Tax return upgrades?

jonfor · Feb 20, 2011

i'm getting a nice little chunk back this year and my wife is letting me keep it all. with the exception of a new pistol (sig elite stainless or a commander style 1911 and who knows? maybe an AR), i am going to spend it on my mustang. here is what i need :

1) paint- i'm thinking a dull antique gold with a flat black hood and stripes (ala jerry titus trans-am car). i will go super cheap on body work and just be happy that i'm not in primer anymore (the car has been in primer since the first bush president). dents add character, right?

2) exhaust- thinking patriot clippsters and custom 2.5" pipes to turbos with no "H" or "X". this is mostly for acoustics right now, but i'd like to eventually support 300-350hp with whatever i choose.

3) 8" chunk- swapping the current 3.0:1 peg leg for a 3.5:1 posi. i'm having trouble finding the parts for under $1100, so...

4) wheels- if money holds out. they will be a grey torque-thrust as a companion to the paint job. i would prefer decent fakes in 14".

any opinions or disaster stories on this stuff would be appreciated. anyone know any talent locally in west-central Georgia, feel free to point them out.

car has a crappy 5.0 and a "built" C4. here is the victim:

View attachment 196038

iskwezm · Feb 20, 2011

sounds like your looking to do double work by doing things on the "cheap". A paint job is one of the most expensive things you will do and to do it half assed will show 24/7 and have to be redone later.Your exhaust, same thing.If your going to do it now just to get by and then agian later,wasted money.There should be no reason a 8" posi will cost 1100 bucks. The wheels, 14" are very limited to tires sizes.

This is all my opionin since i have wasted A LOT of money from doing things over.

jonfor · Feb 21, 2011

I understand where you coming from, but I’m trying not to invest more than the replacement value of my low option 1966 I6 coupe. I was in the situation of investment > market value on my last old car (1973 L48 corvette) and it sucked. I also have other hobbies and financial priorities. Plus I bought my car to drive and not for a long term shop project because life is too short.

jlangholzj · Feb 21, 2011

jonfor said:
I understand where you coming from, but I’m trying not to invest more than the replacement value of my low option 1966 I6 coupe. I was in the situation of investment > market value on my last old car (1973 L48 corvette) and it sucked. I also have other hobbies and financial priorities. Plus I bought my car to drive and not for a long term shop project because life is too short.

then i suggest either saving up the money and do it right or get rid of it. I've been in the game only a short while but I've already met consequences of doing it "kinda good" to get by OR doing it right.

paint, intake power adders and the tranny were all done "cheap" to get by for what i wanted to do. Some were my fault, others the guy i bought it from did. In all cases, they're getting redone now.

I'm the kind of person that likes his stuff to be in top running shape (curse you aviation) and I'm not happy if its running like crap but unless you're willing to put up with a mediocre job, don't skimp out

EP429 · Feb 21, 2011

I realize it's not my place to tell you how to spend your money, but I agree with jlangholzj. If you're not intending to keep this car, don't invest in mediocre upgrades. People doing just what you are proposing is making the hobby very not-fun for all, nobody likes a time-bomb. 65-66 coupes are a dime a dozen, I6 or not. Well-done upgrades can actually help the value of your car.

Please keep the hobby fun

afreejack · Mar 7, 2011

Sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with everyone else here. I have been dealing with a lot of mistakes and half-assing done by the PO of my car. Every time I go in to work on something, I find stuff that he had half-assed in the name of saving money. For example, the PO put an electronic ignition setup from some junk granada, and just spliced wires willy nilly. Ended up having to replace the whole harness because he had cut and splced so many different wires together.
A simple job to replace the engine plate (the PO had put a auto tranny plate in a 5 speed, and didn't have a cover over the flywheel) turned into $500 replace the flywheel, clutch, bellhousing, etc, job. because the PO had just found stuff and tried to make them fit (the starter has a U-bolt jammed in as a shim!) I have numerous additional examples.

If you are going to work on the car, spend the extra time and money needed to do the job right. It may mean longer time between jobs to save up some dough, but that's the nature of haviing a project. And it will save you in the long run by not having to redo some "half-assed" work. I'm already going over the "replacement value" of the car, but then again I didn't buy mine to "flip" it.

Wish I could get some of my tax check from the wife to do more stuff to my car.

hipo_p51 · Mar 7, 2011

These mustangs are MONEY PITS! There is no half way or cheap way to do things. AS the others have said, what you have suggested is a waste. From the picture, looks like you can drive it as is.

Like you said, life is to short. either you are going to restore it or not. One way is a waste of time, the other will be worth the effort.

this is my 2 cents. Good luck on your decision.

jonfor · Mar 8, 2011

Relax folks, it’s just a beat-up low option coupe; they only made a million of them. it’s a mustang for piss sake! you people sound like a bunch of elitist –I could get that BS with corvette owners. It’s not going to be a car show garage queen. I just want to beat the piss out of a cheap old car a couple of days a week. Besides, it looks like one of my coworkers (curse you aviation) is doing the body work and paint.

