FYI FORD MustangSteve's Ford Mustang Forum / Tell us about your Mustang or favorite Ford

**Posted by 68FalconSC** 4/05/2014 1:55 PM

Hello Ford Fans. Im Jon and am obviously new here. My favorite flavor of Ford is the Falcon. Not the 60-63 round bodies or the 64-65 square bodies, although they are cool. My flavor is the 66 to early 70 models, with an emphasis on the 68, 69 and early 70 Big Birds. My 1st Bird was a 68 Falcon Sports Coupe, also had a 68 2 door sedan as a parts car at the same time. I was in the Navy at the time out in San Diego and was married. My wife at the time developed a meth habit and illegally sold my Falcons by forging my name on the titles while I was out to sea. During our divorce I had a 66 Sports Coupe that I ended up having to sell to help finance my kids and I going home to Michigan after the divorce was final and I was out of the Navy. I spent the next 18 years raising my kids, got married and divorced again and had 2 more kids. I got them in the divorce too. Finally in April 2008, I was able to buy another Falcon. A 68 Sports Coupe.

It still is mostly original, although the previous owner rebuilt the top end.

My plans for are fairly simple. A mustang steve 400hp 69 351w, a t-5 5speed, an 8.8 rear w/ approx. 3.80 ish gears and dual traction. I want it to look mostly stock but perform way better than such. Ala restomod.

Longest trip in it was when I brought it home from Albany, Oregon. Got close to home and ran into a freak snowstorm.

Ive redone brakes all the way round and completely rebuilt the whole front end and power steering system too. replaced the really small stock front sway bar with a 1" one and added a 7/8 rear as there was no stock one. Just need to replace the drivers side front spindle and do wheel bearings on both sides now then a front end alignment and itll be drivable again, although there's something weird going on with the engine now. thats why Im starting on the new engine. Already got the block, which came with the crank and stock heads.. Im going to use a dash pad and gauge set up from a 68-9 fairlane/ranchero/torino, which I have, as I hate the stock one.

On a side note, I found an old AMT annual model kit of my car released in 1968 that I bought and will build one day
.

Thats all for now I guess. Jon

Last edited by 68FalconSC (4/05/2014 2:25 PM)

**Posted by jerseyjoe** 4/11/2014 7:43 PM

Hakan wrote:
Since my '67 Mustang coupe almost got completely destroyed in fire accident in 2004 the whole effort to get the car back on the road has been called "The Phoenix Project", IIRC MustangSteve came up with the name.

The complete story begins at the Ford Metuchen factory in New Jersey where the car originally was made as a candyapple red, black interior coupe with a six cylinder engine and a three speed manual transmission. It was then exported and sold as a new car in Sweden. I know very little about the car's life here in Sweden other than it's been in the Norrtälje area for quite some time before I bought it in 2000.

Somewhere along the line the six cylinder engine had been swapped for a 289 V8 and a C4 auto trans together with front disc brakes from a 1968 Ford Falcon and a N-case 9 inch rear end from a 1972 Ford Mustang. Also a lot of rust repairs and bodywork had been made to the car, unfortunately not of very high quality. A paint job that probably was considered "groovy" back in the seventies was on the car when I bought it.

The last owner before me had taken the car back out on the street and through the inspection after it had been resting for a pretty long while, probably several years. There was a lot of work still left to do on the car, obviously depending on to what status you wanted to build it, but that just suited me fine when I bought the car as a running project in July 2000.

My initial plan was to work on the car during the long Swedish winters and enjoy it during the summers trying to avoid a larger project in the small garage I had back then. The goal was pretty much to just restore the car as it was with the upgrade parts that was already on it. This plan worked fine for the first two seasons, but then things got a little carried away when I started too many projects on the car in the fall of 2002.

In June 2004 I had the car pretty much back together to be able to drive it as we were about to move to another town. But then disaster struck, I had a welding accident, the car's backseat took fire and I wasn't even in the garage when it happened. Almost the whole car and most of my garage equipment got destroyed from the fire and from what was done to put the fire out.

The insurance company was very helpful after the fire, gave me a good deal and after we moved I took the car completely apart and started a complete restoration with a a lot of modifications. I am on the ninth year of the restomod work now, but during this period I've of course done a lot of other things as life have a tendency of getting in the way of the hobby.

Back when I had just bought the car in 2000 we had just moved from the town where I grew up and had all my car buddies, when I turned to the internet instead there were no Swedish forums about the Mustang at that time and I just ran into this place and have stayed here ever since.

