There are plenty of websites with loads of vintage mustangs for sale. Nothings moving quickly right now, when you find one you really like that is rust free with some options you want, go take a look. I searched for a year and ended up buying my 68 1200 miles from home after pulling a Marti Report on it myself and flying up to look at it. I was looking for something special, a 68 GT coupe 4 speed, color T, with no rust.
With the kind of money you have budgeted, I would buy a mustang with something special ie GT group, fastback, convertable, 390 motor, 289 K Code, color codes you like, something you personally want and will be worth the most when the economy returns.
Good luck
Well I'm new to this forum but I can tell you from my experience to buy a car that is ready to drive. I bought one a year and a half ago. It's a 69 Fastback/Sportroof. I had to pay for an inspection before my loan company would approve it. They chose the inspector. I got a "glowing" report on the car so I bought it.
My suggestion is to get someone that really knows these cars (shop that works on classic cars, fords, mustangs, etc.) or pay for your own inspector. I can say this without a doubt the guy that's working on my car now, and has been since I bought it, really knows his stuff. Sadly it's who I was going to take it to when I wanted to have it checked out. I was naive to think since the loan company I went through did nothing but classic car loans that their inspectors would know more than me.
Sadly I did not know enough about the car, mechanically, when I bought it. Hopefully in the next couple of months I'll have it out and driving it. I can say I know that it will not only be safe but several items will be new.
My suggestion is to meet up with the local mustang clubs and check into the mechanics shops that have worked on or work exclusively on these older cars. When you find one the most important thing (from what you've said and what I've read over the past year and a half) is to get one that has little to no rust. You can do the mechanical stuff gradually. Unless it's a long list of mechanical stuff like my car.
Then again that's why I suggest getting it inspected by someone you trust.
Scott,
I have a '66 black fastback that i restored myself. It took a long time (5 years) but I would do another complete restoration, no questions asked. Im only 21 years old and learned pretty much everything along the way with help from my dad. I did all the body work and it was a rust bucket from the midwest and painted it in my garage. It was a huge project but worth it. The greatest thing about doing the restoration yourself is the pride you get when someone walks up to you in a parking lot and says "nice car, who did the work?" and you get to respond "I did."
A few secrets I learned along the way:
you have to realize that every once its in awhile everything is going to go wrong. you just have to walk away and work on something else. then when you go back at it, everything seems to work that time.
it will always take more time than you thought
its harder than you think
find good friends to help
build it how you want it, not any other way.
every minute spent, every dollar spent, every minute of frustation, every sleepless night, is worth it.
restore it yourself the sense of accomplishment is more than worth it. and plus when it breaks and it will(its 40+ years old) you will know exactly how to fix it. huge sense of confidence.
p.s. 66 fastback mustang. 3rd best looking car ever only behind the gt-40 and shelby cobra. everytime i look at my car in my garage i smile, cant beat the feeling.
- If you want to have a perfect show car, don't waste your time trying to do it yourself. For about $13,000, you can get a great show car or something close to that realm. If you figure you can get a solid restore car for about $8,000, you'll spend way more than 5 grand on the restoration.
- If you want a driver that's yours, buy a solid, unspectacular car and enjoy it. Add as you see fit, spend the money on stuff that matters to you and enjoy the ride.
Here's an odd analogy: We bought a house recently and I found myself being oddly detached from it. My wife loved it because it had all sorts of stuff that she always wanted. It was tweaked out, painted with special colors and such. I hated it and kind of just couched out about it. Eventually, it dawned on me why I loved my old house: it was a pile of lousy carpeting, ugly paint colors and bad electrics. In short, it was somethign I could play with and make it my own.
I've always wanted a classic (65-69) and I finally bought mine earlier this year. I could have done the purchase the show car. Instead, I went the other way. I bought a barn car and started pulling it apart. I'm learning a ton (thanks in large part to this forum) and I'm having a blast. I love that car like I love my kid. It's like vehicular therapy.
Good luck with your call. I hope you have a blast.
If your the kind of person who thinks no-one will try to do as good a job as you will, but will be very happy with your work if it turns out less-so than an experienced person, then your the kind of person to "Do It Yourself". However, alot of people get started on projects and end up with a basket case for sale because they have taken the car apart (which is the easiest part of restoring a car - not necessarily EASY) and lost the steam to spend the money, do the hard work, figure out the problems, and bring it to a conclusion. When you create a basket case you almost always lose money. Well, most car projects lose money, but not too many people want to buy a shell and 2 dozen boxes of crusty old car parts.
__________________
Ride On,
Noel
"I'll fix it or break it, Guaranteed!"
My Garage - 67 Mustang Coupe, 67 GTO, 67 Sprite, 72 Chevy PU, & Old Ford 8N.
Wish I had joined this forum before I bought my 65 Fastback. All the comments you're getting are more than opinions, they're direct knowledge from people who know and have experience. Priceless.
Don't know what the availability of 66 Fastbacks are in OK. There are many sites that will allow you to expand your search throughout the country. Once you think you've found what your looking for, go see it for yourself. If that's not practical, hire a pre-purchase inspection company. There are plenty of them out there. They will photograph the car and write you a report on what they find. A few of them such as Auto Appraise will jack the car up and check the underside for frame damage and rust.
Rule #1: Never buy a car sight unseen. Photos don't always tell the truth.
