New guy, things to look for?

jonfor said:

my gut feeling is that the more hesitant we are to depend on our hotrods, the higher our numerical age probably is. funny that now we cringe at trusting a +40 year old car to get around town when back in our early 20's we would have no issues with extended interstate travel in an old V8 beater with bald tires. $80 to our name, a can of pringles, and a 12-pack of warm beer and it's 400 miles on the open road to find eager young woman for promiscuous sex at the beach.

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That captures it nicely. I took a couple of trips that were essentially from the auto parts store in one small town to the one a hundred miles further on, and it didn't phase me in the slightest. But as you say, I had different motivations then.

Blanco, I have a 66 that I bought about a year and a half ago and have spent a bunch of money getting back into decent shape mechanically. It had been a VERY long time since I had worked on a car, but there are enough shop manauals and how-to guides out there, especially on the mustangs, that as long as you can follow directions you should be fine with doing the work yourself. And for those things that stump you, you have a whole bunch of guys here who eat and breathe mustangs that will help you out. Believe me, they have helped me out quite a bit. Also, take the time and find some good mustang shops and clubs in your area. They love to help out as well. (you might even want to talk with them about a purchase too, they might be able to steer you in the direction of people selling them.)

The great thing about an older car is that you CAN work on it when something breaks. I have an 06 F150 and an 08 Edge and I wont touch them because of all the crap newer cars have under the hood. With the mustang, I just grab the part I need, (either fron the parts store, mustang shop, or ebay....)put on some coveralls and open a beer.

I have spent the past year and a half getting my 66 into shape mechanically (the PO did a lot of half-assed crap that I had to fix) and the only thing I had to get a shop to do was put in a new exhaust system and a front end alignment. I still have body work to do, but it's a driver now and I feel fine in it driving back and forth to work (about 20 miles one way). Not to mention the feeling you get after you've fixed it yourself.

Good luck on your search and feel free to let us know if you have questions.