A project car is not something to be taken lightly. You have to figure out where you’re heading with it. Is it going to be a street-legal vehicle? Is it going to be an all-original restoration? Or perhaps you’d like to build a restomod. And I feel that establishing a timeline and a maximum budget is going to be crucial too.
If you don’t establish a timeline for the build from the start, you may end up selling your beloved build halfway through. And if you don’t figure out a budget, you may end up spending more than you wanted to. But even if you do think of a budget initially, chances are that you’ll be going over it by the time it’s finished. Building a project car implies a love-hate kind of relationship and you should know that before getting involved.
But if you plan ahead and if you manage to be patient throughout the process, you can diminish the hate side of things. That being said, we’ve come across an interesting vehicle. It’s quite rusty, but for those that wish to express their creative side, it could be the perfect beginning. Because this 1966 Ford Mustang is a blank canvas, waiting to be “painted”.
This is a rolling shell, so no engine or transmission is included in the sale. Looking at the VIN, this was built in San Jose, California. It’s a Fastback Mustang that used to have an optional 289 ci (4.7-liters), 2V engine inside. That V8 was rated for 200 horsepower back in the day. Now, an exciting part of building a project car is that you get to make all sorts of choices.
If you’re a Mustang purist, you’ll most likely be looking to stick to a Ford engine. And there are a lot of options out there. If you’ve got $16,795 set aside for the engine alone, why not go for a 572 ci (9.3-liters) big block crate unit? That’s a quick way of getting up to 655 horsepower, but you might want to keep the car off the streets. If you’re looking to attract a lot of attention with the build, then there’s only one thing to do.
And that’s swapping in an engine no one would expect seeing in a Ford Mustang. It could be a Nissan GT-R unit, but that’s been done before. What about a Ferrari engine? That’s been done too. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy finding something unique, but if you do manage to get there, you could be Internet famous in no time! Anyway, getting the right engine for this Mustang is just going to be part of the job.
Because the body needs a lot of work too. And of course, you’ll need a suitable gearbox for that engine. In this modern age, a 10-speed automatic would probably be an interesting choice. But you might want to get your hands on this car while you still can. It’s currently owned by jeff76impala , who is located in Tyler, Minnesota.