My ownership of a new ’07 Mustang led to the purchase of my ’96 Mustang. I found my experience with the ’96 to be quite satisfying, but I still wanted to own a bonafide Classic Mustang. My favorite models have always been the ’69 and ’70 fastbacks. But there was no way that I was going to pay the kind of money that those required.
So I had to find a way to get a Classic Mustang without the high cost. As usual, my end run was only somewhat successful.
I did a lot of research and realized that a ’69-’70 fastback project would cost anywhere between ten to fifteen thousand dollars. A nice car would be between 25-35 grand, depending on the model.
I went to several Good Guys events and saw project Mustangs in the car corral. They were a minimum of ten grand for junk! Rusted out hulks missing half of their parts.
However there were still a lot of “hardtops,” that’s what the basic coupe is referred to. The coupe was always the best seller, but these more plebian models were likely to be parted out or scrapped, unlike their more desirable brethren. These were not usually built as performance variants, so they were generally much cheaper. Sometimes they can be surprisingly cheaper.
The coupe looks like a fastback, from the middle forward, if you squint hard. And you can’t see the back end when you’re driving anyway! So could a coupe be two thirds as cool as a fastback? Maybe.
It looked pretty good in profile.
I spent a lot of time on CL, and found a ’70 coupe for sale less than ten miles away. It looked okay in the pictures, so I contacted the seller. It was clearly identified as a salvage title car, so I went in with both of my eyes wide open.
The price was something that put it in my range of desirability; the seller was asking two grand. He was a young guy who was always busy at work, so that made it hard to set up a meeting to see the car. Finally, I convinced him to give me his address, so that I could check it out on my own. Then if I was really interested, we could meet face to face and make the deal.
Did you notice the little “fins?”
I went to check out the car and it made a good initial impression. It looked straight and complete, it certainly wasn’t wrecked. I brought a flashlight and checked out the underside. I opened the hood and inspected the radiator support and the frame rails, they were straight, with no sign of collision damage. The underside looked rust free and the floors were in perfect shape. I looked at the trunk floor ahead of the tail lamp panel and noticed some buckling, however the trunk lid sat fine. As did the doors and the hood.
There was no vinyl top, or evidence that there had ever been one. A big plus. The car was painted in a two tone blue and gray primer. It looked okay to me. The grille was missing. The seller, whose English was not that good, had told me that the engine was missing the “manifold.” I was happy to see that the exhaust manifold and exhaust pipe were present and attached to the engine. However there was no muffler or tailpipe. Looking inside, I also noticed that the passenger seat was missing!
An intersecting point was that the car had five lug wheels, but it was a six cylinder model. During my research, I learned that later 250 cube six cylinder cars shared the same chassis and brakes as the small block V8 cars. Likewise the transmission. This was a strong point in the car’s favor. (Earlier six cylinder cars had much lighter chassis components and brakes, making an engine swap a more involved process.)
After the inspection, I called the seller to arrange a meeting, and my wife accompanied me.
Now I had an opportunity to start and drive the car. It started up and ran a bit rough, as the choke was out of adjustment. I was able to manipulate the choke and the car started and idled okay once the motor warmed up. There was no visible smoke, and the engine idled quite smoothly, a good sign. Boy, did it sound awful without a muffler!
The electrical system was botched up pretty badly. At the time I didn’t realize how bad it actually was. The instrument panel was completely disconnected, the turn signals didn’t work, and only one brake light lit up. At least the horn worked. There was no radio. I asked what had happened to the passenger seat, and the seller told me that the seat’s back latch had broken, and it wouldn’t stay up, so he had removed it.
I’ve still got that steering wheel stored away!
I learned a lot about wiring with this car.
I took it for a short test drive. The engine ran okay and the transmission worked in all forward gears and reverse. It could accelerate to 45-50 mph. easily. The brakes also worked fine. After I returned, I offered him 1,500 dollars which he refused. So I raised the offer to 1,700 dollars, which he accepted. He had the pink slip in his name, and it was currently registered. Since the car was a pre-smog test vehicle, it made things a lot easier. The seller provided the passenger seat which I placed in the car.
