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  • Revitalizing a car that has sat

    From Ken Nischan@1:275/89 to All on Wed May 15 12:04:08 2024
    Hello again.

    Another question for ya'll.. my grand mother told me she wants to give me her car since she's 97 and can't drive anymore. It's a 1968 Mustang. She bought it new and babied it for the last fifty years or so. She said she stopped driving it only a year or two ago, but I have a feeling her 97 year old memory may be not entirely accurate, heh. I know she was still driving at 93, so at worst I'll assume it has been sitting for four years.

    It's kept in a garage thankfully. Once I take possession, what do you think would be a good plan of action for getting it back on the road? I figure drain and replace fuel tank, replace fuel lines, fuel pump, tires, disassemble and inspect all the brakes (probably four wheel drum... sigh), new fluids/filters.
    What else might I be forgetting?

    My friend's car is off the road with a bad water pump, so I'm gonna snatch her tag to throw on the Mustang so AAA will tow it. I figure I don't want to start it with the crappy years old gas in it, don't wanna foul up the carb unless perhaps I'm being too paranoid there and it won't matter? I also figure rather than drive an unproven vehicle that has been off the road for years the 230 mile trip home, probably safer to just tow it anyway.

    I'm not much of a mechanic, so I figured I'd ask the community what they feel would be a good list of things to check :)
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  • From Kurt Weiske@1:218/700 to Ken Nischan on Thu May 16 07:43:00 2024
    Ken Nischan wrote to All <=-


    It's kept in a garage thankfully. Once I take possession, what do you think would be a good plan of action for getting it back on the road?
    I figure drain and replace fuel tank, replace fuel lines, fuel pump, tires, disassemble and inspect all the brakes (probably four wheel
    drum... sigh), new fluids/filters.
    What else might I be forgetting?

    Sounds like you've got all the bases covered - check the distributor and points, make sure you're getting spark?



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  • From Ken Nischan@1:275/89 to Kurt Weiske on Sat May 18 11:21:42 2024
    Re: Re: Revitalizing a car that has sat
    By: Kurt Weiske to Ken Nischan on Thu May 16 2024 07:43 am

    Ken Nischan wrote to All <=-


    It's kept in a garage thankfully. Once I take possession, what do you think would be a good plan of action for getting it back on the road?
    I figure drain and replace fuel tank, replace fuel lines, fuel pump, tires, disassemble and inspect all the brakes (probably four wheel drum... sigh), new fluids/filters.
    What else might I be forgetting?

    Sounds like you've got all the bases covered - check the distributor and points, make sure you're getting spark?

    Ahh yea, I forgot the electrical system :) Thanks. I was just talking about BMW part pricing in the other message; I was doing some shopping for replacement stuff for the Mustang and I was tickled to see it's basically the opposite. I can do the whole fuel system for under five hundred bucs from CJ's Pony Parts. Can't wait to get my hands on the car.

    Now the debate is do I restore it, or sell it? I think Mustangs are cool and all, but I've never really yearned for one. I'm more of a Chevy guy. Last gen Nova is my favorite car from back in the day. The "red headed stepchild" of Novas, lol. I like the boxy design. Had three of them over the years. Also a 74 (prior gen) that I had to start with a screwdriver, lol.

    I see similar optioned Mustangs going for anywhere from 18 to 30ish thousand.
    I guess I should get it appraised when I get it. If it's on the 30s end, I think I may just sell. A B9 era Audi S5 would bring me a whole lot more joy, heh, at least... until it breaks :D
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