Making or beaking a dream.

Its something that runs in the veins of every red blooded man, Its the craving of his soul, its heaven to his senses. A miracle of machinery lovingly put together to fulfill his every desire. Its an expression of himself through a machine. Its his dream car.

Ford a while I was in love with the Mustang Fastback, I salivate when I look at an original Shelby GT350R. The Mach one, the BOSS, all incredible cars leaving their own footprints in the sands of automobile history.

The unsung Mustang, the base coupe. This is my car. Owning an incredible factory mustang is awesome, but building yours is even better. My car has never been anything but ordinary, mediocre, one of millions. Its life started in Jan 1968 in San Jose California. It was host to a 200 I6 backed with a C4. No extras, just a cheap pony car. In an attempt to make a better car someone installed a 289, The owner I bought the car from installed a 351. Its a mess, just a shell now, it was taken apart to be restored, but the owner ran our of time and money. In Jan of this year I purchased the shell with a clear title for $1,200.

My dream: I want to turn the remains of this average car and turn it into my dream car. Over the last couple of years I have fallen in love with the coupe. DAILY I gather information for this car, researching parts etc. for it. Jan 2011 I will get started in this project. I only get one shot at it. Im selling my car and gong back to driving an old truck, paying my house off, and forfieting buying anything until its done. I want a driver, a comfortable well handling powerful car. Its something I will have everything invested in for the next 4-5 years. I have to get it right. Bear with me as I attempt to build my dream car, a 12 sec 500+ hp daily driver classic 1968 Mustang coupe. Thanks for your help and support.
 
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Amen brother! Gotta build the way YOU want it.

You know how many people told me to leave my 68 coupe alone with its 200 and 3 speed? Well they aren't the ones enjoying it. I swapped to a 351w, T5, and disc conversion. I enjoy it every time I drive it.
 
I am chasing a dream, I realize that I young and that if I dont do it now it may never materialize. I ADORE classic Fords, they are awesome. Just something about builind up your own car is PRICELESS. No it wont be the fastest, the most expensine, the best, but It will me my dream and the work of my imagination and built by my hands. Its a journey I embark on with excitement. I know what I want, Classic American Muscle in America's favorite Pony car, The Ford Mustang.
 
Glad to see you're so enthused about your car! Please post pictures of the build as you go, or at least take pictures for yourself along the way. If I could offer some advice, here's some things I've learned over the years that may help out. First of all, building a car is expensive, no two ways about it. Lots of projects get shelved or abandoned because the owner got in over his/her head financially and simply cut their losses in mid-project, here's how to avoid that happening to you: make a list of everything you plan to do and separate it into two sides, NEED and WANT. Go through every catalog you can find and search ebay to get a real-world idea of what things cost. While it's easy to find prices of such things as the engine, brakes and so forth, what about the little things? Once you add in the cost of a radiator, headers, carb, bolts, nuts, paint, wiring, plating and plumbing, you may see a huge increase in one part of your project. How about the interior? They ain't giving that stuff away, and I don't mean just seat covers and carpet, how about the whole dash, the shifter, steering wheel and the stereo? Can you realistically do it yourself? If not, better throw in some big bucks for the upholstery shop. Can you re-use the windows? Can you remove and re-install them yourself? You do know they need to come out for the headliner install, right? Does the gas tank need to be replaced? How about the gas lines? The brake lines? All the fasteners? Springs and shocks? Suspension bushings and ball joints? These are all things that get spendy, yet are typically not accounted for before a car build. You should "build " the car on paper before you ever turn a wrench. Don't forget to add about 30%-70% to your total for a realistic cost overrun due to rising prices and unforeseen expenses. Nothing's worse than planning on spending $25K total on the whole project only to find that quality paint costs half that.
Another important consideration is space and tools. Do you have a good workspace you can tie up for several years? Are you sure? Nothing's worse than either (A) working from a carport or (B) getting midway through the project only to have to move due to life's little surprises. Marriages, divorces, pregnant wives, job losses/changes all factor in to car projects, whether you like it or not. Plan for a worst-case scenario bfore you start. As far as tools, I've seen nice cars built with a minimum of tools, but it's not really practical. I think the minimum for a total resto or buildup should include a decent set of hand tools (wrenches, hacksaw, hammers, wiring stuff) a few electric tools (grinders, sawzall, drill) and a few big-ticket tools (air compressor, air tools, welder). You also need to have the ability to rent or borrow things like an engine hoist and haul them home. You do have a pickup don't you? Is your space big enough to allow painting without getting overspray all over the car? You may not plan on painting your car yourself, but what about all the engine parts and the suspension stuff? Disassembled car take a LOT of space. My garage is 24'x36' and has an upstairs and it was FULL of my Mustang for nearly 6 years.
Lastly, building a car is the single biggest joy in life-at least for the first few weeks. Then it's work. No different than any other manual-labor job. You need to get used to being tired, you need to have the ability to work on it every day, no matter how small the project at hand is. You also need to know when to simply go in the house and relax when something is getting the better of you. You need support from your friends and family, nothing's quite as bad as having a wife or girlfreind whining about being broke all the time and never going anywhere because you spend all your time and money on a disassembled car. The other people in our lives often cannot see our visions of greatness, but they can see all the crap that needs doing around the house!
But if afer reading this and adding up the costs you're still chomping at the bit to build, then get to it! I still remember the evening my car first came to life like it was yesterday. I remember laying on the paint, putting the brand-new interior back in, and that unbeleiveable first drive. I did it and you can too, but you need to know what you're up against from day one. Good Luck!
 
A new 2011 GT loaded costs around $40,000. You cant expect to build a car to match it for a penny less. Lukily I am good friends with a guy who owned a paint and body shop for 25 years, he still has all the equipment and is eager to help with all the body work including replacing the floor pans. That will save some major $$$$$$.

Space is am issue, thats why I plan to kick off on Jan 2012 (misprint in above post), This year and next im finishing out a 20x24 shop + a large shed behind it for parts, tools, etc. Also I am getting the necessary tools in this mext 18 months. I am also using this time to find people that will help me or perform the tasks I cant do. For instance after I finish installing the new floor pans and sand blast the bottom of the car a guy a know is going to coat the underside of the car in an industrial coating (similar to rhino lining, it seals to protect from rust) for a cheap price.

I spend roughly two hours a day just looking for information on the parts for the car. Budget is VERY important, Luckly I have 2 paid for trucks that will serve as my transportation when I sell my 2007 Mustang. I will also need the next 18 months to create the budget I need. Im very lucky my home will be paid off by my planned kickoff date.

Very few women undestand this obsession, They almost have to be someone like Ashley Force to understand it. This is my passion, its not a hobby, its an obsession. I dont mean to sound cruel but if my girlfriend, etc cant handle the car they can go. I wont be told what to spend my money on. I have clothes food and a place to live, the rest goes to my cars. Luckily the girl i am with wants to help with it, after this is done she wants a 1966 Mustang vert of her own. So far it has worked.

I love working on cars, I lose track of time. I love it. Its where I find who I am and I express myself without fear.
 
I am currently into my 4th '66 Coupe with a '68 Coupe mixed in at one point. I do enjoy them more than the other models. There is just something about them. The one in my sig. is the 3rd one and is for sale. I have restored a couple and bought some done. The next one I have on its way here (Wed - Fri delivery) is a complete, finished car and all I have to do is personalize it. I choose this method since we are now full time RVers and have no shop to work in. I just need to keep one now and stop buying and selling. I like to drive them so none are real exotic, just fun cars to own and drive.