I joined this forum back in Aug. 2014 and made a couple posts after I bought my '78 t-top. Then I kind of forgot that this was here. Honestly, I kind of forgot I own a Mustang for a while. It's just been sitting since I brought it home. I mean, I did buy another '78 t-top because it was an Arizona car, rust free, and a 4 spd., but that's been in a storage unit since it was delivered. Then, last month, I found two more cars (1 another t-top) that I was able to make deals on. I'll be picking them up Memorial weekend. This has motivated me to get moving and actually DO something. I'm going to have a lot of parts to choose from.
The first '78 I bought came from Minnesota. It has some rust issues, but I figured I could repair the issues. I got it to run, but the gas tank had a couple inches of orange (rusty) sludge that wreaked of varnish. I threw out the whole tank and picked up a replacement. I never installed it because I figured the fuel lines were full of rust. Then I seemed to have lost interest for a while.
Then I found another '78 t-top that was originally an Arizona car that had been living in Colorado for a year. It's owner had decided to go another route and had it for sale. It's rust free and some body work had already been started, so I bought it and had it shipped to northern Iowa... where it's been sitting in a storage unit since March 2018 waiting for me to do something with it.
Last month I was traveling through Nebraska for work and the two lane blacktop turned out to be a Mustang II gold mine for me that day. First I stumbled upon another t-top car up against a barbed wire fence just 30 ft from the road. It looked rough, but I had to find out if I could own it. No one was home, but I left a business card with a note asking for them to call me if the car was available for purchase.
Back on the road to my destination. Two hours further on, I caught a glimpse of the nose of another M II sitting in the lot of a repair shop/mini junkyard. I had to turn around and check it out. Of course, no one was at the shop that day. A note on the door said they were out on a service call. So, once again, I left a card with a note.
Well, I continued on to my destination. Spent the night, did my job the next morning, and headed for home 6 hours away. By the time I was less than 2 hours from home, the owner of the white t-top called me. We spoke for about 25 minutes. A really nice 80+ yr old man that has a love for Fox body cars, but the II was his son's car. Sadly, the son is no longer with us, but the old man said he's sure his son would want someone to have it that can use it rather than have it continue to sit there turning to rust. We agreed upon a price (which I'm VERY happy with) and I told him I'd be in touch when I figured out when I'd be back to pick it up.
I made it home and was relaxing on the couch when my phone rings again. The owner of the black one decided to reach out with a price. Again, VERY happy with his offer. He had planned to use it as a derby car, but lost interest so it's been sitting a while. I told him I'd be picking up another car on Memorial weekend and could add his to the plans if he was serious about selling it.
So, deals have been struck, plans have been made, and now it's a waiting game until Memorial weekend. My wife and I are spending the weekend with her grandmother in Sioux City, IA, so I'll be slipping across the river and picking up the black car and taking it back to Sioux City where it will be unloaded at another relative's farm. I'll head back across the river and pick up the white one, which will make the trip all the way home with us on Monday. Late June we'll be back in Sioux City for a family reunion. Thankfully, the relatives have agreed to let me leave the car at their place for the month, but it will come home with us after the reunion.
I'm not sure where I'm putting these two cars, but I'll figure that out eventually. The new treasures have reinvigorated my drive to get this project moving. I'll have three cars worth of parts to figure out... what's good, what's bad, what do I need for my project, what can I offer to other II owners, etc. It might be an interesting summer.
I'm going to have to stay away from my normal ramblings on Facebook and spend a bit more time in all the Mustang II groups and here in this forum. My normal Facebook crap is useless.
The first '78 I bought came from Minnesota. It has some rust issues, but I figured I could repair the issues. I got it to run, but the gas tank had a couple inches of orange (rusty) sludge that wreaked of varnish. I threw out the whole tank and picked up a replacement. I never installed it because I figured the fuel lines were full of rust. Then I seemed to have lost interest for a while.
Then I found another '78 t-top that was originally an Arizona car that had been living in Colorado for a year. It's owner had decided to go another route and had it for sale. It's rust free and some body work had already been started, so I bought it and had it shipped to northern Iowa... where it's been sitting in a storage unit since March 2018 waiting for me to do something with it.
Last month I was traveling through Nebraska for work and the two lane blacktop turned out to be a Mustang II gold mine for me that day. First I stumbled upon another t-top car up against a barbed wire fence just 30 ft from the road. It looked rough, but I had to find out if I could own it. No one was home, but I left a business card with a note asking for them to call me if the car was available for purchase.
Back on the road to my destination. Two hours further on, I caught a glimpse of the nose of another M II sitting in the lot of a repair shop/mini junkyard. I had to turn around and check it out. Of course, no one was at the shop that day. A note on the door said they were out on a service call. So, once again, I left a card with a note.
Well, I continued on to my destination. Spent the night, did my job the next morning, and headed for home 6 hours away. By the time I was less than 2 hours from home, the owner of the white t-top called me. We spoke for about 25 minutes. A really nice 80+ yr old man that has a love for Fox body cars, but the II was his son's car. Sadly, the son is no longer with us, but the old man said he's sure his son would want someone to have it that can use it rather than have it continue to sit there turning to rust. We agreed upon a price (which I'm VERY happy with) and I told him I'd be in touch when I figured out when I'd be back to pick it up.
I made it home and was relaxing on the couch when my phone rings again. The owner of the black one decided to reach out with a price. Again, VERY happy with his offer. He had planned to use it as a derby car, but lost interest so it's been sitting a while. I told him I'd be picking up another car on Memorial weekend and could add his to the plans if he was serious about selling it.
So, deals have been struck, plans have been made, and now it's a waiting game until Memorial weekend. My wife and I are spending the weekend with her grandmother in Sioux City, IA, so I'll be slipping across the river and picking up the black car and taking it back to Sioux City where it will be unloaded at another relative's farm. I'll head back across the river and pick up the white one, which will make the trip all the way home with us on Monday. Late June we'll be back in Sioux City for a family reunion. Thankfully, the relatives have agreed to let me leave the car at their place for the month, but it will come home with us after the reunion.
I'm not sure where I'm putting these two cars, but I'll figure that out eventually. The new treasures have reinvigorated my drive to get this project moving. I'll have three cars worth of parts to figure out... what's good, what's bad, what do I need for my project, what can I offer to other II owners, etc. It might be an interesting summer.
I'm going to have to stay away from my normal ramblings on Facebook and spend a bit more time in all the Mustang II groups and here in this forum. My normal Facebook crap is useless.
bad.
