To restore or not to restore, that is the question? 1967 Convertible 289 2v
Group,
I have been lurking here and other Mustang forums trying to get a grasp on the work that I need to do on a 67 Mustang Convertible that we own.
I have come to the basic conclusion that the car at a minimum will require a cowl replacement, new rails, and new pans. The body of the car is complete with no major rusting and the mechanicals of the car (engine, transmission, brakes, power top, alternator, starter, etc.) all seem to be in good working condition. The car has a 289 2v and nothing else that makes is special.
I have been looking at restored Mustangs convertibles and come to the conclusion that for $10,000 to $15,000 I can buy an extremely nice Mustang Convertible with the same options that ours has.
Now the real question that everyone has to ask before the start! Do I sell the Mustang for (guess $4000) and come up with an extra $10,000 and plan to buy a restored mustang or do I restore it? I understand to pay someone to do the work I may well be looking at $15,000 or more to be invested.....
I have also considered trying to find another mustang convertible with a better bottom and use our car as a parts car but I am not sure that is a worthy aspiration either..... Now for the real question you all are going to ask, NO I am not incapable of doing the work! I have plenty of mechanical experience with motors, transmissions, etc. What I do not have however is the skills and tools to do body work including the necessary sandblasting, welding, and painting!
So, what do you all think? This is the better half's dream car BUT no real attachement to this particular car. If we restore it we will keep it forever but we would do the same with another 67'vert that we may buy that is already in v-good condition!
Thanks for any advise!
Last edited by Quarterbore; 06-26-2002 at 05:48 AM.
It would matter on how much rust is in your 67, if you have it in the frame rails, then I would not go for it and just buy something in better condition. We started restoring my wife's 65 coupe that she brought with her for Minn. I won't go into the whole story, but needless to say what we thought was just some body rust turned out much worse. It was in the frame rail, floor pan mostly gone, and so forth. It would have cost us about $8000 just for body work, and no coupe is worth that!
If you are not going to be doing the work, then before you do anything else get an expert body shop to look at it. Hopefully you have a shop in town that has a little experince with 30 year old cars. Get a least two estimates and plan out your budget well before you move ahead.
My wife was attached to her 65, she bought it off her brother back in 77. Once she agreeded that her coupe was too far gone, she really got into picking out another stang. Good luck and keep us posted on your project.
__________________
Ron Arrigoni
1965 Mustang Convertible
1995 Supercharged Mustang V6
2002 Explorer Sport Trac
1. The cowl on our 67 was replaced at some point in the past with a piece of metal that does not have any vents on it. The unit looks like a good fit, it just lacks any vents! I feel safe to assume that this was done because a previous owner didn't want to spend the money to do a full cowl repair....
Given this, I assume this means that the floor vents and heater will not work. I am debating if this matters to us in the short run? Any oppinions?
2. The pans definately have holes but I tried to really look at the rails and I am not sure just how to tell how bad they are. Can someone advise what to look for to tell if the rails are bad? If I knew what to look for I might change my mind about the rails needing to be replaced? If the rails only have a few rusty spots, can they be repaired?
I have a digital camera and I plan to try to get some photos on-line soon. I am still interested in a restored convertible BUT if I can repair this one to a degree that we can drive and enjoy it that might be good enough. Then when we find another convertible we can use the one we have as a parts car or sell it?
Hi Quarterbore,
1967 converts have always been special to me because my Dad had one and it was the first car I learned how to fix. If you restore you will know what has gone into the car. If you do buy a restored one check with the owner if he has kept all the bills proving the work has been done. I would love to see pics of your car. I have a 68 coupe but I want to buy a 67 convertible.
Cheers
Sean
While looking at our car we decided to evaluate if we could find an easier project car that we could get on the road rather quickly. In the process, we bought a second '67 Convertible that was someone elses project.... This car is in excellent condition except for the need of new paint and a top.
The above car is a 200 cid I-6, has new interior, no rust anywhere, straight lines, and no bondo! The car runs very good and we are working on getting antique plates for the car...
Our second car, "the project car" has not been started at this point because I am still trying to decide if I wish to undertake this major or a project with my current time and financial limitations (two small kids & a wife that want's another) so I may well sell the car to someone else that want's a project car. Then I may replace it with another car such as a coupe that may be an easier first project?
My project car can be seen on my webpage http://mustang.quarterbore.com along with a collection of a few of the links that I have used to learn the language of "Mustangs".
I don't understand the backfire comment but anyway I'll try and be friendly. Your pics are really good. Very nice looking car, so goodluck with whatever you decide. I'm not sure how to attach a photo of my 68 coupe which I have been working on for 2 years. All that is left is to do the interior. If interested in seeing let me know how to send the pics. I have them from all the stages of the project.
Sean
With this forum, I can not delete a double post. When I tried to post my computer acted up and I ended up posting the same thing twice... aka backfire...
As for pictures, why not try your hand at creating a website... Go to www.geocities.com or any of a half dozen other places that offer FREE websites. God knows that is where I got started and it is pretty easy if you use their software!
Why not take the mechanical parts off the 289 car and put them on the 6 cyl. I believe in your first post you said you had some skills so that should save you some money
To restore or not to restore, that is the question? 1967 Convertible 289 2v 
