1966 Mustang Convertible advice requested

[RRussellTx]

I have a lot of respect for all of the experience on this forum and I need some advice on a project I am taking on.

The question is, how important do you think it is to keep an original Mustang ‘original’?
And then, what exactly does ‘original’ mean?

Backstory,

My neighbor down the street works for the fire department and is a really good guy. I owe him a few favors and I was looking for a new project so I agreed to help him with his Moms 1966 Convertible Mustang. Her husband passed away about 15 years ago and the car has pretty much just sat since then. She is still in wonderful health, but a little too old to handle the manual steering and brakes. We are trying to figure out how much to do on the car and looking for the ‘original’ boundaries.

About the car:

She bought it new in 1966 and has put 86,000 miles on it.
They added an aftermarket Air Conditioner in 1967.
It has never had any body damage.
There is a small area of rust on the bottom of the drivers door. Otherwise clean.
They had the long block rebuilt in 1990 at 80,000 miles. All the numbers still match.
It was gold from the factory, but they got a $600 blue paint job in 1980.
The last time it started was in 2014 when they drove it to get an oil change, a battery and new tires. All shot now.
It has always been covered under a carport and under a car cover for the last 40 years.
Interior is almost perfect for 55 years old.
It has manual brakes and steering
It still has points…


Immediate plans:

I talked to John Dinkel at Open Tracker about steering/brake upgrades and he has a Level 1 suspension package plus a lower roller arm and adjustable strut rods, power brake kit with front discs and a power steering conversion kit. We are doing these just for safety and to get it driveable for grandma. (any thoughts on OpenTracker?)

I have pulled the gas tank and we are ordering a new one based on condition. I have a new fuel pump and carb rebuild kit on the way. I am thinking about ordering a Pertronix Points Conversion kit as well.


Back to the question.

Would any/all of this offend an ‘original’ Mustang snob?
Does is it even matter? Or is it cool to just do what you want on these cars? (he wants to paint it red next…)

I’m sure I’m overthinking this, but I still wanted to check the opinions of folks that I respect before going too far off the reservation. Whatever that is...

Thanks,
Richard

[JohnK]

You'll get opinions across the entire spectrum on this. My personal opinion (as an owner of a '67 convertible that was turned into a Shelby "tribute" by a previous owner) is that unless there's something "special" about the car (real Shelby, California Special, etc.) then they are not rare enough to be overly concerned about preserving originality. All the mods you're considering still keep the original looks and improve drivability (and thus enjoyment) considerably, so I say go for it.

[RoadRacer]

I’ll echo John. Unless of historical value do whatever you want. Literally..

[Jetfuel]

If the mods you do improve safety MCA will have no issues with it.
If the numbers match that’s a plus, and since you have the sticker another plus
Between 2000 and 2008 I showed my Mustang and it was retired after getting the grill medallion and later the MCA pinnacle award…but I was in the modified class
I’ll second the other’s thoughts, do what you think will make it a safe and enjoyable ride…believe me…the next owner will.
626491CB-D040-4AEA-8DB4-9AA9921F36D7.jpeg

[mrmustang]

It's his car to do with as he likes, you are both headed in the right direction in regards to getting it back on the street safely. I'd start with a disk brake upgrade for the front before I dove into anything else (suspension upgrade wise). Mustangs Plus (RIP) used to have a suspension package and a brake upgrade package that was well balanced for the street (let's face it, a convertible will not be tracked heavily unless well modified with a proper cage). As for color, I personally think the car would be stunning in it's factory gold, as there are far too many red, blue, white vintage Mustangs on the road today. Again, his car, his choice..Get it running, get the safety items taken care of, then dive into whatever upgrades/updates he wants. You can drive a car with great mechanicals that looks bad, but you cannot drive a car that looks great, but has bad mechanicals.

You asked, I answered.

Bill S.

[Jeff33Ford]

Just my 2cents. After restoring/modifying several first gen mustangs. The car will never be worth more than it is now. So the only real decision is what do you want out of the car. If to make money, clean it up and sell it as is right now. If you want to enjoy the car then everything is on the table. Just do not expect to get your money back as soon as you put any in it. Modified cars do not have a return on them despite what all the auctions tell you and restoring a car to original is very expensive. Again, just my experience in the past.
By the way that is a beautiful car. Good luck.

[RRussellTx]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

It is all in line with our thinking and allows me to relax a little on the 'keep it original' rant.

They won't sell it in the near future. Mike wants to get it going for his Mom and his Mom wants to get it going for his 2 boys who are just starting to get into cars.
They have a budget and are looking forward to the process. I'll continue to vote for the original gold, but I'll feel good about whatever they want.

