things you learn restoring your gt/cs?

[karolscali]

what i have learned restoring my gt/cs, i just got mine on the road after one year of working on it, it just passed inspection,after bringing it to canada. what did i learn? do not cheap out, it cost you twice in the long run, get a 1968 ford mustang shop manual, the best investment around, i found scott drake parts the best, in canada when you order parts you get nailed for extra shipping. so what are others feelings and storys on this subject?

 

[390cs68rcode]

main thing I learned......

whatever you think it will cost you to restore your car.......double it.

 

[CougarCJ]

Same thing with time estimates. If you calculate that it should take 2-3 years to finish the restoration, in reality it will be more like 4-5 years for completion.

 

[Perkchiro]

Yeah, just figure in twice the cost estimates and twice the time estimates. It took 3 years for me to finish my car, and that's spending just about every spare minute I had. No regrets however, it was a great experience that I would gladly do again.

 

[PFSlim]

Restoring our car was a lot of work, but well worth the end product. If I had any advise to give, it would be to take your time and do the car the way you want to do it. Don't be affraid to change things from the original if it concerns safety or something you really want. Do your best to keep the car where you can go back to original someday with minor changes.

Lastly, without this forum, we could have never restored our car. The assistance folks gave us here was outstanding. Since we did not get a chance to take the car apart, we found it difficult knowing how things went together (like GT/CS specific parts).

Paul

 

[cnassif]

I will begin my restoration in two weeks and the car is in bad shape. It is missing an engine and I've located a date-coded 68 289. Do you feel it is more important to try and keep as close to original and rebuild the 289 or just buy a full engine kit?

 

[nfrntau]

One other thing is to stay with your plan. However you decide to build your car changing the plan along the way will cost you extra $$.

The money statements are right on. I spent a lot of time putting lists and prices together, thought to myself no way am I going to double that. Guess what, by the time I'm done it will be almost exactly double my original estimate.

I can't comment on the time. My project hasn't had a timeline from the start. I'm currently in my third year.

Last, certainly not least, what Paul said, the family, comraderie and expertise from the members of this forum is with out a doubt the best asset to your project. There is no better authority on restoring a GT/CS.

Two ways to go on your engine, if you have all the smog equip. etc. harder choice. If not, build it the way you want, if so, you can do internal mods to help with the pep and still keep it looking stock. I think your answer will mostly come up, it's your car do it the way you want it. Time for a new poll.

 

[PFSlim]

I will begin my restoration in two weeks and the car is in bad shape. It is missing an engine and I've located a date-coded 68 289. Do you feel it is more important to try and keep as close to original and rebuild the 289 or just buy a full engine kit?

Good question with not an easy answer. We were missing an engine as well. Our approach was to find a 68 engine, make it period correct, but with a few touches that we liked. So, we found the engine, had it built, and put a goodies on (to include the Shelby dress up kit). We are not 100% but we are happy with what we got.

However, the engine package that you can now buy from Ford Racing is a heck of a deal. Very nice engine and will last a very long time. I love the 302 345HP crate engine for around 5K.

So... You have to ask yourself. What is most important? To be period correct or to have an engine that is new (may not look 100% correct) but be very serviceable??

It has to be the owner choice and make the car what you want the car to be. In my opinion.

Paul

 

[cnassif]

I've decided that it's going to be a RestoMod since I want to drive it regularly. Since it's not a numbers matching engine, I figured I had two choices: make it as correct as possible or go with a new engine.

Period correct isn't that important to me but most crate engines I see online are rebuilds or remanufactured. So if I buy one of those I am going to get a 68 block to at least attempt to make it close. What companies do the members of the forum recommend for crate engines?

What did you do for Smog (I know Smog Checks aren't required right now but you're still supposed to have it in California)?

 

[rvrtrash]

Do you feel it is more important to try and keep as close to original and rebuild the 289 or just buy a full engine kit?

If it was me, and I didn't have the engine with the correct VIN, I'd go with a newer, complete engine. To a purist, once the "correct" engine is gone, it doesn't really matter what's in it, and for everyone else, why put in dated technology? Go with a newer engine with roller rockers that'll free up a little horsepower and mileage. Add fuel injection and maybe make it a stroker. Now, with that being said, if the date correct 289 block was cheap enough, I'd probably buy it and stick it in a corner in case I changed my mind some day, but would still run the newer technology. Who's going to pull your starter to look at the date code?

Steve

 

[HappyHour]

What did you do for Smog (I know Smog Checks aren't required right now but you're still supposed to have it in California)?

What do we do for Smog? Goto LA and breath deep! :grin: 68's are excempt from California Smog.

Effective 04/01/05: Under the old law, 1975 and subsequent model year vehicles became exempt from Smog Check when they turned 30 years old. A 1976 model year vehicle was exempt in 2005, a 1977 in 2006, etc.