Shaun
Member
I saw this car parked 3 houses down from ours when we first came to look at our house. I mentioned to my wife that this must be the cool street in the neighborhood. I became friends with Brian, the owner who ended up moving to New Jersey for work a few years ago. The car sat in his Dad's garage (2 streets over from me, same neighborhood). I got a call last week asking if I know of anybody looking for a Mustang... I'll take a look I said. Brian was given the car by his uncle who used it as a daily driver in Florida. No road salt but salty air. It was built in Dearborn originally. I don't know any history before Brian's uncle had it.
I wasn't really interested in a stockish Mustang at that point but seeing how nice this is for the money he wanted I couldn't go wrong. Wifey agreed and as it has a backseat, radio and seat belts it's suitable for all 3 of my girls. I called my buddy Brian this afternoon and we did the deal. We took it on our first family ride ever in a Mustang to get dinner tonight! The girls loved it. Paint is old but good, its a 10 footer for sure. Some bubbles on the quarters and passenger door.
The Good
1970 351c, 4 speed. My buddy put a stock rebuild crate motor with Aussie heads in it 6 years ago and I'd be exaggerating if it has more than 500 miles since then. He bought a centerforce clutch through me which is on it, nice 3" stainless Magnaflow exhaust too. On my 'sensitive eldest daughter meter' it isn't too loud she said. New 22 gallon fuel tank. The 4 speed shifts nicer than my coupe - no idea why, I just put a new Hurst on it this winter! I haven't even taken a look to see if its a close/wide ratio Tolpolader or T10, no idea. Its got a 9" with some crazy gear in it which I'll change for a 2.80 or something so we can get on the highway (cheaper than a 5spd conversion). Stock power disc brakes in front, drums in the rear that work well but they pull to the right. All the electrical stuff works. Lights, horn, radio etc.
The Bad
Suspension and brakes are all stock worn out stuff. It rides nicer than my coupe did when I got it but its nothing like how the coupe eats corners and stops on a dime now. Passenger front floor pan is swiss cheese. Looks to only be the floor and not the rocker so that is an easy winter time fix. The back edge of both torque boxes is rusted away from where they connect to the bottom part of the outer torque box. I've installed torque boxes before but never taken them out to fix them. Not sure yet how (or if) I'll tackle this yet. The trunk drop offs are swiss cheese which has let water into the trunk and there is a few holes where the trunk floor meets the tail light panel. I can handle replacing the drop offs but not sure its worth replacing the trunk floor right now. Interior is old and worn, again, a winter time fix. Some seat covers, carpet, dash pad and a few bits and bobs and it'll be nice.
The Plan
Drive it and have fun with the family. I immediately want to put new/better seat belts all round and we are going to drive it this summer. Winter I'll fix the rusty areas I want to, add power steering add my suspension and brakes and with wifey's help and guidance pick out the interior (its sort of her car - at least thats how I sold it too her). I'll need to switch the wheels to something bigger to handle my brakes. Thinking Vintage 48 wheels in a 17x8 and 17x9. We are all pretty excited to have a 'family useable' Mustang. My coupe has progressively gotten more insane as the road racing addiction took over and now its only me that ever uses it. My wife and I used to organise cruises, go out exploring and do all sorts with the coupe. Its nice to have a car now that we both can drive and enjoy and take our little girls with us too. Wifey is already planning on taking it to work so she can take her guy co-workers out for lunch!
Questions
Anybody make a decent retractable front seat belt swap? This has the funky 3 point belts that I'm guessing are stock and I want to switch them.
Has anybody put a 3 pt belt in the back of a 69-70? I haven't tore into the parcel shelf area to see if there is any serious structure to anchor the belt too. It has lap belts only now which isn't safe enough.
I wasn't really interested in a stockish Mustang at that point but seeing how nice this is for the money he wanted I couldn't go wrong. Wifey agreed and as it has a backseat, radio and seat belts it's suitable for all 3 of my girls. I called my buddy Brian this afternoon and we did the deal. We took it on our first family ride ever in a Mustang to get dinner tonight! The girls loved it. Paint is old but good, its a 10 footer for sure. Some bubbles on the quarters and passenger door.
The Good
1970 351c, 4 speed. My buddy put a stock rebuild crate motor with Aussie heads in it 6 years ago and I'd be exaggerating if it has more than 500 miles since then. He bought a centerforce clutch through me which is on it, nice 3" stainless Magnaflow exhaust too. On my 'sensitive eldest daughter meter' it isn't too loud she said. New 22 gallon fuel tank. The 4 speed shifts nicer than my coupe - no idea why, I just put a new Hurst on it this winter! I haven't even taken a look to see if its a close/wide ratio Tolpolader or T10, no idea. Its got a 9" with some crazy gear in it which I'll change for a 2.80 or something so we can get on the highway (cheaper than a 5spd conversion). Stock power disc brakes in front, drums in the rear that work well but they pull to the right. All the electrical stuff works. Lights, horn, radio etc.
The Bad
Suspension and brakes are all stock worn out stuff. It rides nicer than my coupe did when I got it but its nothing like how the coupe eats corners and stops on a dime now. Passenger front floor pan is swiss cheese. Looks to only be the floor and not the rocker so that is an easy winter time fix. The back edge of both torque boxes is rusted away from where they connect to the bottom part of the outer torque box. I've installed torque boxes before but never taken them out to fix them. Not sure yet how (or if) I'll tackle this yet. The trunk drop offs are swiss cheese which has let water into the trunk and there is a few holes where the trunk floor meets the tail light panel. I can handle replacing the drop offs but not sure its worth replacing the trunk floor right now. Interior is old and worn, again, a winter time fix. Some seat covers, carpet, dash pad and a few bits and bobs and it'll be nice.
The Plan
Drive it and have fun with the family. I immediately want to put new/better seat belts all round and we are going to drive it this summer. Winter I'll fix the rusty areas I want to, add power steering add my suspension and brakes and with wifey's help and guidance pick out the interior (its sort of her car - at least thats how I sold it too her). I'll need to switch the wheels to something bigger to handle my brakes. Thinking Vintage 48 wheels in a 17x8 and 17x9. We are all pretty excited to have a 'family useable' Mustang. My coupe has progressively gotten more insane as the road racing addiction took over and now its only me that ever uses it. My wife and I used to organise cruises, go out exploring and do all sorts with the coupe. Its nice to have a car now that we both can drive and enjoy and take our little girls with us too. Wifey is already planning on taking it to work so she can take her guy co-workers out for lunch!
Questions
Anybody make a decent retractable front seat belt swap? This has the funky 3 point belts that I'm guessing are stock and I want to switch them.
Has anybody put a 3 pt belt in the back of a 69-70? I haven't tore into the parcel shelf area to see if there is any serious structure to anchor the belt too. It has lap belts only now which isn't safe enough.
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