bages 66 coupe

[bages]

OK decided I will throw up a condensed version of a build thread - had one but deleted it (long story)

Had my coupe for about 4 years now
Legend has it that it was imported by/through Harrys Classics in Sydney.
Was originally a 200ci 6cyl, manual, drums all round, bench seat, black interior in Springtime Yellow. Original Cal black plate car.

I was offered the car as a swap, and at the excited approval of my better half went ahead with the deal.

Car was multicoloured, with some panels damaged, some replaced, rolling only with motor,box gone and engine bay stripped or all bits, some interior missing, only very minor rust (3 or 4 small bits)....

[bages]

Original plans were to silver resto-mod it with a pro touring slant, paxton sc, suspension upgrades, procar seats, big wheels etc......then I realised my eyes were MUCH bigger than my bank balance :rotfl:

As 95% of the work was to be done by me (on a shoe-string budget), my plans quickly changed, focussing on getting it back together, running and regoed, with all the frills put to one side.

New plan was much closer to stock with a safety upgrades a focus. Recycling what parts I could and selling off what I didnt want.
Definates were:

289
C4
KH front discs (boosted)
V8 diff
all new suspension

[donoauto]

Hey welcome Bages.......you look a lot like Slim Dusty, just crazier....

[66STNG]

Bages,
where are teh pic's of the coupe

[Astro]

I've got a solid 351W that would be perfect - and it's in your budget

Cheers

John

[boofhead]

I would get a use running roller 302 and mate it to the C4. Replace the EFI with a Carbi setup. Easiest, low hassle and least expensive approach to a budget build car. You can then take it further in phase 2 of the build after rego if desired.

[Nuts]

I believe he now has a running driving car??? But where's the bloody pics????

[bages]

Hey welcome Bages.......you look a lot like Slim Dusty, just crazier....

Hahaha thats Walter Brennan as "Stumpy" in Rio Bravo, awesome movie !

Thanks for all the comments - havent had a chance to update/continue the story, but Nuts is correct the car now has all the definates listed above.

Thanks to Nuts also for sorting the C4 out as it needed work. I picked up all the mechanicals I needed through others from this site or the MOCA one

Pics are coming but I figured I should start with what it looked like when I took delivery (I need to find that pic)

[bages]

Here is the coupe the day I got it home


In a few months it looked like this


Very minimal rust, and relatively straight body shell..... GT rear valance and R style front valance were sold off for standard ones, bench seat sold and a pair of (67/8) buckets bought to bolt in....

[bages]

After nearly a year the body was sent off to a shop to have a few trim holes filled (brass) and while they primed the body the engine bay and dash got blacked out to assist with re-assembly......



More time passed and eventually repair were made to the body and re-primed

[bages]

More time passed (12 months?) during which I scouted for good mechanicals for the car. Patience pays off with some good stuff being picked up across the forums from sympathetic mustang owners

The 289 did look good when it finally made it in


I consistently weighed up where to best spend my limited budget, so stock mechanicals were the order of the day, and new parts or where possible good quality second hand parts were refurbished and used. I resisted the urge to replace old for new just for the sake of it - especially after quickly learning about the quality (or lack there of) when it comes to some replacement parts.

[bages]

After some great advice from Kerry and others here I bought a set of original Kelsey Hayes disc brakes to be refurbed

[bages]

All steering was upgraded to V8 components, using new MOOG and Pedders equipment. Figuring out all the bits I was missing from the engine bay (and ensuring I had everything for the V8 was like going in circles, but as with all stages of the build I received great advice and assistance from the guys here..... eventually it started to come together

[bages]

With the focus on a more classic themed build, I was luckily enough to also score a set a of magnums with tyres from a forum member in WA



Decided to keep the outside more or less stock, but wanted a few shiny upgrades to the interior, so added a nice wheel and a B&M shifter



Also decided as the interior was to stay black that the dash fascia could do with a freshen up, so I put in a white face kit along with new lens and bezel

[bages]

At some point around this time I spat the dummy, was pushing to get the thing finished and everything I touched turned to sh!t - resulting in a dummy spit - and short lived for sale ad, then a resolution to park it in a corner and calm down !!

calming down took about 12 months I also got side tracked with my hot rod / 60's custom car obsession as well as buying an old harley to ride