I paid him and my wife followed me home in our minivan. Once I got home I gave it an even more detailed inspection. While I liked the car, I knew that it had its limitations, and accepted them.
My newest purchase possessed the “Trifecta of Undesirability.”
First, it was a coupe. Second, it was a six cylinder car.
The mighty 250. The largest of the small six family.
Third, it had a salvage title. The title had the rebuilt/salvage notification, but the car actually looked pretty good to me. It could not have been seriously wrecked previously. My guess was that the car had been rear ended in the past when it was worth very little, so it was totaled, and never repaired. Then the car probably sat for years until the increasing value of vintage Mustangs motivated someone to fix the damage and get the car back on the road.
There were lots of things that I would have to fix before I could even drive the car legally and safely. Luckily there is a huge reproduction aftermarket for Mustang parts. It would be quite easy to source needed parts. Some from my local auto parts store, and many from online vendors. Hello Rock Auto, and National Parts Depot, NPD!
I installed a Cherry Bomb turbo muffler and ordered a replacement tailpipe from NPD, so that I could run the engine without making a ruckus.
I pulled the main loom a couple of times and inspected every connection. I also built a couple of new looms that were needed.
I got to experience a wide variety of areas that needed attention, it was an education in restoration. One of the worst areas was the electrical system. It was BAD!
There were many bodged connections, loose wires, and disconnected components. All the electrical accessories needed to have their problems diagnosed and fixed. I replaced the turn signal switch in the steering column. That was followed by the printed circuit for the dash instruments and I repaired the fuel gauge and the sending unit. The heater blower fan switch was inoperative, I found a good used unit at a Good Guys swap meet. Then I replaced the heater core and blower motor. A previous owner had cut a hole higher in the dash to mount the radio higher. I made a new radio loom and installed a CD player. Then made a block-off plate for the old mounting location.
A new set of door/trunk locks and a matched ignition switch gave me all the functions restored with only two keys, ignition and trunk. I hated driving old cars with four different keys!
The broken passenger seat back latch was a common problem and had been addressed by a recall at one time. I found the parts needed to fix it at NPD.
The interior was clean and comfortable. I was getting ready to install the stereo.
The car had come with a set of 14 inch alloy Ranger truck wheels. The mounting studs were too short to fit them properly. I could install longer studs or change the wheels. I found a set of 15 inch. steel Ranger wheels, which fit perfectly, and added the proper hub covers. They looked like cop car wheels, very cool.
Later I added the Crown Vic cop car center caps.
A mish-mosh of spray bomb primers and fillers.
What could the shop do with a sow’s ear?
After I did the best I could smoothing out the bodywork, I took it to a paint shop in Fremont. If I was going to have a ’69-’70 Mustang, it was going to be Highland Green! I had them lay down a complete base coat, and include the UV treatment in the top coat.
They could almost perform miracles.
The paint came out really smooth in most places, but it sure highlighted all those little dings, dips and depressions that are found on a car that has had a long hard life. The service writer had told me that there’s no way to guarantee the quality of a repaint when it is sprayed over a mishmash of different body fillers, different spray bomb primers, and poor amateur bodywork. There was one spot where the paint lifted up a bit, but overall, I was quite satisfied with the results.
Glossy!
It cost me a bit over 600,00, and the car was ready after a few days. No paint jail for me! What was unusual was that I had the car painted even before I had it sorted out for driving. The glossy paint was a motivator to keep working on fixing the problems.
I hadn’t wanted to pay to have the door jambs painted, but later sprayed them with matching Duplicolor spray paint, I also painted the rocker panels matte black.
I took the opportunity to do some customizing. I built a mesh grille with the turn signals visible through the mesh. Then I added a Mach One front spoiler, as well as a set of racing mirrors. I also built a mesh tail lamp panel to match the grille.
Chip Foose might not have lost any sleep, but I was proud of my creation!
Eventually, I pulled the main wiring loom and checked every connection, redoing any that looked suspect. I built a new tail lamp loom, that fixed the tail lights and license lamp. The headlamps had a problem even after I rewired the front looms and replaced the switch. There is a circuit breaker built into the switch. After ten minutes the headlamps would begin to flash on and off!
