Well, so I get my '66 and am all excited to start the restoration process. I bought a book on how to restore old classics and decided to use their school of thought in my own restoration.

The book suggested not to go start tearing the car apart. Instead, it said that for each part you take off, you do not take off another until you either replace or restore that one part. As an example, if you are taking off the rear bumper, don't take off anything else until you replace/restore that bumber, the bolts and sand/repaint the brackets, then lable and store it. I started going down this path...however - I really want to tear this sucker apart.

My thoughts are to remove ALL exterior chrome, remove the wiring (what's left of it), and remove the interior.

Then I would replace all suspension, as the engine is already out. Replace the wiring and then do the disc brake conversion.

Redo the engine bay and drop in new motor - make sure sucker runs strong and shifts well.

Remove glass. Do light body work.

Sand and POR 15 interior.

Take to body shop to finish body work and paint.

Install new glass.

Bring her back home, slap in the interior, chrome, wheels and go for a drive.

Am I like totally off base or what?

Thanks for the input!

Steve

 

IMO, the biggest factor in determining how to proceed is the condition of the body/chassis. A rust bucket needs to be completely torn down. Only then will you see what you are up against. A solid car, only requiring some exterior body panel work or replacment (getting rarer these days), may be able to go as the book suggests. If it requires a complete repaint, I might tear it apart.

What the book is trying to do is to keep you from getting over your head. Many Mustangs are sold in pieces or sit unfinished in the garage for years, because the owner lost motivation, courage, or financing. If any of these happen to you, it is much easier and you get a better price if it is together and running.

 

Sounds like a pretty good plan. Hopefully the bodywork will be light but if your interior is rusty you need to check the cowl for leaks. If it is leaking then buy a couple of good spot weld bits and open it, fix it, and weld it back together. Otherwise you will never be able to drive in the rain or wash your car.

 

Steve. I take the car apart first. Label everything. Use palstic bags.....and did I mention label everthing! Take plenty of pictures as well. I like to do it this way because then I know exactly what I'm dealing with for the restoration. In the world of Mustang restoration it won't be a surprise when you remove something and find more work to do. This gives you a base to start with.

Also, if I have all of the parts off and have a little time here and there in between honey do's, I can grab the bumper brackets for instance and clean them up and paint them. It just gives me more flexibility with my time.

If you do take stuff off first, do not throw anything away even if you think you are going to replace it. I like to have the original there to compare to the repro parts just in case there is an issue with fit.

Good luck..

 

You really have no idea what your dealing with until you have it apart. So many things you find need to be fixed/replaced once you take something else off. Keep in mind that tearing a car apart completely puts you into a kind of "Oh Sh*T! What have I got myself into!" place especially for the first time. I'd say of the cars that get completely ripped apart, few make it back together by that same person. Its just so overwhelming for the first timer.

Make sure you have a lot of space if your plan a complete tear down. We work on our car in a 1 1/2 car garage and with all the tools, etc there simply isn't room for storage. Between what I have taken off the car and new stuff going back on I've damn near filled another garage.

Your other choice is to simply tackle the car in sections. What needs to be fixed right away to get it on the road? Steering, suspension, engine, drivetrain, electrical, etc. This gets it on the road quicker, you get to enjoy the car much sooner and you don't get tired of working on the car without enjoying it. Most people I'd figure this would be the better route as you'll be able to enjoy the car while working on it.

cfd2bc pointed out a great tip... plastic bags! Hit the grocery store and buy a few boxes of cheap ziplock bags. You might use 200 to 400 bags depending on how you tear it down. Get a box of 200 smaller quart sized bags and another box of gallon sized. I used more quart sized bags. Buy 2 or 3 "Sharpie" permanent markers and keep them in the bag boxes. Bag and Tag everything and don't toss anything out until your finished.

 

Like everyone has said, It can be a little much when you tear it down completely. If you go this route make sure you can buy something big every month or two. I have done this, and seeing something big come in the mail is very encouraging.

 

Mine was in decent shape when I bought it so I went this route. The guy I bought it off of had actually been using the Stang as a daily driver for a month or six weeks because his girl friend had wrecked his DD. With selling the Stang and the insurance he was finally able to get a new DD.

My car has had and still has "issues" or areas that need to be looked at. But I started with a pretty solid base so I have been able to drive it and enjoy it while I revamp areas that need attention a little here and a little there as time and parts money allows.

It really depends on what you start with. Some I have seen are in such bad shape that complete tear down is the only option. Others are in decent enough shape so you can drive and revamp at the same time.

Made a lot of progress on it this past year and hoping to keep that momentum going forward....driving and restoring pieces at a time has worked pretty well for me.

 

Yeah strip it fix the rust paint it drive train back in headliner then the glass then finish the interior.Putting everything in bags labeled is worth it.I got a lot of different size ziplock bags i use works well.But before you do all this think of how you want the car in the end your budget and time frame.And don't do like most get it half way done and quit.

 

and whatever your budget is... make sure you can afford to double it! You will.

 

As someone else said mark everything and use a sharpe. I lost alot of information using a ballpoint pen as it goes away in the sun. Also replace all hardware back on the piece you are taking off as it makes it go alot easyer. Plastic bags go away in the sun so keep them in the shade. Take a million photos. If I was to do it over I would buy a cheap camera and leave it in the car.