Thanks for some hope

[1969 coupe 15]

I am new to this site and it has given me hope to fix my coupe. I am not very skilled and can only handle some bolt on stuff so this site seems very helpful. I got my coupe when I was 15 (I'm 35 now) and didn't know anything about cars.

I still don't know much but I am willing to try some of the bolt on stuff. I took the front suspension out when I was 19 and never put it back together. It has been sitting for about 16 years now. I found this site and it has gave me some hope. I know I will need a lot of advice and I'm so glad this site exists. This place may be my car's only hope so thanks for being here. Money is tight and like I say I'm not that experienced so keep that in mind when I ask stupid questions. REMEMBER this is my car's last hope.

[1969 coupe 15]

I am new to this site and it has given me hope to fix my coupe. I am not very skilled and can only handle some bolt on stuff so this site seems very helpful. I got my coupe when I was 15 (I'm 35 now) and didn't know anything about cars.

I still don't know much but I am willing to try some of the bolt on stuff. I took the front suspension out when I was 19 and never put it back together. It has been sitting for about 16 years now. I found this site and it has gave me some hope. I know I will need a lot of advice and I'm so glad this site exists. This place may be my car's only hope so thanks for being here. Money is tight and like I say I'm not that experienced so keep that in mind when I ask stupid questions. REMEMBER this is my car's last hope.

[jholmes217 65]

Of all the Ford and Mustang forums I've been on, this one is the friendliest. We will help you get your high school car back on the road.

[jholmes217 65]

Of all the Ford and Mustang forums I've been on, this one is the friendliest. We will help you get your high school car back on the road.

[70mstang 11]

Welcome to the site .. I've found that if there is anything you want to do .. someone has tried it and there are lots of folks who have really good insights. I agree with what Jholmes217 says, this site is the friendliest. Concours, restomod, show car, dragster daily driver whatever ..something totally different .. everyone is welcome.

[70mstang 11]

Welcome to the site .. I've found that if there is anything you want to do .. someone has tried it and there are lots of folks who have really good insights. I agree with what Jholmes217 says, this site is the friendliest. Concours, restomod, show car, dragster daily driver whatever ..something totally different .. everyone is welcome.

[unfrozen1969 11]

Welcome. I am in a very similar boat as you, and I was fortunate enough to part out two 69 mustangs, which taught me a ton about the cars etc. Again this site is a wealth of information, and there really isn't a dumb question as everyone's experience and perspective is different.

 

A suggestion that I can make is to document your build, we all like to see photos, so feel free to post your ride, but documenting your ride allows you to go make in time for referencing purposes.

 

Lastly, try to have a plan for your build. Determine the work that needs to be done, and start saving your money to get things done. Currently I am at the stage where I need a ton of welding done, but I have bought all of the metal, and when the time comes I will complete that phase of the rebuild. I most likely will hire someone to do the welding....that is the cool thing about all of this, you don't need a ton of knowledge, as long as you don't mind having someone else do the work, BUT, educate yourself through this site so that you are getting the proper work done at a fair price.

 

As others guys of said, the fun is in the journey, not necessarily the destination.

 

Bill from Canada

[unfrozen1969 11]

Welcome. I am in a very similar boat as you, and I was fortunate enough to part out two 69 mustangs, which taught me a ton about the cars etc. Again this site is a wealth of information, and there really isn't a dumb question as everyone's experience and perspective is different.

 

A suggestion that I can make is to document your build, we all like to see photos, so feel free to post your ride, but documenting your ride allows you to go make in time for referencing purposes.

 

Lastly, try to have a plan for your build. Determine the work that needs to be done, and start saving your money to get things done. Currently I am at the stage where I need a ton of welding done, but I have bought all of the metal, and when the time comes I will complete that phase of the rebuild. I most likely will hire someone to do the welding....that is the cool thing about all of this, you don't need a ton of knowledge, as long as you don't mind having someone else do the work, BUT, educate yourself through this site so that you are getting the proper work done at a fair price.

 

As others guys of said, the fun is in the journey, not necessarily the destination.

 

Bill from Canada

[TexasEd 194]

Welcome to the club of guys working on their high school cars.

 

My first car in 1985 was a 1969 Fastback 302. It has moved around the family some between my dad and one of my brothers. I'm buying it back from my brother and it will be shipped to me from Virginia around the beginning of September.

