tarafied1
Well-Known Member
I pulled this out of the February contest thread but I wanted to update and add some things...
Hey, my name is Craig. I was named after Craig Breedlove. He had just set the Land Speed Record in "The Spirit of America" and Breedlove was my mother's maiden name. When I was born my grandfather had just bought a new T-Bird with a 390 in 1966 and I came home from the hospital in that car. Seen here in the photo below after my dad bought it from him...
notice the small block Ford laying upside down on the ground! My dad eventually bought the car for my mom so we had it a while. My dad wanted a Mustang when they were new but settled for a used 64 Falcon Sprint 260 4speed (he bought it in 65). seen here with me and my mom... dig those shades
My dad was a gearhead so the Falcon was pushed to its limits many times. So I was watching him and handing him wrenches since the time I could walk. My dad later traded the Falcon for a 69 Torino (seen in the first photo behind the bird). In this photo you can see the Bird and the Falcon with my mom, dad and older sister...
At some point my dad finally got his Mustang in the early 80's, here he is driving it in 2009...
He has had this car for a very long time.
Now I grew up watching my dad work on his own stuff and bring cars home from guys at work to fix them and make a few bucks on the side. I usually got to test drive some of them, I was my dad's shadow. Once he bought a 66 coupe parts car for the engine when he broke a timing chain in the 69 Torino and bent all the valves. After he pulled the motor he was going to junk the Mustang because it was rusty. I used to sit in that car everyday after school looking at my mom's 66 T-Bird and thinking about the styling similarities between the two. I begged my dad not to junk it but we couldn't keep it. I was only 5 or 6 but my passion for Mustangs was fueled even more as I hoped that 66 would be mine! It wasn't to be. Well of course I collected 1/25th scale models and majority were Mustangs. I had mustang books and posters. A lot of my toys were Mustangs. Everything led me to dream of Mustangs, for example, I walked to school growing up and there was a 67 coupe that sat in a driveway that I walked past every day. I wanted that car. One of my dads friends was a Ford nut and he bought new cars every few years. One day I got to ride in a brand new 71 Mach1. As a kid it was awesome. It was red with black stripes. Between my dad's Fords, uncles, friends, etc. the fever only got worse. By the time I was 13 I had worked and saved enough money that I could seriously consider buying a real car. I scoured the classifieds and went to my dad on many occaisions with an ad and said how about this one?!? My mom and dad weren't ready for me to drag home a car at 13 but by the time I was 15 I had worn them down. I found a 67 coupe that had been hit in the front for $500 and another that was rear-ended for $75. The one I saved is seen here...
In a relatively short time with help from my dad, my older sister's boyfriend (who is now my brother-in-law) we turned it into this...
My dad's Torino seen in the background.
It wasn't long and I decided I wanted a winter beater to prevent wear and tear and rust so I found a 67 Fasback for $500 seen here...
The fever was intensifying! The fastback seamed too good to serve as a beater so it was replaced with a 72 Torino...
I kept my 1st 67 coupe until I was about 25. I had moved into an apartment and had to get rid of many of the cars I had collected. :cry My first car was still my pride and joy, here it is seen sitting out back of my apartment...
Well I had a good job now and wanted to buy a house but I didn't have enough for the down payment. A guy I worked with had a 67 coupe that he wanted me to restore (I had developed a reputation as a Mustang nut fixing and working on the cars of guys I worked with as my dad had done). I just didn't have the time to do a full resto so we worked out a deal. My 67 had a heavily modified 302 (306) with 289 HiPo heads, 2.02/1.94 Chevy Valves, 12.5:1 compression, 750cfm Holley, etc.,etc and other mods like disc brakes, a C6 for a small block, a narrower Maverick rear so the 50 series tires would fit under the lip of fender and so much more. He agreed to buy my car if I swapped in his rebuilt stock 289, C4, rear axle and stock exhaust and in turn I bought his stripped rusty 67 for $650.00. My baby was gone but I still had a Mustang! I sold my modified small block, headers and other goodies to fund some sheet metal and I replaced the floors, quarters and so on shortly after getting the car. I had aquired a stock 460 from a T-Bird and it was under my work bench so in it went. I drove the car like that for many years. I upgraded the brakes before a lot of aftermarket stuff was available. I had Granada spindles and Versailles 9" rear as this was the hot ticket in the 90's. Here is a before and after...
notice my dad's 66 in this pic and my brother-in-laws 72 GTO thru the windshield...
In the mean time I bought an 85 GT 5.0/5speed as my daily driver (which my X ended up with and totaled) and life happened.
