Guest Haveshnevah Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Hello everyone! I'm new here and just wanted to say hello and seek out other Mustang/Mach1/CJ/SCJ owners or lovers- or hell, anyone interested in meeting noobies. I bought my car about four years ago sight unseen (by me). A friend went and looked at it for me and, after some discussion, we felt that it was a fair deal. I was in the Middle East at the time, so sent it to a shop to replace the 428 Police Interceptor block that was in it (oops- didn’t know until shop looked at it) with a date-correct 428 Cobra Jet. Resleeved it, added new cams, and I feel like the engine compartment is where I’d like it for now. My next goal- in fact, in the next couple of days- is to get the body work looked at for an estimate on work and paint. Interior is in passable condition, but I’d like to dive into that, as well. I feel like a lot of the interior is stuff that I can do. If anyone has advice on what my options are for paint, that would be great. I know nothing about paint and/or bodywork. Reading some of the forums, I see there are different levels of paints. I honestly am not worried about concours restoration. I would like a daily/weekend/fun driver. I do have a specific color of paint in mind that might cost more, but can anyone give me good ideas for what questions I need to ask- or questions that will likely be asked of me? Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 For sure you don't want to take it to Maaco for a paint job! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Most shops will use a two-stage urethane, which is common and durable, perfect for daily drivers. Touch-ups are easy and it's reasonably simple to blend should something happen. What matters more than the type of paint is the prep underneath, and that's where you'll spend most of your money. If the sheetmetal is good, then you're ahead of the game, but if there's bodywork required, you'll pay, and that's where prices vary wildly. A local shop that does collision work might do a quickie bondo patch job where a proper restoration shop will fix it right. Costs are commensurate with the quality. This is a worthy car and I think you do the car and yourself a disservice by doing it on the cheap. You don't need concours work, but shoddy body work stands out like a sore thumb and the minute after you write the check and look at the car, you'll regret doing it on the cheap. Also, it sounds like you're hunting for a color. The most economical way to paint the car is to paint it whatever color it was from the factory. That way, the door jambs, under-hood area, and trunk won't all need to be completely disassembled and repainted. A full color change will mean a lot more disassembly and obviously, more costs. If you do go with a color change, pick something that was available on Mustangs in 1969. Doing it some custom color will hurt value, and while you may say you don't care and just want what you want, should you ever wish to sell the car, you will take a rather big hit on value, probably equal to or greater than the cost of the paint job itself. This matters. I have a 1967 Corvette convertible in my showroom with 32,000 original miles, matching-numbers engine and 4-speed transmission, etc., but it's Daytona Yellow instead of the correct Sunfire Yellow (bright yellow vs. creamy yellow). Car is proving to be VERY hard to sell, no matter what the price. Picking a correct color for that car and that year will make a BIG difference when/if the time comes to sell and it will look right. I'm sure you can find something on the 1969 Mustang color chart that suits you. The cost of the paint itself is the smallest piece of the paint puzzle. Labor is far more expensive and the work you put in dictates the quality you get out. Good prep can make bad paint look good, but no paint, regardless of how expensive it is, can make bad prep look good.Good luck and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Wolfe Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 My 1969 428 SCJ was painted Grabber Green with flat black shaker hood. Interior was white. Very fast car that always needed something worked on.. Sold it after I got married & had kids. Only Ford I owned that I wish I still had! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GT52 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 You need to go here: http://www.428cobrajet.orgIt is the 428 CJ Mustang registry. Register your car while you're there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Get the Marti report for it and paint it the original color. In the long run it will be the right move. