maczter

Greetings from a soon to be owner. My wife is graduating school soon after raising our two children, and as a present toher, I am purchasing a 66/67 convertible. I am a former muscle car nut, now Harley nut, but have little experience with Fords. I am looking for advise as what to look for when shopping. Obviously, I know the normal rust areas (wheel wells, trunk floor, door lowers, fender and quarters, etc), but are there any unique areas to Mustangs, especially convertibles? Any other items that might be of concern? I am looking to spend $15-20K, probably a 6 with auto trans. She does not want a hot rod, just something a good looking late 30's blonde would look good in. Also, I am looking to buy later this year so any pointers to dealers/owners that might be a good source would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jack

66GTKFB

Keep an eye on e-bay and the local craigslist for what you want. There are some significant differences between 66 and 67 Mustang convertibles. 67 and 68 are very similar and 65 and 66 are very similar. That may open up your search. Be advised that 65 and 66 Mustangs with six cylinder engines use different (and not as strong)front suspension parts than the V8 models and those parts are getting harder to find. If the car has power steering, it's even worse. In general, consider a V8 first.
Jim

68EFIvert

I would also look for rust damage under the cowl. They are prone to rusting there and are very expensive to repair. I have heard people say that they have spent $3k to replace those panels. Run a garden hose over the cowl inlet by the hood and then watch for water leaking in the interior. In addition pay close attention to the distance between the tire and the quarter panel. I did not pay attention to that since my car originally had small/narrow wheels but when I added larger tires one side started rubbing. Turns out there was a poor accident repair and I had to replace the whole quarter panel. There was about a 1/2" - 3/4" difference from one side to the other.

eholzer07

I would have to disagree with 66TKFB. Im not going to disagree with the parts being harder to find but i woul dgo ahead and stick with the 6 car. They are alot more practical as a driver than the 8s bc they get better gas mileage. I would look at craigslist. Make sure you look for bondo when you buy. You should be able to find a 6 vert for un 20K. Although it is going to be harder to find a restored one because so many people want to restore the 8s. Good luck

gothand

Jack,

I agree with Jim that you should try to find a V-8 car as it will be easier on you all the way around. Also, since this is a car for your wife (no offense ladies, but GENERALLY speaking, wives don't seem to be as enamored with 'projects' as guys do), I'd buy a nice driver already painted ($$$) and ready to go. With few exceptions, you'll likely put in more money and time to get a project where you want it to be.

If I were you I'd monitor Ebay and Craiglist for a Southwest car (or any dry region) as you're less likely to deal with rust out here. For crying out loud, we barely got 3" of rain this year in L.A.[:@] If you look closely enough, I think you'll get a nice V-8 driver for $20K.

Good luck and congrats to your wife.

gothand

Do you know the real world numbers on these? For instance, the Jeep Wranglers came with the option of an I-4 or an I-6 and many of the I-4 crowd rationalized their purchases with the claim that they were more efficient. The consensus was that in real world driving, the difference in mileage was about 1 MPG, certainly not enought to leave about 60hp and 80 ft-lb on the table.

[edit] Not once can I recall anybody saying they regretted getting the larger motor nor could I recall andy I-6 toI-4 swaps. Naturally, I-6 and V-8 swaps were quite common.

eholzer07

There is def nobody swaping to a 6 but if a car is 6 already i dont think you should change it. ITs to much work. and money. If you want a 8 buy one. As for the MPG with a 6. If you 6 is in good condition and tune correctly you can get 18-22 mpg. I asked this question on the ford 6 board and that was the range. Personally i havent gotten my 6 on the road and even if iwas on the road it runs really poor. But when you compare my 302 high compression V8 fastback tuned for the drag getting around 8 to 10. I would say its worth it.

highhilleer

Read
http://www.classicmustang.com/Storie...Novakovich.htm
Find a mustang club in your area
https://www.mustangclubcenter.com/cl...t_frameset.cfm
Go to a meeting and ask around.
Depending on where you live, you should be able to find a very nice car for your budget. I spent less than half what you're considering and I still had the car checked by three mechanics before I bought the car. However I was buying it sight unseen, fortuantely I found an honest seller.

You have identified the most important problem, RUST. The advice above about the cowl is important because ford didn't paint the cowl pan when the cars were produced. IMHO there are two kinds of classic Mustangs, those with rusted cowl pans and those with repaired cowl pans.
In general I6 cars can be good because they usually haven't been "performance" driven so they may be in better shape than a V8 car. The 200 CI engine, while short on performance is very good for reliability.

There are many places to look in addition to ebay, for example
http://www.mustangdreams.com/ford-mustang-ads-read.asp

Take your time and ask questions.

Soaring

Also get the free auto trader's on the stand outside convenience stores and supermarkets. Peruse the newspaper every day. I found mine advertised in the newspaper. There are two classic mustangs in the Austin paper right now.

Fastbackkid

I have built about 6 of the 66-67 mustangs, I have come to find that the whole front clip can easly be replaced with fiberglass the front fenders, the hood and the front nose panel. You might be surprised on how cheap you can get this parts as well. The reason I am telling you this is because if you find one with front end damage you can have it all replaced with fiberglass which in return will make the car not make any front end rattle noises. Plus you can save thousands on the price of the car. Just check the floor pans if the are rusted that is the most time consuming. Thenquater panels are a bad place and the cowl vent. But check out this part store its called California Pony Cars they have every part you can imagine to restore your car. the number is 1-888-225-7669