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I'm at a decision making point of my build. I have a fairly common 1966 coupe, 3 speed 289, two tone pony interior, luxury group, A/C.. Original color is Ember-glo and the dash was white, seats white and orangish..
At first I thought it was so far gone it wasn't worth much.. even totally restored. But now that we've got it totally torn down and the rusty parts removed, I can see things more clearly. It actually is a true 66,452 mile original owner car. I cracked the engine today (I had it running really nicely prior to tear down) and its' a virgin, never been bored or turned. Woo-hoo.
As far as I can tell, it's never been hit. The outer shell is rust free other than the bottoms of the doors and all measures square.
It will need a total floorpan and frame rail assembly.. both shock tower assemblies, and a new front crossmember and radiator support. New doors too though they're probably repairable, its' easier to replace them. I'll have to replace the interior. The drive train is rebuildable and all is there, even the overflow bottle, original parts, original hoses even..
With all that work done.. should I restore it to original which is actually a fairly nice looking and attractive car.. albeit a womans car.. and then sell it off to finance what I'm really after. or should I just make it into a vintage track racer like I really want? Will anyone cringe because the this car doesn't go back to original? Am I giving up value?
If you turn it into a track car I dont think anyone will really be too upset.
What are the odds of actually selling it for a profit when its back to original?
I kind of went a little bit towards the track car setup...its really just a solid street setup but its got some performance items on it that are track related. I really like it I drive it daily. I think you would have a good time going that route with what you've got.
Fortunately I would be able to realize a profit large enough to be helpful towards my next project.. I've taken it slow, shopped for the major parts (Just snagged a nearly new set of AFR heads for $650 and $400 for an already rebuilt 9" with posi) over time, and found a body guy who is willing to work as he feels like it for much less than the going rate. The rest of the work I can do.. so it should be fine cost wise.. as long as I don't go too far down the restomod path.
The funny part is, the more stock you stay the less the build costs.
I like your car.. but I want to go a bit more aggressive looking. I'm thinking of the GT350 valance and a hood like yours (did you just add the scoop or buy the hood as is? And do you have a link where I could get what you have?), a rear diffuser, tubbing the rears for wider tires (I think 275/35/18's all around would look good), cage, black stock interior with a drivers seat I can use for street, but easily change out for track days, and a simple one coat paint.. probably a satin red or blue. So far the engine is planned to be a 289 making 330hp that leans towards reliability. And I still need to source a top loader.. I like your ride height and stance.. but I'll probably go 1-1.5" lower and suffer on the street a bit more than I might otherwise.
With that much metal work and paint plus incidentals that will crop up I don't see how you could possibly make a profit to finance your dream car. If you are thinking of inflated auction prices on some cars, think again. Those cars are absolutely done to the nines.
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I doubt anybody is going to get their panties into a wad because you chose to alter a pretty work-a-day Mustang into something you actually want. As far as value goes, when working on these old Mustangs resign yourself to the fact that the best way to have a 10k car is to drop 20k into it.
I doubt anybody is going to get their panties into a wad because you chose to alter a pretty work-a-day Mustang into something you actually want. As far as value goes, when working on these old Mustangs resign yourself to the fact that the best way to have a 10k car is to drop 20k into it.
As far as profit goes, I was thinking about 5-7k profit 'towards' the car I really want and I think that's possible based building it back stock to the original colors and equipment.. and current prices. But you're right that it's not a rare car.. I just wasn't sure how common it is. I can't find any way to find out how many of this equipment and color combination there are/were.. so thought I'd ask before making my final decision.
02-27-2017, 09:07 PM
The Smart Direction
