first time buyer - looking for advice

stangkid88 · Feb 2, 2006

This being my first thread here, I thought I'd introduce myself. 17 year old living in the greater Seattle area (go Seahawks!) and have become more and more obsessed with Mustangs recently. I'm looking to buy one, fix it up a little, and pass it off as a sort of 'senior project' for school. With my family never being into cars, I'm basically learning off first hand experience and all you here at stangnet.

I've had my eye on this 65 coupe A-code and have fallen in love with it. Here is a link to the ad on craigslist: http://seattle.craigslist.org/car/129610956.html I've e-mailed the seller a few times, and it seems to be a really honest father/son looking to sell to fund an off-roading truck project. $7300 seems steep, and I was hoping to barter down to about $6800.

Major projects on this car completed include:
rebuilt engine by PO, rebuilt tranny 2 years ago, new complete front end suspension and alignment, power disk brakes, hooker headers and exhaust, and a bit more. According to the owner, the car needs the interior redone, some small things fixed, and a paint job and minor body work (little rust on fenders- new fenders included) the car is located about 40 minutes away from me and I will be taking a look at it next weekend. so my question is- does this seem like a deal that I shouldn't pass up, or should I keep looking? thanks for any help!!

jeb134 · Feb 3, 2006

As someone who bought a classic Mustang at 17 as well, here is my advice for you: do not have it be your daily driver if you're looking to learn as you go about cars. It may look nice, but my car looked nice too until I realized all of the stuff it needed, and since it's a classic Mustang, it will ALWAYS need something. I learned about cars really quick when I got that car because it always needed something because the parts on it were either 2 years old, or original. I dumped over $30,000 into my car (including what I bought it for) and when I sold it in the fall, it still needed some things to be done. It was in the shop almost as often as it was on the road. My suggestion to you is this: get a decent daily driver, learn about cars, and save up your money. If I had known all of the stuff awaiting me, I never would have bought my Mustang. I am not saying don't get it, but you should give it a lot of thought first.

krash kendall · Feb 3, 2006

$6800 looks like a good price based on those pictures. Nothing seems out of place or done by hacks.

mustangdave · Feb 3, 2006

One expensive and timely repair is cowl rust. The vents in frt. of the windshield are used to bring in fresh air but water and debris get trapped and rust it out. The cowl is not removeable so the spot welds have to be drilled out (over 100). Patch panels are then welded in and the cowl rewelded. The last time I checked, a pro shop was charging almost $2,000 for this repair.
Check the carpet in the interior to see if it's wet. They may have replaced the carpet and kept it dry, so the only sure way to know is to run a water hose in those vents for awhile and look under the dash to see if it's leaking. If they won't let you do that, walk away.
I mention this because it is only one of many trouble spots to look for on old Mustangs. Take an expert with you or you could get in trouble. The fact that he has a new radiator support indicates it may have severe rust damage throughout.

stangkid88 · Feb 3, 2006

thanks for the replies. luckily, I am fortunate enough to have a car already as a reliable daily driver ('91 Mercedes 190e) and am in the position to look for a project driver. I remembered reading about cowl problems, but I asked so many questions to the seller that I forgot to ask. When I check it out, that will be one of the first things I will check for.

BDT 1967 · Feb 3, 2006

You remind me of me when I was your age, let me tell you one thing for sure, do not get it if you do not plan on actually doing what you said, there was a group of guys at my school that did the same thing as you are planning on doing, I was the only one that kept with it and dumped every penny I earned into my project. I am the only one that finished my project as well. If you keep with it than it will be the best thing you do in your high school career. I know mine was, I bought a 67 convertible as junk and did a full restoration in my garage with the help of my dad and some friends. This was the best experience of my high school career. It may seem like you want to quit sometimes and just give up, but if you stick with it, it all becomes worth it when you see the jealous looks on there faces. As far as the car goes that looks like a great deal, it’s defiantly better than the car that I purchased. It will be a fun project for you and I recommend it for sure. Go for it and have a great time doing it. By the way if you have any problems with it get on these forums and ask the people on here are extremely knowledgeable and will help you out.

stangkid88 · Feb 3, 2006

BDT - thanks for the great advice, really made me feel good about actually going through with this future project. btw, I just saw your pictures in the 'post your stang' thread and I wanted to let you know that it looks great! you're right - I can't wait to see my friends faces as they rice out their Integras and call me stupid for being interested in these 'old ghetto cars'

let me tell you my plan for my project - I will be working on interior updates and just maintaining the car, with little modifications, for about a year. I was thinking that if possible, do you think if I explained my school situation with a bodywork/paint shop they would let me be some sort of apprentice and help do the work? The requirements at our school say that we need a mentor and at least 60 hours of documented work. Do you think a reputable shop would welcome me or look at me like I'm crazy?

btw, I would like to bring along a Mustang expert with me before I buy the car. where should I look? I don't really have any parents friends who are very into cars, so I'm kind of stuck? We have a specific shop called Bel-Kirk Mustang restoration, do you think they could help me? any advice would be appreciated, I'm kind of stuck where to find someone. thanks

BDT 1967 · Feb 4, 2006

Well frist off thanks for the compliments on my car i always get a trill when people tell me they like it, as far as the body shop deal i do not think that they would have a problem with it, i did that as i was working on my car, i even talked my shop teacher into letting me bring the car to school so i could work on the body in welding class. A good shop will welcome you as far as i know, but i am not for sure, as far as getting a mustang expert to go with you to look at the car, it always helps to have a second set of eyes to check over a car when thinking about getting it, but it does not take a expert, but a unbias person never hurts, if i can recomend a little reading get this book they sell it at all hastings and a lot of book stores Mustang Restoration Handbook
by Don Taylor, Tom Wilson in the first chapter they talk about buying a mustang and what to look for, get this book and read it cover to cover it wont take you verry long, and then you will know if you actualy want to purchase the car, and it will helpyou keep a look out for the signs of a money pit, Working on the car for a year or so without tearing into it completly is probably a good idea just so that you lear at your own pace, let me know if you have any questions about anything else i am happy to help.

first time buyer - looking for advice

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