74NovaMan's 66 Mustang GT (Dad's first new car)

**74NovaMan** · August 11, 2013, 05:36 PM

Here are the original invoices. The salesman, Dave Lanthier, was my uncle (mom�s brother who was married to dad�s sister.) Total cost was just over $3,200. The GT package was $152.50, the pony interior was $94.13 and the full length console was $50.41. The note about the damage is in dad's handwriting.

I wonder if that has anything to do with the "special discount"?

Attached Files

**74NovaMan** · August 11, 2013, 05:44 PM

Dad enjoyed driving the mustang for the next 14-15 years in Minnesota, year-round. I have all sorts of great memories with this car.

We drove it to the beach many times every summer
We strapped a canoe to the roof and went to the boundary waters in northern MN where it sat for a week while we camped, portaged and canoed
Getting pulled over for speeding, with dad at the wheel.
Driving down I-94 with dad, mom and my sister when dad pulled onto the gravel shoulder and put the hammer down to pass a few cars at about 70mph. I remember dad saying “I’ve always wanted to do that!”
Driving the car while sitting on his lap
Sitting on the console on the way to Dairy Queen and I bumped the shifter into neutral, it took dad a little bit to figure out what was going on.

Here is a shot of me sometime in the early 80’s doing a Duke’s of Hazard impression.

The crunched quarter panel was a replacement from an earlier accident.

Attached Files

**74NovaMan** · August 11, 2013, 05:45 PM

Somewhere in the early 80�s, Minnesota salt had taken its toll and dad took the car off the road to start a restoration. We pulled the motor using a come-along and an old swing set. Dad rebuilt the motor, transmission, and suspension. He spent a bunch of time and effort welding in new floor plans and frame pieces. Unfortunately he did not use stamped of reproduction pieces; he just used what he had laying around. At this point the project stalled out as body work was the next step. The car sat in his back garage stall gathering dust until about 2005 when dad decided he would rather have the space for a wood shop. He asked me if I was interested in some early inheritance and I took possession of the car.

**mike343sharpstick** · August 11, 2013, 06:13 PM

Great that you have it, Plans? Progress?
Inquiry minds want to know.

**74NovaMan** · August 11, 2013, 06:18 PM

My wife wants to take it on the Power Tour next year (2014). I have a lot of work to do. Stay tuned for details on just how much work that will be.

**cantvalve16** · August 11, 2013, 08:54 PM

What a great heritage to have with such a great car. An original owner GT car. I'm with Mike. What are your plans for the build?

**pintoboy77** · August 12, 2013, 03:29 AM

Neat car and a great story will keep on looking to see the progress.

**milner351** · August 12, 2013, 05:20 AM

Thankfully everything you can possibly think of is available for these cars, and the reproductions are much much better quality, fit, and finish than they were in the 80's when he started the resto. How cool to have it in the family all this time!

**hauen** · August 12, 2013, 06:38 AM

That's pretty awesome. Looking forward to seeing the rehab.

**74NovaMan** · August 12, 2013, 09:10 AM

With all this history with the car I want to make sure that it is done correctly. As mentioned earlier, the floor pans and frame rail patches were not reproduction pieces but whatever dad had readily available for cheap. If I want to use the original body and do it right, I would probably need to start with this:

Attached Files

**74NovaMan** · August 12, 2013, 09:14 AM

Add to that the front frame rails need patching, the roof is dented badly (I used it to climb up onto the shed roof in the 80’s) as well as the following list sheet metal: Inner and outer wheel wells (rear) Valence panels (front & rear) Doors Fenders Quarters Hood Decklid Rocker panels This overwhelming list leads me to the purchase of a new shell in 2008. Here is the ad for it:

Attached Files

**74NovaMan** · August 12, 2013, 09:24 AM

Here are a few shots of the mustangs side by side in the garage:

Attached Files

**mlcraven** · August 12, 2013, 09:29 AM

Following on from milner's post above, the NPD Mustang catalogue is a veritable gold mine...from its pages I'm sure you could build a complete car from scratch.