Fordnatics List Archive

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Mail From: Harjeet Dhillon <(email redacted)>

I'm no trailer queen purist myself (far from it in fact), but I must say I
am absolutely appalled every time I read about this new fad (hope it dies
quickly) for chopping the tops of 65, 66 coupes and installing a skyliner
type convertible top...... The folks at Mustangs Plus, in their March
newsletter, cheerfully describe how they will butcher a 64 and a half coupe
to do one of these conversions..This is no rust bucket, flared out,
primered high school kid's cast off, this is a rangoon red 260 V8 car, 2nd
owner kept since 1969 for God's sake!! A very early, historically
significant car!! Surely they could have found a better candidate for this
treatment (as dubious as it is)...And now Mustang Illustrated have got in
on the act this month, doing the deed on a 66 coupe....I know there are
those that say you can do what you like with your car, but this
instinctively feels very wrong, and doubt if there is will be a significant
appreciation in value...sorry to vent, but even to a 'restification'
exponent such as myself, this seems like extreme pony abuse....what do you
guys think?

- --
Harjeet Dhillon
66 Silver Blue coupe, 289 V8

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Mail From: Roberto Arturo Schafer <(email redacted)>

> exponent such as myself, this seems like extreme pony abuse....what do you
> guys think?

Honestly. First take a deep breath and relax.

Now. If a coupe is indeed a low mileage special, then I personally
wouldn't chop it up. But the truth is that tired 65-66 coupes are a dime
a dozen. Sure people think they are worth thousands, but I know most sell
for hundreds, not thousands. At least here. With the lack of salt on the
roads, plus the fact about 20% of all Mustang production went to the LA
sales district (not to mention what went to the other parts of
California), we have a lot of Mustangs still around.

So, instead of having your blood pressure rise....

Come here, get rid of a few coupes (leave the convertibles and fastbacks
please ) for us, and take them home and "save" them. Then when someone
chops off the top of an early Mustang (although hacking up a 64 1/2 does
seem a bit much) and you find you can't stand it. Go outside and polish
yours.

Keep in mind this is my personal opinion. It is not the opinion of my
wife, dogs, cars, houses, or the opinion of my computer.

Rob

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Mail From: (email redacted) (Dave Miller)

Harjeet,

Being a part of the street rod crowd, I guess I have a
slightly different perspective on this... to quote
Ken Fenical (Posies): "Anyone can restore an antique...
it takes a real man to cut one up".

When I first got into street rodding, I had sort of the
same reaction as you when I realized that guys actually
took virgin 30's and 40's steel... perfectly restorable
(in some cases, perfectly restored!), and whacked it up
to make something "different". How could they do that and
still sleep at night? But one look at the results and I
was hooked. The resulting vehicles, with very few exceptions,
were far more interesting and valuable to me because they
were hand-crafted and unique in all the world.

Now I know this is *slightly* different than taking a
vintage Mustang coupe and snipping the roof off, but I think
that there is no "absolute" value in this world. If the
coupes in question are more desireable or valuable to their
owners as flip-tops, then fire up the sawzall! We're not
losing anything... we're gaining a car that never existed
before.

I wonder if Posies lends out the "Duke St. Equalizer"?

+----------------------+------------------------------------------+
| Dave Miller | Phone: (717) 986-7749 |
| Project Manager | Fax: (717) 986-3466 |
| AMP, Incorporated +------------------------------------------+
| Harrisburg, PA | Email: (email redacted) |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------+

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Lev Lvovsky <(email redacted)>

On Wed, 19 Apr 1995, Harjeet Dhillon wrote:

> those that say you can do what you like with your car, but this
> instinctively feels very wrong, and doubt if there is will be a significant
> appreciation in value...sorry to vent, but even to a 'restification'
> exponent such as myself, this seems like extreme pony abuse....what do you
> guys think?

First, it's not like MP is gonna transfrom this car into an
electroplate-gold-crushed-velvet machine, they are doing a
proffesional(expensive too $3500) job. kind of funny how people
don't much protest when the earlier classics have their tops chopped
and lowered....Second, it's not like the mustang is a rare piece of
machinery, they sold millions of 'em for God's sake. Out here in CA,
it's impossible to drive around and not see more than one.
I'm doing stuff to my car that some purists would think of
as wrong(engine, suspension, tearing out the instrument cluster...),
but it also makes my car one of a kind, and let's face it the
mustangs are just no fun to drive if they are kept stock.