An added benefit, one of his boys wants to learn about cars and will be coming over and helping/learning along the way. I have another neighbor kid on the other side that started working on cars when he was about 16. He would stop by at least once or twice on every project to borrow a tool or ask some advice when he got stuck. They were pretty comical questions when he started. He is about to graduate college and just did an auto to manual transmission swap on his 2002 BMW 3 series. He never needed any help and got it done in a few days. He let me drive it around the block and it ran great! Hopefully we get another gearhead out of this process.

Thanks again and Happy New Year!

[mrmustang]

Just more food for thought, while they produced 72,119 convertibles (12,520 of them with the "76B" luxury interior) in 1966, less than 1,100 of them (total for all interior codes) were produced in your "Z" code, Sauterne Gold exterior color. Just how many of them are still on the road today, now that is the real question.

Just saying.


Bill S.

[RRussellTx]

Just my 2cents. After restoring/modifying several first gen mustangs. The car will never be worth more than it is now. So the only real decision is what do you want out of the car. If to make money, clean it up and sell it as is right now. If you want to enjoy the car then everything is on the table. Just do not expect to get your money back as soon as you put any in it. Modified cars do not have a return on them despite what all the auctions tell you and restoring a car to original is very expensive. Again, just my experience in the past.
By the way that is a beautiful car. Good luck.

Your point about how much it's worth now vs after spending the money to get it restored/upgraded is valid. I thought he was set on keeping the car but now he is showing doubts.

I replaced the gas tank, fuel pump, plugs, starter, radiator cap, battery, and rebuilt the carb and fiddled with the points a bit. The car starts and runs fine now.
Manual drum brakes are still still super sketchy and the transmission leaks fluid but everything else seems to be fine mechanically.

Does anyone have any guidance for him on what the car might be worth as is?

If not, does anyone have advice on how he should go about finding out a ballpark value or where is the best place to sell it if they want to go that route?

Thanks again!
Richard

[Jeff33Ford]

My suggestion would be to head over to mustangforums.com and post your question there with all the above info. You will get a lot more eyes on it and get a better idea of at least who to talk too. There may be a member close by that would come by and take a look at it.

[mrmustang]

Does anyone have any guidance for him on what the car might be worth as is?

does anyone have advice on how he should go about finding out a ballpark value or where is the best place to sell it if they want to go that route?

Thanks again!
Richard

Richard,

Forget about forums, to sell the car in "as it sits" condition requires a real world, hands on approach. My advice is to either have a professional "market appraisal" done, or if you do not want to spend the money, reach out to your local Mustang club and see if they have anyone who can assist in placing a value on it, again, as it sits now.

To me, rust free would be the key.
Original color is worth more than the color change, but a new paint job is already factored in when it come to true value of what it is worth.


Bill S.

[CaptB]

FYI on rust free. Having built many classic Mustangs over the years, even the cleanest looking have rust either up front where the rain comes into the front windshield (cowl) areas or at the back C pillars.

As far as original vs. not original it's up to the owner, what their vision of the car is. I don't crap on either side.

Capt. B

[svassh]

I always advise to just keep the original parts removed and have them available for the next buyer of the car. As long as you haven't done something irreversible your value should not be affected. There are so many bolt on upgrades available today to make older cars safer and easier to drive its almost a shame not to take advantage of them.

[tomshep]

Good colors. My preference is anything that is reversible is fair game. Keep the old parts if possible. Pretty color combination--keep the blue. Plenty of red Mustangs out there.

[RRussellTx]

It's too cold to go outside so I thought I would update this project for all of you that helped out with some advice!

First, I have learned that I am not able to do something half way! We wound up pulling everything apart and getting the body blasted and epoxy primed. I patched the floor pans, a couple of the panels and replaced the upper and lower cowls. They wanted the same color paint as my cobra (viper blue) but we used a darker sealer under it.

The engine was in great shape so it just got painted. The transmission and rear end had never been opened so I took it to Hackler Transmission over in Dallas and they went through everything.

It's getting the full Open Tracker suspension, Power Steering and Power Brakes. Also getting the new American Autowire harness.

Few more pics in the album...

[Alan_C]

Nice Vert, good color for the repaint. All that you are doing is pretty typical for those who want their vintage Mustang to drive better.
As well as the Factory Five Forums, I am a member of the Vintage Mustang Forum. After my MK4, my second build is a 70 Mach 1 that is being restomoded in a pro-touring style. Many of my mods are not reversible as the car is getting a 2nd Gen Coyote and 6R80 AT from a donor 2017 Mustang GT.
Like the FF forums, you will find on VMF the same kind of comradery and support you get here, just Mustang oriented. There are several current and former FF owners participating there, so you will feel welcome and at home there. I urge you to join the VMF if you are not already a member. I go by Boss5Oh on the forum, hope to see you there.

