68RestoMod
New Member
Hello everybody. My name is Larry and I have been lurking here for a few months and have really been struck by the sense of friendship that members feel towards one another. It is a testament to all involved in this great resource and meeting place for all of us afflicted with the disease known as Mustangmania. There is no cure and we may not get telethons, though that would helpful to pay for bodywork, we do have a beacon of hope here at stangfix.
Well the time has come to stop lurking and I figured what better way to start then to tell the story of my Mustang. It is a 1968 coupe I call "Last Date" after my Dad's favorite song. My Dad bought the Mustang from a friend of his brothers in 1969 when he returned from Viet Nam. It was a white coupe with two-tone aqua interior and 2v 289/auto. Through the years it was our family car. It took us all over Europe when we were stationed in Germany. It made the drive from Georgia to California, then to Pensacola Florida and back, then from California to Homestead, FL, and finally back to Pensacola where it was allowed to rest. My Dad retired from the Air Force, in 1986, to Pensacola and the Mustang became a weekend cruiser. He had the body stripped to metal and repainted maroon with Gold Stripes and swapped out the interior, making it Deluxe Parchment. He then joined the local Mustang Club, Gulf Coast Regional Mustang Club, and got quite involved with the shows and loved showing his car. Other than the paint, everything done to the car was done by my Dad and me. My earliest memory of working on the Mustang with my Dad was when I was 5 years old and helped change the oil. I can remember him telling me that when I turned 16 it would be mine. When I turned 15 he helped me buy a 1967 coupe so he wouldn't have to give up his '68. We spent a lot of time on the '67, putting in a 460 and c-6 from a Lincoln, upgrading the rear-end to a 9" 3.50, mostly performance stuff, never did paint that car. When I got married and had my daughter I had to sell the '67 to buy a more family friendly car and the attention turned back to the '68.
In 2004, my Dad was diagnosed with lung and neck cancer and went straight into Chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He was a fighter and we continued to work on the car and stay involved with the club for the first year or so of treatment. As he got weaker it became too much for him to work on and the car suffered along with him. In November of 2008 everything was looking great, Dad was in remission, and it looked like things would be back to normal in no time. He approached me and said he really didn't see himself to dedicate to get the car back to show quality and asked me if I would like to buy the car. I told him I would love to and asked the price, he said $10,000 or $10 if I promised not to put a 460 in it. I promised. In February 2009, he contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized, when they did the x-ray they discovered that the cancer had come back and was in his lungs and stomach. A week and a half later, on Feb. 13th, he passed away.
Since then this car has become my mission. I want to build the car that we both always wanted. His favorite Mustang was the '68 Shelby GT500KR Convertible, whose isn't? The color combination is dark blue with white stripes. I am going with 68 Shelby fiberglass on the coupe, kind of Black Hornet style but blue with white stripes and no vinyl roof. Keeping the 4v 302 that is in it now and swapping out the smallblock c-6 for tko-500. Many other ideas include TCI M2 front end, changing the interior to black and blue, building a custom console, 4 wheel Cobra disk brakes, hydraulic clutch, and the list goes on and on. I will be starting a build thread soon and will be asking tons of questions I am sure. Thanks in advance for all the help.
Larry
68RestoMod
Well the time has come to stop lurking and I figured what better way to start then to tell the story of my Mustang. It is a 1968 coupe I call "Last Date" after my Dad's favorite song. My Dad bought the Mustang from a friend of his brothers in 1969 when he returned from Viet Nam. It was a white coupe with two-tone aqua interior and 2v 289/auto. Through the years it was our family car. It took us all over Europe when we were stationed in Germany. It made the drive from Georgia to California, then to Pensacola Florida and back, then from California to Homestead, FL, and finally back to Pensacola where it was allowed to rest. My Dad retired from the Air Force, in 1986, to Pensacola and the Mustang became a weekend cruiser. He had the body stripped to metal and repainted maroon with Gold Stripes and swapped out the interior, making it Deluxe Parchment. He then joined the local Mustang Club, Gulf Coast Regional Mustang Club, and got quite involved with the shows and loved showing his car. Other than the paint, everything done to the car was done by my Dad and me. My earliest memory of working on the Mustang with my Dad was when I was 5 years old and helped change the oil. I can remember him telling me that when I turned 16 it would be mine. When I turned 15 he helped me buy a 1967 coupe so he wouldn't have to give up his '68. We spent a lot of time on the '67, putting in a 460 and c-6 from a Lincoln, upgrading the rear-end to a 9" 3.50, mostly performance stuff, never did paint that car. When I got married and had my daughter I had to sell the '67 to buy a more family friendly car and the attention turned back to the '68.
In 2004, my Dad was diagnosed with lung and neck cancer and went straight into Chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He was a fighter and we continued to work on the car and stay involved with the club for the first year or so of treatment. As he got weaker it became too much for him to work on and the car suffered along with him. In November of 2008 everything was looking great, Dad was in remission, and it looked like things would be back to normal in no time. He approached me and said he really didn't see himself to dedicate to get the car back to show quality and asked me if I would like to buy the car. I told him I would love to and asked the price, he said $10,000 or $10 if I promised not to put a 460 in it. I promised. In February 2009, he contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized, when they did the x-ray they discovered that the cancer had come back and was in his lungs and stomach. A week and a half later, on Feb. 13th, he passed away.
Since then this car has become my mission. I want to build the car that we both always wanted. His favorite Mustang was the '68 Shelby GT500KR Convertible, whose isn't? The color combination is dark blue with white stripes. I am going with 68 Shelby fiberglass on the coupe, kind of Black Hornet style but blue with white stripes and no vinyl roof. Keeping the 4v 302 that is in it now and swapping out the smallblock c-6 for tko-500. Many other ideas include TCI M2 front end, changing the interior to black and blue, building a custom console, 4 wheel Cobra disk brakes, hydraulic clutch, and the list goes on and on. I will be starting a build thread soon and will be asking tons of questions I am sure. Thanks in advance for all the help.
Larry
68RestoMod
