[therookie]

Hi,

My name is TJ and i am a 17 year old Marylander. I just bought my first mustang, but it is in need of a restoration big time. I bought this car so i could do the restoration on my own, but now i want some advice from some resto veterans! where should i start? my first thought was to move straight to replacing the floor pans (which are in a bad way right now) and then movie to the rest of the interior and then to the exterior. Do you agree?

[Jay H 237]

What are your plans for the car and what other work does it need besides floors?

What I'm saying is if you replace the floors and put new interior in it if you have to do more welding and grinding you may damage the new interior. Also if you plan on replacing the motor then there's no sense to put work into the current motor............unless it still runs decently and you don't plan on another motor for years to come then do some work on this motor..........or just do what (if anything) the current motor needs if you plan on keeping it.


Brakes, steering and suspension would be important to check and fix if needed to get the car on the road.

[therookie]

Well i am planning on doing everything, but the motor runs absolutely perfect, no pings or knocks! but i am going to replace the gaskets. Also get new valve covers and a new air cleaner. Basically i want to just clean the entire engine up and hopefully milk some more horses out of it.

What i need to do on the interior is replace the floor pans, reupholsters the seats and put new carpet and headliner in. The dash is in good shape and i have all the original parts.

But i am well aware of the brakes and suspension need replacing because they are original, and the brake lines are carotid down to nothing.

Also i am doing a whole restoration of the exterior too, replacing both rear quarters, and repairing all the rust and getting it painted.

PLEASE, do you have any good advice?

[Joel_L]

Hi,

I am in the process of doing the same thing. I'm of the mind set to make it mechanically sound first, body second, interior last. When it comes to doing any sheet metal work, replace as little original metal as needed. Don't replace the whole floor if only a section is bad. Get the patch panel and fit it in. This is especially important when fixing things like quarter panels. Removing a whole panel can let your car sag. The bottom rear of my quarter panel was rusted out, so I replaced it only. The upper part of the rear wheel flair was rusted, so I spliced in a section there as well. Good welding skills are a must. I will do my interior after the car is painted. I recently got the bug to do some engine work and put in a 5 speed. Once that is done, I will gut the car and get it sand blasted and finish all the body work I missed. I will remove the windshield and back window before its painted. This will also allow installing a new headline the proper way. This has been a several year/decade project with the car very drivable between major undertakings. It can be fun and frustrating. Take your time and think about what you are going to do several times before you do it.

Have fun,

Joel

[mccance]

the biggest issue to decide on how to approach the car is if you want to do a little bit at a time or a major restoration now and then a few things later on. the general advice for someone doing a full on restoration is to do the body first, then suspension, engine and drivetrain and interior last. however if you intend to drive it and fix a little at a time the first thing to address is safety. structural integrity, brakes, seat belts, steering and suspension, tires etc. then move on to cosmetics. when I did mine I can tell you that I jumped all over the place doing a little bit at a time when I had money. it took me 20 years and I ended up doing a lot of stuff 2 and 3 times over that time period so the best advice I can give you is to set down outside the garage, and honestly think about your goals for the car, then set down a plan on how you are going to get there, expect to find other things that need fixed along the way but try to stick to the plan whenever possible. then just work to make it happen.
with my car I never did it the right way. I did it over time, but during that time I had a lot of fun driving it and using it. for me it was a good way. just took a lot longer, more money and more aggravation. but seriously set down a plan on what you want to accomplish and that will help guide when to tackle the jobs.