Hey, it's a "free" country you still have your '66 don't ya?


___________________________________________
|From: Lev Lvovsky; Castaic, CA
|Most cherished possesion: '66 Ford Mustang
|e-mail: (email redacted)
|Q:What do you think about American Culture?"
|A:"I think it's a good Idea."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Harjeet Dhillon <(email redacted)>

On Thu, 20 Apr 1995 Lev Lvovsky <(email redacted)> said:
Hi Lev

...Second, it's not like the mustang is a rare piece of machinery, they
>sold millions of 'em for God's sake. Out here in CA, it's impossible to
drive
>around and not see more than one.

Point taken, but there's a finite number of cars many of which are being
trashed and totalled (not too mention crushed by Chevron and Unocal in CA)

> I'm doing stuff to my car that some purists would think of as
>wrong(engine, suspension, tearing out the instrument cluster...), but it
also
>makes my car one of a kind, and let's face it the mustangs are just no fun
to
>drive if they are kept stock.

That's great and I'm doing similar stuff to my coupe, but the point is if
I sell it to someone else, or in 30 years time when I want to make it a
show car, all those mods can be undone..I'd feel easier with it if there
were replacement unibodies available like British Heritage's MG and Triumph
bodies....Chopping the roof is just too radical, once you take that route,
there's no return...

>
>Hey, it's a "free" country you still have your '66 don't ya?

Yeah and it's staying a coupe!!
Cheers


- --
Harjeet Dhillon

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Roberto Arturo Schafer <(email redacted)>

> Point taken, but there's a finite number of cars many of which are being
> trashed and totalled (not too mention crushed by Chevron and Unocal in CA)

I wish people will quit harping about Chevron and Unocal. The numbers of
cars they remove from existance is peanuts compared to what is removed by
accidents and old age of these cars. There are hundreds if not thousands
of Mustangs in junkyards in California. Besides, I think it is Chevron,
has decided that "desireable" cars will be auctioned off. Plus the ones
taken off the road aren't crushed. Only the engine block is destroyed.
Well, I can live without quite a few 302's and 200 sixes. There are
still thousands around.

This does not mean that I fall for the EPA's garbage that the credits are
really reducing pollution, but I am not going to loose sleep over it.

> bodies....Chopping the roof is just too radical, once you take that route,
> there's no return...

Oh good God. If those East Coast rust buckets can be saved, a top can be
welded back on. If the car is really that rare, someone will do it. If
it isn't rare, who cares? Besides, if someone modifies the car and it
"lives" another 20 years. Who is to say it wouldn't have been junked if
it had remained a coupe?

Rob

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Mail From: "Barry Wayne Freese, 314/822-7637" <(email redacted)>

On Wed, 19 Apr 1995, Harjeet Dhillon wrote:

> I'm no trailer queen purist myself (far from it in fact), but I must say I
> am absolutely appalled every time I read about this new fad (hope it dies
> quickly) for chopping the tops of 65, 66 coupes and installing a skyliner
> type convertible top...... <snip> ....what do you guys think?

At least "they" could pick on something less rare, like a C code '66!

B.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Barry Wayne Freese `68 Mustang GT Fastback `88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For Evil to triumph, good people need only do nothing."

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Harjeet Dhillon <(email redacted)>

On Fri, 21 Apr 1995 "Barry Wayne Freese, 314/822-7637"
<(email redacted)> said:



>
>At least "they" could pick on something less rare, like a C code '66!
>

Ha ha ha.... oh stop will ya, you're killing me...

> "For Evil to triumph, good people need only do nothing."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I see beautiful irony in this sig.
- --
Harjeet Dhillon

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: (email redacted) (Steve Maher)


> Point taken, but there's a finite number of cars many of which are being
> trashed and totalled (not too mention crushed by Chevron and Unocal in CA)

There are 100 times as many early Mustangs being destroyed in crashes (not
to mention their occupants, too) and from neglect, than are being altered
by those of us making something fun out of them. If you want them preserved,
talk to the sh*tty drivers, not to the careful, innovative types! At least
we are winding up with good, enjoyable, drivable cars.

Stopping the innovators won't change the attrition of 'Stangs significantly.
Stopping the dumbkopfs will. And you can even stop THEM _legally_, though not
easily. You're addressing the wrong audience!

Mustangs forever! (All types!)

-Steve Maher (email redacted) '66 Mustang Coupevertible
302, C4, Holley 4V, no roof!
No crashes, either. And proud of it.