Fastback - Coupe Frame Swap?

[coloradotj]

I have a 66 Fastback that I purchased when I was 14. I spent the two years before turning 16 doing a light freshening of the vehicle. Promptly after turning 16 I put the car in a ditch. The front of the car and the frame sustained damage (not too severe but frame damage is frame damage). Fast forward 13 years and I have the itch to repair the car. The first stage will be getting the car rolling. I am contemplating three different options: 1) having a body shop straighten the frame, repair the fenders, grill and hood, 2) have a body shop put a new clip on, 3) buying a parts car and swapping the bodies. I'm leaning towards option three at this point. I can get a clean rolling parts car for under 1K. That would get me fenders, a hood, a grill and a straight frame. Also, the vehicle is a 6cyl setup and I'm looking to switch to a V8. The parts car would have the appropriate rear end and front spindles for the swap.

So what are your thoughts? Am I on the right track?

 

[4tun8]

Up front the CPE and FSTBK are essentially the same.

 

[Az Pete]

Being there is no "frame" under the old Mustangs, all you are doing is swapping body parts from one to the other. You might want to look into the VIN issue. I would most likely just repair the fastback with parts from the coupe or buy new for the repair. The coupe would have to be real clean too.

 

[RogerC62]

Since these cars are of unibody construction you didn't just bend the "frame". The front frame rails are spot welded to the floor pan, firewall, inner fenders, shock towers & radiator support. The aftermarket makes replacement pieces for almost everything on the 65 - 66 cars. However if you already have a parts car with rust free pieces, a good body & frame shop should be able to swap the pieces fairly easily. Be sure though that the car gets put on a frame machine to ensure its squared up. There is no reason you couldn't have the fastback fixed unless it is tore up real bad (no pics?). Many have done similar reapairs so search these forums and others and you can see what all is involved.

 

[mrmustangman357]

lets see pics so we can assess the damage

 

[coloradotj]

The car is stored at my parents. I'll see if I can get pictures this weekend. Thanks for all of your advice. I'm sure I'll need a lot more in the future.