so i have been wantiung a 68 shelby convertible since the 1980's. in 2000 i set out to build one of my own and startted collecting parts, bought a 68 mustang donor and got into it ony to find that the accident damage was more than i expected so i sold that one and bought 67 that needed minor rust repair ( so i thught) only to find out it had about 1/2" of bondo on both 1/4s. so pulled the 1/4's, installed new inner rockers, torque boxes and a set of 68 1/4s. then the car sat for years due to life getting in the way,, career change and starting my own business. over the years i have ammassed just about everything i need to make the shelby, i purchased all the fiberglass from tony branda and Maier racing ( before GISS) i have the deluxe the saddle interior with upholstery already installed on my seats, shelby roll bar and deluxe interior parts. ( have 12 grand in receipts for the shalby parts alone) i havea rebuilt tilt away steering column, i have a posi rear, i have an AODE transmission and a J code 302 engine. all weatherstripping parts, powder coated convertible top frame and new canvas, all the shelby trim and emblems as wel las the sequential lights. i planned on doing this right.
my job is full throttle from april till early december and the ony tim i have to work on things is in the winter , well in CT it is freaking cold in the winter so there is litttle getting done. the shop is so cold by the time i get it warmed up , 1/2 the day is gone so i made the decision to farm out the rest of the precision work. finally in 2021 i finished up the welding with a new 1 piece floorpan and rapture lining. then the car sat for the past 3 years and each year. in an attempt to find someone to do final fitment and paint. i have interviewed so many shops and i come to realize that the price of getting the panels fit, aligned and painted has become out of control . i get prices from 15 to 45 grand and this is not concourse quality work i am asking for. i want a nice driver i can take to shows. and i am not asking for anyone to do final assembly, i want the car back once it is painted and i will assemble the suspension, brakes, engine and interior myself.
if i go with the 20 grand offer to do the work , i will get the car back and assebly it, i will still need to freshen up the engine, buy some additional parts some suspension upgrades and steering, new windshield and some trim will need reconditioning .
in the course of searching the internet i have come across at least 3 68 shelby convertible clones under 60 grand. they are all real nice looking cars and i could easily get in and drive any of them today. but none of them are exactly what i had in vision, one is blue with black interior (boring) one is white with gold stripes and saddle interior but it is a stick shift and big block and the last is white with blue stripes, black interior and big block/stick shift.
my plan was for a deep forest green with white lemans stripes , saddle interior and small block/ AOD automatic trans..
im 57 years old, i do not need to be racing around in a big block car, shifting gears like when i was a teenager. i want to be comfortable.
so here is my delema, do i sell what i have in hopes of getting a fare return on what i have in inventory and buy one of these cars or do i tough it out, send my car out to get the work done and move along slowly, possibly dragging this out another couple years.?
what do you think i can get for a solid 67 convertible body, no rust, in epoxy primer, new doors, fenders and 1/4's. never any cowl work(surprisingly) and all the associated parts?
my issue is, i am not looking to hang it all up, i am on a 5-7 year plan to retire and move somewhere warmer but one thing is for sure, the parts are not coming with me so they need to be gone or assembled.
will i feel bad that i could not complete this project, yeah but i am realistic in thinking that the price of doing restoration work has just past for me.
my job is full throttle from april till early december and the ony tim i have to work on things is in the winter , well in CT it is freaking cold in the winter so there is litttle getting done. the shop is so cold by the time i get it warmed up , 1/2 the day is gone so i made the decision to farm out the rest of the precision work. finally in 2021 i finished up the welding with a new 1 piece floorpan and rapture lining. then the car sat for the past 3 years and each year. in an attempt to find someone to do final fitment and paint. i have interviewed so many shops and i come to realize that the price of getting the panels fit, aligned and painted has become out of control . i get prices from 15 to 45 grand and this is not concourse quality work i am asking for. i want a nice driver i can take to shows. and i am not asking for anyone to do final assembly, i want the car back once it is painted and i will assemble the suspension, brakes, engine and interior myself.
if i go with the 20 grand offer to do the work , i will get the car back and assebly it, i will still need to freshen up the engine, buy some additional parts some suspension upgrades and steering, new windshield and some trim will need reconditioning .
in the course of searching the internet i have come across at least 3 68 shelby convertible clones under 60 grand. they are all real nice looking cars and i could easily get in and drive any of them today. but none of them are exactly what i had in vision, one is blue with black interior (boring) one is white with gold stripes and saddle interior but it is a stick shift and big block and the last is white with blue stripes, black interior and big block/stick shift.
my plan was for a deep forest green with white lemans stripes , saddle interior and small block/ AOD automatic trans..
im 57 years old, i do not need to be racing around in a big block car, shifting gears like when i was a teenager. i want to be comfortable.
so here is my delema, do i sell what i have in hopes of getting a fare return on what i have in inventory and buy one of these cars or do i tough it out, send my car out to get the work done and move along slowly, possibly dragging this out another couple years.?
what do you think i can get for a solid 67 convertible body, no rust, in epoxy primer, new doors, fenders and 1/4's. never any cowl work(surprisingly) and all the associated parts?
my issue is, i am not looking to hang it all up, i am on a 5-7 year plan to retire and move somewhere warmer but one thing is for sure, the parts are not coming with me so they need to be gone or assembled.
will i feel bad that i could not complete this project, yeah but i am realistic in thinking that the price of doing restoration work has just past for me.