I recently purchased a 1967 mustang fastback. I have always loved this body style and bought it on impulse. Now I am wondering if I may have made a mistake. The person I bought it from started the restoration but never finished it. So I went in knowing it needed an engine, and some body work. After getting it home and digging into it a bit more I now realize that it needs fenders, rear quarter panels, floor pans, trunk floor, deck lid, cowl vent, and maybe doors, plus a paint job and all new interior. This is only what I know so far, I'm sure that I'll eventually need more. I only paid $800 for it. Is it worth fixing up, or should I try and find another body/car?  

Hey Brett,

It comes down to your budget and/or expectations. When we restored my wife's '65 it needed the same metalwork as your does. That cost about $8000 or so for labor and paint. IN the end we spent about $13k for the restoration of a '65 coupe with an inline 6 in it. That doesnt' mean the car is worth $13k. We could never expect that type of money from the car.

But this is her daily driver. If we bought somethign she liked and would drive we would spend the same amount or more for something.

If this is your dream car and you're willing and able to put the time and money into the work, you can restore this one. The other option is to buy one of the '67 shells from Dynacorn. They are reproducing the entire body shell under license from Ford. That will cost you about $18k before paint for the shell alone. Add to that suspension, drivetrain, interior, etc. and it'll add up.

Before you decide though, have a restoration shop look at it. If they cringe, you'll know what to do.

Hope that helps!  

I would restore a fastback in a heartbeat I don't care if its 90% cancer stricken. The fastbacks can go as high as 25K on ebay and you can buy everything you need from npd. I have completed 6 major restos and 3 of them were rustangs(inner rockers front frame rails torque boxes frame extensions quarters) I cant do door skins I have failed three times. Find a nice used lincoln mig machine and a air compressor (for a cut off wheel) and have at it. I have never felt so good after a complete resto is finished. I say as long as you have a good roof and a title fix it. For $800 I would say you got a *** of a deal without even seeing it.  

If you're able to do the metal work yourself, I say go for it. I didn't know you could the work yourself. That makes all the difference.

Keep us up to date with the progress  

I bought this car from a guy who had started the restoration but only got as far as rebuilding the engine. The story he told is that he rebuilt the engine, drove the car half way around the block to test the engine out, but it seized up on him. So he towed the car home and tore the engine down in the front yard and that's where it stayed for about three years. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the car and almost completely dismantled the car. When I bought it, the car was full of parts. Most of the engine was in the trunk and all the suspension, bumpers, radiator, windshields, and fenders along with boxes of various parts were in the passenger compartment. His wife was making him sell it to get it out of the front yard. So I'm going to have to go through things to try and figure out what is what and what goes where.
I already have a mig welder and an arc welder and an air compressor and a whole slew of other tools. So I feel I can do most of the panel replacement my self. Just thought I'd bounce it off a few other people and see if anyone thought I was wasting my time taking on this project that needs so much right off the bat.  

I'd say do it if you have the necessary means.  Those cars are so pimp when they're cleaned up.