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haveshnevah Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I have the Marti, but your point, aslsancle, is one of the many items on which I disagree with a lot of classic car owners. I actually don't like Candy Apple Red- especially not Ford's version. Nor do I like Clarion Red, my interior color. I realize you are likely saying to paint original due to resale, but If I'm worried about resale, I may as well go concours, right? I am only trying to respectfully disagree. I feel like if I have to keep the car the way it came out of the factory, I essentially bought someone else's car and am held prisoner by it. I was born in the 70s, which means my pop was in his driving teens when these cars were in their hayday- and all he talked about was how much people used to "supe" them up. That's all I want to do. The Mach 1 body type has been my dream car ever since I was young. Next I needed a Cobra Jet. Check. Then, I needed a manual. Check. After that, I'll change the hell out of it and put my stamp. Hope you don't think I'm saying you're wrong or calling you out. Hell, I appreciate your post! I've just had a lot of people try to tell me to get it to original. I'd hate to miss out on 50 years of automotive technological advances... Get the Marti report for it and paint it the original color. In the long run it will be the right move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haveshnevah Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 GT52: Done! And thank you for the tip. An owner only about 15 miles away from me already contacted me. Excellent. Thanks for the tip!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 (edited) I think you make a mistake by not going with a factory color. It doesn't necessarily have to be the color combination that it came with from the factory, but if you want maximum value for the car in the future, doing it the way the factory did it will net you the biggest return on your investment. I can't tell you how many people I've talked to who have told me that they regret not going with a factory color because it cost them thousands at resale time, and might even make the car un-sellable. I mentioned that yellow Corvette I have, and it's not the only one where one guy's choice of color has pretty much killed the chances of the car selling for anywhere near its true value. The same goes for modifications. Keep them to the bolt-on variety, but major modifications on a desirable car like this will kill its value. And honestly, do you really think you can do it better than the factory? The 1969 Mustang is arguably the best-looking Mustang ever built. Anything you do to "improve" its looks will probably have the opposite effect. If you want a modified 1969 Mustang fastback with a big block and a manual transmission, you should have bought a non-pedigreed car and done it there. But a 428 Mach 1 with a 4-speed is top-of-the-food-chain and deserves to be right. Find a 1969 Ford Mustang color you like and use that. Go ahead and over-restore it, who cares, but "putting your own stamp" on the car will hurt you later. You may not care now and you may not plan on selling it, but if that day ever comes, you will regret not choosing a factory color. You will, as a friend of mine likes to say, want to travel back in time and slap the sh*t out of the stupid kid who was wearing my face. Edited October 21, 2015 by Matt Harwood (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haveshnevah Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Most shops will use a two-stage urethane, which is common and durable, perfect for daily drivers. Touch-ups are easy and it's reasonably simple to blend should something happen. What matters more than the type of paint is the prep underneath, and that's where you'll spend most of your money. If the sheetmetal is good, then you're ahead of the game, but if there's bodywork required, you'll pay, and that's where prices vary wildly. A local shop that does collision work might do a quickie bondo patch job where a proper restoration shop will fix it right. Costs are commensurate with the quality. This is a worthy car and I think you do the car and yourself a disservice by doing it on the cheap. You don't need concours work, but shoddy body work stands out like a sore thumb and the minute after you write the check and look at the car, you'll regret doing it on the cheap. Also, it sounds like you're hunting for a color. The most economical way to paint the car is to paint it whatever color it was from the factory. That way, the door jambs, under-hood area, and trunk won't all need to be completely disassembled and repainted. A full color change will mean a lot more disassembly and obviously, more costs. If you do go with a color change, pick something that was available on Mustangs in 1969. Doing it some custom color will hurt value, and while you may say you don't care and just want what you want, should you ever wish to sell the car, you will take a rather big hit on value, probably equal to or greater than the cost of the paint job itself. This matters. I have a 1967 Corvette convertible in my showroom with 32,000 original miles, matching-numbers engine and 4-speed transmission, etc., but it's Daytona Yellow instead of the correct Sunfire Yellow (bright yellow vs. creamy yellow). Car is proving to be VERY hard to sell, no matter what the price. Picking a correct color for that car and that year will make a BIG difference when/if the time comes to sell and it will look right. I'm sure you can find something on the 1969 Mustang color chart that suits you. The cost of the paint itself is the smallest piece of the paint puzzle. Labor is far more expensive and the work you put in dictates the