[stangtjk]

Sorry If you have slow internet I posted a lot of pictures.

How small of a budget? I’ve spent less than $1k on this project since the start of it.

I started this project almost 2 years ago but I’ve been away at college so I’ve really only gotten to work on it for a couple months during the summer.

The project car is a 1968 Mustang Coupe which was my first car in high school. I drove it as a daily driver for a few years but it was not the most reliable or comfortable car to be driving around. I started looking for improvements like fuel injection, power brakes and steering, suspension upgrades etc. but as I’m sure all of you know that stuff adds up quick and being a college student I could barely afford a disc brake conversion. I thought to myself that just about any new car has all the stuff I wanted for my mustang.

I saw the SN65 mustang, for those that aren’t familiar with it, it is a 65 fastback with the body cut off and mated to an 03 Cobra chassis. I thought it was a great idea but the problem with that is at the time I started my project a wrecked 03 Cobra was still bringing over $10k. I really liked the 4.6l DOHC though which lead me to the Mark VIII. After a few months stalking ebay I found a 96 Mark VIII that had extremely light front end damage (busted headlight, grill and hood) and bought it for $600. Around the same time I picked up the June 2007 issue of HOT ROD that featured a 67 fastback built by Bobby Alloway which used an Art Morrison MaxG chassis, again way too costly for me.

So my project became somewhat a mixture of the SN65 and the 67 built by Alloway. My family owns a small steel supply company so I had them order me 48ft of 2”x3”x1/8” (they didn’t normally stock it) and I decided to build my own frame. The design of my frame was loosely based off the MaxG chassis in the way that it had frame rails along the perimeter of the body and through the center. One thing I didn’t like about the Alloway mustang was that the floor was raised 4” to accommodate the chassis. To avoid this on my build the perimeter frame rails were tucked inside of the rocker panels.
The front and rear of my frame were made to accept the suspension from the Mark VIII.

Ok enough with the background.

Here is the car I started with.



First thing I did was cut the front end off. I don’t have many pics from the beginning but this would be the OH ***** what did I get myself into stage of the build.



After that the floors were completely cut out and the frame was installed. Here is a drawing of the fame.



Here are a few pics with the drive train marked up. I used the shock towers from the Mark VIII as well.

[stangtjk]

The next step was rebuilding the floor and front sheet metal.



Somewhere along the way I decided I needed a rotisserie so I gathered up some old channel and few pieces of pipe and part of a log bunk from an old log truck and made my own. It’s nothing fancy I think I threw it together in around an hour or two.

[stangtjk]

Along the way I stripped the paint to bare metal and replaced the quarter panels.



I decided to go with a clean sleek look so I shave the doors and drip rails. The drip rails still need some work. This was nearing the end of my summer so I didn’t get time to finish some of the things I was working on. I prepped it and shot it with a coat of epoxy primer so it didn’t set around and get surface rust all over.

[stangtjk]

For the most part that is how the project has remained since August. Over spring break I got a chance to do a few things.

I couldn’t use the stock tank so I welded up my own to be used with the Mark VIII in tank pump.



I also built a custom hood scoop over break.



The last thing I did before I left for college was finish up the rear section of frame under the trunk floor.

[69ChevelleAddict]

Damn dude, keep up the great work it looks awesome!
I'm trying to to a budget resto-mod on my 'velle but i'm up to about 3-4k in "Stuff"

[wildthing]

WOW , iam impressed , great work. far beyond anything i would have tackled.i have 5,500 in my 68 cougar and iam about 1000 or so from being done. well at least for this round there will still be more to do later.

[techinspector1]

It takes a lot to impress me, but I'm impressed.

[stangtjk]

Thanks for the support, I have a month and a half left of school and I'll be starting back up on the project. Hopefully I will have it to the point I can drive it by the end of summer.

[completehavoc]

where is the rotisserie connected to the body at... I am going to start taking apart my 68 coupe in a few week and really would like to make a rotisserie like yours to do the work on it... figured why reinvent the cheap wheel, when I can just ask you... hehehe...

[stangtjk]

The rear was bolted on where the rear bumper was. The front wasn't bolted in at all, I just stuck the "forks" of my rotisserie inside the frame rails but its a custom frame so that wont work for you. If I had to bolt it on a stock mustang I would have removed the bumper brackets that attach to the front of the frame and bolt it on there.

[completehavoc]

Kewl... do you hapen to remember the measurements from your build??? if not I can measure it out tonight and order the steel tomorrow...

[stangtjk]

No, I dont have any measurements for it I just built it as I went using whatever scrap I found laying around. The post I used was 4"x4" and either 3/8" or 1/2" thick. The arms and legs were made from standard 3" and 4" channel. I don't remember what size pipe I used. The materials I used are way overkill though if you're buying the metal I'd make it much much lighter to save on cost. Here is a link to a good set of rotisserie plans . You should be able to build it for under $100.

[Bettlejuice]

That looks awesome man, 10x better than anything I could do...

What company does your family own? I live in Fairmont and am gonna need some steel when I get crackin' on my Model A, might as well buy from a fellow hotrodder.

[stangtjk]

Originally Posted by Bettlejuice

That looks awesome man, 10x better than anything I could do...

What company does your family own? I live in Fairmont and am gonna need some steel when I get crackin' on my Model A, might as well buy from a fellow hotrodder.

The name of the shop is Valley Steel Service Inc. Its about an hour or so from Fairmont. They should have anything you need and a bunch of stuff you dont lol. My dad loves buying, selling, and swaping cars, tires and wheels etc. so its hard to tell what you'll find if you stop by. Last time I was home he bought a truck for $500 and the next day he traded it for a powered chair like one of those rascals you see on tv and $900 to boot.