 

The front and rear suspension along with the steering are my first projects. I plan to stay fairly stock with the exception of replacing a lot of the rubber bushings with roller bearings. Even though I don't have much experience either I decided I can handle this part myself after reading up on it. It will be fun to compare notes.

 

Here is some light reading on classic Mustang suspensions that I found very helpful that you might want to look at before you make any decisions.

 

http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/suspension101

[TexasEd 194]

Welcome to the club of guys working on their high school cars.

 

My first car in 1985 was a 1969 Fastback 302. It has moved around the family some between my dad and one of my brothers. I'm buying it back from my brother and it will be shipped to me from Virginia around the beginning of September.

 

The front and rear suspension along with the steering are my first projects. I plan to stay fairly stock with the exception of replacing a lot of the rubber bushings with roller bearings. Even though I don't have much experience either I decided I can handle this part myself after reading up on it. It will be fun to compare notes.

 

Here is some light reading on classic Mustang suspensions that I found very helpful that you might want to look at before you make any decisions.

 

http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/suspension101

[1969 coupe 15]

Thanks for the info. Spent some time reading over and found it very informative. I understand a lot more than I did, I didn't realize how little I knew. I hope to get started soon and this has helped a lot. I have found so much info that it makes me want to do more than I probably should, I bet that happens a lot. I hope to get started soon, got to get it home too. Mine is not as far away so I don't have a good excuse. Will try and get her home soon. September seems like a long time to wait. What part of VA is yours in?

[1969 coupe 15]

Thanks for the info. Spent some time reading over and found it very informative. I understand a lot more than I did, I didn't realize how little I knew. I hope to get started soon and this has helped a lot. I have found so much info that it makes me want to do more than I probably should, I bet that happens a lot. I hope to get started soon, got to get it home too. Mine is not as far away so I don't have a good excuse. Will try and get her home soon. September seems like a long time to wait. What part of VA is yours in?

[TexasEd 194]

For me the extra knowledge actually made this seem feasible. Instead of going with people's advice who said I needed a coil-over suspension and rack & pinion steering to drive the thing I realized there are people out there who race open tracks with these cars without modifying anything too far from stock. It made me realize that getting it to drive better than it did out the factory door is possible without those expensive modifications. Remember these cars won a lot of SCCA Trans-Am races in 69-70 with a lot of the same basic parts we have.

 

Check out this site too. Apparently the owner races his car and started producing the products he uses to keep his car in the vintage class but with the best possible performance. I'll probably buy most of my parts there.

http://www.opentrackerracingproducts.com/products/

 

For rebuilding the factory power assist steering the best site I have seen is:

http://www.stangerssite.com/

 

I'm going to look into his rebuild kits before I even consider the $550 replacement gear boxes.

 

My car is in Radford, VA at my brother's house. He had a mechanic working on it this week to make sure it is tuned and ready to drive on and off the car carrier.

 

Edited August 24, 2011 by TexasEd

[TexasEd 194]

For me the extra knowledge actually made this seem feasible. Instead of going with people's advice who said I needed a coil-over suspension and rack & pinion steering to drive the thing I realized there are people out there who race open tracks with these cars without modifying anything too far from stock. It made me realize that getting it to drive better than it did out the factory door is possible without those expensive modifications. Remember these cars won a lot of SCCA Trans-Am races in 69-70 with a lot of the same basic parts we have.

 

Check out this site too. Apparently the owner races his car and started producing the products he uses to keep his car in the vintage class but with the best possible performance. I'll probably buy most of my parts there.

http://www.opentrackerracingproducts.com/products/

 

For rebuilding the factory power assist steering the best site I have seen is:

http://www.stangerssite.com/

 

I'm going to look into his rebuild kits before I even consider the $550 replacement gear boxes.

 

My car is in Radford, VA at my brother's house. He had a mechanic working on it this week to make sure it is tuned and ready to drive on and off the car carrier.

 

Edited August 24, 2011 by TexasEd

[1969 coupe 15]

Thanks again. I checked out the suspension site and he seems to have some quality components. I have noticed a lot of people on this site using his stuff so I agree that seems like a good place to get suspension parts. As far as steering goes I'm not quite sure which was to go yet, but I am gathering info and hopefully enough money to get what I want the first time. This can get expensive in a hurry and I am not a rich man. If this is a recent pic you shouldn't have to do much, she looks good. By the way I'm bout an hour from Radford if you need someone to go drive her around to make sure she is ready to go.

