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After
Skip paid for and took delivery of the car, and
found a litany of problems, he decided to have it
inspected by a qualified restoration shop in the
Tri-Cities, Washington area. He did some homework
and located Harland Lippold, owner of Horse Heaven
in Benton City, WA (509) 627-8264.
Harland
has been in the Mustang restoration business for
many years. When it comes to the classics,
few people are as knowledgeable about Mustangs,
and as conscience, as Harland. He has inspected,
repaired, and restored many dozens of Mustangs and
vintage Fords since 1979. He is two time President
of the Pacific Northwest Mustang Club, and a concourse
show judge for 1964-1968 Mustangs in the Pacific
Northwest Council of Mustang Clubs. In short,
he knows his stuff.
What
follows is Harland's analysis of this Mustang.
It will give you an idea of what can go wrong with
a purchase and turn Mustang dreams into nightmares.
Skip
knows it now, but a pre-purchase inspection would
have saved him $18,000.
The
post-purchase inspection is reprinted with permission
of Harland Lippold and Skip and Shannon Novakovich
in the hope that others won't make the same mistake.
Click
here for more information on pre-purchase inspections.
Inspection
- 1966 Mustang convertible
VIN
and Data Plate information
6F08A260284
76A U 27 17B 41 1 6
Structural
Assessment
The
unibody is not structurally sound and presents a
real hazard of structural failure. The vehicle
has been involved in a major accident resulting
in extensive damage to the upper front sections
of the unibody. Repairs of this damage were
limited to what was necessary to re-attach sheet
metal to the front of the car. All the aprons
on the right side, and the cowl show clear wrinkling
resulting from impact and straightening. The
front apron braces, unique to convertibles, are
missing. No sheet metal forward of the doors
appears to be original except for left fender and
cowl. Many fasteners are missing. Body
fit and alignment is poor.
This
Mustang is as rusted as any example I have ever
seen. Those areas where the metal initially
seems solid have been replaced or patched in a very
shoddy fashion. They are attached tenuously
to whatever could be found using body filler, cardboard,
crumpled newspaper (San Diego Union Tribune, March
24, 2000), urethane insulating foam, and scraps
of sheet metal. Many fasteners are missing
entirely. Only immediately visible panels
were replaced, and only in a fashion which covered
up rust or accident damage. There was no attempt
made to properly repair the structure of the unibody.
Rust
has entirely consumed the inner and immediate rocker-panel
structures; the cowl vent balloon floor, the bottoms
of the left fender, both doors and rear wheel houses;
the trunk floors, including the fuel tank mounting
flanges; and the quarter panels, portions of which
have been replaced. The fuel tank is held
in place by 8 of the original 13 fasteners, which
are threaded into the rusted flange.
The
convertible top drain rails and top boot transition
panel forward of the trunk lid are rusted badly.
All floor pans have been cut out and replaced with
flat sheet metal. The inner rocker assemblies
have been stuffed with wadded newspaper and surfaced
with body filler to disguise the absence of any
metal there.
The
entire undercarriage, including the wheel wells
and trunk have been freshly coated with a variety
of under coatings in an effort to hide the various
problems.
Operational
Assessment
The
car should not be driven. Aside from the things
necessary to move the vehicle under its own power,
very little is functional. The engine block
was originally machined in January of 1967, making
it clearly not the original. No other engine
diagnostics were done in light of the obvious determination
that this car will not be restored.
The
engine bay is a collection of minimally valued,
used aftermarket components which were sloppily
assembled. Non-Ford items include the intake
manifold, carburetor and radiator. Engine
oil, transmission fluid and power steering fluid
are leaking. Workmanship on the mechanical
components is non-existent.
The
wiring is heavily patched and spliced and not properly
attached. Inoperative or missing electrical
components include: neutral safety switch, horns,
windshield washers, heater, radio, fog lamp switch
(no running or instrument lights), glove box lamp,
warning flashers (missing entirely), backup lamps
(missing entirely), shift lever position indicator,
interior courtesy lights, cigarette lighter.
