1968 Mustang Coupe – 302w / 4 sp toploader / 8”
Complete, very solid car... with some issues. Car was imported/converted to RHD late 80’s or early 90’s. I purchased the car 11 years out of a shed in Vic, got it engineered in NSW and then drove it daily! I only took the car off the road about 5 years ago with the intention of fixing the very average conversion and some suspension issues. Work completed to date includes:
Rear End – factory 8”, housing stripped/cleaned/POR-15 painted, 3.0-1 centre (used), new outer bearings, new leaf springs (reverse eye, -1.5” from memory), new Shelby-style solid mount traction bars, new slaves/springs/shoes in brakes, all new brake lines. Zero km on all.
New drive shaft and uni joints done <1000km. New driveshaft loop at trans
Engine: 302w of unknown build (as purchased). Was and is a great runner/cruiser – never failed. I have added : Brand new Holley 650; New elect. Dizzy ( had a Mallory twin point!! Which I still have) and coil; new Al water pump; oversize radiator with twin thermo fans; Complete polished alloy accessory drive kit from ‘Wheels within Wheels’ including p/s pump (still unused). Transmission: 4 speed Toploader which works fine! Clutch: works!? Engine and trans had a 2-can rebuild while they were out of the car! New 3/8 fuel hard-lines run length of car.
Front suspension: XC Falcon UCAs rebuilt (new bushes and hardware) with Arning (Shelby) drop, new Whiteline spring saddles, new XY Falcon LCAs, new T&B ball joints, new strut rod bushings and hardware, XC Falcon stub axles with new bearings, XF Falcon alloy callipers (Girlock) rebuilt with new DBA discs and pads and all new brake lines. ‘RetroRack’ power steering rack. All with zero km. Lowered springs, 1 1/8” sway bar/bushes/hardware, new shocks, ‘export brace’ and Monte Carlo bar all done <5000km
New reco’d XB brake booster and new master cylinder. New steel brake lines throughout the car. New clutch master and slave cylinder and new clutch line. Zero km.
Completely, professionally rewired. New fuse/relay box and hidden wiring. Battery relocated to boot. Rebuilt tail light buckets with new rear lenses and amber turn signals. Not a “kit” loom – quality bespoke build by renowned auto electrician.
The Body! I’m pretty sure this car was imported as a “wreck” (as they did back in the 80’s) and fixed up/sold on. It has had a hit in the LH rear at some point but the car was repaired and resprayed and is very solid - including the 80’s flared rear guards! Yes it has bog – no it isn’t perfect! But there is ZERO bad rust.
In order to fix the dodgy conversion and a damaged cowl, I paid to have a bunch of new sheet metal installed including – complete dash panel, upper cowl, lower cowl and complete RHD firewall ....I then decided to also replace the RH rear inner fender apron (recessed for brake booster), RH front inner fender apron (battery tray), LH front inner fender apron and radiator support panel,latch brace and grille supports. Most, if not all, of these panels are Dynacorn brand.
Thinking this was all awesome, I then sent the car to another shop to have the steering ‘sorted’ and they : replaced a damaged rear frame rail, added torque box bracing, added apron/firewall bracing (behind guards), installed fully welded chassis connectors, installed a rear firewall (plated behind rear seat) and fabricated adjustable and removable down-bars in the boot ... and a lot of other things have been “customised” by the shops who did the work – the falcon pedal box; the falcon steering column; the firewall where it all passes through; the handbrake set up .... this is not a “buy a part and bolt it in” conversion.
Now for the bad ..... the front hanging sheet metal no longer “fits” on the car. The people who worked on the car rejected my constant offers to bring them the hanging panels ( I stripped the car initially ) – insisting “it’ll be right”. However - now the RH guard and bonnet will not go close to bolting back on and lining up. And there are other ... small issues.
At the moment the front sheet metal is well beyond my skill set to fix so I have two options – offload the car and move on .... or find someone who can help me fix it. So I’m actually here looking for EOI of either. If you would be interested in buying the car OR taking my money to rectify it – feel free to get in touch with me! And please .... I don’t need to be told what I did wrong – I’m well aware!
