So let it be written...

So let it be written, I have created this blog to chronicle the restoration of my 1978 Ford Mustang II Coupe. I hope that by writing this I can help other people who are restoring cars, particularly the 1974-1978 mustangs. I also hope that I can help anyone who, like me, is somewhat of a novice when it comes to car repair.

I've always had a thing for classic american muscle cars. As a kid, I remember peering out the window of my moms truck, noting the cars that passed by. I knew there were two kinds of corvettes, the ones I liked (the stingray models), and the newer, more streamlined ones, which I really did not care for. Any shaman could have told you that the bug had bitten me, though I didn't yet realize it.

New cars just look like electric shavers to me.

It was just kismet on a saturday night when I was reading the craiglist auto ads. It popped out at me like a neon sign.

"1978 Mustang - $500

Rough body, maybe just a parts car, runs rough, transmission slips, title in hand."

I was still totally green behind the ears car-wise (and I still am to an extent, but I didn't even own a set of sockets at the time), but I was willing to bet that the transmission problem was just an issue of low fluid.

I turned the key and let the car warm up. I checked the fluids. Oil was fine, but there wasnt a drop of transmission fluid on the stick. I poured in nearly a quart and a half of fluid, and have not experienced a slip of the transmission yet. I was right.

I noticed that the car idled extremely fast, around 2000 RPM. I had no prior experience with carbureted vehicles at that point, so I was at a loss. It sure made braking a bitch though.

I took the car around the block with the owner, as he tried to reassure me that the car would not likely explode. I knew that the 1974-1978 mustangs were based on the pinto chassis, and shared the same problem of exploding if the guy behind you tapped your bumper at high speeds. I didn't really care, it was a muscle car and I had a fat wad of twenties just waiting to vacate my wallet.

I offered the guy $300 for it, which was $200 less than what he was asking. To my suprise, he smiled and accepted my offer. Looking back, he had no idea what to do with the car, and probably just wanted it off his driveway. I have a feeling it had something to do with a nagging wife.

That was 6 months ago, and I've done some work on it. For a while, the work I could perform on it was limited by the fact that I kept it parked outside the restaurant I worked at. A couple months back I moved it to my new house, which has a back yard. Might as well be an open ceiling garage.

So far I have....
Stripped and painted the inside of the trunk.
Rewired the tail light wiring.
Installed new motor mounts (with the motor in place).
Rebuilt the carburetor.
Ran fuel lines to a plastic gas can in lieu of an actual gas tank.
Stripped the tail light cove and painted it.

My goal is to build and restore this car on a budget. I'm aiming to finish the entire project for under $3000. It needs the following work...

Body restoration.
Interior restoration.
New drive train.
Paint job (to be done with rustoleum flat black).

The vision in my mind is of a flat black car that can run a fast 1/4 mile at the track. It has to be fast enough to smoke every modified and "riced out" Civic and Neon on the road. I don't need shiny perfect paint or a chromed out engine, just a solid body and a big loud motor.