PaulyWally

Yes. And many times an industrial supplier like McMaster-Carr sells little parts like these that - while not intended for this purpose - just happens to be the exact specs one might be looking for. I’m not intentionally trying to be a contrarian jackass. The fact is, parts for some of our cars are often difficult to come by. And in some cases need to be fabricated from scratch. It gets costly… very fast. The people that maintain these antiquities are a resourceful and imaginative bunch. I’ve sourced parts for my antique projects from the most unlikely of places. And if I can save 90%+ of the cost of a new shock by just using a little ingenuity, that’s what I’m going to do.

I'm not trying to be a jerk. Whether or not the shocks are "fine" is mostly irrelevant. The bottomline is, I'm not about to replace every piece of hardware that has a bad bushing/grommet/seal. It's wasteful and impractical. And it also detracts from the hobby of maintaining a classic car (IMHO). My question wasn't whether or not to replace the entire shock. The question was where I could find suppliers of parts like this... not just for the shock, but for other parts as well. There are many more worn rubber pieces on the car that are used on otherwise perfectly good hardware.

The shocks are fine. I'm not interested in spending $100+ when all I need is a $2 piece of rubber. Likewise, I'm not interested in replacing every major part that only needs a bushing. I wouldn't replace a perfectly fine transmission just because a seal is leaking. And to play devil's advocate, just because the bolts/washers are mismatched, doesn't mean the shock isn't original. I believe it's not original. I'm just sayin'... after 55 years of being driven and maintained, the original bolts and nuts get rusted, broken, or vibrated loose and turn into road debris. It has been known to happen from time to time. 🙂

Hi All, My gen1 Mustang has some bushings that need replacing. Namely, the upper bushings on the front shocks are torn up. I don't think the shocks are original. Even if they are, I can't seem to find new bushings on sites like CJ Pony Parts and National Parts Depot. I checked McMaster-Carr too... no luck. Can someone point me to a good resource where I can find numerous types and sizes of bushings? Thanks!

Hi All, I've been shopping for my first classic car for almost a year now. I've got connections on 2 potential candidates. They are both more than 1000 miles away from where I live. In the past I've used Lemonsquad for inspections and have been generally pleased. However, 2 other things I am unsure of. If I am unable to complete the sale in person: 1.) In a private sale, how do I protect myself (financially) from someone I never met before? I've never made an out of state cash purchase this big, and I don't want to become one of those horror stories. 2.) I've used uShip to ship a $5,000 late model motorcycle. The experience was average. Not sure if I want to use uShip for a $30,000+ classic car. Any advice or recommendations for shipping? Thank you!

I haven't seen this on exhaust before. From the looks of it, someone decided it was a good idea to wrap the weld seems. To protect them maybe? Can anyone chime in as to why this would be done? Thanks!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm considering purchasing a Mustang this guy has near me. A friend asked me to upload all the inspection photos, so I thought I would post them here as well. If anyone has a few minutes to take a look and comment, that would be much appreciated. The photos are in no particular order. I'm assuming there is one question that will arise. The answer is, "Yes, that is a 302 with a 2bbl carb someone put in there". The car was originally a "T" (200ci 6cyl 1bbl carb) with a 3-speed manual. It still has a 3-speed manual, but not sure if it is original. Original axle is 3.20 (not sure if the original is still in there). It came out of the San Jose assembly plant, and shipped to the San Jose sales district. Interior and exterior have been redone in their original colors. Current owner has had it 2-3 years and says he bought it out of Idaho. Also, what might you put for a price on this (assuming the tranny and axle is original)? Click here for photos

There's a lot of surface rust. I'm not worried about that. I clean surface rust off bolts on my motorcycle all the time. The owner said it's a west coast car, and I have no reason to doubt that (in my limited knowledge). According to the VIN tag it was built in San Jose and assigned to the San Jose sales district. He said he bought it from someone in Idaho. I was pounding on panels inside, out, and under. I also stood up in the back seat and jumped up and down. It felt very solid. I'm just paranoid there might be a hack-job of a joint repair underneath the sealer. That's me though. I've been burned too many times by people that mis-represent their stuff to sell it. Very good info from your reply though. Thank you. I don't really know any classic car guys in my area. Perhaps I'll put some feelers out and see if someone will take $100 to drive out with me to inspect it.

That's the one that bothers me the most too. I wasn't even going to post it... but it seemed like there might be something similar going on underneath the paint. Joe's post above makes me feel better about the situation. At the least, I won't feel like a jerk for asking the owner to scrape some of that off so I can see the weld joints. He seems like a good, straight shooter. And I think he might just oblige. But I certainly won't ask him to scrape off that door frame joint. I think asking the guy to ruin the paint job would certainly be a jerk move.

