AKA Rusty Green I have liked Fords and especially Mustangs since I was about 15 in 1977 mostly of which was because of some of my neighbors that were a 2-3 years older that were always working on their Mustangs for drag racing. I have the same birthday as Henry Ford so maybe it was just destiny for me to be a Ford fan. As I write this in 2026 I have ONLY owned Ford vehicles. At that time in 1977 compared to now cars were not JUST transportation. They defined who you were to some degree and very likely who some of your friends were. The allegiance and loyalty to a car brand was massive as a FORD guy or Chevy guy especially in High School. Even back then there was a lot less Ford fans. The General Motors brands dominated the car culture. Just look in the student parking lot at that time to see the cars driven. All of the path less followed and very much a “dare to be different” philosophy which would later become a huge part of my personality. Even with my Ford Fandom 1960s Mustangs as daily drivers and at times my only car needed much more maintenance. I was frequently going to work just to earn the money (under $160.00 a week gross) to buy the parts needed to install on the weekend to make it drivable again to get through the next week without much money left over. After a few years of that it got to be really old and annoying. Constantly working on them to have a car to drive burned me out. I quite literally hated it and never wanted to do it again which eventually did happen for about 30 years. I did not even do my own oil changes for a long time.

The restoration of my 66 convertible was a constant money drain especially after getting a complete floor and frame rail replacement. Then there was the rear ending accident repair in 1987 which was not done correctly. The passenger side quarter panel was compressed and pushed upwards. It was supposed to be put on a frame rack and get the rear frame straightened but that did not happen. The car was welded together crooked with very expensive NOS Ford parts. The body gaps on the trunk lid were awful from almost touching on one side to ½” wide on the other. You had to slam it to get it to shut. I tried to sue for a bad repair job but I learned a life’s lesson that even though it was a BAD job it still had to be paid for. I could spend $5000.00 in lawyer’s fees to win $1000.00.

I had enough. Constant wrenching on Mustangs completely burned me out. So cars came and went as they usually do in life. But I have long said those that still have their Mustangs as long time owners are the smart people. Most cannot afford to buy a great condition survivor or completely restored car now.

Mustangs and other vehicles I have owned in the order of purchase

This is every vehicle I have owed in my life. Again note that they are ALL FORDS. The exact bought and sold dates are long gone to my memory. During the 1980s and 1990s I frequently had 2 vehicles at the same time.

1965 Coupe bought in the spring of 1980 - 6 cylinder body with a 302 and 5 lug rear in it when I bought it. It was not roadworthy in time for me to drive to my senior year in high school. I later completed the 5 lug front suspension conversion.

1973 F150 AKA Orange Crate

1966 Convertible bought from my father’s boss in about 1981. I may have very briefly owned the 1965 Coupe, F150 and 1966 at the same time.

1969 Grande I traded a friend even up for the F150. I had the 1966 convertible and 1969 Grande at the same time for maybe 5 years as my best and most reliable Mustang time period.

The 1969 Grande became a giant leak of everything. I stopped driving that waiting for repairs that never happened leaving my 1966 convertible as my only daily driver for a year or so, and accelerated its demise. The paint was failing. I was growing tired of the money drain keeping “old” cars running. With heading into another winter the awful Mustang heating system I wanted something new, more reliable and capable of driving in snow.

I got my first brand new vehicle - a 1988 Bronco II. The 1966 convertible was being driven less and eventually not at all. That sat for years before I decided to sell it in about 1993 leaving me with no Mustangs and ending that era for me.

The Bronco II was not overly reliable as well. The transmission first failed at 70,000 miles when I was still paying the loan on it. It failed again at 160,000 miles. Some automatic transmissions shops I called would not even work on them they were so awful. I installed a new motor at 210,000 when the transmission failed for the third time at 230,000 miles ending my Bronco II era. But I liked it because it was higher than a car and turned really sharply for parking. The motor was a little lame though.

2003 Escape I bought new and still have that has been beyond extremely reliable. As of 6-16-26 it has 184,000 miles on it.

Bucket List #1

Even though I did not have a Mustang for many years as time went on I always wanted another one but with the expectation it would be bought 100% restored. In the absence of having a Mustang my obsessive train buying habits kicked in BIG TIME for 30ish years taking any money that could be used to buy and maintain a Mustang. The dream of getting a again Mustang was always there but was never seriously pursued. I would occasionally look at my train collection and think how much I would have to sell to get a NICE Mustang. I just could not do it considering much of my train collection was “built” by me. It would be like selling parts OF me.

