The New Tag

 

I got my new tag in the mail this past Saturday.  Now if we could only get the car finished so I can put it on and drive it.

At this point the car very much reminds me of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”.  I thought in the beginning that if I got the brakes and carb fixed I’d be golden.  Turns out it needs a lot more work than that.  I recently found out the starter is no good and the radiator is probably too small.  “If you fix the mustangs carb it’s probably going to need a new…”

On the Road Again

Well, after 35 years the Mustang is on the road again (sorta). My Dad and I transferred the title this past week and I went ahead and got the tags for it while we were there. The tags you see in the video are just temporary until the personalized plate arrives. Thankfully because of the age the Mustang doesn't have to pass inspection. As you can see the brake lights and backup lights still need a little work on one side. We tried to take it on a maiden voyage but had a little hiccup. We'll give it another try soon.

Down But Not Out

I borrowed the HD camera from work and was hoping to get some good footage of the mustang running. Unfortunately the battery was dead. I'll try again soon.

The biggest holdup at this point is I found out that in order to insure it with a classic insurance company you have to have it garage kept. I don't currently have a garage so that's going to be an issue. I'm trying to find some old buildings to tear down or some used lumber to throw something together. Any ideas?

The Drive By

I finally was able to get a video of us driving the mustang. My cell phone video camera doesn't do it justice because the car sounds really awesome. It won't be much longer now!

Tires!

My dad recently sent me this picture after putting the rear axle back in. The rear end is complete and we can hopefully start on the brakes soon. I asked my Dad when he thought would be a good time to put on the wider back wheels and buy some tires for them. He informed me that he'd already taken care of that with some used tires that he had bought for another vehicle and never used. I'm not sure how obvious it is in the picture, but the rear wheels are wider/larger than the front ones now. That should help put the power on the pavement. After the brakes are done hopefully I can post some videos of us driving it.

Rear End - Almost there!

The current project on the table is rebuilding the rear end. My Dad was able to work it out with my uncle to get the rear end rebuilt. They hit a few snags so it took a little longer than expected to get rebuilt. My Dad now has the rear end back and just needs to reinstall it. I'm not sure the exact gear ratio, but it's still going to be a high 3. From what I gather talking to my Dad, this car came with an 8" rear end but currently has a 9" installed. The reason for the upgrade is because it's a truck rear end and it'll be more durable.

The mustang with the rear axle disassembled.

Where the rear end needs to be installed.

the rear end!

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Up next...the brakes!

Rear end

Ford ran a promotion a while back in honor of the 2010 mustang. They asked people to write in their story about their mustang or their love of mustangs. The winner would get a new 2010 mustang. I wrote in my story about how my dad got the mustang when he was younger and raced it for a while then parked it to save it for me. I didn't win, nor was I a finalist. But I did get my story on the front page of their website! I thought that was pretty cool considering the number of entries they got for this. I've circled my story in yellow above. You can see it yourself by going to http://www.fordvehicles.com/the2010mustang/ and then clicking on "Mustang Stories" in the bottom left.

On another note, my parents were over at our house last night and my dad told me that he took the rear end out of the car and has it at my uncle's garage to get rebuilt. He's supposed to be working on that now. Once we get that back we're going to start on the brakes. I'm glad we're working on more of the mechanical stuff now instead of the aesthetics. Granted the seat covers and carpet do need replacing, but I imagine if we can get it running better and drive it some that will motivate us more than just working on the interior.

Waiting...

At this point I'm just waiting for some more money. The next thing on the list is getting the seats and carpet replaced. I have $130 in Christmas money, but that won't cover it. The seat covers are $170 and the foam for one of them is $50. The carpet is $120. The labor to do just the two front seats is $300. So, as you can see, I need to come up with some funds. In the meantime, here's a video I put together today when I was at my parents. It's really short, but you can get an idea what the mustang sounds like.