1967 Ford Mustang - Buy And Revive A Project Car

After adding a new battery, it's time to crank this pig over, but with an unknown entity, there should be someone under the hood to keep a lookout. Our primary concern here was the carb-one that's been sitting can sprout major leaks as soon as fuel hits it for the first time in a long time. Dried-out accelerator pumps may also fail to provide the critical shot of priming fuel, and while you may be tempted to pour some into the choke, that's a good way to start a carb fire. We cranked ours until fuel hit the carb, gave it a couple seconds to check for leaks, then hit the key and the mighty six sputtered to life.

The next temptation typically encountered once the engine is running is the urge to drive around, but again, hold off. When we rolled the Mustang out of its slumber spot there was a nice big puddle of ATF on the garage floor. Once the engine was running we could check the trans level, and sure enough, it wasn't even on the stick. Low fluid levels can screw up an otherwise functional automatic trans, starving it of lube and aerating the fluid, which can lead to partial engagement and accelerated wear. Our tiny trans took a whole three quarts.

Just because you have some pedal pressure doesn't mean the brakes are roadworthy. Brake system seals are among the parts that suffer from lack of use, and it's pretty common for stuff to fail shortly after being put back in service. The most likely source of a hydraulic failure seems to be the wheel cylinders in the drum brakes, though they'll often hold for a few applications before letting go. If you're working on a pre-'67 car with a single-circuit brake system, this kind of failure spells disaster, as your entire braking system will cease to function within a couple pumps. Check the whole system and replace questionable stuff.

Dig the 'pans-factory original and absolutely rust free. We crawled around the gnarly garage floor with a flashlight prior to making the deal and were pretty sure this is what we were seeing. Confirming it felt good. Rust repair costs bucks and takes skills the average car crafter probably doesn't have; we'd rather rebuild the mechanicals than do sheetmetal work.

Any time we get a new project car we anxiously await the initial opening of the trunk. We think of it as the automotive equivalent of cracking open Tut's tomb, expecting to find rare factory goodies or N.O.S. stuff the owner never got around to installing. More often than not though, popping the lid is more akin to busting into Al Capone's vault. Along with '80s apparel, '90s L.A. hipster magazines, and plastic fish were the containers that told us what leaks to expect: antifreeze and power steering. We did score a trio of Mustang hubcaps, though '70 spec, one of them trashed.

Once the car was running and moving under its own power, it seemed almost ready for a test run, except that it was so nasty none of us wanted to sit in it very long. This is the interior after the previous owner took her personal items out. There were layers of detritus, including about 600 "mix" cassettes, more '80s wardrobe, and an illustrated history of fast food packaging.

Time to douse the beast and see how much of the past five years will wash off. With old cars like this 'Stang, window leaks should be expected, so spray wisely. Ours had some gaps around the side glass but the windshield and backlight seemed to seal.

After a good scrubbing we snapped on the two good hubcaps and had a half-decent Mustang for a little over $2,000 and some elbow grease. At this point we were feeling a lot better about our purchase-this car could easily be sold for at least what we have in it. All that remains is the testdrive.

We got about two blocks before Glad demonstrated his belief that any car, when properly abused, can get rubber, even one with a 200-cube six. At this point, we have a car that we can drive while we start to upgrade, rather than having to tear it down to its core before beginning a long and drawn-out resto. It won't be long before the six gets yanked in favor of something with more cylinders. Watch for it.