I pulled the main loom again and mocked up the circuits and tested them with a battery. I read an article in an old muscle car magazine that stated that old looms often develop a lot of resistance over the years. It seemed that this was causing the problem, so I set up a relay system for the headlamps. The lights worked directly off of the battery, through a couple of relays controlled by the headlight switch. Now the switch no longer had to handle all the amperage going to headlamps. This completely cured the problem.
This solved my headlight problems without the expense of a new wiring loom.
Parked at the Santa Maria Fairgrounds.
Interestingly enough the power train never needed any repair. The engine and transmission worked fine. The car had plenty of power and could achieve a top speed of 95+ mph. This was verified through a navigation app. I rebuilt the entire braking system, just to be sure that it was reliable. However, I guess that I had become spoiled by modern cars, as this was the first old car that I had reservations about its stopping capabilities.
It took a year of work to fix and sort out all the car’s problems, then I drove it for the next year. I used it for commuting, errands and short pleasure trips. My longest trip was to the West Coast Kustoms Nationals in Santa Maria. The car ran fine, cruising between 65-70 mph. On the return trip, it maintained a steady 70 mph going up the steep Cuesta Grade.
Success?
Was I able to complete the end-run strategy?
Not really.
There’s nothing wrong with a coupe, this is a “business like” looking rig.
I had made a lot of improvements to the car’s condition, putting in a lot of work, but there was still so much that was needed. Did I want a V8 swap? Yes, but that would have called for improvements to the entire chassis.
While I had the car painted, it was a low buck respray over my DIY bodywork. There were still lots of little dings and low spots.
Could I have been satisfied with it as a six cylinder car?
The 250 six is a pretty powerful engine, it is 25% larger than its 200 cid sibling, and only 89 inches smaller than the old base 289 V8. It has quite a bit more torque available at a lower rpm than the smaller 200 cid engine. Unlike a V8, it is hampered by a restrictive, cast in the head, single carb intake manifold. As well as a single exhaust manifold. Ford, like most American Automakers, didn’t want to invest any money developing better six cylinder engines for the American market.
Just to crunch the numbers; in 1970 both sixes were available in the Mustang:
250 six: 155 hp @4,000 rpm. 240 lb.ft. torque @ 1,600 rpm.
200 six: 120 hp @ 4400 rpm. 190 lb. ft torque @2400 rpm.
The 250 had a lot more torque, 50 foot pounds, available much lower in the rpm band, as well as 35 hp. more available at 400 lower rpm. Pretty impressive, as the two engines were very close in weight, about 15 lbs. difference.
Just for comparison, the ’68 model 289 V8:
195 hp @4,400 rpm. 280 lbs. ft, torque @2400 rpm.
To be fair, the ’70 302 is much more powerful:
220 hp @4,400 rpm 300 ft. lbs. torque @2,600 rpm.
(These figures are from the 1970 Chiltons repair manual.)
I actually like straight sixes. I had a Datsun 280Z, as well as a Jaguar XJ6.
I had no beef with the performance, it had a top speed of 95+ mph. and it could cruise at 70 mph. My complaint was with the poor fuel economy. The six that drinks like an eight! 15 1/2 mpg, at best, under careful 55 mph. driving. This was consistent with the mileage found in a Popular Mechanics owner survey of the car when new. I had added a low restriction turbo muffler, radial tires, and a front spoiler without any effect. I could live with a “slow” car that got good gas mileage, or a faster car that got poorer gas mileage, but I couldn’t live with a slow car that got crummy mileage. My ’96 Mustang V8 can get 25+ mpg. at 65-70 mph. And it’s a rocket compared to the ’70.
If you’re intent on building a low buck project, you have to come to terms with the reality of the situation. The car is never going to be that nice.
An anecdote: I was selling some Datsun parts and had the buyer meet me at my house. He pulled his late model 350Z into the driveway behind my Mustang. He walked up to it and looked it over. Then he disdainfully said: “Is that what a 200 dollar paint job looks like?” I answered him: “A 200 dollar paint job now costs over 600 dollars!” Kind of rude, but I took his money anyway!
