To modify or not to modify?

If you plan to drive the car it willl be smart to get a rack and pinion steering set up and disk brake set up.

If you plan to trailer the car then make it original.

Of course original is worth more. mose of us bought a car that was already changed in its past. So you havve the opportunity to retain her as she was.

good luck

It all depends on what you want out of the car. It's a coupe so the value is minimal anyway (in relation to others) so I say modify it. People have always said for the longest time that stock cars bring more money, not so anymore. Look at the BJ auctions or any other and you'll see modified cars bringing more than what I stock car would bring. Before everyone goes crazy, I am talking low optioned cars, base model cars. Not a Shelby or Hemi Cuda etc... When you look at what a full blown restoration would cost you to do that car right, you'll never see that money out of it. My car is a 67 Vert C code car. I have had offers for my car that's more than double what I've seen any C code verts go for. BTW, my original color was Springtime yellow.

Friends don't let friends drive stock!

and do you really intend on selling the car after you buy it?

I made my mustang the way i want it because its my car and don't ever plan on selling it.

my 67 289 C code is priceless... to me

I was in the exact same position with my fastback. I bought it from the original owner, a 93 year old woman who babied it since day one. It was always garaged, rust free and aside from normal wear and tear, it was perfect. It drove as well as it did when it was new and I could not have been happier to have found it. I bought the car because I finally realized I will never be able to buy a "real" Shelby and decided that rather than do without and regret it for the rest of my life, I'd build one. I drove the car for a few months, and it was sooooo nice of a car, I really had a hard time deciding on whether modifying this car was the right thing to do. But in the end, I asked myself if I'd be happy with driving a stone-stock, plain-Jane, c-code/automatic fastback. The answer was absolutely not. So if you're going to modify it at all, why not do it right, do it tastefully and build something you actually enjoy? My car was nothing special at all, just another one-of-a-zillion fastback with NO options whatsoever. I paid $7,200 for it and if I'd restored it to stock, it'd be worth about $12,000. Since I built it as a GT350 clone, I went all out, did it right (in my opinion) and I'd suspect it's worth somewhere on the high side of $25,000, using some of the cars on ebay as a guide. But I didn't build it to sell, I built it to drive and to satisfy my need for a car that at least looks like a Shelby. Everywhere you look, modified Mustangs are worth more than stock Mustangs, with the exception of rare cars like K-code Mustangs, Shelbys, Boss Mustangs, etc. But all the other garden-variety cars are far too plentiful to worry about cutting up a national treasure. Besides, I drove my car stock, and I can't imagine leaving it that way! Spongy suspension, drum brakes and an AM radio may have been cool in '68, but they kill the fun in this day and age for me.

i say modify the car but limit the mods to simple bolt on parts that can easily be changed back to stock pieces and also keep any of the original parts you remove. not saying to keep stuff like rusted out original mufflers and tailpipes or old original wheel bearings, etc. but stuff like the radio, seats if you swap them out, interior parts, engine parts, even keep stuff like original springs, swaybars, and even the original drum brakes.

restore everything as you remove it from the car and then box it all up and save it for some future retoration or new owner. also when restoring the car try to reuse as many original components of the car as you can, original parts always fit better and most of the time function better than generic replacement parts as well.

you said you used correct GT wheels but didn't say if the car was a GT or not, if it is a factory GT car, i would keep any mods minimal. also if the car still has front drum brakes and single reservoir MC it would be in your best interest to add discs and a dual reservoir MC if you plan to drive the car. stock discs would be fine unless you plan to race the car which doesn't sound like the case.

I agree with DJE55 and zookeeper go crazy you only live once. You can still recognize my 65 as a 65 mustang but barely. The purist talk trash when they see it, but I have turned down insane money for it, from other people that love it.

One other thing, if you do change anything, make sure you keep any Mustang-specific parts like trim parts, radio or emblems, even if you do buy a comparable reproduction part. Ford parts are always much higher in quality and you never know when you'll be able to re-use it.

my take on this subject, and its a discussion that is popping up more and more,if the car is something special, ( k code, hipo vert, etc...) leave it stock, unless you do bolt on mods, in which case, keep the old parts) if it is a plain jane, 6 cyl, coupe, or something of that nature, go nuts if you like, it can only add value to the car. my 65 coupe is a good case in point... it was a spring yellow,6 cyl, 3 speed car, that had sat in a pine grove for the last 12 years. the quarters had some rot in the lower edges, the drivers rear floor was soft, and the cowl was toast. a lot of the original pieces were gone, and it needed alot of work. i actually drove the car way back, and knew that ,in stock form, it just wouldnt do it for me. fast forward 2 1/2 years, the car is almost ready for paint, (94 mustang sonic blue) new interior, suspension, 351 windsor, automatic overdrive trans, killer sound system, pretty much a full nut and bolt resto. will i ever sell it? probibly not, as this was my sisters first car,that i drove to her wedding,and has been in the family since 1977. is it worth more now than it would be in stock form? i think so, as the current trend is more toward the drivers type cars, and away from the trailer queens. bottom line is, it is your car, and if you get more satisfaction out of showing a nice stock mustang than you do taking your fire breathing stallion out, and running it through the gears from time to time, leave it alone. but if you want a car to drive, with all the comforts, and performance of a new mustang, have at it, and dont worry, the folks on here arent the judgemental type!