Yeah. That's a very well-done vehicle. If I could afford such a vehicle, I would certainly buy one that nice. Unfortunately, my budget says otherwise. I'm trying to get into the most solid car I can within my budget. I know work will need to be done. And some of it I can do myself. But the last thing I want is hidden body/frame issues. All the panels seem solid. I just don't know what to make of those joints. The car I posted actually has quite a bit going for it. Most of the interior and upholstery is in excellent condition. And the paint and exterior chrome is in good shape. Not show-quality, but she's a looker from 20 feet. Aside from that, the body is straight, doors/trunk/hood open and close smooth, and the windows operate.

Hi All, I'm currently looking at (another) 1966 Mustang. I know nothing about body work. Actually, I know nothing about a lot. So I'm hoping some of you can help me out. I saw some questionable "stuff" around the body joints in the trunk and under the back seat. Please see the attached photos. It isn't hard (like a weld joint). If I push my fingernail into it, it has the consistency of 20 year old dried caulk. And I can pick it off with my finger. The best example is probably the picture of the trunk. I included another photo I found online that shows a trunk floor sanded to (almost) bare metal. It obviously has much cleaner joints. Anyone see anything like this before? Or know what it might be? The owner claims it's rock-solid besides the surface rust. So when (and if) I go to see the car again, I will likely ask the owner to pick that junk off so I can see the weld joints. Thanks in advance! P.S. I'm also including a pic of the driver side door frame. Looks like it might be there under the paint as well... or just the paint cracked around the weld joint. Difficult for me to tell.

Thanks All! I appreciate all the input! It's too bad because the car is absolutely beautiful. The body, paint, and interior were all restored exceptionally well. The body, doors, trunk, and hood are straight and function smoothly. And the engine bay and underbody are near spotless. I never thought I'd fall in love with a 1st gen 'Stang. But I did with this one. I'm not sure I'll try to negotiate on the price. I think the owner is pretty stuck at a high price, and I hate insulting a car owner by low-balling. But based on this (and other information I have on the car) I have a feeling he overpaid for it and wasn't able to fix the mechanical issues without sticking several more grand into it. So he's just trying to get his money back. And yes, owner says it's a T5. And he "thinks" it's a World Class T5. I personally don't rely on it when someone says, "I think..." That said, this would be my first classic car purchase. So I'm curious what you all think you might offer to pay for what I described? Near as I can tell, a very well restored 1st gen Mustang like this could potentially go for up to $40K. So I was thinking it might be worth it if he lets it go for $25K; and I would have to expect to drop another 5-10 grand depending on what a mechanic needs to do to fix the mechanical issues. I don't think he'll sell it for $25K. But I'm curious if you veterans feel my figures are close to realistic. I know it's difficult without pics and other info. But the car otherwise seems to be in excellent condition.

Another thing that occurred to me. Isn't there some kind of hydraulic that is "shared" between the brakes and the clutch? Again, I'm not a mechanic. But I thought I read that somewhere. That said, the brakes were also converted to 4 wheel disc during restoration. And the brakes felt like a wet sponge when I drove it. Not very good braking performance. I've felt better performance from drum brakes. Could this also be a contributing factor? Or am I wrong and these are completely separate issues?

I don't think the type of car is necessarily important, but it's a 1st gen Mustang with the original 289. I don't own it. But I am considering purchasing it. The original transmission was a 3-speed manual. Within the past couple years, someone swapped it to a 5-speed manual. I'm guessing it's a T-5. But I am not exactly sure right now. There is only about 500 miles on the 5-speed tranny. It's been a while since I drove a manual trans. But I drove plenty of them in my youth. I know I've never drove a manual that was this difficult to operate. Here is what I am experiencing. Pardon me if I'm not using the correct terminology. I'll try to be as descriptive as possible. The clutch pedal is stiff. Very stiff. One short drive and my left calf was a little sore. The clutch pedal has a very long "throw". I didn't use a tape measure, but it feels like it's a good 12" to the floor. I don't recall ever driving a car that had that much "throw" in the clutch. But that might just be how the 1st gen Mustangs are. The clutch pedal needs to be completely (and very firmly) pushed to the floor in order to shift. I don't recall ever having to push so hard on a clutch in order to shift. Unless I shift very slowly, there is some occasional grinding while up-shifting. Especially from 1st to 2nd. When up-shifting and down-shifting, the gears don't engage AT ALL until the clutch pedal is almost all the way back out. Needless to say, this does not make for a very pleasant driving experience. I was told the clutch is brand new and just needs to be "worn-in". I'm not a mechanic, but that registers on my BS meter. In addition, if the transmission only has 500 miles on it, why would the clutch have been recently replaced? Can anyone shed any light on this? I'm wondering what the best course of action would be. Perhaps someone did a hack-job with the new tranny and it just needs a good mechanic to correct the issues. Or perhaps it's worth it to just swap a new tranny in. Thoughts? Questions? Fragmented sentences? All info is appreciated. Thanks in advance!