15k: Revelation 2-18: 1970 Ford Mustang Fasback Restomod
This weekend I spent an inordinate amount of time under the bottom of a fastback Mustang and a few thoughts blossomed in my head like early spring flowers. It was supposed to be a simple bolt in rack-and-pinion steering system (purchased new-in-box and discounted from some dude over the interweb) but the deeper I got into the car the less likely it seemed I would be driving it in the near future. The list of restorative to-dos flowed onto my plate like a muddy hillside in a typhoon. A few brackets needed sanding/painting and while the steering column is out, may as well start into the gauge cluster issues…heater core rebuild…etc etc. Today’s revelation isn’t some religious proclamation involving eyes of burning fire or feet like burnished bronze…it is a simple thought…why didn’t I buy a finished classic? Find this 1970 Ford Mustang Fastback Restomod
for sale in Houston, TX currently bidding for $9,100 reserve-not-met with 6 days to go.
This Mustang is not too dissimilar from the one I spent most of the weekend cursing at – just a year newer and a more importantly…a year more complete. If you enjoy the sting of New Skin liquid bandage, by all means, ignore this advice and get a project…but if you just want to drive…there is certainly a better way.
The seller of this Fastback (technically the seller’s friend, since the ebay seller claims to be a middle man doing a favor) has spent his weekends, his money, his time and his knuckles turning this from an aged classic into a resto-mod. Part restoration, part modification, the term restomod is a new definition on the age old concept of updating your car with modern parts borrowed from other vehicles. Read Jay Leno’s piece on restomodding in Popular Mechanics for quick primer if you aren’t familiar with the concept.
This Mustang is powered by a fuel injected 5.0 liter V8 from a Fox-body Mustang and is shifted with a 4-speed AOD transmission – which should make for decent performance. The interior is in great shape and has certainly been restored by the seller, although details are skimpy in the ad. Restored cars on ebay are often sold by dealers who include comprehensive build sheets (such as this gorgeous Green/gold-stripe 1967 Mustang Fastback) but also asking comprehensive money.
Would I sell my Fastback for a loss and buy this completed example? No. But given the choice between this and an example needed total rebuild…this is by far the quicker and cheaper way to just drive. tips@dailyturismo.com
Hmmm.as a rule I am a fanatic for originality.
But since I rank these bloated third generation(if you count the '67 as the second) Stangs as the beginning of the end…….and sui generis….stuffing this puppy with stray parts offends me not, which brings to mind Kirk Douglas in The Viking AND Occams Razor.
AS you slide down the blade of ever deepening problem discovery and the awareness of the depth of the tasks ahead of you increases, the obvious solution as tested by the simplest of hypothesis among others," Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate", as it were…would it be better to stop now and buy a car that is done.or continue to remove this engine,becomes apparent.
So guys…
That's a nice Sportsroof ('70 Fastback – no such thing :-P)! If it were me, I'd pick up a more original example with a 351 and hidden mods for performance likely very similar to this later 302. Still, there's something to be said for the 'starts every time' aspect of the EFI car. The '69 rear fender scoops are an interesting addition on a '70, as well.
Whether this restomod was a good or bad idea hinges heavily, in my mind, on what the car was to begin with. If it was a six-cylinder or base 302 car, absolutely no harm was done. If it started life as anything higher up the food chain and I start to wonder whether it's better or worse off.
Either way, I'll bet it's fun. I just can't imagine doing all that work and still using an automatic trans!
Oddimotive Cason – good eyes, I did not catch the rear render scoops – a strange thing to add, seems it would be easier to take a 1969 and add the 1970 front end (seen that before ). On this one the front end, tail lights, gauges and ignition on column look 70..just the side scoops.
EIC Vince
Agree with the comment about all that work and the shame of picking the slushbox. I dig the color, lines and reliability of this machine's contemporary 302 but a transmission swap isn't likely in the cards given the buyer will have just paid for the brand new AOD.