Solid frame for 1996 Mustang

that article was neat, but they dont mention 64-66 mustangs anyway, personally I would do a cage and sub-frames, and whatever other bracing I think would help(like a trunk divider if you have a coupe) an updated version of the export brace and monte carlo bar....maybe a rear(in trunk) version of a monte-carlo bar, in other words, every bit of chasis stiffening that might help...I'm willing to bet that would still be lighter than a full frame

+1 on that. I just have this vision of one more Mustang ruined by trying to mount it on an S-10 frame. If you have to ask strangers on an online forum, then you do not have the engineering or fabrication skills to pull it off. Add wheels and tires, have a local shop add subframe connectors and leave it alone.

THe article had a link to a vendor. They do ofer a bolt in frame for the 66...listed in the text below the picture...
http://www.gmachinechassis.com/

Sorry if I sounded harsh, but things like chassis swaps, or full-on chassis builds are not a good feet-wetting project. Building cars is a lot like flying airplanes, it's done one-step at a time. Nobody jumps in an F-22 on day one, right? But over time and by takig baby steps towards the goal, it is done everyday. Same with car building. Start small, step one, get a running car. Step two bolt on simple stuff, wheels and tires, then maybe an intake, maybe swap rear axle gears, and all the while you're learning, and if you make a mistake, it's not fatal to the car or yourself. I've been building and modifying cars for over 30 years, and THE single biggest killer of cars is over-ambitious people. It's always the same start, and it usually ends with a nice car turned into a parts car (or worse) and an owner who's sick of cars and broke due to the huge amount of money flushed down the drain on the last doomed project. So if I sound discourgaing, please understand I'm not trying to be, I just want to make it very clear that this is not an area to learn the hard way on, only because it sounds like you'd like to swap the body and subframe onto an existing passenger car rolling chassis. S-10 chassis were mentioned only because of their popularity with frame-swappers these days. Any frame swap (aside from those high-dollar custom units) wouldn't even come close to matching, and would likely be a waste of time and money, and likely destroy two usuable cars. If you ahve the money, one of the custom chassis certainly looks great, and seem to be well thought out. But the simplest way to go would be to simply replace the stock Mustang parts that are missing with the right Mustang parts that were there at one time or another. They are extremely cheap, and extremely plentiful and will result in the car being finished much quicker. Again, I hope I didn't offend you or make your first trip to Stangnet a miserable expereince. It's a great place to learn from with lots of great people with tons of expereince. Nearly all of us have learned the hard way and would like very much to keep another Mustang fan from doing the same.

If I could offer any advice on fabricating, it would be to think the whole part or system of parts through before you start, and don't be afraid to do it over if it's not right. I'm a machinist, and through trial and error, I've learned to think the entire part through. It's the same with any fabrication job on your car. A great place to learn fabrication methods and skills is lots of the TV shows you find on today. My favorites are the "PowerBlock" bunch of shows on Spike TV these days. All of these shows have great step-by-step instruction and show how just about anything you could imagine is done. Aside from that, there are lots of great videos available today showing everything from chassis fabrication and setup, to interior, to metalwork and paint. Anytime I don't know how to do something, I do a bit of searching online, see if I can find a video of it, and spend $30 or $40 and get a video of whatever it is. I have other responsibilities, and can't afford to pay people to work on my car, so I have to learn to do it myself. Besides, it's more fun and a great way to end up with a nicer car than you could afford to buy. A good example is this: one of my buddies has a neat '66 coupe and wanted to get a crate motor and detail the engine bay while he was at it. He ordered the same motor I have, then once the motor was out, he got cold feet about painting the engine bay, and hauled it all down to a local pro-shop to have the engine bay painted satin black. They charged him $3,200 to paint the engine bay and all the stuff (master cylinder, steering column, new brake lines). I about crapped when I heard that. The most important part, the motor only cost him $2700 and he paid $3,200 for a little paint? By doing it myself, I spent about $20 on primer, another $20 on paint and another $20 on clear and I suppose $3 on masking paper and tape, and mines certainly more durable than his, since once you get oil or anything else on satin or mat finishes, it's there for good. For the extra $3140 he spent, he could have bought a boatload of stuff and ended up with a nicer car. Another freind has a '67 coupe he has over $42,000 into that I know of. How could anyone spend this much on a stock-looking coupe? By failing to plan, period. Before you spend one dime on a car, you need to sit down with a pencil and paper and figure out how much you have to spend, and where it's all going to go. If you have (for example) $20,000 to spend over a period of 3 years, it sounds like a lot of money, but if you don't do the vast majority of the work yourself, I doubt it could be done, from the ground up, for that amount . Sounds ridiculous, but it's true. My freind with the '67 spent $17K at the paint shop, and while it looks outstanding, he's now afraid to drive it because he's afraid that if the paint got damaged, he'd never get it matched again. How much fun is hauling a car in a trailer, even to local shows? Not only that, but he failed to lay his car out on paper and see what he really wanted the car to be when it was finished, so he simply opened the catalog and the checkbook and went to town. He bought a roll bar for it, then decided it didn't fit right, so he bought another one. Neither of them were cheap and neither of them went in the finished car. He has three sets of wheels and tires, because everytime he bought one set, he found something else he liked. And so it went, until the car was way over budget and not useable for what he actually wanted. It's an awesome looking car, with perfect paint, but it's still a '67 coupe, and he could have done better for his money.
My advice on car planning is to figure a budget out right off the bat. Then lay out what you want the car to do. If you want it to run 10's in the quarter, your goals and budget will be a bit different from a car you want to load the kids and wife in and take a 2 hr drive to a local show. Be realistic as well. Separate your car list into WANTS and NEEDS. Look how simple these cars are, and before you change anything, ask if it's what you WANT to do, or what you NEED to do. Twin turbos and NASCAR quick-change rear ends are WANTS. Good brakes and reliable engines are NEEDS. Most importantly never forget it's supposed to be fun. Spending your whole savings and working out of a carport is less fun by the minute so be realistic with every choice and you WILL end up with a car you can both afford and be proud of.