jsimmonstx

I've owned several Mustangs in the past (here's the one I owned in 1988):





...but I strayed from the one true path in 1990. However, I'm now in my mid 50's and my Crown Vic is nearing 8 years old, and I want to get a new car. I'm currently considering the V6 Mustang, but a plain Mustang looks kinda boring to me, and I would be making some mods.

In short, I'm going to replace the hood and add side/quarter-window scoops in an effort to add styling similar to a 68 Shelby. I'll also be adding center-mounted driving lights, an appropriate rear spoiler and changing the front fascia, and maybe changing the side-skirts.

My question is about Le Mans stripes. All of the stripe kits seem to be application-specific, so how do you pick the right one? Barring finding the right stripe kit, how much might it cost to paint the stripes on?

I'm sort of a purist at heart, and will be trying to find the right Mustang in white and will be adding blue stripes, or failing that, the darker silver with black stripes.

Since it's been more than 25 years since I dabbled in the world of modified cars, I am seeking comments, tips, and gotchas that would nice to be aware of. Thanks in advance.

ccaron

First of all, welcome back. Gorgeous old Mustang!

Second of all, a lot of your appearance mods can be added (by the dealer) upon delivery. If you havent checked out the customization tools on ford's website i would recommend it. If you could print off a summary/wishlist at the end and bring it to your dealer they should be able to either order it specific or locate a model similar enough to work with.

If ford doesnt have what you're looking for check out some of the websites in the vendor categories. I'll specifically cite AmericanMuscle here because i know they have Le Mans stripe kits as well as some pre-painted body panels and fascias. Blue Stripes might be harder to find in vinyl, and painting would vary from shop to shop.

I know other people will be more helpful than me and will be glad to chime in, but welcome back! I look forward to seeing the end product on here in the near future!

D'prived

I've been quoted in the neighborhood of $1000.00 to paint Shelby stripes on my '09 GT.

jsimmonstx

I loved that car. It 1965 with a 302 with dual quads (factory Ford manifold with matching Carter AFB carbs, and a hand-made air cleaner), toploader 4-speed with a short-throw Hurst shifter, aluminum driveshaft, 9-inch rear with 3:50 gears, 31-spline axles, gussetted axle tubes, and 4-wheel disc brakes. I also completely rebuilt the front suspension, stripped out the interior, welded in a roll cage, and replaced the factory front seats with non-adjustable fiberglass racing seats, and installed racing harnesses. Fenders, hood, decklid, and rear bumper were fiberglass. No A/C or power steering. The car was my daily driver until I got divorced.

Yeah, that's what I was going to try first. I've yet to find a hood that came pre-painted, so I've mentally prepared myself for that. The side/window scoops and maybe the rear spoiler should be easy though. I might even get lucky an find a suitable front fascia that's already painted.

I'm planning on visiting a Ford dealer tomorrow and see what they have in the way of body parts. I know for a fact that they do have at least something because they dressed up a V6 and put it on the lot earlier this year. It was nice, except it didn't have a hood scoop at all (completely unacceptable), and they kinda embarrassed themselves by putting "427" on the top of the bumper under the driver's side headlight. What are ya gonna do, though?

stags

In my opinion, an aftermarket hood or shaker system sets any mustang apart.

MadStang40

Welcome to the forums! That sure was a sweet classic and it sure sounds like you enjoyed every bit of it. Who need the A/C when you can roll down the windows?

Here's some sites that could come in handy if you can't find something directly from Ford that you like:

Americanmuscle.com- great customer service, good prices, free shipping, and quality parts
latemodelrestoration.com- HUGE selection of parts and priced pretty well too
dgcustomauto.com- ordered my grille from them; not the best customer service in my opinion, but free and fast shipping to my door from across the country
newtakeoff.com- stocks OEM Ford products. Looking for a GT or GT/CS part? Check this site regularly as their stock constantly shifts

As far as painting stripes goes, a local small body shop owner painted mine and cut me a little bit of a deal at $800 from bumper to bumper for 10" wide stripes and 1/2" outer stripes. So $1000 sounds fair.

Keep to this forum and you'll learn a lot of gotchas, tips and tricks. A bunch of knowledgeable and respectable people here.

Here's a couple easy freebies:
1) Measure twice cut first: I'm sure you already know this by experience haha
2) It's better to get the mod done in 2-3 hours while enjoying a 6-pack rather than rushing it in 1 hour to get it installed before the night's ball game.

Welcome to the forum!

jsimmonstx

Went down to the dealer today, and talked cars with the Motorsport Accessories Manager (turns out we know some of the same people back from "back in the day").

We decided on a 3D Carbon Boy Racer body kit (they even have one in stock at the dealer!), and Cervini's hood, side scoops, and window scoops, center-mounted driving lights, and 20-inch Shelby 5-spoke wheels on 40-series tires, all mounted on a 2012 V6 Mustang. I might even do some custom rocker stripes.

"Concept" hood with billet heat extractors = $700
Body kit (pre-painted) = $1150
Scoops = $300
Center-mounted light grille - $200
Wheels/tires = $3000
Stripes = $1500
Paint (hood) = ????

I think this is gonna be a very sharp car...

jsimmonstx

AmericanMuscle has a customer pic (not a very good) of theexact front-end appearance I'm after:

MadStang40

I do like that front end. I'd say it'd look even better with an intercooler to fill that gap down the road eh? eh? haha

jsimmonstx

I was thinking maybe a transmission cooler like the ac cobras.