And the buying prices of Mustangs has ZOOMED especially for the 1969 Mach 1 I would want. What was $40,000.00 10 years ago is now (in 2026) $90,000.00 or more. That is still not going to ever happen for me without a real lottery win.

In December 2025 I went to the repair shop I have been dealing with to discuss work needed on my Escape. The owner I knew for many years retired with an employee buying him out. After a short time we were discussing Mustangs. Tom said he had 1 for sale and invited me to go look at it. It was sitting for 3 years TWO BLOCKS away from my house. I am not sure if I saw it before.

These are my first photos from 12-21-25.

I was not considering buying it at first. I had a 10 minute look over with Tom when I took these photos. I wanted to see the car on a lift for rust inspection. I really wanted to see it running and driving. But we had some significant snow on the ground for months. It took until April 4, 2026 until the car could be moved to Tom’s shop. That 4 month wait was what did it. By the time April 4 came I was in full obsession mode. I wanted the car.

Photos taken 4-4-26

On April 4, 2026 the long awaited big day happened. Tom moved the car to his shop so I could see it on a lift and try to get it running. I was buying the car. Unfortunately we did not get the car running on April 4^th so I did not get to drive it before purchase. Also there was absolutely NO brakes so any driving would not have been possible anyway.

Of course there IS rust. They are called Rustangs for good reasons. On a scale from 1 to 10 of which 1 is no rust and 10 being extremely rusty I would give it about a 5. Overall the floors are in good condition. The passenger side is worse than the driver’s side. There is rust in places not expected like in the trunk next to the gas tank. I have no plans of doing rust repair. This is going to be a driver car. Welding, metal fab and painting a real car are not skills I have. Paying for the rust repairs would make me upside down in the car’s worth.

Again this is just about satisfying my #1 Bucket List spot.

The factory power steering is really power assisted. Not shown well at right is the control valve. There is a ball stud on the Pittman arm that shifts the valve when steering and actuates the hydraulics in that direction. And they frequently leak. I tested that and it did leak voluntarily without the motor running. In theory you can drive the car without the pump running. But I was advised by 2 long time Mustang restorers that if the car was driven as manual steering the ball stud can pop out of the control valve and have NO steering. A complete professionally done rebuild was in order here.

In my garage on 4-4-26

There are other huge factors in the purchase. Parts availability is one of them. 40 years ago you were dependant on what Ford dealers had left in stock as they were phasing out 15 year old car parts or you had to go to junk yards. That world has drastically changed for the better. While mostly not local you can get truly everything needed to build an ALL brand new 1966 Mustang (and other 1965 to 1973 years as well) from 20 different places. The parts are truly available everywhere. I have my own house and garage now with a 20 x 20 workshop. I am not working in a dirt driveway in whatever weather. YouTube is a BIG help in tech help and how to reassurance.

What was a big attraction and very important to me was the car was in extremely original and untouched condition, especially the wiring. Chopped up and spliced wiring would have been a deal breaker for me. That is also mostly not a skill I do not have. This is 60 year old possibly brittle wire insulation. What a nightmare doing repairs that could be.

I believe the 40890 mileage to be original and correct not 140,000 miles which was another purchase attraction. Tom did not drive it at all in his 3 years of owning it. So my 60 year old Mustang has 145,000 miles LESS than my 23 year old Escape. While it is not a 1969 Mach 1 it does fit my current needs perfectly as a driver quality car with an automatic trans, power steering and now power brakes. I can drive a manual transmission and would have 1 in a collection of cars but for having one car I want to drive it (cruise) not have it drive me.

Car History

Decoding the door tag 65A is a coupe with standard interior. Color R is Ivy Green Metallic. Interior Trim 26 is black on black. D.S.O. 26 (where it was sold) is Philadelphia. Date code 22K is October 22 (1965) Transmission code 6 is C4 automatic, Axle code 6 is 2:80 standard differential. I also have factory power steering.

In the VIN 6 is 1966. T is the Metuchen NJ Assembly Plant.

