts as i take them off.





So i checked it over quickly and picked it up, it had a rebuilt engine 3k miles ago( 10 years ago) and a coat of paint 2 years ago( home done, really shabby). I took the car home, did some burnouts, messed with it, but it wasnt running right. It leaked oil and smoked a hell of a lot. I posted on here a while back and someone suggested the "rear main seal" And sure enough it was:



I pulled the engine andwhile it was out i put some performance parts in it, cam/ ported the heads/ intake/holley 600 cfm/ other stuff.



Under the batt box the apron was rusted so i decided to replace that section and wirewheel/ prime then repaint the whole engine bay, Along with redoing the cowl( big hassle). I replaced all the front suspension, all the A arms/ Bushings/ Ball joints etc.







Then i dropped back in the engine and trans!!!













Put the fenders back on and started her up, open headers, and still having tuning troubles but cant run it ATM because my neighbors(4 diff ones)called the police for it being to loud. The exhaust is not yet on my car and is sitting in the supply of parts to be put on. Along with a tracklok 4.11's for the 9 inch, 5 leaf 1 inch lift rear springs/ new shocks/ dual exhaust with H pipe/ new dashpad and other parts.

The car didnt have a tach so i found a 8k guage cluster at a swap meet for 50$! ( they go for 200-300$ on ebay!!!) The interior also has a B&M megashifter with an 8 ball! making it fun to chirp all the gears.



Heres pics from after i cleaned it when i got it:









I got the car with 2 hoods, the stock non ram air and the ram air one. All of the crome has been removed from the car at this time and has been painted*radiant fire chrysler red* the color thats on the mustang.
There are no more mudflaps and also nochrome wheel well molding strips. Come spring the car will be repainted and im OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS. i was thinking of this radiant fire red with a semi gloss black hook and trunk lid. And then keeping the front chin spoiler and the rear spoiler.

Out of the 3 rust spots: Apron,cowl and Here, behind the drivers rear fender, this was a total loss, a whole big enough to put a football through. If there was a jack down their, it would have fell out of the hole. So this weekend i welded up some plate( 20 /24 guage) plate to cover the hole. I know im not a good welder, but i can get done what needs to get done, and besides, this car isnt going to be a "show car" or even a restored. besides, my welding ground down smooth is a hell of a lot better than the bondo/ and galvinized plate rivited in that the pre owner had.




My plan for it is a STREET/STRIP CAR. Im planning on getting some 275/50/15 Drag radials,for the rear( 9 inch rear end is narrowed a total of 4 inches) so hopefully those wider tires will fit. the last things to pick up will be a higher flow set of heads/subframe connectorsand a Nitrous setup( 100 shot) Those are all i need, atleast for now. The stance im looking for is a mean muscle car, big( also wide)back tires, jacked up in the rear. I think ive got a pretty good anount done in the 3 months ive had this car and hoping to have it running down the 1/4 mile in april! Ive got pictures ofeverything in detail from the time i started till now and pics of all new parts but i left them off to conserve. What do you think of my mustang?


And of course, i have to include a pic of my DD, the one that gets me to work every day in and out and puts up with ever single run i put on it, this thing can take some abuse!:



-Jon

dodgestang

you should be able to fit much wider that a 275 on the wide body.

Said another way, those 275 drag radials will fit without a problem, its just a matter of getting the right wheels to hold them which can be tricky with the rear narrowed. Will prob end up with a custom wheel

Yonco

I have the 15x8 American racing rims and the summit catolog says the DR will from 7.5-9.5 inch rims, so i think it will fit, I have 1.5 inch wheel spacers also, so i can run my 06 bullitt rims on the mustang also.

Colorado_Mustang

Nice!

I would recommend moving the coil, however. Get a good aftermarket one and move it to either the fender apron or the front of the engine. This will keep it cooler and and allow for better spark after the engine warms up.

THUMPIN455

Well yours has very little rust, and the paint shines even if it isnt perfect. Gives me hope and kinda reminds me of what a 71 fastback should look like. Mine is leaning toward street strip with a bit of handling thrown in now. Already have a drag car, so this one can be something different. Seeing yorus gives me ideas for the P.O.D... Thanks!

You sure wont see another one like yours driving the other way. The only time you would is a large Mustang gathering or show.. I like the no chrome look too. But keep the door handles shiny, it needs something to break up the red. The spoiler and wing look good on it too. Just think, a 429/460 will fit in there easily... some aluminum heads to lighten it upfront, then some disc brakes so it will stop at the end of the 1/4, a mild C6 trans... yeah.. scary fast red car.

im jealous.

Yonco

Actually those were in my plans, a 460 out of some ol lincoln, i see them in craigslist all the time for 200$ ish, so i want to get one once i have the car back together and have room, Ill build a 460. And disk brakes? WHATTT just plan ahead and i was looking at anchors on ebay just incase i need to stop fast . But ill be sure to check into those disk brakes -Jon

my77stang

props on the improvements, for sure

ZZmustang

Jon
Good looking car.

shr

looks good ! Very nice how you pulled the fenders off and did the frnt half of the inner structure! and the engine looks very good !

Yonco

What do you say? Keep the chrome front/rear bumper and keep chrome around the grill? or have all the crome around the grill turned to red and front bumper red too? And if the rear is lifted 1.5 inches, what size tire? 275/60/15 or 275/50/15 -Jon