[Geoff H]

Awesome pictures and very nice work! I look to hearing how different the car feels with the upgrades you have done!

Take care,
Geoff

[mrmustang]

Looking good, can't wait to see further progress.

Bill S.

[Jeff33Ford]

Looks great. Well done. Reminds me of the last one I had done several years ago. Still miss driving that one.
IMG_0250.jpg

[bil1024]

Absolute awesomeness !

[Mastertech5]

As the former owner of a 1965 Fastback you are doing a great job. Looks great. Gen 1s are my favorite!

[Fixit]

It's only original once...

[JohnK]

Nice work! I have a '67 convertible "GT500 tribute" car (profile pic) that's in need of some lovin'. The cowl repair is a big job that just about every early Mustang needs. Yours looks like a really clean repair. I can't wait to see it when you're finished.

[RRussellTx]

Nice work! I have a '67 convertible "GT500 tribute" car (profile pic) that's in need of some lovin'. The cowl repair is a big job that just about every early Mustang needs. Yours looks like a really clean repair. I can't wait to see it when you're finished.

Thanks!
The cowl pic shows the temporary cover I made to mask off the paint on the lower cowl panel. I painted it the same color as the engine bay before I welded on the top cowl section. After I finished the final blue/clear exterior paint, I was able to pull the masking out under the dash through the "top hat' vents using the yellow strings. Now I don't have any overspray inside of the cowl cavity. I'm very happy with the way that turned out. Sometimes it's the little things...



Fixit,

We are keeping it pretty original but with better paint/coatings and some safety upgrades. Grandma needs her power assist!

My goal is for it to last longer - before it starts to fade again. Almost everything has multiple coats of the PPG DP90LF Epoxy Primer with Omni single stage or 2 stage top coats. (Exterior has PPG high build primer and sealer as well). Grandma likes her blue though so the gold had to go.

The entire drivetrain is 100% numbers matching original. Even the windshield is original with very little damage.


Alan_C

I search the VMF site on a regular basis but I'm just not very good at posting stuff. I'll try to make some time to get setup over there but no promises!
I do like the early Mustangs! Everything is relatively cheap and easy.

Thanks!
Richard

[RRussellTx]

I mentioned this project in another thread and thought I needed to give an update for those that helped me. The engine went in late February, pic below. I completed all the interior/dash electrical and got it fully running in the "go kart" phase in early March.

Then I got side-tracked working on the trailer for San Marcos and several family events.
I'm back on it now so hopefully I'll get Grandma her car back before the end of the year.

[mrmustang]

Outstanding, look forward to frequent updates now that you are back on track.

Bill S

[RRussellTx]

Sorry Bill S!
I'm a slacker when it comes to posting but at least the car is done. Just waiting for the Trim Shop to take it in for a new top and interior work.
The car is so fun to drive, or should say cruise in...

My neighbor and his mom are super happy! She is the original owner and this is the first time is has been driven in over 15 years when her husband passed away.

Next project might be my Uncles 74 Norton Commando 850 that has not started in 40 years...

[mrmustang]

Sorry Bill S!
I'm a slacker when it comes to posting but at least the car is done. Just waiting for the Trim Shop to take it in for a new top and interior work.
The car is so fun to drive, or should say cruise in...

My neighbor and his mom are super happy! She is the original owner and this is the first time is has been driven in over 15 years when her husband passed away.

Next project might be my Uncles 74 Norton Commando 850 that has not started in 40 years...

And here I was concerned I have not touched my 66 convertible since about this time last year due to brake issues...Even have a new Leeds disk brake conversion (power drum car) sitting in the trunk.

Slacker indeed


Bill S.

[Alan_C]

Sorry Bill S!
I'm a slacker when it comes to posting but at least the car is done. Just waiting for the Trim Shop to take it in for a new top and interior work.
The car is so fun to drive, or should say cruise in...

My neighbor and his mom are super happy! She is the original owner and this is the first time is has been driven in over 15 years when her husband passed away.

Next project might be my Uncles 74 Norton Commando 850 that has not started in 40 years...

So glad its virtually done and you are keeping it for now. Be proud of all the time and effort you put into the car. As I am almost done with my 70 Boss 302 tribute, I have been there and much of the time, it is not pretty either.