July 2000:

July 2001:

2002, EFI converted thanks to Steve Ainsworth aka "ultrastang":

July 2004, after the fire:

March 2013, closing in on getting the exterior painted:

Håkan

Hakan,I noticed in your post your car was built in Metuchen nj, I lived in Metuchen from 70-73...the Ford factory is long gone now...my 70 Mach 1 was also built in Metuchen...it was just painted last year only a couple of miles away from the Ford plant where it was originally painted...crazy....jj

**Posted by rtmjr13@optonline.net** 5/05/2014 6:41 PM

Hello all, Robby 13 here. OK, will somebody please tell me how to post some pictures? Can you post them from phone pix? If yes, how? And from the digital camera. I cant find it anywhere. I see the upload image thing down here on the right, but, what tha! Help.

**Posted by Bolted to Floor** 5/09/2014 8:58 PM

Hi Robby,
You need a photobucket account or something similar to host your pictures. I have a Photobucket app on my I phone. Phone pics uploaded to Photobucket. "Share" the pic from photobucket app, then "copy" for I phone 5, brings up copy links, choose the "IMG" link. Paste this in your post on the Awesome MustangSteve Forum. I did a test pic in the tech section to verify.

**Posted by Vaejovis Carolinanus** 5/07/2016 8:10 PM

I have been trying to buy a car from my past for 20 plus years. I got the call a few days ago and now a 1968 Fastback 2+2 is in my garage. I am so happy I have not slept well since I got it a few days ago. I keep thinking it is all a dream.

**Posted by Vaejovis Carolinanus** 5/07/2016 8:19 PM

**Posted by eagle771** 11/16/2016 9:40 PM

my favorite ford is my new one own a 66 covert 289 but just purchased this one 2 weeks ago as a fun machine

**Posted by daily driver** 5/20/2018 9:25 PM

In 1978. I was 18. It was an ac, ps, auto 289 2v, with vinyl roof. Little by little I changed it to a three speed, I asked for a '66 hipo 289 cam. They called it a mid range cam. Autolite 4v, Edelbrock torker 289 manifold and headers. No ac, no ps. It was leaking oil all over the place. So I put in new gaskets, new rings and bearings. Did not bore it. Drove it back and forth from Florida to Texas on I-10 several times cammed up. Rebuilt motor now. Everyone has a longer story, but I'll end it here. Daily driver off and on, on for going on 6 years. It's a fun to car drive. Hoping to get the AC back in!

**Posted by Coupedaddy** 5/07/2020 10:06 PM

The blue 66 as a teenager started this addiction after selling the car getting into Fox Body Coupes I never lost love for the Pony car I looked for years but Rust killed my dreams until As a recovering Mustang addict God blesses me with the Coupe from Sacramento California to help move into the next phase of life with my wife from Racing Fun Ford weekends with my daughters to cruising with the wife once they started going to college cruising the country with My FYI Brothers and Sisters. The White 2015 was a treat to have the cars 50 apart and being a good recovering Mustang addict Lol it’s totally stock as like the 50 year old version of me but the teenager Coupe gets all the Goodies fuel injected 331 5 speed 3:73 geared 8.8

Last edited by Coupedaddy (5/09/2020 1:29 AM)

**Posted by 50vert** 5/13/2020 1:41 AM

Nice history Charles! I hadn't realized you were into hot 5ohs as much as you were. I missed the 1/4 mile thing, cos it seemed like ya had'ta have either money, or knowledge ... I had neither.
I, for one, am glad you persevered, and found that great car in Sacramento ... wouldn't'a got to meet two real nice people in Wimberley otherwise.

**Posted by 7DMACH1** 1/27/2021 5:03 PM

Just joined today. My name is Ray Jermyn. I'm a retired Ford and Lincoln Mercury Parts Counterman a Mgr from 1969-2013. I live in Lansdale Pa. Originally lived in worked in Phila. Pa. I purchase a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 in 1998. Car was owned by a friend who was a body man. He got ill and had to sell car. Car was sitting for 9 years. Body and paint was done. I finished the car in 6 months . Car was originally a 351c 2v, with FMX trans. Previous owner had installed 4v heads intake and carb, and top loader 4 spd. Engine started knocking in 2002. I had it bored and stroked to a 408. Has 567hp. Installed Detroit Locker, and 4.30 gears with 31 spline Moser Axles. Car ran 11.42 at 118 in 2003. Mostly a show and cruise night car now. I'm in the process of installed Holley fuel injection, Borgeson Steering and Ride Tech Lowering Suspension with 17" wheels and tires. did a front disc brake conversion back in 2002. c

Last edited by 7DMACH1 (1/27/2021 5:39 PM)