So, since this is tech forum:

anyone know why MustangsUnlimited and SummitRacing are selling Patriot Clippster headers with different manufacturer's P/n's??? H84301 01 versus H8433-1

Pony66 · Mar 8, 2011

I hope I can finally get these headers out of the garage and installed.
I just need enough $ for the pipes and mufflers.

65FBE2 · Mar 8, 2011

If you want to beat on a car for the least amount of money add long tube headers, skip the exhaust and go with header muffs, a nice solid lifter cam that's too big for the motor and a used performer RPM intake. The car will be way faster than you expect. Then get ready to replace the 8" rear as it will break if you have a 4 speed. Might live behind a automatic. I ran 12.8's with that exact set up plus 9" rear end and 4.3 gear. I would suggest 3.5 -3.89 gear for beating. mileage will suck. Thats my $.02

jlangholzj · Mar 8, 2011

jonfor said:
Relax folks, it’s just a beat-up low option coupe; they only made a million of them. it’s a mustang for piss sake! you people sound like a bunch of elitist –I could get that BS with corvette owners. It’s not going to be a car show garage queen. I just want to beat the piss out of a cheap old car a couple of days a week. Besides, it looks like one of my coworkers (curse you aviation) is doing the body work and paint.

So, since this is tech forum:

anyone know why MustangsUnlimited and SummitRacing are selling Patriot Clippster headers with different manufacturer's P/n's??? H84301 01 versus H8433-1

not trying to be elitist, its just that i have very little money and i need to work very hard to get there. My mustang is my dream car, end of story. No lambo's or Ferrari's or anything else, this is my baby. I take pride in what i do and i love the people and cars of the hobby. If you want a weekend beater, do as advised put longtubes on it, header muffs, and do the duplicolor rattlecan/5 gal paint bucket paint job and then just buff the thing out. IT may be just a mustang but 1) they don't make them anymore and 2) they are a collector so either way i'd like to see as many of these vehicles that are in good shape stay that way.

Shakin66 · Mar 9, 2011

I also hate to be a negative elitist but....Most of us on this forum dont consider their cars to be just one of a million produced. Heck, I rode home in my car when Dad bought it in 1977, I was 7 years old. So please dont get upset when we take issue with your comments about them being just old cars. Because my low option Coupe is worth some coin because I have upgraded it in a quality way. So it isnt just a Mustang for piss sake.

iskwezm · Mar 9, 2011

i wouldnt consider myself a elitist. I like cars in gereral.I would rather have a 67 Nova II, but thats besides the point.

I can assume all of have learned from our mistakes and try to pass it on.If your not into this as a hobby, then dont be in it at all.It not a poor mans hobby but the satifaction of having something different is a feeling you dont get from anything else.

Hack · Mar 10, 2011

jonfor said:
Relax folks, it’s just a beat-up low option coupe; they only made a million of them. it’s a mustang for piss sake! you people sound like a bunch of elitist –I could get that BS with corvette owners. It’s not going to be a car show garage queen. I just want to beat the piss out of a cheap old car a couple of days a week. Besides, it looks like one of my coworkers (curse you aviation) is doing the body work and paint.

I think you are doing a dis-service to the people who tried to help you by giving you advice in this thread. Corvette owners would say, "how dare you make it non-original?" These guys are just saying that most of the time you get what you pay for with parts and service. Are you really going to argue with that? It's like buying a junk Chinese-made wrench - it won't last you a lifetime like the good stuff. You can buy cheap every few years or buy quality once.

I think most Mustang guys have a healthy attitude about our 40-50 year old cars - most of them can use lots of upgrading from original. Obviously you can do whatever you want with your car, but I have to agree with them. Typically it's cheaper to do things right the first time than to do it over. I can tell you that from first hand experience.

Good luck!

jonfor · Jun 5, 2011

update:

well, it isn't perfect but it has paint. the body was surprisingly solid considering it has been in about a dozen traffic accidents. no rust around the windows and the fenders only had a few pin holes. the color turned out darker (oranger?) than i wanted, but in general, i'm happy. $2100 including new wheels.

View attachment 187201

and the wheels going on this week:
View attachment 187202

next year will be go fast and turn a corner year. for now i have to be satisfied with "pull greased stick out of a dog's ass" power.

ps... i ended up getting a kimber pro carry 2. after some feed ramp polishing and a new recoil spring it is accurate and reliable.

StangDreamin' · Jun 6, 2011

First, let me say "It's your car, you've only got to make yourself happy"; just so you know I'm not bagging on you or it. Actually it looks good, better than the "rat rod" most of us thought you were gonna make. I might have even gone "6 coats of Rustoleum with a cut 'n' buff after each coat" paint route.

Having said that, I've just gotta at you a little.....

jonfor said:
ps... i ended up getting a kimber pro carry 2. after some feed ramp polishing and a new recoil spring it is accurate and reliable

Jeeze man, you could have done that with a barebones pre-Brazilian Springfield..... after all, it's just an old Gubmint Model, for piss sake!

jlangholzj · Jun 6, 2011

**** son that looks good! the wheels you have on it even look good i thought. lil buff and cut and that will shine nice!

jonfor · Jun 12, 2011

one more with the wheels. only a thousand more things to fix.

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