Where to begin project.

[JLS777]

I recently purchased a 66 coupe as a project. It’s a roller with no engine or transmission. It is fairly solid but I plan to replace most of the sheet metal as I plan to keep the care for many years. I am definitely replacing the floor pans, complete cowl, firewall, radiator support, front frame rails, and quarters. This is my first restoration project and I’m not sure which area to begin with to ensure an easier transition from area to area. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[ChaseRoads]

step 1. is to check your budget, skill level, and work area. a full restoration is gonna be costly, especially if you have someone else do the work, if you have the skills, tools and space to do it your self, you'll save money but have a lot of time into it.

from there, based on your questions, I would do the whole front end, then the quarters, and floors last, or these in reverse order.

 

[stormsedge]

If the car is fairly solid as you say, take a step back and scrutinize the sheet metal closely...does is all really need to be replaced? A huge expense with minimum return on a "solid" car imo.

 

[JLS777]

step 1. is to check your budget, skill level, and work area. a full restoration is gonna be costly, especially if you have someone else do the work, if you have the skills, tools and space to do it your self, you'll save money but have a lot of time into it.

from there, based on your questions, I would do the whole front end, then the quarters, and floors last, or these in reverse order.

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback. Your suggestions and ideas really make sense. I have the workspace and tools. I have done smaller projects but nothing this scale yet. I’m in no rush and plan to do everything myself except final body work and paint.

 

[JLS777]

If the car is fairly solid as you say, take a step back and scrutinize the sheet metal closely...does is all really need to be replaced? A huge expense with minimum return on a "solid" car imo.

Thanks for the feedback. Before I really get into it I will definitely take your suggestion and focus on the areas that need the most attention and go from there.

 

[ChaseRoads]

post some pics, lets see this bad boy and maybe we can give better advice.

 

[MARKDTN]

If the car is fairly solid as you say, take a step back and scrutinize the sheet metal closely...does is all really need to be replaced? A huge expense with minimum return on a "solid" car imo.

Agree-no need to replace sheet metal "just-because". None of the new stuff lines up or fits like original. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[wicked93gs]

I myself started with the floors, then moved on to the cowl, and from there to the quarters and wheelhouses, then up front to the radiator support and aprons, then back to the tail panel. I don't think it truly matters where you start or the order you do it in....but do one panel at a time as much as possible to retain as much structural integrity as you can as you go. It took me roughly 15 months start to finish for all the metalwork and structural reinforcement....its a LOT of hours.

 

[92mustang74]

"It is fairly solid but I plan to replace most of the sheet metal as I plan to keep the care for many years. I am definitely replacing the floor pans, complete cowl, firewall, radiator support, front frame rails, and quarters. This is my first restoration project and I’m not sure which area to begin with to ensure an easier transition from area to area. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks."
Welcome to the Mustang community.. I will make some comments from over 50 years experience restoring vehicles. Your comment "fairly solid", does not match up with what you want to replace. As others said if it doesn't need replacement don't, if it is full of rust holes and not structurally sound then you might have to. I do not know your level of experience or what tools and shop environment you have, but what you have listed is not for the inexperienced, you can get over your head pretty fast on a project such as this. Think welders (gas, MIG,TIG,) level surface, cutting tools, hydraulic push/pull equipment, body work tools, stabilizing bars to keep square and alignment, before you start etc. In reality if it really needed all of what you have listed I would pass on it, and bail out by selling what you have, and here is the reason. Being a coupe, unless you are in love with the body design, if you ever want to sell it (I know that everybody starts a project with the thought of keeping it forever) you are at the bottom of the ladder in Classic Mustang value. According to the auctions and my personal experience restoring and selling them the Fastback is King followed by the convertible. On any restoration it is easy to get upside down on value, especially on a coupe, the exception might be if it is a K code and documented GT, and even then you have to be careful. I am not trying to dissuade you just trying to educate you on what a project like this entails. I might be completely off base with my comments, and you might have everything available both skills and tools to do the work, but if you were my son and asked about diving into a project that needs everything you listed I would say lets look for a solid southern or dry area body and start from there. Either way best of luck.

 

[JLS777]

"It is fairly solid but I plan to replace most of the sheet metal as I plan to keep the care for many years. I am definitely replacing the floor pans, complete cowl, firewall, radiator support, front frame rails, and quarters. This is my first restoration project and I’m not sure which area to begin with to ensure an easier transition from area to area. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated. Thanks."
Welcome to the Mustang community.. I will make some comments from over 50 years experience restoring vehicles. Your comment "fairly solid", does not match up with what you want to replace. As others said if it doesn't need replacement don't, if it is full of rust holes and not structurally sound then you might have to. I do not know your level of experience or what tools and shop environment you have, but what you have listed is not for the inexperienced, you can get over your head pretty fast on a project such as this. Think welders (gas, MIG,TIG,) level surface, cutting tools, hydraulic push/pull equipment, body work tools, stabilizing bars to keep square and alignment, before you start etc. In reality if it really needed all of what you have listed I would pass on it, and bail out by selling what you have, and here is the reason. Being a coupe, unless you are in love with the body design, if you ever want to sell it (I know that everybody starts a project with the thought of keeping it forever) you are at the bottom of the ladder in Classic Mustang value. According to the auctions and my personal experience restoring and selling them the Fastback is King followed by the convertible. On any restoration it is easy to get upside down on value, especially on a coupe, the exception might be if it is a K code and documented GT, and even then you have to be careful. I am not trying to dissuade you just trying to educate you on what a project like this entails. I might be completely off base with my comments, and you might have everything available both skills and tools to do the work, but if you were my son and asked about diving into a project that needs everything you listed I would say lets look for a solid southern or dry area body and start from there. Either way best of luck.

