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Mach-1 Mustang wants a new start

My mother owns a Mach1 Mustang, she has not done anything to it in 20 yrs. I know what a shame, my brother was killed his Sr.yr. in college and never had a chance to work on it with lots of $$$. I, his older sister, would love to restore it in memory of him and my father, who is now deceased too. I know this will take mega bucks, but I want to learn about the car. I need suggestions about anything on restoring this car!

Debi Murphy
homeowner - Bucyrus, Ohio, US
July 5, 2010

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That's a great idea, however the experts on this site are involved in metal finishing, which is only a small part of car restoration.

You'll find lots of better sites on the internet, and if you live in or near a decent sized city, you'll find clubs with lots of real experts on car restoration, and lots of Mustang experts who know far more than any of us do.

Join a club, Mustangs only, or American cars, or cars in general and you'll get all the help you'll ever need.

Great project, and good luck to you.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina
July 7, 2010

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July 9, 2010

Just to follow up, here's a Mustang club fairly near to you.

http://www.mustangclubofohio.com/about/about-mco.htm

I don't know the present condition of your car, or where you would like to end up. Given that Mustang parts are readily available, and not very expensive, you could probably do a nice driver quality car restoration without spending a king's ransom. That would be a car about, say, like a one or two year old car - very nice, but not perfect.

A flawless back to showroom new restoration down to the last tiny detail would cost more. It's probably true that a 100% flawless restoration costs twice what a 95% resto costs.

You could farm out the work yourself - an engine rebuild here, paint there, upholstery somewhere else, or you could give the car to a shop that would do everything turnkey.

Go to a Mustang meet or show. See what's there. Ask questions of the owners. There's nothing car guys like more than talking about their cars and giving advise. Most of the advise will be sound. Some of it will not be. Learn and sort the wheat from the chaff.

I hope you are able to restore this car which is important to you. However you go about it, it will be a long process, many decisions to make, some disappointments along the way. The trick is to enjoy the journey, at the end of which you will have the car just as YOU want it... and you'll make some friends and become a Mustang expert yourself.

Jeffrey Holmes, CEF
Spartanburg, South Carolina