Swap, find, and make.

I have gotten a new fuel tank, sending unit, and assort other needed items. (Thanks to the great folks at Mac's and Auto Krafters) I still have no trunk pan, but have found that most of the metal replacements are not going to be a problem. I lucked up into a 66 Galaxie 500 that needs some work, but Monty is the goal. Talked it over with my father in law, and he suggested trading the Galaxie to a great body and paint guy to "expedite" Monty's facelift. This guy is an old school muscle car guy with YEARS of experience. Just what I am looking for, great restoration of the metal and I won't burn my eyes outta their sockets welding again! So... I will take lot's of pics as I begin the tear down, and we are heading off into our great adventure!

Future Hot Rodder? Ah, the memories we'll make!

Justin has made up his mind... he loves the classics! I answered dozens of questions, (he never runs out) about what kind of car it is, and what all can we do to it. It's not a video game, or computer program. It's not even a TV show, although plenty have been made, it is something that WE will do TOGETHER.

Jena has already shown her ability with painting the badging on her dad's 65 Cyclone, and the girls love the thought of doing anything to help. Justin though wants to get his hands dirty and is excited about it! He hasn't been this excited about anything other than video games before, and I love it! He liked the thought of the 86 Mercury Capri, but he sees the similarity between it and "Grandaddy's Cyclone" and now wants to have a real Hot Rod.

The girls will always love cars, they come by it honestly. They are FoMoCo fans because daddy and granddaddy are. They don't care what condition they're in, they just love cars. We can't ride down the road without one of them yelling "MUSTANG" as we play our road game looking for them.

But Justin genuinely wants this to be something for us. After seeing Monty for the first time Saturday, he didn't mention a video game or app for his iPod touch. He asked about paint colors, motor options, and when we could get started. I remember handing wrenches to my dad and learning the basics, working on the "Little Red Jeep" with Daddy Don , and the many hours I have spent with JL out in the shop. Those are precious memories.

I can't wait to start making those kind of memories with my kids.

The girls have a name... "Monty"

Picked the girls up from school and they all wanted to go see "Monty". Monty? Who's that? Like with every Mustang, (or any vehicle we own) the girls have dubbed this classic Monty-rey. Monty for short. We get to the shop and the girls yank open the door pile inside and begin discussing their first trip, who's gonna drive first, and the fact that I had better get to work because they want Monty beautiful for Rod Run this fall. (Yeah right!) But their dreams, and imagination as they climbed around in it's weathered and worn interior and pointed out what all I needed to get fixed brought a smile to my face. I wet my finger and rubbed away the dirt on the inside of the door to show them the original Maroon Metallic, the girls eyes opened wide and they thought it was the most wonderful color for any car ever.

My youngest was clinching the broken steering wheel like Parnelli Jones racing for the checkered flag in'65! They ran their hands down the length of Monty, they laughed and played saying he will be be the coolest car in town, and even had checkered flags like granddaddies Cyclone!

I have built and worked on many cars and especially Foxbodies over the years, twisted wrenches on all types of cars. I have built large horsepower motors, and had fun doing it, but I believe that Monty will be something special for years to come.

Exterior

The paint is completely gone as you can see, and years of sitting has taken a toll on the metal. It has rust through in only two small sections that is easily going to be patched with fresh metal. All the badging and trim are accounted for, but the aluminium will need anodizing (or my British friends anodising).

The chrome and seals all will need attention, but Mac's (http://www.macsautoparts.com/) has the full selection. The fuzzies on the door are especially bad as you can see by the picture.

The Interior

The interior is 44 years old. This in it's self is pretty amazing, but the fact that in spite of it's age it is complete. When I got it to the shop and did a quick assesment I found that structurally it is in decent condition. I am not looking to make a 100 point show car, instead I am going with a mild restomod with some slight modernization. With having all trim and sound structure I think the interior will at first glance to the "Cruise Night"eye will appear stock.

• All stainless and trim is present, but steering wheel is horrible.


• Most chrome covered plastic has lost it's chrome


• Dash and instrument panel are not broken and generally need cleaning

The seats will need recovering. The folks who did my father-in-laws 65 Cyclone, and 79 Capri did awesome work, they are in Fairmount Georgia. I am really considering Banisters Upholstery in East Point Georgia. (http://www.banisters.com/) I have known the Banister family for most of my life and their work is great. They recover, dye, and rehab existing usable as well as replace with new coverings. They restored the red interior and dash of a friends 64 1/2 Fairlane years ago and it was flawless. My father in law recently got a dash pad for his 79 Capri, fit like a glove! My car has the bench front and rear seats, and from what I can tell the padding and springs are reusable.

The headliner is shot. Thats putting it lightly. The framework is all still there, but as some may know replacement of the headliner is a headache although they are easy to get from several vendors.

The carpet will have to be replaced, between the holes, fading, and damage to the looping it is far beyond reusable. While I was checking the padding and underside I found soft spots and small holes in the passenger floor pan. But I will detail this in future post. Molded carpet replacements with footwells, and backing is available in the $120-$150 range, although I am looking to go with a cut-pile Mercedes Black that is made by a local supplier for Mercedes and BMW. This holds less debris, and looks great.

Overall the door panels are dirty, and need minor attention, but overall I think they are reusable. The windows all work, but seals are dry rotted and will need replacing.

The specifics.

The Warranty Plate describes as follows:

Body- 63A 2dr Hardtop Fastback

Color- XM White top, Maroon Metallic (Burgandy) Body

Trim- 76 Black Interior

Date- A 18 January 18th (Build Date)

DSO- 21 Atlanta Market (DSO= Domestic Special Order)

Axle- 1 3:00 Rear Gear

Trans- 4 Automatic (Multi Drive)

Warranty Number:4Z47Y522803

4- 1964

Z- St. Louis Plant

47- Monterey 2dr Hardtop Fastback

Y- 8-Cylinder 390 Cubic Inch (2-barrel)

Each assembly plant, with each model year, begins with consecutive unit number 500001 and continues on for each unit built.

Well that's the specifics on my "Barn Find". More pic's and info in the months to come!