I just purchased a 1971 2 dr. coupe. This is my first entry into the classic car (and Mustang) world. I am also relatively inexperienced with auto repair/restoration. The car appears to be in decent shape with no rust. The previous owner had upgraded the 302 with electronic ignition and repainted the exterior. His paint job was not done professionally and will need to be redone eventually. The interior could stand some TLC. My questions:

- What should be the first project or area I should concentrate on ?

-What is the best source on the web for 1971 parts ?

- Is it best to try to restore to original or personalize it a bit ?

 

Welcome.

That all depends on your intentions for the car (part time/full time driver), your budget and your expectations both short and long term.

Will you be attempting to learn how to work on it yourself or farming out all the work?

All this will vary your plan of attack greatly.

As for parts, 71-73's are by far the hardest to come by for all the classic models. Basically the lower the model year the more that's available and the cheaper it is.

Fill in the blanks for us and we can point you in the right direction.

Pak.

 

Hello, Welcome, and Congratulations.

 

well, seeing as you said its the interior that needs some TLC, i'd say try and fix that up first

for the record, i love the 71-73 big bodies. and i like the notchbacks alot too

:sigh: it seems all my favorite stangs are the one with the hardest to find parts, big bodies, IIs, eaaaarly 80s... lol
oh and

as for keeping it original or all stock.. i'd say go restomod. put on mods that would be time appropraite so it looks original and stock but update little things here and there like brakes and suspension maybe. and some motor mods for that 302 wouldnt hurt either

laters

 

Hi and welcome aboard, show us some pics of your car...i'd say build the car the way you want it , not the way the serial number and door tag tells you to....that's way you'll enjoy it even more...

 

Wow, great responses. I plan to do a lot of the basic work myself with major projects such as painting going to professionals. Budget will depend on what I can sneak by my wife without her yelling at me. I want a car that I can drive on the weekends and occasionally to local cruise-ins. Sorry for the lack of pictures but I will not be picking up the car until Thursday. I'll post some then.

 

Cool, can't wait, we like pics a lot around here.....

 

Welcome aboard!

The other boys already addressed your questions nicely. For parts, I've had nothing but good experiences from NPD myself.
www.npdlink.com

 

There are a lot of places to get resto parts, some good ones you'll find if ya pick up a Mustangs&Fast Fords. They prefer restomods but the suppliers are still good. cjponyparts.com is supposed to be a very good supplier for new and used stuff, i haven't bought anything for my car so far though..
-Referring to building up the car-Restomodding is the trend but i like to see stock look on the outside and more money going under the hood, but make it your own and do what you want to do to it, that's the only person you're out to satisfy with the car.