I got married, had my 1st son, then she left and I was a single dad. I remarried a few years later and we had two more boys. I have been relocated for my job 3 times, moving to different states. The car spent a lot of time in storage. At some point someone poured water in the 460 (long story). When I tried to rebuild it, the block was beyond repair. I called a guy who said he had a 429 with 4 bolt mains for $500! Needles to say I snagged it. Well more time past and in 2004 I went to the Chicago Auto Show and saw the 05 Concept Mustang and told my wife that day, if Ford makes that car, I WILL buy one! She agreed and I was happy. In 05 we moved again. My car was back in storage. We went to our local Ford dealer and GT's just could not be had. I wasn't going to settle for a 6 banger for my first new Mustang that I would probably own forever. I was pretty down that we couldn't find a GT 5 speed. We decided to wait untill the craze died down as dealers that were getting GTs were marking them up. In the fall of 05 a company picnic was planned that included an employee car show. Many asked if I would bring my Mustang so I got it out of storage. My wife said we should at least make it one color so we primed it grey (I couldn't get anymore red oxide by this time). Here is a pic at the company picnic car show with a coworkers 70 Boss 302 (he's owned it since 74)...
My wife said to me, "why don't we finish your car instead of buy a new one?" and I said I wanted to Shelby-ize it and it would cost a pile of money. My favorite car ever was a 68 Shelby GT500KR and I wanted to make mine look like a 68 Shelby. She said okay.
ep She even got so into it she did the seats and headliner. I had seen the Eleanor in the remake movie and decided rather than a 68 Shelby nose, I wanted the Eleanor nose. in 2006 I got it...
The car had a lot of rust still and we had to replace the front frame rails and aprons, etc.
I can't paint so I enlisted a local shop to paint the shell in 07...
I took it home in October 07 and put it back together. After all the years of dragging it around, storing parts in it and on it and dreaming of what it could be it was finally a car again. Funny story about being finished (almost). My wife always gave me a hard time about the door handles (or lack of them). Since I took all the chrome off right away and it wasn't painted for so long, it had cable ties hooked to the linkage and sticking out in order to open the doors. Once it was painted I waited to put the handles on untill it was buffed so I still had the cable ties sticking out of the holes in the doors. She thought I would never put door handles on it! Well I finally did and we are all enjoying the car now and I have taken it to a few car shows, I even won Stangfix January car of the month! Here is a picture at the Nashville Autofest...
I still don't have a newer Mustang and things are tight so it could be a while yet. We have talked about getting an 07 to go with the 67. We are also looking for another project Mustang to build for her so let me know of any leads. I have bought and sold a few basket cases and we are still looking for the right one. Well there is a lot more details to the story but I think I covered the highlights.
here is the link to my build details
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum/index.php/topic,2363.0.html
and the link to my MINI ME E-Coupe
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum/index.php/topic,5527.0.html
link to POS coupe which Dave gave me
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum/index.php/topic,3478.0.html
Hey, my name is Craig. I was named after Craig Breedlove. He had just set the Land Speed Record in "The Spirit of America" and Breedlove was my mother's maiden name. When I was born my grandfather had just bought a new T-Bird with a 390 in 1966 and I came home from the hospital in that car. Seen here in the photo below after my dad bought it from him...
notice the small block Ford laying upside down on the ground! My dad eventually bought the car for my mom so we had it a while. My dad wanted a Mustang when they were new but settled for a used 64 Falcon Sprint 260 4speed (he bought it in 65). seen here with me and my mom... dig those shades
My dad was a gearhead so the Falcon was pushed to its limits many times. So I was watching him and handing him wrenches since the time I could walk. My dad later traded the Falcon for a 69 Torino (seen in the first photo behind the bird). In this photo you can see the Bird and the Falcon with my mom, dad and older sister...
At some point my dad finally got his Mustang in the early 80's, here he is driving it in 2009...
He has had this car for a very long time.
Now I grew up watching my dad work on his own stuff and bring cars home from guys at work to fix them and make a few bucks on the side. I usually got to test drive some of them, I was my dad's shadow. Once he bought a 66 coupe parts car for the engine when he broke a timing chain in the 69 Torino and bent all the valves. After he pulled the motor he was going to junk the Mustang because it was rusty. I used to sit in that car everyday after school looking at my mom's 66 T-Bird and thinking about the styling similarities between the two. I begged my dad not to junk it but we couldn't keep it. I was only 5 or 6 but my passion for Mustangs was fueled even more as I hoped that 66 would be mine! It wasn't to be. Well of course I collected 1/25th scale models and majority were Mustangs. I had mustang books and posters. A lot of my toys were Mustangs. Everything led me to dream of Mustangs, for example, I walked to school growing up and there was a 67 coupe that sat in a driveway that I walked past every day. I wanted that car. One of my dads friends was a Ford nut and he bought new cars every few years. One day I got to ride in a brand new 71 Mach1. As a kid it was awesome. It was red with black stripes. Between my dad's Fords, uncles, friends, etc. the fever only got worse. By the time I was 13 I had worked and saved enough money that I could seriously consider buying a real car. I scoured the classifieds and went to my dad on many occaisions with an ad and said how about this one?!? My mom and dad weren't ready for me to drag home a car at 13 but by the time I was 15 I had worn them down. I found a 67 coupe that had been hit in the front for $500 and another that was rear-ended for $75. The one I saved is seen here...