The headlight dimmer switch is inoperative since
the floorboard where it should be located is rusted
away. There are no working instruments other
than the speedometer. Headlights cannot be
aimed because the attaching parts are missing or
damaged. The ignition switch has been drilled
out and the damaged bezel re-used resulting the
switch being upside down.
The
heater assembly is badly rusted. The fresh
air door on the passenger side is rusted off its
hinges. The fresh air vent assembly on the
drivers side is hanging loose under the dash, since
the cowl to which it would mount is completely rusted
away.
Steering
and suspension components are in a similar state
of maintenance. Power steering hoses are cracked,
neoprene bushings and dust covers are rotten, and
at least one tie-rod end is visibly bent, probably
as a result of the front-end accident. The
idler arm bushing is worn out and there is nearly
an inch of free play in the toe-in.
The
engine runs, but is not well tuned. While
the vehicle was originally equipped with an automatic
transmission as it is today, it has at some point
been converted to a manual transmission. The
clutch pedal remains in place attached to nothing.
and hidden under the carpet. The hole for
the clutch linkage is patched with a scrap of upholstery
material.
Cosmetic
Assessment
Of
first note, Mr. Novakovich indicated that he purchased
this vehicle described as a 1966 GT convertible.
Aside from the improperly placed GT emblems on the
fenders, improperly placed and sized stripes, incorrectly
welded GT exhaust tips, and incorrectly wired fog
lights, there is o GT equipment on the Mustang,
and it was never a factory GT. While it is
possible that the remaining components of the GT
package (disk brakes, front sway bar, factory dual
exhaust with resonators) had been removed, the factory
reinforcements to the frame, relocated brake line
brackets, and holes punched for the brake proportioning
valve and fog lamp wiring are absent.
The
vehicle is also equipped with furnishings from the
deluxe interior. Again, this has all been
added to the vehicle and the most expensive parts
of this equipment group (wood grain steering wheel,
stainless kick panel trim door courtesy lights)
are absent. Those items appear to be damaged
examples: the stainless door panel trim has been
perforated with several extra screw holes rendering
its value zero. The door panels themselves
are aftermarket reproductions which were improperly
installed and damaged in the process.
The
factory air conditioner has been placed in the car
but so improperly installed as to be obviously added,
and many of the important components are either
missing or damaged beyond the point of any value.
The A/C does not appear to be operable.
A
few key pieces are new, including the bumpers, styled
steel wheels, fog light assembly and windshield
header. Most other pieces are a collection
of slightly blemished or otherwise second rate parts
unsuitable for use on a restoration. The hood
is an aftermarket reproduction, but the hood latch
has been improperly installed resulting in a reverse
dent in the front center. Fenders and doors
are sloppily patched by gluing corrugated cardboard
over them, then gluing carpet scraps along the bottom
edges.
The
paint on the car, while shiny and red, is a very
low quality job. Red overspray is present
on the glass and in most other areas. The
paint job is consistent with a $189.95 service offered
by budget shops like Earl Scheib or Maaco.
The convertible top appears to be intact, but the
top bows and mechanism are corroded badly.
Pivot bushings and the latch assemblies are so loose
as to render it impossible to make the top weather
tight or to adjust it properly. The mounting
holes for the staple strips are so rusted that large
lag screws have been used to attach them.
It
would be difficult to transfer the title and registration
to this car to Washington State since only one undisturbed
VIN is visible. The door data tag is attached
using generic pop-rivets and thus is disqualified
as a source of VIN. Removal of one or both
fenders would be required before Washington State
would issue a title, and they might require impound,
or issue a "branded" title. Additionally,
there is some evidence that the car may have previously
been titled with a "salvage" title. There
are two rivet holes drilled on the blank tab on
the forward pinch weld of the cowl. This is
a typical placement for a state issued VIN tag.
There is little doubt that the VIN is authentic,
however.
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