I need some advice. I'm wanting to get my hands on a 67 or preferrably a 68 fastback for a long term resto project. I'm wanting to paint it to copy my 06 tungsten gt w/ silver shelby stripes and eventually show them side by side. What do I need to look for when looking for a 67 or 68??????? I know to look for rust (I think I do anyway) but other than that, what are some things to look for. What are some red flags to look for? What price range should I expect. I'd prefer to buy just a shell in good shape. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

hmm...First of all...Cool Idea!

Finding "a shell in good condition" is going to be tough. This will all depend on your price range. What do you have for an initail investment, and then want is your total investment budget?

To find a running 67-68 fastback with a v8 in resonable driving condition, you are looking at at least $15,000....it will have som rust, and then there is the whole issue of how much of that origional stuff are you going to keep? It would be a waste of money to spend 15,000 on a car that you will swap out the notor, tranny, interior and do a complete resto of it.

BUT! If you want to spend $15,000 on a daily driver v-8 and just put a paint job on it, thats different.

Red flags...RUST in these places...Cowl, shock towers, rocker pannels, fenders,

You could also always buy a basket case for the vin, and get one of those dynacorn replcement bodies for $15,000

 

I appreciate the advice. I'm going to do a crate motor, but don't know which one yet. I want to build the car to be mostly stock with a few modern upgrades such as disk brakes. I want to completely replace the interior, drivetrain, suspension, etc. I'm also prepared to replace some body panels if the rust cannot be cut out. I'm going to start out just trying to find something to work with. I know I'm going to ultimately spend $50,000+. I don't want to build a trailer queen, but I don't want to half a$$ it either. I want something that I can be proud of at shows sitting next to it's not so distant cousin (my 06 GT). I fully expect this project to take 2-3 years, maybe longer.

Any other advice any of you restoration guys have would be great. Keep it coming.

Rob

 

ok....well.....this is good news, cause you can pretty much feel free to go nuts with that kind of a budget. You should be able to do whatever you want. I would say to try and find a V8 daily driver and then fix and mod accordingly.

 

Are there any good sites for restoration guys, specifically for the 67/68? I'm sure there are, I just haven't found one yet. I love TMS, but it seems to cater to the newer stangs.

 

This is a site I get vintage tech info from for my 66.

http://fomoco.phpbbnow.com/viewforum.php?f=2

 

i think Cody has some good advice. Here is my .02 as well. look for rust, if i were you with that budget trying to find an original car. i would honestly start taking some trips into arizona and southern california, try to find something in those areas that has been half taken care of. the rust issues will be much less and shipping one back that needs that much less body work is worth it instead of having to cut the whole car apart. I am about to start working on my fathers 66 convertible which from the back of the front seats to the tailights is a total basket case. he iddnt do much homework before purchase.

outside of body work everything you mentioned is very easy to work on as well as find to buy for yourself so that is good news. I think with that budget i would go the route of buying a dynacorn body. Because then the only body work to do would be finishing and pain. then go nuts. Because things like wiring harness' and all should be replaced anyway. As for a motor i would reccomend a new boss302 based engine. built by ford, and small blocks are making plenty of power these days.

 

on this very site in the southeast section - rocket city mustang club forum .. kennyG and gregG. it`s what they do for a living and they have a 67 fastback gt coming up for sale

 

willie.....you must get rid of the Pee-Wee Herman avatar STAT!! It's too weird.

 

but i enjoyed " pee wees big adventure " movie so much .. it is a shame he got caught playing peekaboo with his pee pee.. but "' all rite then " uummphhh "

 

Thanks for the .02. I need to clearify the budget. I don't have $50,000 to throw down all at once by any means. What I meant was that at the end of a 2-3 or maybe even 4 year restoration period, I fully expect to spend that much over that amount of time.

Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to get something that is drivable and has usable parts on it such as trim pieces, glass, etc........or just go with a shell and start from scratch which would save some money up front.

 

It would be fun to drive around whlie you are piling up mods in the garage, then when you feel the time is right, begin the transformation with the parts you collected over that time. I would get a driver....but thats just me.

 

then find you a somewhat cheap 6 banger fastback and make it what you want. the better the trim - chrome and glass is the more you will save ( tons ) of $$$

 

I've heared that doing a 6 to 8 cylinder conversion is a pain...put if it saves you money, why not?

 

i would think that if you are going to paint it up and all, that to tear it all the way down to that point, converting 6 to 8 wouldnt be that bad. Especially since it is not a 64-66 which would be a 4 to 5 lug conversion on top. you are planning enough suspension upgrades that i think the suspension conversion to an 8 is not that bad at all.

and my reccomendations were onsidering the fact that this process is going to be over a few years, not all at once. I still think that if i were to budget that much money towards it. starting with 15 for a brand new sheetmetal body would be wise. However i can understand being able to drive it first and transorm is a good accomplishment. So looking for a driver is a decent move, but be very careful that there are no hidden issues.

 

67-68 sixes have 4 lug hubs also. I found an all original 68 fastback 6 with minimal rust for 4k. I already have it stripped down to the shell. Really, dealing with the 6 suspension isn't a problem for me. I'm going to use a coilover kit for the front and a crate 9inch for the rear.

 

Oklacop,
Same thing I am about to do.
I picked up my 67 Fastback about 10 years ago from Arizona for $6200 plus shipping. I'm getting ready to start rebuilding the motor, brakes and
suspension, then start work on the body. Have had a number of people try to pry it away from me since I picked it up. I offer for 15K cash and I turned it down flat. I think showing these together would be great!
If you can find a good daily driver in an V8 it would be better.

 

It really all depends on what you want from your car. Me, I would probably go ahead and save a little money by buying a good original shell, and working from there, you want a crate engine and new suspension and interior, I wouldnt see much point buying a drivable car now. Especially because, individually, you wouldnt be able to sell the parts for that much, probably. Some of the trim pieces are hard to find, if not impossible, but also try going to year one's website. The are supreme specialists when it comes to classic car restoration. They've built 2 Mustangs from just their parts. It also depends on where you are doing this restoration, if in a small garage or in your driveway, you should start with a driver. If you have a dedicated shop, then go with the shell. With that kind of budget, over that period of time, you should have an awesome ride that anyone would be envious of, but without that much of a major hit in your pocket.

 

Update on my 68 project. I found one in Minnesota I had to have. I went up there last weekend and bought it. I'll post pics soon. It's a 68 Fastback "J" code fastback w/ a 302. It's actually probably 80%-90% restored.....when I say that I mean it's restored 80-90% to my liking. I want to change a few things. I think I've decided to officially go the "restomod" route. I want to keep the classic look on the inside and outside, but want an updated suspension, and a new transmission and either rebuild the 302 or get a crate engine.

 

I like the plan