Oh before i get into the work, here is a lovelly email i got from John the day the girl arrived:

Hey Cameron man,
you are one lucky lucky lucky guy, I have not seen a Mustang this clean for a long time, it is very good.
I unpacked her today, picking it up on Tuesday next week. Customs has to clear it.
I don’t think there will be any big damage on the old girl but I can’t say for sure until the paint is stripped off it. But it does look good.

Needless to say that just made me itchin’ to start.

So in late March 2005 John started the painstaking task of stripping all her paint down. This is were she didn’t look her best, but at least we were off to a good start. Take a look.

But we did encounter some damage in the RH rear quarter.

OK, the Right hand 1/4 panel had a lot of filler(Bog) in it, and we found a few problems but do not worry it is not going to cost $1000s to fix.

Most of the body is in good condition, but this panel is going to need a lot of work, the other end of the panel has been drilled for repair work, this is typical of the yanks, those holes will need to be welded up very carefully so not to cause heat stress to the rest of the panel.

Well you’ve seen what i had to begin with now here are some pics of what i want to finish with.

I think just about any Mustang lover who saw that movie would agree that “Eleanor” looks amazing. I know some vintage guys cringe at the though of this ‘restomod’ but hey, im young, so i don’t really care, it looks unreal so im going for it.

First off I needed a car and since the movie in 2000 1967 mustangs in good shape (little to no rust, straight body) have been hard to come by, or are really expensive.

John managed to secure one for me we saw on eBay, we contacted the guy and he ended the auction early for us, and better still the car had NO RUST and had a straight, accident free body (or so we thought) more on that later. Anyway here’s what I started with.

And here’s the original ad:

Vehicle Description

1967 MUSTANG FASTBACK

A-CODE 289 4V. C4 Auto Transmission. Candy Apple Red exterior. Parchment interior. I purchased the car in 1999. Car was completely together and ran good. I started to restore it in 1999 and since then have had to move twice, start a new job, smaller garage, etc. which has kept me from finishing it. The car is really a tip top project. NO RUST or rot on the inside or out what so ever. As far as I’m concerned it could be finished with a paint job and interior work, some trim, and misc detailing. Very straight body. Unfortunately I need to sell this car due to lack of parking, and space, etc. I would like somebody to have it that will finish and appreciate it. I have tried to list as much info as I can about the car. I’d rather list too much then too little. Please contact me for more info, or if you would like specific pictures taken and emailed to you.

Particulars:

-Car is located in Southern California.
-Matching numbers.
-Car was sold with Cobra accessory package which included Cobra valve covers, rear grille appliqué panel (have letter from Ford research department)
-Clean Title.

Vehicle Condition

New parts/work with receipts:

OEM style unless specified
Engine has been professionally rebuilt from the bottom up with new parts, and balanced (runs perfect) -Try-Y nickel plated headers – Edlebrock 289 performer intake manifold with ARP bolts – Holly 650 CFM carburetor – Flowmaster delta series mufflers with complete 2 ¼” aluminized exhaust – 15×7 Torque Thrust D’s with 225/60/15 BF Goodrich Comp TA’s – MSD heli-core Coil & Wires – Master cylinder & booster – steel brake lines – calipers – Upper & Lower control arms – Front springs – rear leafs – KYB shocks – Center link – drag link – idler arm – all steering and suspension bushings (polyurethane) – Starter – Radiator – Wheel bearings F/R – Motor Mounts – Heater Core – heater plenum

Original parts not installed, have been carefully stored since removal:

– Front and rear windows – Most all chrome trim – Headlights and related headlight parts and fasteners. Fog lights and related parts – Rear appliqué panels (needs some of the studs which hold it on replaced) – All parking lights, turn signals, related hardware – All seats including fold down seats and parts (seats need to be reupholstered) – All interior panels, dash, center console with working bread box door, steering wheel (cracked), all working gauges, AM radio (needs a knob), new Ford guage instrument panel.

Parts & Pieces that I no longer have for one reason or another:

Front & rear bumpers. Carpet. Front door panels.

Not a bad deal I must say! Took a bit over three months to get here via China of all places but she got here all safe and well and didn’t fall off the boat like some friends of mine liked to taunt me with.

Hello world indeed!

Well i’m finally up and running with a blog i wanted to start quite some time ago. So here it is, somewhere where i can post all my thoughts, my updates, my photos, my impatience and of course the state of my dwindling back account.

Name is Cameron, I’m a 23 year old living in Sydney, Australia working in Publishing and i own a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback, which is being restored into an “Eleanor” from the 2000 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicolas Cage.

Now i lay this down from the start, i suck at cars! i mean i know a bit, but i’m no mechanic. so ask me to point out the air conditioner and i’ll point to the ABS system (yeah laugh! it actually happened once) and yes i know 60’s mustang’s don’t have ABS, it was another car.

So you ask “how can you restore a classic like this when you don’t know anything? you’re mad, you’re a butcher” Well no, i do like the odd New York steak but..well you know what i mean.

My good friend John who restores Mustang’s in his spare time has taken on my old girl. He does the work and basically i pay the bills, hunt down parts, drool, annoy him for news and now post on my blog. I’ve had the car for about 2 years now, and although it’s been slow i’d say im half way there. I’m hoping to have it all done by the end of 2007.

So sit back and i hope you enjoy the ride.