In a relatively short time with help from my dad, my older sister's boyfriend (who is now my brother-in-law) we turned it into this...
My dad's Torino seen in the background.
It wasn't long and I decided I wanted a winter beater to prevent wear and tear and rust so I found a 67 Fasback for $500 seen here...
The fever was intensifying! The fastback seamed too good to serve as a beater so it was replaced with a 72 Torino...
I kept my 1st 67 coupe until I was about 25. I had moved into an apartment and had to get rid of many of the cars I had collected. :cry My first car was still my pride and joy, here it is seen sitting out back of my apartment...
Well I had a good job now and wanted to buy a house but I didn't have enough for the down payment. A guy I worked with had a 67 coupe that he wanted me to restore (I had developed a reputation as a Mustang nut fixing and working on the cars of guys I worked with as my dad had done). I just didn't have the time to do a full resto so we worked out a deal. My 67 had a heavily modified 302 (306) with 289 HiPo heads, 2.02/1.94 Chevy Valves, 12.5:1 compression, 750cfm Holley, etc.,etc and other mods like disc brakes, a C6 for a small block, a narrower Maverick rear so the 50 series tires would fit under the lip of fender and so much more. He agreed to buy my car if I swapped in his rebuilt stock 289, C4, rear axle and stock exhaust and in turn I bought his stripped rusty 67 for $650.00. My baby was gone but I still had a Mustang! I sold my modified small block, headers and other goodies to fund some sheet metal and I replaced the floors, quarters and so on shortly after getting the car. I had aquired a stock 460 from a T-Bird and it was under my work bench so in it went. I drove the car like that for many years. I upgraded the brakes before a lot of aftermarket stuff was available. I had Granada spindles and Versailles 9" rear as this was the hot ticket in the 90's. Here is a before and after...
In the mean time I bought an 85 GT 5.0/5speed as my daily driver (which my X ended up with and totaled) and life happened.
I got married, had my 1st son, then she left and I was a single dad. I remarried a few years later and we had two more boys. I have been relocated for my job 3 times, moving to different states. The car spent a lot of time in storage. At some point someone poured water in the 460 (long story). When I tried to rebuild it, the block was beyond repair. I called a guy who said he had a 429 with 4 bolt mains for $500! Needles to say I snagged it. Well more time past and in 2004 I went to the Chicago Auto Show and saw the 05 Concept Mustang and told my wife that day, if Ford makes that car, I WILL buy one! She agreed and I was happy. In 05 we moved again. My car was back in storage. We went to our local Ford dealer and GT's just could not be had. I wasn't going to settle for a 6 banger for my first new Mustang that I would probably own forever. I was pretty down that we couldn't find a GT 5 speed. We decided to wait untill the craze died down as dealers that were getting GTs were marking them up. In the fall of 05 a company picnic was planned that included an employee car show. Many asked if I would bring my Mustang so I got it out of storage. My wife said we should at least make it one color so we primed it grey (I couldn't get anymore red oxide by this time). Here is a pic at the company picnic car show with a coworkers 70 Boss 302 (he's owned it since 74)...
My wife said to me, "why don't we finish your car instead of buy a new one?" and I said I wanted to Shelby-ize it and it would cost a pile of money. My favorite car ever was a 68 Shelby GT500KR and I wanted to make mine look like a 68 Shelby. She said okay.
ep She even got so into it she did the seats and headliner. I had seen the Eleanor in the remake movie and decided rather than a 68 Shelby nose, I wanted the Eleanor nose. in 2006 I got it...
The car had a lot of rust still and we had to replace the front frame rails and aprons, etc.
I can't paint so I enlisted a local shop to paint the shell in 07...
I took it home in October 07 and put it back together. After all the years of dragging it around, storing parts in it and on it and dreaming of what it could be it was finally a car again. Funny story about being finished (almost). My wife always gave me a hard time about the door handles (or lack of them). Since I took all the chrome off right away and it wasn't painted for so long, it had cable ties hooked to the linkage and sticking out in order to open the doors. Once it was painted I waited to put the handles on untill it was buffed so I still had the cable ties sticking out of the holes in the doors. She thought I would never put door handles on it! Well I finally did and we are all enjoying the car now and I have taken it to a few car shows, I even won Stangfix January car of the month! Here is a picture at the Nashville Autofest...
I still don't have a newer Mustang and things are tight so it could be a while yet. We have talked about getting an 07 to go with the 67. We are also looking for another project Mustang to build for her so let me know of any leads. I have bought and sold a few basket cases and we are still looking for the right one. Well there is a lot more details to the story but I think I covered the highlights.
here is the link to my build details
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum/index.php/topic,2363.0.html
and the link to my MINI ME E-Coupe
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum/index.php/topic,5527.0.html
link to POS coupe which Dave gave me
http://www.stangfix.com/testforum/index.php/topic,3478.0.html
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