I had over 5,000 dollars tied up in that car and it still was kind of rough. A transplanted V8, new transmission, and disc brake upgrade would have been a huge investment. Combine that with redoing the bodywork and paint, as well as restoring the interior, that could add another 15-20 thousand dollars to the total. And the poor car could never escape the stigmata of the salvage title.
Ultimately, I decided that I wasn’t going to take the car any further and that I couldn’t live with the poor gas mileage.
I listed the car on CL for 5,000 dollars, which was less than what I had tied up in the car and new parts. There were no inquiries, so I dropped the price to 4,000 dollars. That led to a buyer who offered me 3,700 dollars, which I accepted.
So much for end runs!
But in the end, I had returned the Mustang to a usable, driveable, mildly customized street machine. Honestly, I was pretty proud of my efforts, and I learned a lot with this car!
You keep reminding me of the lessons I learned in my own life with old cars – what is a great bargain at purchase eventually turns into a sale-proof lump when you go to sell.
You really put a lot of effort into this one, and certainly did right by the car, but I agree that you had to stop investing in it.
Good call on when to divest. Making that decision is sometimes painful to do, as well as frustrating, but you did the right thing after rehabilitating the old girl. You truly made the most of it.
Another enjoyable read about one more entry in Jose’s carousel of past purchases. I’ve now trained myself when I start reading that in the end, the car won’t be a keeper, so I don’t get sad. This experience (and some of the others you’ve written about) remind me a little of being in Vegas. Enjoy the game while you play it, but be good with walking away once it has cost too much or the stakes are too high.
I liked your creative fixes with the body work, including the grille.
Nice article, I think the grill turned out very nicely and the Ford Ranger wheels looked good as well. I appreciated the article because cars at this price point are where I am at, I don’t have a lot of loose money so I look for needy cars that are kinda cool and enjoy wrenching on them.
My perceptions were, and are,
that the Ford 200 six worked best in a relatively light (ie CHEAP) Ford. Like the Falcon. Or the original Mustang. My mother’s 81 Fairmont 200-six was slow, but not much worse than comparable era cars, and it wasn’t too thirsty–but it was not efficient. It got maybe 1-2 mpg better than a 260-V8 Pontiac Ventura (Nova) which felt like a tank, and was quicker, even if it was 6 years older.
And that the 250 is a lot thirstier for the rather minor real-world improvement. Back in the 1970s, from Consumer Reports to Popular Mechanics, the mpg on 250 was pretty lame.
I totally agree with your philosophy–a car/engine that is both thirsty and slow is really unacceptable. And that describes Ford’s 250 perfectly.
It was as if Ford had absolutely ZERO regard for their customers who got six-cylinder motors to save money, compared to GM/Chevy’s 250 six, Chyslers slant six, AMC’s 232/258 six, and even GM’s (early) 231 V6, and mocked those who paid the extra $60 or $90 to upgrade from the anemic 200 to anemic and THIRSTY 250.
So, it’s go with a 302 or keep the 200. And if the 200 doesn’t work, avoid the car.
Your excellent write-up seems to confirm my perceptions.
My favorite Mustang body. When I was riding my bike home from 8th grade, the son of Rep. Gerald Ford would be dropping by his girlfriend’s in a light olive one. When his dad became VP, he dumped her to play the greatly expanded field.
I appreciate your sharing your stories here, it is good for everyone especially those just getting into the hobby what is in store.
I always tell people to buy the best car they can afford – and even then save up more to get a better one and budget money to sort out even the car they choose.
That is particularly the case with cars that don’t have a lot of market value. There are other reasons for getting a car like this – one is to learn and you did, a family project, something to tinker with that isn’t super-valuable.
That way when you find the car you really want and can afford, you can apply those lessons to it.
Mustangs are a great car for anyone but especially the beginner due to the aftermarket support and the general simplicity of the car. The Mustang was made on a budget, a parts-bin car so exotic it is not. What does it have, 5 fuses? Today’s cars have 5 fuses for the glove compartment!
Those of us that like working on cars know what it’s like to sometimes take a loss when it’s time to sell. For us, the win lies in the pleasure of bringing a car back to life when others have given up on it. Some are keepers, but sometimes when the mechanical rehabilitation is done we move on to the next project because we enjoy the tinkering. After all that, and after experiencing what a classic Mustang was like to own, I think this was a win. The pattern I see here is that you have been able to enjoy working on and driving a diversified array of cars and bikes, which is always fun.
