What to do with this 66

[Corral Girl]

Ok guys, I'm new on this site, but an age old Stang owner. Have a chance to buy this 66, which was so called "restored" by a small town nobody with little experience. the owner took it to this shop, which had it for a number of years, to do a full body restoration. From what I see when I looked at it to purchase it, the body parts don't line up, like the hood and trunk,,, has tape over the birds%$t like welding on the interior that is still in primer, and not painted,,, has 2 tone green/grey paint on the trunk area, lots of bolts and other small parts that are not any kind of factory or original,, in other words, from talking with another body shop, the repairs would be over 5 grand just to put it halfway back in shape to what it should have been at the last shop.
I think the resto shop did more damage than when it was rusty originally taken there. So the question is.......
Basic shell of a car.. to buy, or not to buy?? Should this pony be saved or not ?? Any feedback is appreciated..

 

[Corral Girl]

I just don't get it, the hood, doors, and fenders don't line up right. And did I mention that the vin under the fender has been re-stamped by this resto guy, without the owners permission? At least the owner got the original vin stamped part back,, but what are the legal implications for a potential buyer??
What to do,, What to do.....

 

[zookeeper]

I can't say if the car's worth it since I didn't see the asking price in your post. The body panel alignment is always a problem with these things since they didn't line up worth a darn when they were new, let alone 40+ years down the road. What would concern me more than anything is the front wheel that appears to be about 2" too far rearward. Something doesn't look right at all, has it been in an accident? I'd measure the wheelbase on both sides and look VERY closely at the underneath of that car before I did anything else. Also, if it is just a shell, there's no way to get it finished for another $5,000. Start pricing crate motors and interior parts and you'll see what I mean. Having said that, consider what a finished '65-'66 coupe costs. If you're paying (for example) $5,000 for that car, plus another $7,000 for the rest of the stuff to finish it, you're now up to $12,000 and that's if you can do everything yourself. If you have to pay a shop to do it, it can become a $20,000 car very quickly. What kind of car could you buy with that money? Unless it's EXTREMELY reasonable and you know with all certainty that you can and will finish it, I'd pass.

 

[wicked93gs]

I doubt its worth it for a coupe...lets put it this way, i got my rolling shell for $800, 98% rust free, so if they are asking over say $1500 for the shell its not worth the effort unless you just love the thing...as for the wheel location...it is possible its just how it looks(the thing has no engine and tranny installed after all, but its definitely worth giving the thing a close look...while its possible to "finish" it for $5000, that would most likely be with just a used engine and tranny...its cost me $3000 doing all the work myself to bring my car to its current point, and I have quite a bit to go before I even get close to the interior

 

[Corral Girl]

The estimate from the new body shop is 5K, just to fix the body and paint itself. I still would have the cost of the engine & tranny, the current owner has all the other new interior parts and exterior parts needed, and this is a rare bench seat coupe, the seats have already been aphosltered and look beautiful !

 

[tx65coupe]

I would say that it is probably a decent car and a good buy if the price is right.

How much do they want for it?

Have you inspected the common areas like the floor pans, doors, rear quarter panels, frame rails, and the inside of the trunk for rust damage?

What zookeeper said about the body panel alignment is right. They were not built with perfection in mind. There is some adjustment and it may be able to be brought into better alignment.

 

[zookeeper]

If the estimate just to fix the previous paint job is $5,000 I'd pass. I mean, if you were to get the car for $3000, then spend $5,000 on paint, you won't have an $8,000 car, you'll have $3000 car with nice paint. For that money, you're flirting with fastback money. You could (with a bit of searching) find a fastback that runs for that same money, which would be much easier to sell when the time comes, as well as gain value faster. I know not everyone is after a fastback, but I'm just letting you know what you're getting into with that coupe and it's known issues.

 

[65Rob]

You're almost always further ahead to buy a completed car rather than a project unless you can do 90% of the work yourself. Even if you can it's still iffy so you have to love doing the work to justify it. I keep telling myself I love doing all my own work but I'm not totally convinced