'66 Mustang Restomod Log

[Stang Girl]

Very nice, Jeff. Keep up with the pics.

 

[BuzzisCrazy2]

Beautiful job on the body..........but why then a small small block

 

[Fish Man]

cause a 289 was the biggest you could get in a 66. the project looks dang nice, i like it!

 

[JDraper]

Beautiful job on the body..........but why then a small small block

Because that was the original motor that came with the car. This car will be fairly close to stock in appearance. Also a big block in a 64.5-66 Mustang takes significant modification to the body and throws the weight balance even farther out of whack than it already is. I like my cars to handle well on the road, not just go down the strip fast.

 

[JDraper]

More pix....

 

[Bronco638]

I like my cars to handle well on the road, not just go down the strip fast.

That said, may I suggest you forget about the rear sway bar and lower the front, lower control arm pivot points ('65 Shelby GT-350 style). When my Dad and I were racing our Shelbys, we found that the softer the rear suspension was, the better it handled and it had more mechanical grip. I ran a 1/2" rear bar for one race. I have pictures of my car, where, in a turn, the inner rear wheel was lifted off the ground (by the sway bar). We also ran the soft, stock Mustang rear leaf springs. Lastly, unless you're looking for superior gas mileage, you may want to consider a 3.70 or 3.89 diff ratio for better launches.

BTW, the work looks really nice. That's gonna be a sweet car.

 

[JDraper]

That said, may I suggest you forget about the rear sway bar and lower the front, lower control arm pivot points ('65 Shelby GT-350 style). When my Dad and I were racing our Shelbys, we found that the softer the rear suspension was, the better it handled and it had more mechanical grip. I ran a 1/2" rear bar for one race. I have pictures of my car, where, in a turn, the inner rear wheel was lifted off the ground (by the sway bar). We also ran the soft, stock Mustang rear leaf springs. Lastly, unless you're looking for superior gas mileage, you may want to consider a 3.70 or 3.89 diff ratio for better launches.

BTW, the work looks really nice. That's gonna be a sweet car.

Thanks for that bit of info. Any info is good to have. We've already run the vehicle on the road with the rear swaybar and on this particular chassis, it significantly improved the road manners. This was with the 5 leaf rear springs ( that levelled up the body) and the kyb monoshocks, but no subframe connectors and no torque boxes. When we get the vehicle back from the shop, all those mods will be included, and I'll be experimenting with the handling setup to optimize it. I've looked at going to the Shelby suspension setup using tubular control arms and the modified mounting points, but the car is my wife's, and she doesn't want to go that route at this time.


We can't wait to get the car back. The shop told us it's now a full rolling chassis and headed over to the paint booth

 

[JDraper]

More pix...

 

[Blee1099]

Looks great Jeff. I bet Sue is anxious to get it back.

 

[TheFox88]

What color do intend to paint it? Will there be any graphics?

 

[JDraper]

What color do intend to paint it? Will there be any graphics?

Candy Apple Red and NO GRAPHICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TheFox88]

Any news?

 

[JDraper]

Any news?

Only that it's in the paint booth and on schedule....should be seeing it come back from paint fairly soon. Believe me, when I get pix, they'll get posted

 

[my91explorer]

Great work on the Mustang. I'm glad you are adding the torque boxes and other suspension changes. You will be happy you did. Those 289's are great little engines and you sure put some time and money into yours. I wish mine had OD like yours but for now I'm staying with the toploader.
Did you make sure the cowl didn't have any rust or leaks? Big problem for the mustangs.
Mine just came off the rotiserrie and I'm getting it ready for paint sometime early spring when it's a bit warmer. It's a 69 mach 1 390 4spd car which will be candyapple red again when it's done.
Are you a member of vintage-mustang.com aka VMF?

 

[JDraper]

.....Did you make sure the cowl didn't have any rust or leaks? Big problem for the mustangs.....
Are you a member of vintage-mustang.com aka VMF?

Uhhh, check post #23 for the cowl removal and repair pix...

I'm signed up over at Vintage Mustang, I just haven't been active...too many sites to deal with

 

[my91explorer]

That was one of your pics that I didn't see the first time around.

It looks great and you are doing it right like others have mentioned in the previous posts.

The VMF can be a great source of info along with many other mustang sites. I hope mine gets back on the road soon and it looks like yours will be there much sooner than mine.

 

[Spas]

Mine just came off the rotiserrie and I'm getting it ready for paint sometime early spring when it's a bit warmer. It's a 69 mach 1 390 4spd car which will be candyapple red again when it's done.

OOoOOooOooOooh, I wanna see pictures of that one when it's done!!

 

[my91explorer]

I hope to have it done before my son gets out of high school.
He's in the first grade right now. LOL

 

[JDraper]

Whoo Hoo!!! Car came back from paint today!! They tell us it will be about 6 weeks until it is completely done.


Notice the dark red '66 in the background. This was a completely original, rust free '66 that, for who knows what reason, the owner decided to drive on a rainy day. He lost it in a corner, backed up an embankment and flipped it over!!!

 

[SVO]