[1969 coupe 15]

Thanks again. I checked out the suspension site and he seems to have some quality components. I have noticed a lot of people on this site using his stuff so I agree that seems like a good place to get suspension parts. As far as steering goes I'm not quite sure which was to go yet, but I am gathering info and hopefully enough money to get what I want the first time. This can get expensive in a hurry and I am not a rich man. If this is a recent pic you shouldn't have to do much, she looks good. By the way I'm bout an hour from Radford if you need someone to go drive her around to make sure she is ready to go.

[TexasEd 194]

It has more work than it looks like.

 

Here is what I know:

- Suspension Shot - springs and shocks

- Power Steering worthless and lots of play

- AC disassembled and assumed broken

- Trunk probably leaks

- paint popping off the roof near the medallions

- needs new tires & probably wheels at the same time

- stereo antenna broken

 

That will keep me busy for a while

[TexasEd 194]

It has more work than it looks like.

 

Here is what I know:

- Suspension Shot - springs and shocks

- Power Steering worthless and lots of play

- AC disassembled and assumed broken

- Trunk probably leaks

- paint popping off the roof near the medallions

- needs new tires & probably wheels at the same time

- stereo antenna broken

 

That will keep me busy for a while

[1969 coupe 15]

Sounds like a weekend project and bout $20 worth of parts. If you are like me that seems like a lot but I need all that plus a whole lot more. If you look around on here that is nothing compared to what some others started with. It looks like you have a solid car to start with so with some luck it shouldn't take long to be driver quality. Do you plan on doing everything at once or just some here and there?

[1969 coupe 15]

Sounds like a weekend project and bout $20 worth of parts. If you are like me that seems like a lot but I need all that plus a whole lot more. If you look around on here that is nothing compared to what some others started with. It looks like you have a solid car to start with so with some luck it shouldn't take long to be driver quality. Do you plan on doing everything at once or just some here and there?

[TexasEd 194]

First 12-18 months goal is to fix suspension and steering first.

Look for tires and wheels on Craigslist to hold me over for a while and fix the antenna.

 

Save for a year then fix the AC.

 

A few years later start working on paint.

 

Long term dream about getting a 351W stroked to 408 or better, AOD and new differential.

[TexasEd 194]

First 12-18 months goal is to fix suspension and steering first.

Look for tires and wheels on Craigslist to hold me over for a while and fix the antenna.

 

Save for a year then fix the AC.

 

A few years later start working on paint.

 

Long term dream about getting a 351W stroked to 408 or better, AOD and new differential.

[1969 coupe 15]

Sounds like a good plan. Sounds like you know what you want to do. Do you plan on driving it any or just fixing the suspension,steering, and a/c first? We have similar goals but I hate to wait that long but like you I'm not made of money so that seems like a realistic time line. Are you going back stock on the a/c? Mine was an a/c car orig but the previous owner removed it so not sure what to go back with. I have checked on some aftermarket systems but not sure how much is involved with that. When I was younger I could deal without it but the older I get the more comfort becomes priority over performance.

[1969 coupe 15]

Sounds like a good plan. Sounds like you know what you want to do. Do you plan on driving it any or just fixing the suspension,steering, and a/c first? We have similar goals but I hate to wait that long but like you I'm not made of money so that seems like a realistic time line. Are you going back stock on the a/c? Mine was an a/c car orig but the previous owner removed it so not sure what to go back with. I have checked on some aftermarket systems but not sure how much is involved with that. When I was younger I could deal without it but the older I get the more comfort becomes priority over performance.

[TexasEd 194]

I'll drive it if I think it is safe and reliable. There is a Saturday night cruise in about 4 miles from my house.

 

I don't need AC to drive it if it isn't too far or I wait until near sundown in the summer. This car was not factory AC but had a dealer installed Mark IV under the dash unit installed when it was new. I think I'll try to re-use the controller and vents in the interior and period correct appearance pieces with new R124 refrigerant. Converting to a factory AC look would require a new dash pad and I don't want to do that since the one I have is an original Ford replacement part and not cracked.