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Have shop complete Mustang build? Epiphany of no time

Dubbington

Dubbington

Slamdunk Champion
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Location
East Yay
Moto(s)
EX Street Triple ;(
Name
Dubs
I did some reflecting over the weekend, in between a day of food poisoning and getting nothing done around the house.

I want to drive my '69 Mustang with my wife and kids and don't feel I have the time to wait to repair it nor space really either.

I know it won't be cheap but debating having a shop complete the work, dumb idea? Cop out? Thoughts? Know of a good shop? Not opposed to having it sent out for a one stop shop type place.

A family friend had Mike Maier in livermore work on his mustang and damn it's insane! I dont need to get that nuts BUT want to swap in a manual, rebuild motor hopefully keeping the 390, like to remove the shock towers and update the steering. Paint. Interior. Don't need independent rear but new gears for sure as it's sat for too long now.

I'm 42 with kids 1 & 3 and don't see myself having anytime for many years and I certainly don't want to wait until I retire.

I could possibly do some of the bolt on work myself and a shop do paint and body, maybe interior as main expense.

It would be nice to enjoy the car rather than just say I have it under a cover at my parents.
 
Your past posts have left me with the impression that you're reasonably frugal and try to be smart with money and the question reads more like, "should I spend $60k on something worth $30k?", which leave me thinking that if we asked dubs what he thought, the answer would be "no", or maybe "lol, no".
 
Dubbs, just make it drivable and safe. Kids don't care about horse power or paint finish. Go for sunday drives and enjoy using it as much as you can. It will always be possible to make it fancy when you have less to do. As an adult with many competing priorities, it's ok to farm out work you don't have time for. Start with brakes.
 
Well check out the costs when you find a shop.

The paint will be 10K or a bit more for a good one. Depends a bit on whether they have to strip interior doors or not. If I was budgeting I would call it 15K.

The rest I have zero clue, but you could ask your friend what he spent with Mike.

If the sums are OK then I think given the heart tug with the car I would do it.

G'luck.
 
I'm not sure you should throw a ton of money at it beyond making it drivable.

You do have three kids to edumacate.
 
byke said:
Your past posts have left me with the impression that you're reasonably frugal and try to be smart with money and the question reads more like, "should I spend $60k on something worth $30k?", which leave me thinking that if we asked dubs what he thought, the answer would be "no", or maybe "lol, no".
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Not in this case. I’m more of if it will cost me the same as a car payment as say a new truck ($700 a month or so) for 5-6 years and it’s done and all that I want it to be, sign me up!

I am frugal on most things. Don’t ask what my home gym cost though.
 
Mike95060 said:
Dubbs, just make it drivable and safe. Kids don't care about horse power or paint finish. Go for sunday drives and enjoy using it as much as you can. It will always be possible to make it fancy when you have less to do. As an adult with many competing priorities, it's ok to farm out work you don't have time for. Start with brakes.
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Thing is drivable means ripping engine out and replacing steering box anyway. While there no reason to not update to better headers. While there and engine out for the 3rd time and have sat for 10 years roughly, trans need to be rebuilt so might as well do a swap for a 6 speed while I’m there. Gotta add disc brakes in the rear with the engine power too. To me it’s more doing it right and not having to worry about it again.

I’ll price out options of parts and try and get an estimate. Probably $60k for what I want to do.
 
Does the car have sentimental value? If not and if you're willing to spend a good amount of money, look what that money gets you for a different car where someone else has already taken the depreciation. Plus, you can sell yours to help pay it down, or even keep it as a tinker project for when you have time, if you have the room.
 
i have an FE motor in my truck, so am a little familiar with them. rebuilding the 390 is a bit of a crap shoot these days. i mean REBUILD rebuild. there are lots of horror stories with camshaft and lifter failures on fresh rebuilds, cause not determinate. on top of that, loooooong lead times even getting parts. if you're going to do a manual swap, i'd look at a coyote dropout from a mustang with a 6 speed already present. i bet the money is a wash, and you'll end up with a more streetable (because modern engine) vehicle.

alloy motors, driven garage in hayward might be your shop
https://drivengarage.com/

and i think you'll be closer to 100k when all is said and done.
 
Dubbington said:
Thing is drivable means ripping engine out and replacing steering box anyway. While there no reason to not update to better headers. While there and engine out for the 3rd time and have sat for 10 years roughly, trans need to be rebuilt so might as well do a swap for a 6 speed while I’m there. Gotta add disc brakes in the rear with the engine power too. To me it’s more doing it right and not having to worry about it again.

I’ll price out options of parts and try and get an estimate. Probably $60k for what I want to do.
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If this is the situation and there is no sentimental attachment,
byke said:
if you're willing to spend a good amount of money, look what that money gets you for a different car where someone else has already taken the depreciation. Plus, you can sell yours to help pay it down, or even keep it as a tinker project for when you have time, if you have the room.
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That is exactly what i would do.
 
