'64 1/2 Mustang Convertible restoration

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It’s a funny thing being a petrolhead at times. On the greatest thing about it is that there’s always a lot of things going on quite near to you to help you quench the fuel thirst. Sometimes though, things are much closer than you think. In my case, about 50 metres from my front door lives Gordon.

Gordon can only be described as a Mustang lover. From a very young man to the present day he’s been driving lots of Mustangs and American muscle. His previous project took about a decade to complete (working on and off!). Having sold that in October last year, he was going to take a break. A month or so later a 64 and a half Mustang Convertible shell had ended up in his garage.

Having been in storage since 1980, the body is in fantastic condition. Thick steel panels never to be seen on modern cars make up the body that has very little issues – only a few dents and dinks to be ironed out. There’s been some very minor rust that’s now been sorted out but other than that this 47 year old car is in amazing condition.

The general plan is to first sand blast the car back to bare metal all over and under as well. With that done, all of the imperfections of the body work and shut lines will be much easier to see. Then it;s time to knock out the dents and do any additional work needed to leave the body in mint condition. Gordon’s going to spend a lot of time on this job because no matter how much money you spend on paint and finish, if the shut lines and body work doesn’t line up, it will still look imperfect. Since Gordon’s last Mustang won many best in show awards, I’m pretty sure he’s going to make it right.

What colour I hear you cry? Well the current idea is the Ferrari colour river blue (a light metallic) with a white hood and interior. I think it’s going to look incredible once it’s finished – a lot of brightwork and shiny white leather. Add to that a period 4.7 litre V8 and it will also sound like it was always meant to, even if it’s only going to be putting out about 225bhp. It’s going to be a summer cruiser after all.

I’m looking forward to revisiting Gordon quite a few times over the next few months to see the progress of the car and adding more photos and updates as well as plans to getting it finished. It’s a great project (one I’m pretty jealous isn’t my own to be honest – not that I’m very handy with a spanner).