I agree completely, if your not gunna drive your car then why waste your money on tires. I and my dad are both hot rodders, he has a 1947 business mans coupe as well as his buddy, his friends was appraised at 60K and he has over 60,000 miles on it in just summer months alone. I do recall when the chrysler air flow club of america kicked out a member because he customized his... it looked amazing! unfortunatly they were the concours crowd because they are sooo rare. Hot rodders like myself never see stock as an option, when you are restoring your car there is always room for improvement. Iam a mustang man muself but if someone offered me a pre 48 car half done with the parts to finish as a trade id tossem the keys and walk inside. I could not see spending that kind of money a car and NOT driving it. It would pain me to out that much work into a car and watch it collect dust. I understand that some ppl like "originals," and thats kool i guess, as long as you dont lets it sit around while someone else could be enjoying that fine *** piece of machinery

 

if you're going to take n e thing original out from the car, keep it, dont trash it, because if you ever have to sell the car, you will still have those original parts.

 

I have a totaly stock 67, but did up grade the radio & front speaker. I will add rear speakers, for I know they had it in some of them, just need to find correct rear grills to make it look right. I also bought and extra bezel to put the radio in. Pulled the am radio and bezel out as a unit and put in new radio and bezel, can swap out for shows in a flash.

 

This is a great topic, one which I have thought about myself. I am going thru the same thing, and since I have a 67 C Code Convertible C4 auto. with all original hubcaps, radio, matching #s engine, tranny and rear end etc, I am even wondering if I should mess with the drivetrain. Its a slow dog now, but a cool cruiser looking all original. I have a devil on one shoulder telling me to change the heads, put in a Cam, headers, new wheels etc. Then the next day I'll go outside and say to myself that I really like it the way it is, it looks like grandpa's car (it literally is, I just bought it 3 weeks ago from a 77 year old man who owned it since 1974)...Part of me is glad its winter because I have time to think about it before I do anything crazy.

 

getr'done

 

No, don't getr'done. That car was meant to be driven as is. No upgrades or anything. Repair the original parts as they wear out, and keep driving it as an original. If you want to screw around with making a hot rod out of a car, find another car besides a vintage Mustang.

 

I gotta agree with Glen on this one

 

Glen, thank you. Your advice sounds like that of an experienced owner, probably of many classics in your time, of different types, both stock and modified. Your words verify what I have been thinking, not to mess with my original car. There are plenty of non-originals with mods already done if I want a speedster. This one is original as the day it came off the showroom floor, but like you said, could use some improvements as far as fixing worn parts. Here are a few pics. Its pretty nice, interior is tired, but body is mint and drivetrain is all stock. The previous owner replaced the rag top with a tan colored one, and I would change it to black but its too nice to bother replacing just because the color is not stock...thanks for the advice. Like I said, I'm glad its winter here and did not jump into any changes as soon as I bought it.

 

is it ok for me to put my 351w/5 speed trans in my 67 coupe? it was destined for the junkyard. plus it still looks stock from the outside,kinda.

 

I knew Glen would come into this somewhere. I dont really agree with you Glen. Im all for upgrading your cars. NOW, i do like my car to stay original, so except for a couple of holes i have drilled my car is still original, i can pull out my stereo stuff, and everything. I just did the shelby drop, and i have upgraded the ignition. Most of the stuff i do, is to IMPROVE the car, because lets face it people, these cars need improving over there original selves.