John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:To tag along with SVreX et al...
I was surprised to read the original post that implies the kid wants a '66 Mustang. Sure, I can see the dad wanting one but I find it hard to believe that the kid wants one. If the kid wants one it I suspect it is only because the dad wants one.
It may be surprising but some kids do actually like old cars.
In reply to jharry3 :
Funny thing is because of that, I drove mine so much more cautious than I did my 85 mustang I had as well. I knew I would probably die if I got in a wreck with it and I never did in the 4 years I owned it. Now the 85.....shoot, I'd drift it, burn off the tires, basically drive it like most teens with a 5.0
To those who are cautioning, I gave my BIL the link to this thread and he'll read through them and consider your advice, I'm sure. He's a good dad and takes care of his kids.
In reply to P3PPY :
Bravo!
I have 5 kids and love old cars.
All of my kids have ridden in cars older than Mustangs, and most have driven them.
A weekend father/ son project as an occasional driver is one thing. A daily driver is another (especially when the young person will be driving alone)
There is a lot of safety stuff we take for granted missing in a Mustang. Crumple zones, collapsible steering columns, disk brakes, three point seat belts (the rear didn't even have lap belts), engines that submarine under the car, abs, side impact bars, airbags... the list goes on. Not to mention some of the more modern electronic assists.
Im a big fan of father/ son old car projects. Just not a fan of using them as daily drivers.
Good luck!!
I believe everyone would drive better if we went back to metal dashboards, non-collapsible steering columns and no seatbelts.
ShawnG said:I believe everyone would drive better if we went back to metal dashboards, non-collapsible steering columns and no seatbelts.
After a 2-3 month break in period
Hi - I'm the brother in law.
Thank you for the advice. I am definitely going to putting much of it to use.
all my children are named after cars in honor of my dad who named myself and my sisters after cars or car parts manufacturers or suppliers.
Their names are Ford, Cooper, and Tucker. Each one has a desire to get an older car and build it/work on it with me and their brothers.
we already have a 76 Austin Mini for the middle son. We most definitely will not be buying a Tucker - he wants a Datsun 280 or 240 Z.
I'm not sure it will be a daily driver all the time but most definitely during the summer months like the mini is now.
My boys are pretty responsible and I'm sure will be okay driving an older car.
In reply to Dmulder28 :
I have been driving for 43 years, and never had an accident. Last year another driver cut me off in my truck, and I tee-boned him at 45 mph totaling both vehicles.
I was going in a straight line minding my own business. He made an illegal turn in front of me. I hit the brakes. I looked to the left to swerve around him and realized I would have a head-on collision with oncoming traffic. I looked to the right prepared to jump the curb and swerve onto the sidewalk and realized there were 2 pedestrians I would kill. I made the choice. I held onto the wheel, maintained my lane, and plowed directly into him.
There was absolutely nothing I could do about it. That's why they call it an accident.
My life was saved by the airbags. I had a crumple zone, collapsible steering wheel, and anti-lock brakes. I am absolutely convinced I would be dead if I was driving my 1960 El Camino.
I know your kids are responsible. Mine are too. A 60's vintage car is still not a good daily driver.
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
I am a driver for UPS and our company believes there are no accidents only crashes. Crashes can be prevented by expecting the unexpected - their words not mine. But the methods they pound into our heads do work.
I'm really not too concerned with accidents or crashes.
my dad always said never by a car to get into an accident or crash with.
Patientzero said:I would strongly suggest shopping farther south, a drive would be worth it for a clean car. Something as simple as quarter panels run $1000-1500 per side. Fixing rust will eat into a budget real quick.
I’m not sure shopping in the south makes any more sense at this point. 55 years. That’s so long that the vast majority of these are on at least owner #4. These are as old as Model T’s were in 1980. If one has been in Tennessee, for example, since 1972 but started its life in Cleveland, the tin-worm still lurks. The ones you find in the north, to have survived this long, are pampered. Going south makes sense for cars built in the last 25 or so years only.
I echo svrex . On my 51st trip around the sun I had a ford flex turn left in front of me. I took the hard right on to the lawn and damn near made it. He smeared me centered on the left firewall. I was a stiff sore sob for 10 days and my shoulder didn't work correctly for a month. I was in a 2005 focus. I am glad that I wasn't in the 74 F100
Dmulder28 said:In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
I am a driver for UPS and our company believes there are no accidents only crashes. Crashes can be prevented by expecting the unexpected - their words not mine. But the methods they pound into our heads do work.
I'm really not too concerned with accidents or crashes.
my dad always said never by a car to get into an accident or crash with.
Sorry. This is just dumb and irresponsible.
The statement may be true if EVERYONE plays along, but it doesn't improve your odds of survival if you are driving a motorcycle carefully and a soccer mom in an SUV cuts you off.
You can't fix stupid. Even if you are perfect, there are other stupid drivers on the road.
Thanks for the practical Mustang shopping advice, we’ll be putting it to use this weekend.
Mr_Asa said:Cowl vent is a big PITA. 6 cyl means all drums which is something I survived.
Cowl vent is definitely a major concern on any old Mustang, all the way through '73.
Also, the vast majority of V8 cars also had drums all the way around too. There was a front disk brake option but they are pretty rare as they were NOT power assist and were quite an expensive option for the day. Cars with the GT package included the disk brakes but they also had to have the 289 4V or 289 HiPo engine. You will have a hard time finding a real GT car that isn't pretty costly. HiPos are very hard to find and very expensive, regardless of condition.
