I have got the fever!

[foothilltom 33]

Ok, so I realize I'm all over the board here. I'm actually considering buying ANOTHER 69 coupe. Hear me out and then please tell me your opinions.

 

$400 total.

 

Car owned by a nice old guy in a rural part of Cali who has had it in his garage for 13 years (a father-son restoration that never happened). The hood is straight (which is what I primarly need!), however the rest of the car is straighter than my other 2 cars and has NO rust (finally!).

 

As it sits, it's just a shell. Everything is out of the car. It's missing a few odds and ends (lights, chrome, grill, etc.), but it's essentially a whole car. Driver's side door has a pretty good dent in an awkward place. Fenders are off but intact and the light buckets seem whole.

 

Frame is straight and rust-free.

 

The interior is in rough shape, but the seat frames are solid and useable. Dash looks beaten down. Windshield is gone, but door and rear glass intact.

 

The front suspension is all rebuilt; new bushings and whatnot. The shock towers are pristine. The rear leaves are new. It has a 4-bolt axel which had me scratching my head.

 

The car had a 6Cyl which was sitting next to it. I don't think it runs.

 

So my crazy plan in my head is this:

 

Buy this car as it's the best shell of my stable. Move all the stuff out of my son's 69 coupe (the first one we bought with the broken shock tower and possible frame damage) into this one, including the 302 and the C6 tranny.

 

I figure that I have to remove my son's engine anyway to fix the shock tower, so why not just take it out and put it in another car that is a better platform. I can do the shock tower of my son's car some other lifetime or never.

 

So my questions in a nutshell are:

 

* Could I put my 302 in this car (or are the motor mounts hopelessly different from a 6 to an 8)?

 

* Are there any suspension oddities from a 6cyl to an 8cyl that I have to consider?

 

For $400, I can't think that i'm going wrong. At worst, I need the hood and trunk lid for my rust-mobile that I'm trying to repair to the point of selling. At best, it's a better starting point for the restoration.

 

Oh, and this one has a CLEAR title.

 

Opinions? Much, much appreciated!

 

Tom

(going slowly mad with this hobby)

[69mach1mw 10]

well id have to agree with you it does seem like a great plan, the chassis is all ready for painting if you buy this one, all u have to do is reassemble, so i think thats a plus (and its how i bought my stang too!). You will have to change the lugs from the 4 to the 5 that you have on your other car, and the motor mounts should just swap out? not too sure about the last part. If you dont have a welder to fix your other car then this would be an idea so that you can avoid welding. I also dont know if V8 cars had any extra beefing up on the chassis that would be a QS for somebody who knows more about mustangs. Also be careful of that car, it sounds like a great deal id be careful and know EXACTLY what u are buying, check everywhere on that car and be sure that it is in the condition that you want and can deal with.

[Pakrat 1,043]

In earlier year cars the 6 to 8 conversion requires all new suspension components but if the I6 on the 69' is a 250 then all that new stuff is good to go for your V8. If it was a 200 I6 though (likely with a 4 lug) then it all has to go and be replaced. Your idea is sound but the asking price makes me scratch my head. Even if he hasn't worked on it in 10 years I would think he has more than $400 invested. Was it always a California car? Just because you can't see rust doesn't mean there isn't any, look well in the cowl and do the water test I mentioned before.

 

Take pictures if you can and post them for us to critique.

 

Good Luck.

[foothilltom 33]

Hey Pakrat, thanks for the insight. I just verified; the car has a 200 I6 and 4-bolt lugs; which (thanks to your knowledge) settles the question about moving the 302 into this car w/out much expense. That reality eliminates one big advantage of "the plan".

 

And (surprise!), the VIN indicates it is a 1970 coupe, not a 69 as in his ad. The light buckets have the scoops, so I think he was just confused and not trying to run a scam.

 

The car was registered in CA starting in 1972 and I'm verifying the factory location. It's been registered non-op since 1994 in this guy's garage.

 

I crawled all over the car (and underneath) and saw no signs of rust (and my other 2 cars have trained me where to look).

 

Because my son's car has a shattered shock tower:

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/tdayton/MustangStuff/photo#5146605439827561042

 

I'm concerned there will be more damage/issues when we replace the offending tower. This $400 coupe has clearly never been hit...everything is straight and lines up. This is what is driving the idea of moving into this $400 car...but replacing the suspension to accommodate the V8 is a big downer.

 

I guess I could just buy this and have it "on deck" for a project some day (pilfering what I need from it in the meantime).

 

So many choices.... Thanks for the thoughts, they are MUCH appreciated.

 

Tom

[Pakrat 1,043]

The suspension is not a matter of accomodating the V8, "technically" speaking it's not manditory but I wouldn't do it for me or my sibling unless maybe if the car was driven very rarely and sparingly and never harshly. When Ford stepped up to a 250 even they saw fit to go with a beefier V8 suspension system where as in the past the more cost effective and far wimpier system was just barely sufficient.

 

Now the real question is was no suspension work needed on either of the two donor cars before? Becasue if you are already looking at removing an engine and having to weld a structural part of the car then I can't believe that swapping over one of your v8 set ups is going to be harder especially if most of it has to come apart for new bushings anyway. Personally I would rather do any of that stuff over body work or frame repairs. There are many good write ups on the net about the 6 to 8 swap, do some research and see if you can tackle it.

 

Or, maybe even consider building the car with a 6 for now to keep your son from getting stupid and to save insurance money then make the v8 swap a future project when he is a little older?!?!?!??!?!!?

[bnickel 10,004]

let me clear up some confusion here. the only thing different about the suspension on a 200 car from a 250 or v8 car is the rear diff which is the weal little salisbury and the front hubs and brakes and the springs (rear springs don't matter as much as the fronts), EVERYTHING else is the same, the spindles are the same the control arms and steering stuff is all the same, etc.

 

if you swap the v8 in you'll need to to change the motor mount stands that are bolted to the frame and that's really about it as far as swapping the engine in, oh and the wiring harness is a little different because of the alternator location on the six. that's easy enough to change too, just swap the one from the other car to this one, no biggie. swap the rearend from one of the other cars in and change the steel fuel lines as well since the six banger cars use a 5/16 line from the tank to the fuel pump and the v8 cars use a 3/8 line.

 

 

for $400 i think it's a great deal but i would take the car down and have it media blasted just to make sure it really is rust free and them have it primed before you start the change over stuff.

 

 

the only thing that confuses me is the fact that it's a 70 with a 200, to my knowledge ford dropped the 200 from the mustang line after 69 and only had the 250, but i could be wrong. still i'd double check that just to be sure.

 

 

honestly, i think i would swap as much as stuff from the rusty car to do the v8 swap to this car and leave the other car as intact as possible that way you can have the less rusty car whole or mostly whole when/if you decide to build it up. take as much stuff off the rusty car as you can and either scrap it or try to re-sell it to recoup some of your investment.

 

i think buying the $400 coupe is a great idea if it really is rust free and will make a great donor shell and any other parts it has would be a bonus.

[Boogerschnot 12]

I agree, Swapping out the suspension and rear end from your other cars will be a whole lot better and less painful than welding the shocktower together. The question is,, do you want a 69 or a 70?

 

I would do it. If you are pulling the motor anyway, than just start with suspension, pull and clean all of your parts, change the springs and spindles over from the other cars into the 70 and use all of the new bushings that are already there. Pull the bigger rear end, clean it, paint it and put it into the 4 lugs place again with all the new cleaned up hardware.

 

Swap the winshield and door and then start swapping out the best parts into the newer car.. DO IT! If you have the room you might as well do it right..