Newbie alert !!

[Nick M]

OK, newbie on the block

I'm based down in Phoenix, AZ and have come to the inescapable conclusion that I *need* a Mustang

As a bit of background, I'm an expat Brit living and working in the US and have had a "thing" for classic American cars for a while. Arizona is a great place to see *lots* of beautiful old cars at the weekly classic car shows and I feel it's soon time to join in the fun.

But, what am I looking for ??

I'd quite like a '69 car (coz that's the year I was born) and a convertible would be nice. It *has* to be a V8 but this is where things start to get confusing (for me at least !! ).

I'm the sort of person who likes to do a bit of research before making a purchase so I'm on the lookout for either a good technical web-site or a decent book to peruse to learn more about Mustangs. Quite frankly the options are a bit daunting - lots of Mustang web-sites and loads of books on Amazon !!

I will be working to a budget (say $6-7K) and I'm not expecting a show-winner, just a decent, honest car. Is this a realistic proposition ? I'm mechanically adept and will happily fix most things but I don't want to end up with a complete shed which I regret buying.

So, any pointers would be much appreciated. Looks like there's an active local Mustang club in Phoenix so I'll be paying them a visit.

Thanks all


Nick

 

[hungrymonkey]

oy, or is it oui. I never did see it spelled

that part of the states is probably the best place to find cars with minimal rust. finding a daily driver for the amount you mentioned should not be to much of task.

as for books, well I have one crappy one that I cannot remember the name of. I will have to dig it out of storage. I also have one decent one which is basically a recognition guide that has facts like motor options and such. but its in storage to.

I will see if I can dig through some boxes this weekend and pull them out.



anyways, welcome to stangnet.

 

[2nd Mustang]

Maybe check some back issues of Mustang magazines. I have seen one recently that had an article on most common repairs on classic Mustangs. Good luck!

 

[2nd Mustang]

I found the magazine. It was the Jan. 2004 issue of Mustang Monthly. "25 Top Fixes"

 

[oboebrian]

I'm over in Mesa along with the other moderator of these boards 2bav8. So if you need somebody to help you check out a car just give me a PM. The Copperstate Mustang Club is an ok club. I haven't gone for a long time due to lack of time and initial impressions i got several years back. But I know the membership has changed and 2bav8 is an active member.

There is also www.1320stangs.com we get together a lot although I'm one of the few guys that has a classic mustang.

There is a lot of links on my site www.desertmustangs.com. And another great forum (like this one) at www.vintage-mustang.com .

But Phoenix is a great area for classic cars. There is a huge cruisin tomarrow (saturday) down on Central in downtown Phoenix (in the mall parkign lot). It starts usually about 12-1 pm and goes til 10 pm (this show is only done twice a year).

If you need anything just drop me a PM.

 

[65fastback2+2]

i would think a daily driver v8 69 vert is gonna be hard to find for 6 grand. Thats just being as what Ive looked at. Recently i saw a daily driver which needed rust/paint help 69 coupe, not vert, with a v8 go for $9500. Me personally for 6 grand and daily driver, id find a 65-67 289 coupe. You can get a nice decent one for 6-7 grand in that area.

"Mustang Recognition Guide" by the editors of mustang monthly would be a good book that could help you with original equipment stuff so you can tell if its original or not.

The reason I say a coupe is, I recently sold my 65 fastback for 17 grand, so I needed a daily driver replacement and did HEAVY auto trader and ebaymotors shopping for 2 weeks (during that time is when I saw the 69 coupe mentioned above go for $9500 on ebaymotors) and verts and 69's you just dont get much for 6-7 grand. Now what I did see were some NICE 65-67 coupes going from 6-7 grand. Ones with nice clean interior, nice clean motor, power steering, air conditioning and new paint job (that one ended for $7500) anyhow, thats what id shoot for, then later on when you can afford 15 grand or so, get the 69 vert.

 

[Nick M]

Thanks everyone !

I'll see if I can get a back issue of that Mustang magazine - I suspect I might be needing something like that !! I'll also have a look for the Mustang Recognition guide too. Like I said, I'm not expecting a truly original show-winner, but it would be nice to know if the car feels "right" or not

And thanks for the guide on what I can expect for the money. To be honest, the only reason I was thinking about a '69 car was because that's when I was born - no other reason so if there are better value cars out there I'll certainly be looking at those.

oboebrian - thanks for those links, I'll go and take a look at those later. I'm in no rush to get the car (it's to replace a lease car which goes back in October) but thanks for the offer of assistance when looking. I'm going to start looking now and if the right car comes up then I can go for it if I need to rather than rush to get something later in the year.

Don't know if I'll get down to Central on Saturday - missed the last one but apparently I have to take wifey out on Saturday night and I'm not sure she'd be that fussed about looking at a load of cars

Thanks again everyone