1965 Fastback Mustang Project

[fordsbyjay]

Great Progress



New Body -- no vin

Yes but there are legal ways of dealing with that and they cost a lot less..

[Kennedy]

Jay,

Fair question, there may have been a point where, melting the thing would have been the way to go, but at that point I was deployed overseas and was willing to gut it out. Also, would rather have an original VIN and can't get a 65 Dynacorn.

Rusty and Brian have very fair rates, especially considering their quality. I also trust the guys and given the number of paint jail stories on the site, that counts for a lot.

In terms of costs, i got most of the drivetrain and EFI cheaply, so in the drivetrain part of the build, it will be reasonable.

Lastly, some of the custom stuff is cheaper to do when The car is apart, thing like the cowl, drip rails, subframes, rear wheelhousings all would have to be done by pulling stuff apart. In this case, it was as far apart as possible.

Thanks for following along, there are a few more custom touches in the works.

Take Care,
Chris

[fordsbyjay]

I guess having a Falcon I am used to not having replacement parts while the Mustang guys always seem to have everything (complete bodies included).

[dipren443]

Seems like ages ago now that I think about... The drivetrain came out of the car in Vermont, right?

[Kennedy]

Yeah Nick. Got the engine and trans out of 450 89 5.0 rust bucket in Vermont, including wiring harness and all accessories. That was one hard car to pull apart (rusted together...what is it about Mustangs and Rust?). For those that have heard of the Grassroots Motorsports $200x Challenge. Nick and I built a 88 notchback for the race, did OK and then removed it for a future project.

[rusty428cj]

Today Brian worked on the left side

[rusty428cj]

More rust repair







Filling the factory lead joint

[rusty428cj]

The last patch needed on the roof



Brian cut out the rust than epoxy primed



Next he made a few patches



Brian at work grinding the welds





Finished grinding

[rusty428cj]

I finished most of the body work and now ready for epoxy primer





I sprayed 2 coats of SPI black epoxy

[LeighP]

Nice!!!! Very clean!

[Zoin]

What do these two things have in common? Jesus walked on water and you fixed that mustang. =)
Pretty amazing!
How are things with it now?

[1fststang]

Hey Rusty,

wanted to see if you could give me some guidance on the drip rail shaving or repairing.

I am in the middle of restoring my 67 fastback and have it on the rotissiere.

I had some rust in the door opening where the drip rail piece wraps underneath and plug welds to door opening. The rust wasn't terrible but had a few holes thru the drip rail piece underneath as well as the base metal for the opening.

I had planned to cut out both layers and weld in a couple patches but after removing some of the drip rail piece underneath it has more corrision than I expected. I am trying to figure out should I try and patch them, replace them completely or shave them.

To patch them will be tough since I would need to trim out the entire a pillar piece from underneath and would likely have to butt weld them back together in the actual drip rail seam and that would probably be a nightmare to grind smooth and make look right.

To replace the entire drip rail(they do have replacements) I can see how the rails attach underneath at both pillars but in the middle of the door it looks like the lip is vertical and slides between the roof structure and roof. Not sure how I can remove that and would removing the roof be required to do that?

The last option is to shave them and I kind iof have mixed feelings on this. The cars you have done look pretty slick but I was hoping to not make drastic mods to the care although I probably will never sell it.

If I shave them I should drill out the spot welds and remove the part of the rail that plug welds in the dopr opening. then trim close to car with body saw or die grinder/cut off wheel then gring the area down flush and but weld the panels together. Working a small section at a time. That sound about right.

Any advice or info is appreciated, Mike

[kmdracer]

Over a year since last post from builder or owner. Is the project still going?

[rusty428cj]

Over a year since last post from builder or owner. Is the project still going?

It was on hold for a little while but we now have it on a rotisserie to clean up the bottom and epoxy prime.

[rusty428cj]

Hey Rusty,

wanted to see if you could give me some guidance on the drip rail shaving or repairing.

I am in the middle of restoring my 67 fastback and have it on the rotissiere.

I had some rust in the door opening where the drip rail piece wraps underneath and plug welds to door opening. The rust wasn't terrible but had a few holes thru the drip rail piece underneath as well as the base metal for the opening.

I had planned to cut out both layers and weld in a couple patches but after removing some of the drip rail piece underneath it has more corrision than I expected. I am trying to figure out should I try and patch them, replace them completely or shave them.

To patch them will be tough since I would need to trim out the entire a pillar piece from underneath and would likely have to butt weld them back together in the actual drip rail seam and that would probably be a nightmare to grind smooth and make look right.

To replace the entire drip rail(they do have replacements) I can see how the rails attach underneath at both pillars but in the middle of the door it looks like the lip is vertical and slides between the roof structure and roof. Not sure how I can remove that and would removing the roof be required to do that?

The last option is to shave them and I kind iof have mixed feelings on this. The cars you have done look pretty slick but I was hoping to not make drastic mods to the care although I probably will never sell it.

If I shave them I should drill out the spot welds and remove the part of the rail that plug welds in the dopr opening. then trim close to car with body saw or die grinder/cut off wheel then gring the area down flush and but weld the panels together. Working a small section at a time. That sound about right.

Any advice or info is appreciated, Mike

I like the look without the drip rails so I would cut them off and patch whatever is needed under them. You could get new drip rails (have never put them on so not sure if they will fit) but you have to make sure and put them in the right place or your trim under the roof rail weatherstrip won't fit. Also replacement drip rail trim that I have seen is thinner and does not want to fit.

[kmdracer]

Thanks for the answer Rusty! Good to hear the project is still moving forward.

[Kennedy]

KMD,

I just sent Rusty a rear valence, decklid and doors from NPD. Yesterday, I picked up an 8.8 I had narrowed. It is from an Explorer with 3.73s and discs.

Some incremental progress!

Thanks for following.

Chris

[kmdracer]

Awesome! I have a fondness for first gen Stang fastbacks. Judging from the market, so do many others lol

[skooli]

That is kind of what I was wondering Nick but I don't keep up on early Mustangs to know if that year/model was available. . My uncle did a 66 Fastback that was severely rotted and his build cost was in the 6 figures. It was all shop built but the body shop bill on those kinds of cars is crazy due to the insane amount of hours.

I think Dynacorn is going to come out with one but that sure doesn't help you know. Good luck with the build, I will be following along.

Not to hijack a thread, but do you have any more info on this car? That thing is beautiful.

[fordsbyjay]

Not to hijack a thread, but do you have any more info on this car? That thing is beautiful.

It has a 347/AOD in it. It is a stock style suspension with standard upgrades from years ago. For the amount he has in it today you could build a much nicer car underneath. The inside/outside is gorgeous. I just need to introduce him to DSE now. ;)