Thanks. I appreciate and value honest advice and I’m not above asking for it. I’m in no rush to fix it. I realistically hope to have it finished in about 18 months - 2 years. My plan is to research, reach out for advice, and take one area at a time. I know that by the time I’m finished I’ll have more in the car than it will ever be worth. My primary motivation is to build the car I always wanted. The first car I ever wanted was a gen 1 coupe, but I never had the resources to purchase or build one in my younger years. My intent on replacing the majority of the 50+ year old sheet metal was to ensure it would be in great condition for many years. I’ll try to attach some pictures and get some more thoughts. It is the way I purchased it a couple months ago. I’ve not had the opportunity to clean it up any or really tear into it. The most visible areas appear to be in the radiator support area and lower cowl area. Thanks.

 

[MARKDTN]

Only thing I see that I would fix is the front rails. Looks like it has already had a floor and it's not too bad shape. Cowl could be bad but pics don't show (probably is). If you want to do it "right", strip it to bare body and have the whole thing media blasted, fix what is found, build it back. If you don't want to go that far, fix what you can see and build it. But I don't see a ton of sheetmetal that needs replaced in the photos. My .02

 

[JLS777]

Only thing I see that I would fix is the front rails. Looks like it has already had a floor and it's not too bad shape. Cowl could be bad but pics don't show (probably is). If you want to do it "right", strip it to bare body and have the whole thing media blasted, fix what is found, build it back. If you don't want to go that far, fix what you can see and build it. But I don't see a ton of sheetmetal that needs replaced in the photos. My .02

The cowl and front frame rails will need to be replaced. I have purchased a new radiator support. The loose rust in floor is from the lower cowl area . Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.

 

[JLS777]

I myself started with the floors, then moved on to the cowl, and from there to the quarters and wheelhouses, then up front to the radiator support and aprons, then back to the tail panel. I don't think it truly matters where you start or the order you do it in....but do one panel at a time as much as possible to retain as much structural integrity as you can as you go. It took me roughly 15 months start to finish for all the metalwork and structural reinforcement....its a LOT of hours.

I plan to use a similar method, one area at a time. I’m realistically expecting 18 months - 2 years for myself. Was there an area you found to be more difficult or more challenging for you?

 

[ChaseRoads]

go section by section. looks like alot of that can be cleaned up and saved. looking forward to seeing your project.

 

[wicked93gs]

I plan to use a similar method, one area at a time. I’m realistically expecting 18 months - 2 years for myself. Was there an area you found to be more difficult or more challenging for you?

I would say the cowl probably took the longest...but the most critical as far as alignment goes were the quarters. I had a lot of trouble with the outer wheel houses...the rest of the pieces around it were Dynacorn(inner wheelhouses, quarters, etc) but I couldn't find Dynacorn outer wheel houses so just ended up with something else that I had to slice and dice fairly heavily to make them fit....and truthfully I am not sure Dynacorn would have fit any better anyway.

 

[JLS777]

I would say the cowl probably took the longest...but the most critical as far as alignment goes were the quarters. I had a lot of trouble with the outer wheel houses...the rest of the pieces around it were Dynacorn(inner wheelhouses, quarters, etc) but I couldn't find Dynacorn outer wheel houses so just ended up with something else that I had to slice and dice fairly heavily to make them fit....and truthfully I am not sure Dynacorn would have fit any better anyway.

I would say the cowl probably took the longest...but the most critical as far as alignment goes were the quarters. I had a lot of trouble with the outer wheel houses...the rest of the pieces around it were Dynacorn(inner wheelhouses, quarters, etc) but I couldn't find Dynacorn outer wheel houses so just ended up with something else that I had to slice and dice fairly heavily to make them fit....and truthfully I am not sure Dynacorn would have fit any better anyway.

I’m concerned about aligning quarter panels myself probably more than anything else at this point. The previous owner found a very good set of matching factory front fenders and matching set of factory doors and put them on the car but didn’t take the time do any alignment. So now the fenders and doors are not aligned to the quarters. The quarters have obviously been replaced in the past as you can see where the quarters were seamed along the upper ridge line of the quarter. I’m hoping that who ever replaced the original quarters actually took the time to properly align them. My thought is to align the doors to the current quarters before I begin to replace anything else. I will then use the doors to align the front fenders and the new replacement quarters, hopefully creating clean alignment from front to rear. Any thoughts on that idea? Thanks.

 

[wicked93gs]

I’m concerned about aligning quarter panels myself probably more than anything else at this point. The previous owner found a very good set of matching factory front fenders and matching set of factory doors and put them on the car but didn’t take the time do any alignment. So now the fenders and doors are not aligned to the quarters. The quarters have obviously been replaced in the past as you can see where the quarters were seamed along the upper ridge line of the quarter. I’m hoping that who ever replaced the original quarters actually took the time to properly align them. My thought is to align the doors to the current quarters before I begin to replace anything else. I will then use the doors to align the front fenders and the new replacement quarters, hopefully creating clean alignment from front to rear. Any thoughts on that idea? Thanks.

I just took a ton of pictures of the door gaps and body line alignment before removing my quarters and used that as the standard for alignment on re-install for that particular line, essentially the same as what you are saying....but be aware that trunk lid alignment is an issue, or was for me since the last couple inches of the sheet metal crease on the new quarters dived inboard slightly compared to the rest where the factory ones didn't. I didn't realize this until afterward so now I am going to have to work the trunk lid to compensate, which I guess is alright since I am planning on a fiberglass lid anyway, it will be easy enough to add a bit of fiberglass to fill in the resulting gap.