|
I recently owned a '67, which is basically the same as the 64-66 cars, but with a slightly wider track and longer wheelbase. Rot is the biggest issue here in the northeast; in Cali, your concerns might be different. The way I see it, I'd rather pay for a solid body that needed suspension and/or brake work. Those are just hard parts and are available anywhere, and more importantly, the work can be done in almost any driveway/garage. The front frame is notorious for rot, as are the torque boxes at the front of the stamped frame rails, and the shock towers. Any rust there is going to be a problem that needs addressing. Make sure replacement floor pans haven't been scabbed over the rotten original ones. Pop rivets along the pinch weld seam at the bottom of the rocker boxes are a dead giveaway, and are surprisingly common (here, at least). Same goes for rear quarters; there's a convenient body line at the top of the rear fenders that allows people to do poor bodywork and hide it easily. Get in the trunk and look at the top of the rear fenders for welds/rivets. The inner fender liners in the rear will rot at the front edge too; if you can, pop the rear seat bottom out (it's very easy...) and check out the corners where the pan meets the inner fender wells. Body parts are readily available in a variety of prices and quality, but bodywork (GOOD bodywork) is not cheap. It's easy to start peeling the onion and realize that there's a TON of parts that need replacing (and the associated labor needed to do it), when from the outside things look like a simple fix. Likewise, it's easy for an unscrupulous person to inexpensively reskin a car that is otherwise rotten, and have it look surprisingly good. Hope it turns out to be a steal of a good deal for you - they're fun cars, even with the wheezy 200" six. A low option, el-strippo 1st gen Mustang doesn't weigh much more than 2500 pounds.
|