The Strip Down

The two most important pieces of advice I can give here is one.........take lots of photos of EVERYTHING before, during & after you strip & two..........bag/box & label every item you remove. I would box everything in sub assembly & give it a detailed label. For example - "Left Door Handle & Lock" which would include the door lever/lock/latch mechanisms, as well as all the nuts, bolts, screws, clips, pins etc. required to fasten that sub assembly to the door & to each other. You could also make a simple parts list of everything taken off to include in this sub assembly and store it in the box with the parts. It all depends on how meticulous you want to be. Try & keep the sub assemblies as small as possible. I found it easier to remember how to refit a small sub assembly. Imagine opening a box & seeing only the door lock, latch & handle mechanism to refit as apposed to opening a box containing everything that attaches to a door IE. door lock, latch, handle & mechanism, door glass & scissor mechanism, tracks for door glass, window winder handle, side mirror & remote mechanism, window rubbers, door courtesy light & wiring, door interior pull handle, door interior panel with beading's, bezels & emblems, etc.etc. plus all the fasteners & hard ware required to install all this. It's easier to find an hour or two to fit a small sub assembly & you will leave the garage feeling like you have accomplished something instead of walking out not remembering what you've accomplished but what is still left in the box to do. Remember STRIP IT, BAG IT, TAG IT & take photos at every stage.

This is also the best time to evaluate a part to decide whether you want to replace it, refurbish it or simply refitted it. While I was bagging & tagging I had a note book that I would write down what parts I would like to replace & what parts I had to replace. There is a difference........part that had to be replaced were simply that, parts that I would like to replace were parts that were showing sign's of their age but could be refurbished with some elbow grease. The items that made the "would like to replace" list were only purchased if my budget allowed. And often I would have to choose between items that made this list. When the stripping was finished I used this "shopping" list to work out how much I would need to spend on replacement parts. A very expensive buy for me as I would have to import everything from the States & deal with a 12 South African Rand to 1 USA Dollar exchange rate at the time! But nothing takes away the money blues like shiny new chrome.

A special note with regard to the wiring loom/harness. The wiring loom/harness was one of the last items I removed from the car. As I would unplug different assemblies I would tag with a number & describe on both the loom plug & the corresponding plug on the part being removed. For example - #1 Left Outer head light or #8 Interior roof light. As a result my wiring plugged back in with every plug finding its same numbered partner without hassle.

Early Mustang Vin Decoding

I referred to my vin decoder often when I was looking to buy my stang. It's the quickest way to determine if a vehicle has been modified or is no longer original. Don't get me wrong I was not going for an original restoration, I prefer the restomod mustangs. However the modified vehicle you are looking at may not have been modified by its current owner and depending on his character he might not be willing to tell you for example that the manual transmission in the vehicle that replaced the original automatic has a tendency to jump out of 4th gear because it was installed in someone's back yard by a previous owner who decided they would save money and attempt to do the conversion themselves, never having done a conversion of that magnitude before. At least with original cars you only have to contend with original problems which are easier to fix because many people have had the same problems and the fix is easier to diagnose and repair, generally. Below I have scanned the vin decoder I used for body style, axle, transmission, exterior paint & engine. I hope it will prove useful to you in your decision to buying the mustang you are looking for.