Fluid Flush

Decided to do some maintenance work on the car this weekend.  I really don't like not knowing when the last time something was done, so I thought I would change the oil and flush the radiator this weekend.

First up was the radiator.  The previous owner said it was flushed "maybe 10 years ago" and well that was enough for me want to change it.  Wasn't too bad.  Drained out the old, flushed the system, ran some water through the system to make sure everything was out of it, and then put in some new fluid.

Feeling good about this after seeing what it puked out

New diet of Tropical Punch and Mountain Dew

At the Drive-in

We took the mustang out to it's first show.  There was a "drive-in" night for 1972 and older cars.  I put quotes around drive-in because all it really was was a screen in a baseball field and a couple of old cars out there.  Apparently this was the first time they ever did this so it will be interesting to see when we go back in the fall if it grew.  Still it was a perfect night and we got to watch American Graffiti, which is a great movie to see at a drive-in setting regardless.

There wasn't much of a turnout, but it was still fun 

Furry Dashes

Well it didn't take long for me to work on my first fix of the mustang.  It was really small problem, but it really bothered me.  The previous owner had patched a row of fur to cover the holes of the lower dash pad when it fell out sometime ago (see pic below). 



Shagadelic

 Man it looked terrible, so I ordered a new lower dash pad from CJ's Pony Parts (free shipping).  With the use of Cathy's hair dryer, I was able to get the fur off the dash.  After a little Goo-Gone to clean off the fur glue, I bolted the new lower dash pad into place and it looks as good as new. 



Dash after it's haircut



New pad in place, not too bad looking if you ask me

 Total project took about 20 minutes.  I did have to remove the glove box to get access to the bolt holes for the new pad, but overall it was a very easy project.  My next project will be to fix the stereo system.  That equalizer in the picture has to go and replace the door that goes over the storage area under the stereo.  The stereo also gives some bad feedback when the motor is running so there is some electrical work that I need to do in there as well.  But for now I am going to bask in my lower dash pad glory.

The Car

1967 Mustang Fastback

Built 5-31-1967

Sold 6-10-1967 in West Allis, WI

Given as a graduation gift in late 70's

Restored in 1982

BABOOM!!!!



Home Sweet Home

I still can't believe it!  Saturday was such a long but awesome day.  My wife Cathy wanted to come along for the journey, so I loaded up the truck and my dog Montana, and we started our trip to Indiana at 7:30am.  For some reason, the drive through Illinois and Indiana wasn't that boring this time, weird.

The Find

So the plan was to find a Mustang this spring.  The truck had been paid off for about a year, finances were in order, and it was time to find the Mustang I have always dreamed of owning. 

One day in early April, I was looking through different Craigslist ads and other classifieds.  I wasn't having much luck finding anything that interested me, so I decided to see what was on EBay Motors.  I will be the first to admit I don't trust EBay Motors.  I am sure there are good cars sold on there all the time, but unless I can physically go and check out the car, I would not be comfortable plunking down any kind of money on a car based on pictures alone.  Plus with the auction time frame, it just feels like a rush decision and hard to do proper research.  Historically, I have used EBay Motors as a barometer for current pricing trends and that is about it.

So here I was, checking EBay Motors and all the sudden this one car catches my attention.  I click on the details and there is just something different about this car.  There were a ton of pictures showing everything about the car.  Exterior and interior shots from all sides, engine bay pictures, under body pictures, truck pictures, there was little left to wonder about this car.  It also had one of the most detailed descriptions I have ever seen for a listing.  The owner has had the car since high school graduation in the 70's, the car had a restoration back in the 80's, he listed all of the details of the restoration, he listed what needed work after 30 years.  You could just tell this guy cared for his mustang over the years.

The Hunt for Red October

I have been searching for years for the right Mustang.  One of my favorite past times is jumping on the computer to scourer Craigslist ads and EBay Motors to see what is out there.  If there is one thing I have found, most 67 fastbacks fall into two categories: 

1. Needing Restoration - there is no shortage of rusted out old cars out there that are perfect for a complete restoration or donor cars for a restoration.  You can usually find these cars in the $5k - $15k range depending on their condition



This fine stang can be yours for the cool price of $9,000 OBO

2. Completed Restorations - these are cars that people just finished a restoration and are in perfect condition.  These cars can fetch $30k or more depending on the level of work that was done.

Only has 1,200 miles since being restored and can be yours for $33,500

The problem is, I am not in the market for either of these.  My perfect Mustang is an older restoration, a driver.  Something that I can get in and drive to a car show or take a cruise in.  Something that is in really good shape, but still has some projects to do.  Something I can upgrade over time as my budget allows me.  This is what I am looking for.

Learning from Past Mistakes

This isn't my first venture into classic cars. Back in 2005 I decided that it was time to get a "project" car. And that project came in the form of a 1979 Camaro.

There she is in all her primer gray glory the day I brought her home

Man I had some big dreams for this car. Unfortunately I didn't have the finances to support those dreams. I did learn a lot from it though. I disassembled the whole front end by myself, and with the help of a buddy we were able to pull the whole drivetrain out from the car. It was during this that we discovered how bad the rust really was and decided that the stout 383 motor and 4 speed were probably the only things of value in the car. At the time the plan was to ditch the car and try to find a car needing a drivetrain that wasn't a complete rust bucket.

1967 Mustangs

Why the 67 Mustang Fastback?

Quite frankly, I fell in love with the 67 Shelby years ago. It is the quintessential muscle car if you ask me. It is perfect, from the front grille all the way to the rear decklid and tail lights. I love this car.

The Mustang Blog

I am about to embark this weekend on a road trip that I have been looking forward to for years. The day I get to buy a 1967 Mustang Fastback. And I can hardly wait! But my interest in Mustangs didn't just start this week....

It all started back in 2002. My Geo Storm died and I was in desperate need for a new car. My dad had found a brand new Mustang at the local dealership, worked out a deal, and I traveled home to get it. One problem though, when we showed up on Saturday morning, someone had sold it the night before! I still needed a car, the Storm was dead and I had to get to work on Monday. So we went searching around the other dealers in the area, and found a good deal on a nice 2001 Mustang.

8/2002 - where have these past 10 years gone???