quality you get out. Good prep can make bad paint look good, but no paint, regardless of how expensive it is, can make bad prep look good.Good luck and have fun! Wow. This is such a comprehensive post. Thank you so much for taking the time. I certainly appreciate your point about colors and costs associated with paint vs. resale. I will certainly work with the shop giving a quote to ensure I understand what their definition of "paint" includes. I'm not interested in bondo, but realize that I will pay more for sheetmetal work. Admittedly, I'm still somewhat stuck to my paint scheme. I'm not trying to be hard-headed. As an early 40 year-old, I can afford to make a mistake when it comes to this, I think. Haha! I hope you will all indulge me! But your point about door jambs, underhood area, trunk, etc, is duly noted. And again- much appreciated. I hadn't thought of it in quite those terms. At any rate, what a welcome!! Thanks to all of you for the excellent advice. I promise to post a pic, soon. She's my baby. I have wanted this car since the mid-80's. Missed a few amazing chances when I was younger (passed up on one that was Lime Green because I didn't like the color. Owner wanted $3k for it in 1992.). I want to have this car be fun, safe, and fun. Fast is cool, too. But mostly fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haveshnevah Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Matt, I looked at your website and you have an amazing collection for sale! Clean, well-presented site. Most of your inventory is out of my price-range, but I wish when I was in the market I would have seen more sites like yours! Again, your advice is much-appreciated. I will take what you have to say into consideration. I think everything you have to say about factory colors makes sense. I'm not sure I wholly agree with your opinion about "should have purchased a non-pedigreed car"; however, I understand your point! Thank you, again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Don't worry, I'm not offended if you don't follow my advice. Even painting the car the correct color and keeping it as close to original as possible does not guarentee you will get your money back. You proably won't no matter what you do - that's just the nature of car collecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I have seen people paint cars there favorite color and almost always regret it, sometimes the next day. I always uses period correct colors. Ford had great colors available in 1969 for the Mustang. PS I have a 1972 Mach it will be going 4F (yes a green only a mother could love) same color as my original first car, a 1972 Mach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Can't go wrong with a Calypso Coral Mustang fastback (OK, this one is a '70 but the '69s look even better)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Haveshnevah Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Wow. That Calypso Coral is amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) I would suggest if you want a 69 Mustang to modify you get a small engine , automatic sports roof . You can do as you wish to it and not take nearly so much as a loss if you ever decide to sell. Keep the C.J. Mach 1 as close to stock as possible, some day you will be happy you did. I am in the same situation with my 69 Cyclone C.J. I would really like to build a car similar to one of the Cyclones that dominated NASCAR racing in 68-69 , but if I ever do it will be with a 302 , C4 Cyclone , not my R code 69 C.J.. It's not as valuable as a C.J. Mach 1, but at just over 5000 built ; and a low survivor rate, quite a bit rarer. When people see a modified Mach 1 they assume it's a clone, the assumption being based on who would ever alter a genuine one. Greg in Canada Edited October 24, 2015 by 1912Staver (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GT52 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I wouldn't paint a car a non-original color, and I don't like candy apple red or calypso coral, but it's your car and unless you're working toward a concourse show car you should do what you want. On a driver level restoration that gets used as a CJ Mustang was intended to be used, the affect on resale will be far less than on a high end restoration that gets hauled around in a trailer. You may limit your potential buyers, but there are more than a few people who just don't care. If you stick with an original Mustang color, like calypso coral, you can even have a new door tag made to match, and there'll be nothing but the Marti report to indicate that it isn't the original color. There are more than a few concourse candy apple red Mustangs that started life as lime gold Mustangs...judging does not require a Marti report. If you paint it a non-original color, especially a non-Mustang color, I would definitely not overspend on the paint work...because it is very unlikely that you'll ever get that money back. For a driver I would definitely consider finding a Maaco that does good paint work (they exist...shop around) and pay for their best paint job. In a couple of years, a $15K paint job with some road chips on it won't add any more value to your car than Maaco's best quality paint