The Cowl Hood makes it to the project

A 3" Fiberglass Cowl Hood came available locally so I grabbed it! Should look great!

One Step Closer

The rolling chassis was brought home on Sunday. Now a solid platform to work with! The damaged cowl section has been replaced. This was probably the largest step in the build of the project. The guy that did the work said "now all it needs is a bunch of money put into it" lol, if it was only that easy right?

The work goes on...

Prep continues, as the Mustang Surgeon obtains small parts needed for proper alignment and stage 2 of the repair. I dropped off a cleaner drivers door with hinges to him and with luck the prepping of the replacement piece will start today now that the snow is gone and dried up.

The Mustang Surgeon picked up a pitman arm and a drag link yesterday so when the rolling chassis is together we can actually steer the car.

Back home, I removed the center section of the dash out of the smashed cowl we will be restoring the radio area of the dash with factory ford metal. I will be removing small parts too like the Kelsey Hayes disc brake set up, coil spring tower covers, v-8 motor mount brackets and other odds and ends.

Trimming things up a bit...

The cowl damage on the car that deemed the car un-useful back in 1976 was removed today.

Weather pending the new section should be in place shortly. The new sub frame connectors will also be installed during this step of the project.

When finished here a complete 1965 Mustang fastback rolling chassis ready for media blasting and underside prep.

Now for some Bling! The March Performance Billet Pulleys

Ah yeah..

Planning the look

I located a sweet photo of a Ford Racing supercharged 4V motor from a SEMA show and decided to make makeover the GT40X Motor in this style. Starting with the purchase of these...

These should look great with a Silver painted block, March Billet Pullies and a Polished intake.

The Recaro SRIII Trail

Located a nice opportunity for a great RECARO seat so I said "Why Not?"

I researched it and then discovered that it is a rare Japan only version that retails for about 1200! Woah.

The GT40X

Today I found and purchased a great deal on a ford Racing GT40X crate engine with a 93 Cobra Intake and only 10k miles on it. The deal came with an additional used 5.0 long block and intake.

ENGINE ASSEMBLY 5.0L/302 340HP GT-40 HEADS (FRPP)

Ford Racing Engine Assembly, 5.0L/302 340HP w/ GT-40 Aluminum Heads.

-340 HP @ 5500 RPM
-9.0:1 compression
-Forged pistons
-Forged crank
-Forged rods
-Hydraulic roller cam #M6250E303,
-.498" lift intake/ exhaust, 220 duration @ .050"
-Double roller timing chain set #M6268A302
-Rear sump Fox body oil pan
-GT-40 aluminum heads #M6049X303 w/ 1.94" intake & 1.54" exhaust valves
-Roller rocker arms #M6564B351
-Billet steel SFI flywheel & SFI harmonic dampner
-Fuel pump eccentric #M6287B302

Today is a good day.

The 88 GT is sold

Today after a couple days on the market the 88 GT has a new owner. A nice Stang guy named Sean and his wife from Albuquerque will be taking the car home and fixing her up. Another Mustang saved. Rock on.

88GT goes up for sale

Worked on the 88GT and with Julian's help cleaning it decided to put it up for sale this weekend. it runs good and revs strong still. We will see how it goes.

Another Donor car finds it's way to the project

Ran across a complete 88 GT for a good price and picked it up. The car will make a perfect donor for the fuel injected 5.o, wiring harness and T-5 transmission all in one nice package. This car can be sold complete with some clean up or as just a rolling chassis to the benefit of the Fastback Build. Oh yeah check out those real 93 Cobra wheels on it Schweeet!

Another sweet deal was secured too. The new replacement folding back seat upholstery for the new color scheme and interior plan. I have decided to go with Gloss Black exterior and White Interior with Black accents and carpet (this week, lol). This 2+2 rear seat cover is valued at around 200+ I picked it up for around 31.00 delivered. I love a deal!

A 75.00 engine?

Once in a while a good deal pops up.

If you are ready and can act fast you can get lucky. I sent a message to a seller when I saw his ad for a ford 302 for 75.00. After speaking with him about the mid 70's block he even offered to deliver it! The engine has the front accessory brackets, alternator, power steering pump and an AC pump still on it. I was very surprised to see a set of after market under-drive pulleys on it that retail for about 100.00 bucks. So now I have a motor to build for the fastback and a few extra parts. Nice.

Here we go...let's the parts buying begin!

With the uni body repair now scheduled it is time to move into obtaining the parts needed for the job. "Al" the master re-builder informed me it would be best to get "really good" sub frame connectors for the project and to steer clear from any of the "spaghetti crap" that is out on the market. Relying on my past late model mustang building skills I was able to locate the best sub frames on the market from Tin Man Fabrication in Oak Grove MN. I was surprised to see a NM dealer for their products on their website and gave them a call. Today I picked them up and they are everything I had hoped for.

Next to arrive will be the Mustang /Shelby under ride traction bars.

The Parts Car

Realizing some major repair to the fastback would be needed a parts cars was in order. Found in Nambe' NM this 66 Mustang Coupe was purchased and will provide core of the unibody parts needed in the rebuild of the fastback. In a couple weeks the cutting begins!

Pulling the Motor

Today my son & I pulled the motor that was in the Fastback. The downside is that the block is trashed with a large hole in the rear section. The upside is the car is much easier to move and now the true damage to the firewall can be seen. The Factory Kelsey Hayes disc brake proportionaing valve is still intact.

My son has been helping me pull mustang motors since he was 6.

More fun quotes about the project

My daughters bus driver stated to her after seeing the car in the driveway...

"uh nice car, why does your family have that?"

Co-worker refering to the blog.... "you mean the Mike is out of his mind blog"

Car friends....

"that thing is going to be kick *ss when you are done with it"
"you are the man for the job!"
"if anyone can do it, you can"

Other friends "how long will a project like that take?"

My Son: "Dad, let's make this one cool"

More to follow.....

Fastback finds it's way to a new home

Honey we have Gold!

Well not exactly...

I did find out upon inspection that the fastback had been completely repainted blue at one point. The actual original color of the car when built was Honey Gold.

The fastback arrives at my house in about 8 hours, can't wait!

Sweet Mustang dreams...
Honey Gold

The Forgetten Fastback Story

So a buddy of mine im's me out of the blue about an old car he has owned since 1976...said people were really bothering him about it, stored at his uncles house for years. It was a front end wreck and when he bought it back then it was considered not worth fixing. I have been talking to him about this car for about 7 years now periodically asking him about it. Fast forward to 2009: My friend im's me saying “hey you still interested in that old car of mine? I told you I would give you first shot if I let it go, I am afraid someone might steal it now” And that is how this chapter begins: Let the project begin, time to bring this one back from the dead. The resurrection of a 1965 Mustang Fastback V8 4 speed Actual photos of the frist time I saw the car: