Nice car! I'll support nearly any route you want to take with it as long as you don't make an Eleanor out of it!

 

Here here!

 

The name "Eleanor" isn't even allowed to be spoken in the presence of my 68. I guess the Eleanor's have their place and I have a friend who builds them in Yukon, Ok and has sold them at Barrett Jackson. He does beautiful work, but that is not the route I wanna take this car. I want it to be just what it is......a classic. It may be a little bit of a "restomod" but the modern changes will be very subtle and it will not change the appearance of the interior or exterior of the car.

 

 

Real nice JCode you got there There are lots of things you could do to the car, you should really establish some goals like increased power or better handling or braking etc and then start planning your improvements strategically. This will prevent you from doping things multiple times etc. I would say you have a real nice starting point and or just drive and enjoy it for a while as is. Here's a pic of mine and a link to my cardomain site - I have done quite a few mods to mine:




http://www.cardomain.com/id/68Jcode

 

We do have some things in common...I have an 05 as well as the 68. The only thing I have on my 05 is the catbacks from GMS. Good sound and no drone. Had Borla's on but it just drove me crazy at about 1800 rpm's. I have the standard/stock type exhaust on the 68 vert as I am trying to stay period correct. I did have a lot of thought between "upgrading" and putting it back to "period/concourse".....I did paint it red over original white (boring) and upped the engine a bit as well as the rear (3.55 posi), things that you can't really tell from sight. I do think that to really enjoy it, upgrades would be the best, otherwise all you do is worry about everything that gets near it...

 

My first phase of restoration on my 68 was factory original approach, but to be honest it was boring and not much fun. All of my mods are bolt on only and I have all of my original parts if and when I ever change direction. The only visible mods to my car are the wheels until you open the hood. The paint is the factory original color as is the C stripe (documented on my build sheet and Marti report) and interior. Respponse from people at cruises and shows has been good since I stayed true to the original styling, which I love as is. Time to restomod that puppy

 

40 year old suspensions have a lot of worn out bushings....I know.

 

Stock up on those starter solenoids mounted on the passenger side firewall.

My '69 ate one of those annually!

 

Guess I am lucky. I have owned my 68 Fastback for 5 years and I have never had to replace it......I should have never made that comment.

Probably be the next thing to go.

 

Probably? Definately

 

I've had my 65 for 7 years...had it go out once....but I think i should replace it again bacuae I have power problems.

 

I have one on hand. Hope I don't need it any time soon.

 

At the museum???

You purchased it from a museum collection???

There has to be a good story in this. Please tell more.

 

I located the car on Hemmings motor news classifieds. It was for sale on consignment by an individual at a museum. The museum is called the Ellingson classic car museum. It is in Rogers Minnesota, just N.W. of Minneapolis. I went to www.ellingsoncarmuseum.com and looked at additional pics of the car. I had them put it up on the rack and take a bazillion underneath pics. I then showed the pics to my Ford tech Buddy at the local dealership and another guy who restores old classic cars and they both said it looked really good. After numerous phone calls to the museum, asking every question you can imagine, I made them an offer they accepted and drove 12 hours to Minneapolis. When I got there the car looked so much better in person. What appeared to be minor scuffs in the interior only showed up w/ the camera flash. To the naked eye it looks really good. The museum was great too. Awsome cars there. The guys were really nice and they gave us an "on the house tour" of the place. The museum is pretty picky on what they will allow to be sold. The car is by no means "perfect" but it is a really really really nice J code w/ matching #'s and only 2 year old paint. It runs strong as well. The only things I'm doing to it are little things that are just a matter of my personal style. My main goal is to get some small wiring issues worked out and then probably start on the interior. Anyway thats the story, not real entertaining, but there it is.

 

Actually, that is a terrific story - and good information about how to consider hunting for a first generation Mustang. It is an approach that might help someone avoid getting a bad deal. You paid more, I am sure - but you also got more! Good plan.

 

Beautiful car.