The Fastback is on the Move...

Picked up the Fastback from the soda blast today and it's off to the Painter! Thanks to Scott from Able 2 Tow in Dallas.

Thank-You Mr. HBR for Building Such a Beautiful Car!

After soda-blasting the old paint off and most of the rust, the initials HBR has appeared on the outside of both front aprons.  Maybe it's assembly line worker's initials or one of the inspectors?  We may never know for sure, but some photos are included. Thank-You Mr. HBR for building such a beautiful car!

Side Projects While I wait on the Car...

Part of the logistics nightmare is lining up parts, refinishing existing parts and keeping it all organized! A big THANKS to my friend Jerry Gray who has a primo garage equipped with a sand blast cabinet.  Enclosed are freshly painted fastback vents and bumper supports.

Soda Blast is the way to Go!

Miguel of Stripco has been working on the Fastback tirelessly and is almost done stripping off all the bad bondo and flaking paint - Thank you Miguel!  Enclosed are some photo updates. Some of the photos are a little scary, but I know it will work out when it goes to the body shop.  There is evidence of a roll bar in the rear of the car, which would explain all the damage.  This car was probably raced hard and pounded on all four sides, too bad the driver didn't keep it out of the ditches!

Interesting Body Markings...

Enclosed are some interesting marks found on the body, wonder what they could mean?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly... (Okay, Gory)

Went to the soda blast shop today to get a better look at the Fastback. Although it mostly intact, we found up to half an inch of bondo on the driver's side door and three quarters of an inch of bondo on the right rear quarter panel.  It has been a major time drain, but must be done.  A big thank you for Jerry to help inspect the damage!

More Photos...

Time to Strip the Mustang!

Saturday was the big day!  Thank you to everyone who came out and helped!  This was a big project and it is one step closer to paint.

Rust, rust, everywhere is rust...

Quarter Panel Askew...

One of the big issues surrounding the repainting of the car is the right rear quarter panel. The car appears to have been hit on that side back in the mid 1970’s as there is evidence of Imron paint and bondo stalactites on the upper right side of the trunk.  The quarter panel was not set correctly and it has caused all sorts of havoc with door alignment, etc. When researching stuff on the web, I came across an excellent reference: www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php

The site is a forum for Mustang Club of America (MCA) Gold Card Judges – who better to get information on this forty-six year old Mustang?!

In Preparation...

No project of this size happens in a vacuum, I have had great support from friends and car enthusiasts over the years, in particular members of the North Texas Mustang Club, Shelby Cobra Association of Texas, The Route 66 Mustang Club, Dallas Mustang and Robert with Virginia Mustang Parts.  With their help and rummaging through many savage yards and swap meets, I have located original Ford Motor Company (FoMoCo) sheet metal to replace the made in Taiwan fenders and hood that don’t fit properly.  Interestingly there is evidence that car has been in a few fender benders over the years, there are marks on all four sides! Most recently my friend Russell (aka Vanishing Elvis) has loaned some metal shelves to the cause so I can keep it organized.

Mustang Fodder

Above is one of my favorite photos of the Mustang!  In the photo, you can just make out a Route 66 sign post and the name of the restaurant is Clanton's in Oklahoma. I really enjoy driving the car and after seven plus years of saving (I have owned the little fastback for nine years) I am finally getting her repainted! I can only hope it doesn’t take that long to put it all back together…  Its age and almost daily use has taken a toll as there are several patches of rust and paint flaking off!  The car is a 1965 Ford Mustang 2+2 GT Fastback built in San Jose, California, ivy green with black pony (deluxe) interior.  There is evidence in the upper corners of the trunk, that it may have been turquoise at one time. Maybe the original color, maybe not - the car has probably been painted several different times over the course of its forty-six year old history. Purists don’t hate me, but I am changing the color from ivy green to silver metallic blue (which happens to be an original color for Mustang in 1965).  Silver metallic blue also happens to be very close to the color of my lovely wife’s eyes.