Classic Mustangs List Archive

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Mail From: Hank Di Pillo (email redacted)

Hi out there, I've become the proud owner of a 1968 Mustang fastback
with a 302 and an automatic transmission. I have just started the
restoration
project an could really use some direction. My son and I just pulled the

engine and want to get started on the project. What did some of you do
first second, etc. on your cars. Any good books I should read. Any good
sites I should know about. I rebuilt cars before but have never done a
complete restore. I went to Hot August Nights a couple of weeks ago,
(for those of you who do not know what that is, it's one of the best
classic car get together on the west coast. It's in Reno and man did
they have a lot of Mustangs). I got a ton of inspiration from the Hot
August Nights cars. By the way Mustangers a 1997( I think) convertible,
289 , complete restoration, right down to every nut and bolt, went at
auction for, are you setting down, $29,500.

Does anyone have a book that will give me the info on my VIN number or a

good site where I can go to get the info. My VIN # is 8R02J128235. Any
help will be appreciated.
God Bless
Hank Di Pillo
Grass Valley, CA.


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Mail From: (email redacted) (email redacted)

For the order of restoration, if you plan to drive it while
work is in progress, safety is first priority. Then the
body should be done next (I have been told that you can
only really expect to make most of the money back from the
body work and almost nothing of the rest should you ever
decide to sell it). Next should probibly be the
interior. If you are planning to make any mods to a
working engine, those should probibly be done last. If
the engine is dead, then it obviously gets done first
(can't drive it otherwise).

If you are not planning to drive it while restoring it,
then order isn't really an issue.

As for VIN and data plate info, you can go to
mustangdecoder.com/decoder.html

Enjoy your restoration. It's a lot of work and a heck
of a lot of money, but well worth the effort.

Chuck

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Mail From: Guillaume Desmarets (email redacted)

> [...] What did some of you do
> first second, etc. on your cars.

First thing I would do (whish I'd thought about that BEFORE) is bring
the car to a steam cleaning place, and have them clean the engine bay,
under body, trans, rear axle, etc...
This will make your job a lot easier and nicer...

As for web sites, I like this one concerning Ford engines...
wrljet.com/engines/

Guillaume D.

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Mail From: John Dettori (email redacted)

On 9/5/99, Hank Di Pillo wrote:
>
> I've become the proud owner of a 1968 Mustang fastback [w/302 auto trans...]
> just started the restoration project an could really use some direction.
> [...] What did some of you do [1st,2nd,]etc. on your cars. Any good books I
> should read. [...]

Two:
"The Mustang Restoration Handbook" by Tom Wilson (HPBooks) ~$15
"How to Restore Your Mustang" by the editors of Mustang Monthly (CA Mustang
Publishing) ~$15

Since you asked, here's the John Dettori approach:

1) Decide your goal: concours show car, street/strip, occassional driver,
etc. This is crucial because the paths you will take diverge depending
on your purpose, budget, and final goal.

Note: In order to determine this goal, you need to consider what I call
the "Three Ps": Pocketbook, Purpose, Preference. Little incidentals
like the time, tools, technical expertise, and place to do the work come
into play here. It really sucks to tie up your tight one-car-garage for
a year or more w/a disassembled project that you don't have the time to
finish. It has happened more than once.

2) Research: I don't just dive in; once I've determined where I'm going with
the project, I read everything I can so that I know exactly what I've got
to work with. You should know now if you need to be combing the swap meets
for that rare overhead console; they often take a while to find.

3) Disassembly: You must do an honest appraisal of the condition of the car
perhaps with some professional help at the very beginning. Often, the
real condition of the car is only revealed during disassembly. It will
also help you decide what you will do yourself and what you will farm out.

Get a good notebook and a camera. You can't take enough photos. Make
drawings & diagrams too. If there's 8 ways to connect the vacuum hoses,
7 of them are wrong, and you won't remember what it looked like a year
from now.

Steam cleaning the engine & undercarriage is great before disassembly,
but a pressurized do-it-yourself car wash will work just as well. Use
plenty of engine degreaser.

I like to disassemble the interior first (except steer. wheel & d.seat)
then body trim, bumpers, grille, glass, moldings, hood, deck lid, fen-
ders (leave the doors), then the engine, tranny & drive shaft. This
will leave you with a rolling chasis. You will have to remove the sus-
pension to detail/repair it, but it can be done later for mobility. Be-
sides, all the things you have removed to this point take up alot of
space. May I suggest putting up that backyard shed you've been mean-
ing to?

4) Plan: Being a project manager for a living, I live by my project plans.
A Mustang restoration is no different than putting in a major computer
system, building a house, or organizing a major event; they all require
a plan to sweat all the details.

I divide the car into major sub-assemblies, using a phased approach. You
already know two of the phases: disassembly & final assembly. Start with
the unibody, assessing it for structural problems caused by rust, acci-
dents, etc. On my 67 basket case convertible, I did floors, inner rockers,
torque boxes, firewall to floor, cowl, engine compartment aprons, shock
tower, cowl, one door post, both rear quarters, trunk drop offs, & outer
wheel houses. While the welding was going on, I sent the motor to the
machine shop for rebuilding - all but final assembly (you don't want a
newly rebuilt motor to sit idle for months). Most machine shops will
do all the machine work, and assemble it when you say your ready to put
it in the car. The tranny can also be farmed out.

After the unibody, I worked on the front suspension, brakes, steering,
rear suspension, electrical/wiring, engine/powertrain, paint/body, then
begin final assembly. The last thing I'd tend to is the interior.

> Does anyone have a book that will give me the info on my VIN number or a
> good site where I can go to get the info. My VIN # is 8R02J128235.

The books listed above will. But I can do this off the top of my head:

(8) 1968 Mustang
(R) built in San Jose, CA
(02) Fastback body style
(J) 302-4V engine
(128235) 28,235th car down the assembly line - serial number.

Hope this helps!

--
================================================================================
John Dettori 86 SVO (2.3l IC Turbo)
Sr. Principal, Technology Solutions Corp. 70 Mach I (351C-4V)
800 759 2250 mailbox# 2447 67 GT Convert (289-4V)
(email redacted) 67 Shelby GT350 (289 SC)

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