• Mustang Forums
  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
  • Classic Mustang Specific Tech

Anyone else had this many problems with there stang?

  • Thread starter Thread starter stephen4785
  • Start date Start date Jun 6, 2004

stephen4785

New Member
Dec 14, 2003
321
0
0
Fort Worth Texas
Jun 6, 2004
#1
  • Jun 6, 2004
  • #1
Need to vent some frustartion so Ill just type it all out.My best friends roommate had this 65 Mustang coupe he told me he would sell me for 2000$.The only catch was the car was in storage for 2 years and about200miles away, and the motor had been rebuilt but was siting next to the car.I had seen the car before and theres no body damage,good interior.All it really need was the motor put in it and a paint job.I tow the car back to my house and start the long drawn out process of putting the motor back in.I couldnt find any of the right bolts to use so I had to get all new ones(glad I work in a shop).I had to replace the fuel tank,all gas/vacum/water hoses.Starter had a big dent in it from something and it proved to be bad,had to get a new fuel pump because it leaked,removed all the old "do-it-yourselfer" wiring that somebody botched,re-wireded the taillights,replcaed all lights in the car,replaced passenger side door hinge and window regultaor,fixed pass. 1/4 panel window(POS plastic bearings were broke,dashlights didnt work,re-wire'ed horns,PCV gromet was old and cracked.Then I finally got to start it up.But I didnt have the keys so I had to hot wire it.got it running and got the keys(2 weeks later) and could nevber get the car to stop smoking.Finaly got to drive it and it kept cutting out.Found out the vacum modulatorhad a leak and tranny fluid was getting in the intake.Replaced it, took it back on the road and TaDa it still smokes like a frieght train.Get it inspected and taged then check the compression to see if thats the problem.I get 45psi on a cylinder then 56 on another.So I pull the motor back out and founf that someone tried to hone the block by hand to .060 .So I end up with a new block from the machine shop after already finding another and finding out it a piece of crap.Get the block and had to replace the crank,bearings,pistons & wrist pins,timing chain,camshaft and lifters. End up with all new everything for the motor except for the heads and valve components.Yeeeaaaahh.But wait I start to put it together yesterday and find out I left some parts at my buddys house.Hes out of town and the power to his house had been knocked out by a storm.Get inside and have to dig under a 3 foot pile of clothes someone put ontop of my parts.get home start assembly and it starts raining.Get back out there after it starts and when I got to put on the brand new water pump on fo the bolt holes in the timing chain cover crack and a big piece of metal chips off. So now I need a new timing chain cover.There was alot more details to make it worse but then this story would be 4 pages long.
 
R

Ronstang

New Member
Apr 4, 2004
1,294
0
0
Houston Texas
Jun 6, 2004
#2
  • Jun 6, 2004
  • #2
Hey, this sounds like just about every old car story with a few facts changed....HAHAHAHA. Welcome to classic cars, the fun never stops and the wallet never closes.

A good rule of thumb to follow when buying a classic car is that you are ALMOST always going to need a new engine unless you buy a pristine car or know the owner personally. Everyone's concept of "rebuilt" is different and since most people are not as particular as me I consider every engine in need of a rebuild by ME unless there is a lot of evidence to make me believe otherwise.
 

69stanger

Founding Member
Oct 20, 2002
102
0
0
CA
Jun 6, 2004
#3
  • Jun 6, 2004
  • #3
Ronstang said:
Hey, this sounds like just about every old <A TITLE="Click for more information about car" STYLE="text-decoration: none; border-bottom: medium solid green;" HREF="http://search.targetwords.com/u.search?x=5977|1||||cars|AA1VDw">car</A> story with a few facts changed....HAHAHAHA. Welcome to classic cars, the fun never stops and the wallet never closes.

A good rule of thumb to follow when buying a classic car is that you are ALMOST always going to need a new engine unless you buy a pristine car or know the owner personally. Everyone's concept of "rebuilt" is different and since most people are not as particular as me I consider every engine in need of a rebuild by ME unless there is a lot of evidence to make me believe otherwise.
Click to expand...

that is so true

I cant believe how many times my car has left me stranded. When I first got my car the during the first 1 1/2 years of driving it nearly half of the times I took my mustang out it would come back home on a flat bed. I have finally worked out most of its demons to the point were it dosent scare me to drive it around with fear of it dying on me, but is still has a ways to go.
 

2nd Mustang

Founding Member
Feb 24, 2002
2,488
0
46
Southern California
Jun 7, 2004
#4
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #4
You win!
 

tach

Founding Member
Jun 30, 2002
74
0
6
Moreno Valley, California
Jun 7, 2004
#5
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #5
all i heard is you got a 65 for 200 bucks you should be happy. i did the pretty much same thing except for the block being ****e everything else was though
 

Hack

15 Year Member
Mar 23, 2004
1,945
13
69
Minneapolis
Jun 7, 2004
#6
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #6
tach said:
all i heard is you got a 65 for 200 bucks you should be happy. i did the pretty much same thing except for the block being ****e everything else was though
Click to expand...
I think he said $2000. I still think it was a decent deal.

Sounds like a lot of work. I'm thinking you're going to be feeling REALLY good when you're done.

Good luck.
 
S

Snail50

Founding Member
Mar 24, 2001
787
0
0
Miami
Jun 7, 2004
#7
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #7
sounds like fun! The only problem I EVER had with either of my classic Stangs was when the fuel pump went out on the road, and I had to tow it home. other than that they've been completely problem free. (knock on wood).

Edit: Actually, the other problem I had, which occurred with both of my 67's, was that the carb sometimes leaked a good amount of gasoline on the intake manifold. Easy fix, though.

Good luck. It will be worth it in the end.
 

Max Power

Active Member
Jul 31, 2003
1,774
1
36
St Paul
Jun 7, 2004
#8
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #8
par for the course with old cars that have been sitting around for years. All this stuff needs replacing eventually anyway, you are just doing it all at once. At least when you get it on the road, you will know that everything under the hood will be relaible.
 

Great68

Founding Member
May 16, 2002
691
0
16
Victoria BC
Jun 7, 2004
#9
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #9
My Mustang was being pretty reliable to me until I messed with it. Now I can't trust it as far as I can throw it.
 

page62

New Member
Jun 19, 2003
63
0
0
San Antonio, Texas
Jun 7, 2004
#10
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #10
My story is the opposite. When I got the car, the engine had been rebuilt a couple of years previously by a local race shop. Even had the receipt to prove it. Instead, it was EVERYTHING ELSE that was wrong with the car!!!
 

BBRacer

Founding Member
Nov 8, 2001
99
3
8
Calgary
Jun 7, 2004
#11
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #11
I thought I had a "trouble-free" '65 as I needed a daily driver and this was my ONLY form of transportation - wife needs the mini-van. I paid $5000 which was a lot for me and I thought about another $1000 would take care of misc items that I would need for the summer. Well - I have driven it to work everyday since I have owned it (40 minutes each way), replaced the head gasket among a ton of other small stuff, and have a ton of other things I want to change (mostly cosmetic - semi rod stuff).... so I will probably stick to budget for this year... SHOULD I HAVE DONE IT?? I haven't stopped smiling since the day I drove it home and wonder why I didn't do this 10 years earlier. Now to find another one....
 
S

Snail50

Founding Member
Mar 24, 2001
787
0
0
Miami
Jun 7, 2004
#12
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #12
BBRacer said:
SHOULD I HAVE DONE IT?? I haven't stopped smiling since the day I drove it home and wonder why I didn't do this 10 years earlier. Now to find another one....
Click to expand...


I think you just answered your own question....
 
6

67CoupeDriva

Member
Mar 15, 2004
165
0
16
South Carolina
Jun 7, 2004
#13
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #13
Can't top that but here's some fun anyway:

I got my '67 coupe in high school and drove it daily. One weekend in the mountains the oil pressure ceased to exist and I had to hike back many more miles than I could now possibly hope to walk. Turns out it's garbage in the pan, something lodged in the pump and turned the shaft into modern art.

Anyway - fixed it, but repeated the performance twice before I figured out (quite by accident ) where the garbage was from. I was replacing my heads with '88 5.0 versions (to stop the smoking from bad valve guides and receding exhaust valves), discovered the original timing set was flingin bits of nylon gear everywhere.

Oh, the heater coil blew up on my second date with the girl that turned out to be my wife...we had to drive 1/2 hour home with foggy windows and the sickly sweet smell most of you probably know. Ruined her purse, I think.

HS chum opened the door against it 3 days after I'd had it painted. I blamed the punch on having had too much beer to keep my calm.

Wife (gf at the time) inexplicably reached up to touch the dome light one evening, which crumbled into dust at the effort (she must have married me out of pity).

Oh I guess I could keep going on and on...it's out for it's second paint job now...
 

66 BLAKE 96

Native Texican
Founding Member
Feb 16, 2001
4,810
0
0
Cowtown
Jun 7, 2004
#14
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #14
I'm not trying to rub it in, but you bought a $2000 rolling chassis with an uninstalled engine of questionable origins that had been sitting for years: what did you expect?

Not only is it a 40 year old car, but one that hasn't exactly been babied. There's going to be stuff that goes bad on ya. Hope you can get past this initial bumpy part and enjoy it soon though.

On a side note: What part of Fort Worth do you live/work in? That's where I am.
 

stephen4785

New Member
Dec 14, 2003
321
0
0
Fort Worth Texas
Jun 7, 2004
#15
  • Jun 7, 2004
  • #15
I live in River Oaks.Over by the Naval air base(Carswell)West side of Ft Worth
 

66 BLAKE 96

Native Texican
Founding Member
Feb 16, 2001
4,810
0
0
Cowtown
Jun 8, 2004
#16
  • Jun 8, 2004
  • #16
stephen4785 said:
I live in River Oaks.Over by the Naval air base(Carswell)West side of Ft Worth
Click to expand...

Cool.

I work downtown, but I'm on the west side pretty often since that's where my kung fu school is. Hope to see ya around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
MEED HELP!! 86 mustang
  • Jacob0121
  • Jan 23, 2026
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
6
Views
310
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Apr 25, 2026
CAMTWO1070
M
Inheriting (and likely restoration of) a 1965 Mustang
  • miniwheats235
  • Feb 17, 2026
  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
Replies
2
Views
236
1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk- Feb 19, 2026
Realmongo
K
Engine 2000 Mustang GT - Fuel issue post-blown spark plug repair
  • kenster1092
  • Feb 26, 2026
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Replies
4
Views
304
SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech Mar 10, 2026
kenster1092
K
Chevy Equinox- Devil in Disguise?
  • RaggedGT
  • Apr 19, 2025
  • Other Auto Tech
Replies
18
Views
605
Other Auto Tech Jul 31, 2025
RaggedGT
0
V6 to V8 Swap info
  • 02_2v_Curtis
  • Jan 11, 2026
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
Replies
0
Views
644
1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk- Jan 11, 2026
02_2v_Curtis
0
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
  • Classic Mustang Specific Tech
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Forums
  • What's new
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Sponsor
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?