I've done some looking around and I don't see any posts on what to do to prepare for a restoration.

I've never done any kind of restoration. I've got a 66 coupe with a 200 engine. Unsure on the rest as I don't have the car yet, I'm getting it from my Dad who bought it 10+ years ago and we never got the chance to do anything with it.

I imagine in the next three months I'll be able to get started working on it. The body and interior are in great shape, so I don't think much work will be needed there. The car has sat for 10+ years in a garage. I don't believe it ran when he bought it, and I don't know why and he doesn't remember.

My plan is to start with ALOT of pictures and organization prep. I guess I just don't know where to start with the car, what to work on first. I want to keep it original, as close as possible.

What advice can you give for someone who is prepping to start their first Mustang restoration?

What are some common issues when doing a restoration?

What are some smart things to do to save headaches with future maintenance?

Thanks for your help.

 

Fix any and all rust first. Period.

 

Welcome to the forum!

There are several things you are going to need to do before you pick up a wrench.

First you need to honestly assess what you have. Do not go on the assumption that 'not much work will be needed'. Those are words we all have had to eat. Crawl underneath, pull up the carpet, look for rust piles near the pedals that have come from above indicating a cowl rust problem (one of those 'common things' you asked about), check for bondo in your fenders and rockers with a magnet, etc. The fact that the engine doesn't run will take some time and money. The fact that it hasn't run in over 10 years multiplies that time and $ by a hefty factor.

Once you have assessed your car, decide what you want from it. Hot Rod? Retomod? Correct restoration? Driver? You need to be very honest here. The level of your skills and experience will have a lot to do with what you can honestly do which will determine what you actually end up with. A correct restoration is expensive and difficult (at best) for a beginner. On the other end of the spectrum is the driver. This is what is referred to as a 20 foot car, that is, it looks good from 20 feet away. This is the easier (but not neccesarily easy) approach. The beauty is you can start with a driver, enjoy the car and slowly, as your skills improve, work towards a better restoration.

Once you have an assessment and a goal, you need to develop a plan. Plans include things like 'where am I going to get the money for this?' and 'what should I do first?' A car has many seperate related systems (engine, electrical, brakes, suspension, interior, etc.) and you can start in a number of different places. A good approach is to get the car road worthy and then work on one system at a time which will reduce time that the car is not out there on the road. For beginners a protracted period of garage time will kill a project, it's just too boring. Get it on the road and then do one thing at a time. Plan out what you want to work on and set yourself a goal. That goal can be as loose or tight as you want. Too tight and you won't get it done in the way you want (discouraging), too loose and you'll never get around to it. Setting goals is good, by this I mean - 'this summer (month, year, whatever) I want to get the brakes upgraded'. Gather your parts and tools, learn your information, and do the work within the time frame you have given yourself. Setting goals is important for us humans, they motivate us and give us a sense of achievement when we accomplish them.

These are very general pointers, but very important, in my estimation, for a successful restoration/rebuild. If you're going to start, start with those things. Oh, it also helps to have or find a friend who is into cars and is familiar with how they work (beyond 'turn key, step on go pedal'!) Getting someone to help you develop your mechanical skills will be so much more beneficial than anything you can read in a book.

Enjoy the car! And be sure to put pictures up when you can. If you want to see a real 'train wreck' of a project check out my website by clicking on the link in my signature. I had to rip into it and tear it all apart because of the poor condition it was in when I started and the kinds of changes I have in mind. It's all good fun!

 

Thanks for the info! Keep it coming!

 

Join a local club. Know people who know stuff.

 

+1 to what Itsa 66 said.
Get some basic tools, and a place to work on it. Then make sure it is roadworthy, and fix the basics. Drive it! My motivation in every project along the way has been when I finish that project I get to drive the car again. I've only driven my car about 15 miles in the last two years, but every time it motivates me for the next step. Unless you are going for a complete frame off restoration, take it in steps and enjoy the learning. That's the best part.

 

i have a 66 also and quickly ate the "it wont take much" words lol. go slowly over the car and identify to major peices that need work and leave the small detail stuff on the side. like on mine the previous owner said the floors were redone, which they were, then he welded sheetmetal to the bottom of those front to back without rust precautions...now i cant mount my seats and i have to take that crap off to see what is inside. im making mine a driver for now, luckily i have a few good friends at work who can weld and paint so those are taken care of.

 

Thanks again for all your comments. I guess I should clarify. I don't think body or interior will be alot. I know the engine, tranny, electrics, and brakes will be the primary to make it drivable.

Thanks again for everything, I've learned alot already! Please keep it coming. Are there any books that are a must or websites that are great references?

 

Get the Factory Service Manual. Except for rust repairs, anything you could possibly work on is in there in detail.

 

Those words will come back to haunt you, trust me on that one!!

Take your time, try to do a little bit every day if you can to keep your motivation and interst going.

The one thing that is worse then no money to work on a car is either no motivation, or the lack of motivation,you loose interest in it, and get lazy working on it. Those will kill you just as bad as no money to work on it.

You can always do little stuff on the car if you have no or little money, but if you don't have no motivation, or loose interest along the way, your done.

Here is our '65 coupe project that we bought last November.
https://mustangforums.com/forum/clas...s-of-pics.html

I just stared working on the car again after taking off for the winter because of the cold, but I cleaned and restored a lot of little parts over the winter just to keep my interest up and not get bored with it so I could hit the spring a running.

Another thing is to make settable goals for your self. We gave ourselves 5 years to do this project due to time and money most of all.

My goal this year is to have the all the body and rust work all welded up and get the car to a rolling state again, it is big task, but one I hope to do.

I've got over $2300 worth of suspension, brakes, and body parts sitting in my basement to get that job done.
I just got to do it.
Lynn