One more thing I meant to ask: are there any particularly good sources from which to find classic Mustangs for sale? We're already looking at AutoTrader, Marketplace and using SearchTempest for searching all craigslists (fly and drive from Michigan isn't out of the question, although I would much prefer to trailer one home for many reasons).
There's no rush to get it finished and they're looking to spend about $8ish for the initial investment, kinda figure it's best to direct the bulk of that toward the best condition body.
You can take a look at Hemmings, but they are mostly going to be restored cars.
Don't limit yourself to '65 either. '66 is almost identical. '67 and '68 are not much different mechanically but have a modicum of additional safety features. All of those years are easy to work on, have endless sources for parts and are really cool cars.
P3PPY said:There's no rush to get it finished and they're looking to spend about $8ish for the initial investment, kinda figure it's best to direct the bulk of that toward the best condition body.
This x10. The non-body parts are (for the most part) plentiful and cheap. I had blissfully forgotten about the cowl vent rust issue, but after spending a few minutes looking into it again CHECK FOR LEAKS as well as half-ass repairs. We sold a TON of those "top hat" things at Mustangs Unlimited.
I'd source parts from NPD or CJ Pony Parts. When I worked at Mustangs Unlimited a decade ago (closed now) the owner was sourcing a LOT of cheap absolute crap parts from overseas. We even had a joke about "third container" parts being almost unusable from the original stocking order. I'm talking control arm shafts that were ribbed instead of threaded, arm rests that had nuts glued to them instead of threaded inserts, and front fenders stamped so poorly (but only $14 wholesale!) that you could shake it and it would go "wubba wubba wubba". MU is out of business for selling crap like that. I prefer NPD, but that's my opinion. If a part seems like too good a deal, it is probably junk.
stukndapast said:You can take a look at Hemmings, but they are mostly going to be restored cars.
Don't limit yourself to '65 either. '66 is almost identical. '67 and '68 are not much different mechanically but have a modicum of additional safety features. All of those years are easy to work on, have endless sources for parts and are really cool cars.
I'd second this.
Also, for '67 adding 5 lug discs up front is easy peasy. They used the same spindles for every car, just need to change the bracket.
Dmulder28 said:In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
I am a driver for UPS and our company believes there are no accidents only crashes. Crashes can be prevented by expecting the unexpected - their words not mine. But the methods they pound into our heads do work.
I'm really not too concerned with accidents or crashes.
my dad always said never by a car to get into an accident or crash with.
Does UPS have a website with this information ? Might be good for all of us since they put millions of miles on a week !
Thanks
If are searching Marketplace join a few of the relevant FB groups for the car you seek. Post up what you are looking for. Pretty much assure you that someone will offer up a car or two.
californiamilleghia said:Does UPS have a website with this information ? Might be good for all of us since they put millions of miles on a week !
Thanks
He and I used to be competitors. I drove for FedEx out by Bent Vavle's neck of the woods. I can't speak for UPS but I can tell you some of what we learned that changed how I drove, mind you I'm rusty on the details
Stay a car length (or was it 3) back from the intersection, even at a stoplight. That way, if someone hits you from behind you won't be pushed into the intersection.
Light doesn't turn green for you until the car in front of you gets off their brakes
Wait 3 seconds before the light turns green [for you] before proceeding. The first 3 seconds are when wrecks happen
Right turns only onto a street
1 second following distance per ten miles an hour
Look and plan 2 (or 3?) stoplights ahead, not just paying attention to the bumper in front of you. This will help you avoid traffic snarls too since you don't want to waste time just sitting there
Give space any time you stop and plan for an opening in case someone rushes your vehicle; thieves don't target people who have options
Never back into a busier thoroughfare than the one you're on (i.e. a parking lot is a busier thoroughfare than a parking space so always back into your spot)
Backing into a spot is better than pulling in and backing out anyway because when you immediately back in, the scene is fresh in your mind, but when you back out after you've made your delivery, the scene is stale because it takes a couple seconds to get in the truck, start it, buckle, check where you're going next. In that amount of time you can assume a small child has crawled under your truck tire
The biggest, most difficult part in passing the driving test was having an instructor ride with me for a full day in a rental box truck and I had to maintain a running commentary on everything I saw, everything I noticed. It was HARD to do! Like, "I see there's someone in that parked car I need to pay attention, are they going to open the door or pull into traffic? I see a child playing in that yard I need to slow down and make sure I know where they are as I pass. I see a car slowing down up ahead, what is it they see that I don't see why they are doing that? Oh, it was because they are turning without using their turn signal. I see someone getting into their car down the street..." It was stressful but I will 100% make my kids do that over and over again with me.
Oh yeah, box truck cone slalom forward and reverse was no cake walk either, learning that big vehicles take a while to react to your steering input
ANYWAY, back to buying a Mustang, thanks, I'll check FB. Of course I should have figured FB was the best place for car groups nowadays, thanks ddavidv
Hi P3PPY's brother in law. I DD'd a 1954 chevy when i was 16. I'm still alive.
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
I DD'd a '67 Mustang, 6 cyl, power nothing. Doesn't mean it was a good idea.
First speeding ticket got about 11MPH removed from it so the cop wouldn't have to arrest me.
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