Chrome

After watching Craigslist everyday I found an ad that advertised "Crager SS rims. Price negotiable." I did not figure I could afford them, but I called anyways. I was shocked. They are a set of 14x7 and 14x10's with Goodyear Eagle radials on them. And the price? $10 a peice. We made a trip to the ATM, and then to Mountain Home  and picked them up.

They were kind of dirty, but a little bit of polish cleaned them right up. You can see the difference in the photos. The tires are in good shape with plenty of tread left, and the wheels cleaned up very well. There is some rash around the lug nuts, but the rust washed right away. I am very pleased.

Now this justifies my next project: 5 lug conversion.

Tear Down

This last month I have finally started tearing her down. Most of the chrome has been removed, the vinyl top has been peeled, and I have started sanding in areas. New chrome has been ordered for the M U S T A N G for the back. I am also planning to replace all the trip peices on the back.

Crunch

After getting her all cleaned and shined up as best I could short of a new paint job I took it to the 2008 Eagle Christian Church Cruz-In car show. But not before I backed into my boss's brand new F-250. It dinged his bumper and only took out my passenger side quarted panel extender. $50 got a brand new replacement. Too bad, my car was looking the best it ever had and I had to show off a crunched panel the whole show!

Home Coming

These are the photos that I took just before I brought her home. I took photos mostly of her flaws and areas that will need work. All the rust I have uncovered so far is seen here.

Some of the interior chrome is pitten and will need to be replaced. I have already ordered new door handles that are perfect from eBay for under $50.

After some wax she was starting to look much better. These photos are after spending about an hour on each panel. You can see how it brought the color back on the photo of the hood. I used a Meguires cutting wax with a 6" buffer.

I am not a real fan of Armor All for classic cars, so I got some plastic cleaner that was advertised not to crack after long use, and it has worked well. It really helped bring the vinyl top back to life.

Intro

Hello all,

My name is Alex, and I am the proud owner of a 1968 Mustang Coupe. I have created this blog so friends and family can see it's restoratoin progress.

I bought this car back in summer of '07 with the intent of using it as a daily driver and restoring it later. It is a plain Jane '68 coupe with a 200ci, C4 automatic transmission, and colored gold with a vinyl top. The body is in excellent shape with no bondo, and very minimal rust.

Recently I purshased another driver and have started the restoration process. Most of my effort so far has gone into the research and planning, such as selecting an engine, style, color ect.. So far I have come up with a lot of options, none of which I can decide on! It seems that the more research I do, the harder it is to make up my mind.

As of now, my plans are a built straight six (the stock and original motor), custom blue with white racing stripes and no vinyl, Crager rims and some modest custom interior work. My goal is to come out with a vintage car with a few extras that perserve the era it came from.

Budget is definately a consideration. Most of my steps will be small ones, but hopefully this will not keep me from being able to complete it how I want.

ABOUT ME

I am a 23 y/o data cabling technician in the Boise area. I grew up on a farm in Coos Bay, Oregon and learned most of what I know about cars from my Dad, and the projects we worked on together. Besides cars, I enjoy anything with an engine, the outdoors, camping, computers, guitar, and disk golf. I am also a Republican, if that means anything anymore.

I am engaged to the most beautiful woman God has ever created, and we are getting married on April 4th. She is mostly tolerant of this other mistress in my life, and is very supportive in my hobbies. She has even contributed to the parts fund from time to time, which that alone is good enough reason to keep her! :)

I believe that God is the creator of all things, including 1968 Mustangs. It is through Him that we are given things to enjoy, and I consider working on my car as an act of worship by making something that will be beautiful to Him and others.

I am not as savy a mechanic as I wish I was. This is all new to me, and I find myself relying on the experience of others at almost every step. Still it's a lot of fun, and I do not intent to give up any time soon.

Please be sure to post comments and ideas!