job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AlCapone Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I wouldn't paint a car a non-original color, and I don't like candy apple red or calypso coral, but it's your car and unless you're working toward a concourse show car you should do what you want. On a driver level restoration that gets used as a CJ Mustang was intended to be used, the affect on resale will be far less than on a high end restoration that gets hauled around in a trailer. You may limit your potential buyers, but there are more than a few people who just don't care. If you stick with an original Mustang color, like calypso coral, you can even have a new door tag made to match, and there'll be nothing but the Marti report to indicate that it isn't the original color. There are more than a few concourse candy apple red Mustangs that started life as lime gold Mustangs...judging does not require a Marti report. If you paint it a non-original color, especially a non-Mustang color, I would definitely not overspend on the paint work...because it is very unlikely that you'll ever get that money back. For a driver I would definitely consider finding a Maaco that does good paint work (they exist...shop around) and pay for their best paint job. In a couple of years, a $15K paint job with some road chips on it won't add any more value to your car than Maaco's best quality paint job.uIf you don't have time for Maaco just use rattle cans, they are about the same quality, if you like your car stay away from Maaco! Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GT52 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 uIf you don't have time for Maaco just use rattle cans, they are about the same quality, if you like your car stay away from Maaco! WayneThe painters who work for high volume shops paint a lot of cars, and are often very adept painters because of it. Where the quality is lost is in the prep, which tends to be nearly non-existent, because most people don't want to pay for it. Just because these painters usually paint poorly prepped cars doesn't mean that they can't paint a properly prepped one, and Maaco can buy the same paint that everyone else can buy. I have seen some beautiful paint jobs come out of Maaco shops, but they were thousands of dollars, not the usual hundreds of dollars from the Maaco ads...the difference being in thousands of dollars of proper prep work. Not every Maaco shop does this kind of work, but many do, and they tend to be quite a bit cheaper than the specialty paint shops. One needs to do their own homework...talk to the owner, talk to the painter, talk to someone who has gotten one of their high-end jobs and have a look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 As has been mentioned, a tremendous amount of the quality of a paint job is in the preparation, as much as 90%. I've seen professional paint jobs that were sanded by hand, unfortunately just that, the uneven pressure of ones fingers on sandpaper can cause ripples in the surface. I've seen car painted under trees in a back yard, with careful attention to preparation, that looked great. Painting a car an off factory color? Well, as mentioned, you'd better like it, because the next guy may not. This applies more to post- World War 2 cars, not as much to pre war cars (these days you have to specify which war!) But the same rule applies if the color is something that doesn't look correct, or a two tone that's ugly, or a heavy metal flake. Yes, metal flake was available from about 1928 on, but subtle, not the garish paint jobs one sees today. So, enjoy the car as you paint it, but don't get offended when you need to sell and the paint job is a stumbling block... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 The other difference between cheap and high end paint jobs is the paint itself. A high end gallon of paint can be 1500.00 and another 250 for each gallon of primer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) Scanning car-for-sale ads on the internet, I noticed how much incorrect cars turn me immediately away. One car, likely otherwise correct, was a Cadillac that had an owner's creative pin-stripe flourishes on the hood and trunk. The prospective buyer immediately thinks, "What else is incorrect? This isn't a serious collector car." I agree that any incorrect paint--or any other non-stock customization--would make your car much more difficult to sell. People are giving you good, hard-won advice! Edited October 26, 2015 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=diego= Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 For what it's worth, CJ Mach Is are not exactly rare. Painting it in a non-stock color won't be the end of the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Do what you want with it (personally with a red interior either black or a very "hard" white like GM Arctic White. Nice thing about white is that black accents really stand out. Sounds like you just like the car and by the time you get tired of it 69 428CJs will probably be so rare no-one will care about the color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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