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I sold my '66 a few years ago because I never found enough time or money to put in it. I drove it like once every 2-3 months and that was not enough to prevent it from needing working. The guy that bought it wanted to test drive and of course it needed a new fuel filter and fuel hose. Plus I was never going to spend $20k+ to get all the rust fixed and paint done... and a fueling system that worked in all conditions, and the windows replaced, and an interior with insulation, and suspension that worked didn't creak, and the list goes on and on and on. So I'm not THAT sad I sold it.

You probably don't need the steering replaced to fix the feeling at the wheel. An idler arm with bearings and solid strut rods will probably make it drive straight and not wander while braking.

One thing to consider - classic cars are ridiculously unsafe compared to new cars. You may not actually want to take your family in it.
 
Unless the thing is sentimental, I’d just take the $60k that would have went into this project and just get a brand new Mustang. Bonus points for the new S650 Mustang in its ability to have a virtual Fox body gauge cluster if you really want a touch of nostalgia vibes.

I see a lot of people take on the restoration projects and it really is more about the journey and much less about the destination. They spend months if not years building up some sweet hot rod/muscle car…then after it’s done, after a season’s worth of cruises and car shows, they’re bored with it. Sell it and start a new project. And most sell it for a loss. Nobody seems to admit to how
much they lost on the project…kinda like how everyone seems to go to Vegas and not lose (I guess they built those giant palaces on the strip from just donations). But almost all of those builds cost far more than what the end result is worth. Then when it’s done, it’s still a faaaar cry from how good a modern car is.

So if you’re just going to deliver a half finished project with a bag of money in a trunk to a shop and have them finish the build, you’ll be even less attached to the thing when it’s done. “Built not bought” is very much a source of pride for many people in the car world. Not me. But many other people.

Again, if it’s a sentimental thing, then the time and money lost to finish the project is really irrelevant. But if you just wanted a classic Mustang just because, you could just cut bait on this one, and get a fairly well sorted one for that budget. Drive it for however long and sell it and get most of your money back. Couldn’t say the same about a brand new one, though a brand new one will absolutely be a better car.
 
One thing to consider - classic cars are ridiculously unsafe compared to new cars. You may not actually want to take your family in it.
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My bambino was driving our convertible on El Camino Real when a driver blew through a red and T-boned her. Had it been our old Mustang we sold many years ago, could have been catastrophic.

Instead, the Mitsubishi (Eclipse Spyder) held up to the blow and she was fine. Even passenger was mostly unharmed as it had side air bags. Who knew?!

I'm the first to take risks just because. We are here on a motorcycle forum. But you have two little bambinos and spouse. Take the money and run...to the Ford dealer. ;)
 
Dubbs... Strongly recommend a re-read of the all the replies.

1) What Mustang is it? Convertible, fastback, coupe, highly optioned, GT, Mach 1 or GT500? If it's a rare version then that would warrant a visit to a reputable shop, but that will also involve a larger budget.

3) What's your time frame? Six months, a year, two years, or?

4) Finding a shop that actually has an open spot on their calendar to take on what you describe... man you're going to be waiting a long time to get in and lucky if that $60K budget covers it.

5) Current condition of car? Have you checked it over for rust issues? What is it going to take to get the car drivable now? Does it start/run/move under it's own power? Have you done a compression test?

6) Were you thinking about doing any of the work yourself? That is, pull / disassemble and then reassemble that 390 after you take it to the machine shop? For example, machine shop rates are $150.00/hr+ for just the machine work, more if they do the complete rebuild.

7) As Mike95060 said: "Dubbs, just make it drivable and safe. Kids don't care about horse power or paint finish. Go for sunday drives and enjoy using it as much as you can. It will always be possible to make it fancy when you have less to do. As an adult with many competing priorities, it's ok to farm out work you don't have time for."

8) And I would add: "Make it a driver, enjoy it, and do those upgrades as funds become available".

Hope that helps.
 
390? I thought 69 was a 351.
 
Unless you really have a love for the car, just make it driveable. Anything more will be a waste.

I’ve got a friend who has a ‘65 fastback and it’s his child. Through the years, he’s probably sunk over a quarter of a million into o the car, to say nothing of the time it’s cost him. The result is stunning and it’s capable of running circles around any other Mustang, old or new, Ford or Shelby. But to get something like that will cost a lot.

You really need to ask yourself what you want to end up with.
 
Since you're not trying to keep it original, just ditch it and get one that's already done.

69 mustangs aren't all that desirable anyways, so you'll be able to pick one up that's pretty good for a lot less than you would a 64 and a half through 68.

If for some reason you just have to have this car, take whatever you think it will cost, times it by 2, and be prepared to spend more than that.

And I don't know who convinced you you need to chop the shock towers and do disc brakes on the rear, but that's the kind of shit that you do when you don't have anything else to spend money on.

If you want to make it a good car, drop in a decent 302 or 347 (iron big blocks are heavy and make the car handle like shit) a t56, maybe a pumpkin, and just drive it. If you have to hemorrhage money just because, maybe throw a rack and pinion on the front. If you really want to get all baller with it, add factory style AC. That's way more impressive than a big block every single day of the week.
 
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Start by coming up with a budget for the build. Then double it. Then sell the car and buy one that's already done and put the rest of the money away for your kids' future or whatever.
 
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