I am looking at purchasing this mustang from a family member. It has some sentimental value. I posted a similar post in another section of the forum and didnt get much of a response.

Here is a link to some pics. There are some obvious concerns in the rear quarters and trunk.

Car was parked 12 years ago...was running at the time. My Aunt told me that she had some "front end" repairs done due to rust and that those repairs needed to be done again (hence the reason she stopped driving it). Not 100% sure what she means by this.

Looking at the pics, any thing that jumps out at you that I should be concerned about?

My game plan was to get the car back to TX. Have my body shop guy and to my welder to look at what it would cost to repair any rust damage and repaint. Assuming this is reasonable, then pull the motor, tranny, brakes, the whole 9 yards.

http://s182.photobucket.com/albums/x.../69%20Mustang/

 

Rear fender wells are toast which leaded me to believe the is more rust damage. How are the floors and frame rails? The front end i would not worry about, simple fix as long as it did not take a collision. The rest depend on your pocket and skills

 

I'd pay $2500 sight unseen for it. Pretty clean fastback overall.

 

True- Lotta potential there. Likely will need a quarter on the side with the blistered lip over the wheel, maybe both. Fortunately, the current repro is pretty good. Dunno about the rest. Need to see the forward half of the front frame rails, the last 6" of the rear rails, and of course the floors.

 

the interior looks pretty good too.

it's going to be an expensive fix if you have to outsource it all.
How's your budget and how much can you do yourself?

 

That looks like its in pretty good shape for a project car.

 

How much is "sentiment" worth to you? I recently spent over 15,000 on quarters, wheelhouses, tailight panel, doors, fenders and paint... Spent a lot more on parts, motor work, etc... I dropped a lot more into mine than I could ever get out of it (then again, it was an original 6cyl....). If it's a car you plan to keep forever and have some cash to spend, or will in the future, go for it. Also, like mentioned before, skill can save you a lot if you can do some stuff yourself. Personally, I could have done most myself, but I wanted my car ready and waiting for me when I get home from Iraq.

 

Body work and paint--never done. Not saying I wouldnt try. Chassis/engine/mechanical I can do myself (would have to farm out machine shop work but have a guy who can do this).

The rust issue scares me. I did a body off on a corvette, sunk a ton into it then stripped the paint to find out the body was pieced together like Frankenstein--lesson learned.

I would keep the car forever, but I dont want to have $25k in a car that is probably worth $15k restored.

To get an idea of the floor pans, should I try to shoot pics from underneath or rip out the carpet? Underneath would be less destructive for my Aunt but I want to get a good sense of what I am getting into.

Would you get it back on the road without any cosmetics then fix the cosmetics over time (rear quarters)?

I've got a 65 c-10 that I want to experiment with body work on first....but that is several years away (and probably a divorce when my wife looks out the backdoor ...)

 

It looks solid. Drive it for a while and then decide on cosmetics. Keep it garaged and somewhat dry if possible, old cars are like old people, they can age VERY quickly.

 

Looks like in the pictures, that it's a good one. Pics don't always tell the whole story. But, if you have connections I'd go for it. Just in case you run into hidden problems.