Ive owned several 250 cube Falcons, its a good engine the 200 is gutless it was the taxi grade engine, the alloy head x flow 250 was better but I dont know if those heads went outside the Aussie/NZ markets, The car looks fine in highland green and doesnt have the fatstang bloated look of the fastback
Too bad it wasn’t a 300, but can a 300 take the place of a 250?
Not easily, as the 300 is a significantly larger engine physically. It can of course be done, but it would be much easier to swap in a 289/302 V8.
Yes, there’s lots of hop-up potential in the 300, but there is in the 200/250 six too. There are hi-po heads available for both. And lots more. It would have been pretty easy to warm up the 250 in this Mustang.
I’d say that’s a win, you got the car on the road, enjoyed it for a while, and didn’t lose your shirt.
For hobby cars what you were doing was just fine if you still had a decent “new” car in case you actually had to arrive somewhere reliably.
That gas mileage reminds me of the nu California ’72 Chevy Nova 2 dr with a 250ci 6 and “powerglide” I bought………….a blazing 15mpg on the freeway! Nope…..traded it for our second VW Super Bug, a ’73….mid 20s, IIRC. $ure would have been less expensive to just buy the Super Bug first! OOP$! DFO
Gotta love your trials and tribulations, Jose. When I saw your initial evaluation of the car I said “run” to myself.
I’ve done the same with a slew of classic cars…..get them at a reasonable price, add many dollars, love them for a while, then move them for a loss.
Seems like I did the same with several girlfriends over the years!
Jose, I’ll just add my voice to those here who admire your work and tenacity. It may seem kind of obvious, but what you did with this car basically defines “hobby”. There’s no need to necessarily be cost-effective around a hobby as it’s the work/activity that is mostly what is valued; and when you tire of the particular activity (in this case, the car) and are ready to move on to a new challenge, you can/should. All the better for you that you basically broke even on the money aspect of it.
Also good job with the wiring harness and your figuring that out. I just looked and it seems that a new harness for that car is in the $800 range. Yikes. You definitely solved that problem cost-effectively.
It took me a while to figure out what was going on with that grill and I kept thinking that you had a pair of blue lights back behind there (which I’d think are illegal in most states)…and then it dawned on me that those are the horns. Doh!
This was a fun read, and you did well with the many improvements you made to car. And as everyone else has said, you knew when it was time to move on.
I always preferred the roofline of the 67-73 Mustang coupe/hardtop over the fastback/sportsroof. The Mercury Cougar had the same roofline during those years. Very classy, like the early four seater Thunderbirds.
I’ve been reading stories in hot rod magazines for over fifty years, about guys that would build up their dream cars, bit by bit. I know that is completely possible. The thing is to start out with a car that you really want. One that will have sentimental, emotional, or financial value to you when you’re finished.
It’s funny, because I’m always saying that I want a simple, basic, no tech, car to work on and own long term. This Mustang certainly fulfilled those requirements. It was finished to a presentable level, (twenty footer!) I was pleased with my customization, and it ran fine with acceptable performance. I was even quite fond of the car. Yes, the gas mileage was kind of low, especially for what the car was, but it was better than my ’66 Riviera and ’56 Cadillac!
And, it’s not like I didn’t have more modern vehicles that have good a/c and other comfort options, available to drive. I knew that it would probably never be finished to a higher standard, but who knows? If I held onto it for another ten years, I might have invested a bit more in it. My problem is like that old relationship trope, “It’s not you… it’s me!”
That pretty sums up my relationships with my hobby cars, I can’t think of a car that I love enough to want to hold on to forever. I currently have four hobby cars, including my ’96 Mustang, and I’m getting an “urge to purge” the herd. I’ve been thinking about getting a Pre War car, but don’t think that would probably turn out well. But it might be fun, I’ve never had a car that old. Again, time will tell.
Those blue lights in the grille were already in place when I bought the car. They were a set of cheap driving lights and were not hooked up. I left them in place because I thought that they added a bit of interest to the front of the car.