I was lucky enough to get the original owners manual. That had a warranty card inside showing the Ford Dealer that sold it as Rice & Holman Pennsauken NJ, first owner James Hildenberger and sale date 11-6-65. There car was sold 15 days after it was made. There were also registrations and insurance cards for many years of the 2^nd owner Cayrl Amana. She was a judge in Lawnside NJ. The trunk had 2 trash bags full of lawsuit papers from 1980. James and Caryl are now deceased. I made contact with Caryl’s daughter Selassie through Facebook. Selassie drove the car to West Deptford High School as the student parking sticker on the window shows which I am keeping in place. It was last registered in 1989. It had to have been stored indoors from 1989 to when Tom bought it in 2023 or it would have had MUCH more rust than it does now. So the car has had a very local 60 year history which I found to be interesting. I am pretty sure I am the 4^th owner.

The only thing I had to fix was everything…

Getting a 1960s Mustang “that has been sitting for years” safely running again is all encompassing. This is what I did and HAS to be done to any Mustang bought as not running, and maybe even if it was running when you bought it. Every rubber part and hose has to be replaced it is dry rotted by now.

Note that most of the below work was all done in about 7 weeks while working full time.

I was somewhat naïve in knowing what would be involved in getting a car that has not run in 37 years back in running condition. You start off hoping and thinking most parts are still good but eventually end up in replacing almost everything. Take your best guess at the initial parts list needed and you will be extremely wrong. I am at 5 times my initial parts purchased estimate and almost none of that was to “make it pretty”. All things were needed to get the car running and roadworthy safe. NO system should be assumed to be good. Truly everything has to be inspected.

Don’t skimp especially on the brakes. New cylinders, shoes and drums are a must buy. Some even recommended new brake lines. I reused most of mine.

Brakes

I will say that a ***complete brake inspection*** is needed when buying a new to you Mustang. The only thing original I kept was some of the brake lines. Everything else had to be replaced.

The brakes were a huge replacement effort especially when I was converting from the original manual single bowl master cylinder to dual bowl power. It was an eventual flashback to 1981 redoing the brakes in my dirt driveway hoping the car did not shift off the jackstands. All new wheel cylinders, drums and shoes and the 3 rubber hoses from the body to the wheels were installed. The front drums were so worn or illegally cut oversized thin when I pressed out the center bearing hub rusted together the drum broke into 2 pieces. You can easily see how dangerously thin this drum was. There was no way the car could be driven with it. The wheel cylinders were rust filled – no reusing them. I wanted to convert to power front disc brakes but that kit was another $1000.00. I got Leeds Brakes FC0035HK power dual bowl cylinder for drum brakes.

While you are at it you should consider new wheel bearings and studs. That is all going to take a significant hydraulic press to do it yourself.

Carburetor

Because of the cars originality I was fine with keeping the 2100 2 barrel carburetor. There are date codes tying it to the car. It was dirty but mostly working fine on the first times running. Then I found the fuel filter port for Fram G-23 was cross threaded and stripped out. I could not leave it with any chance of leaking – like it was with Teflon tape. Ed’s Carburetors was nice enough to tell me how to fix it with brass adaptors made by Holley. As a side note I still can’t believe Holley has the balls to charge $25.00 for this LITTLE BRASS PART. The first adaptor bought was not correct. Being the machinist I am I had to fix this with my milling machine. I had to redrill the carburetor for a 9/16-24 thread. The tap mostly tore out the aluminum needed for new threads but I got a very few good threads at the bottom. I slopped it all up with multiple coats of Red Loctite. I baked the Loctite and got it done –no leaking. I am planning on sending the carburetor to Ed in the winter for a real rebuild when I am not going to be driving the Mustang.

I ruined a brand new drill bit to get more of the full diameter drilled in the limited space had.

These are the new threads. Really not good! I milled almost 1/8” the boss off to get the brass adaptor biting deeper into the better threads.

Red Loctite and a nylon washer to the rescue! Good to go.

Electrical

There were a lot of small electrical things that did not work when the car was bought. They slowly moved to working again with a lot of effort.

This is a list of electrical items replaced so far as of 6-14-26.

Alternator

Voltage regulator

Starting solenoid

Ignition coil

Neutral safety switch

Temperature Sender

Oil Pressure Sender

Headlight switch

Turn Signal switch

Tail light bulbs (with LEDs)

Likely future replacements

Headlights (with halogen)

Dash lights with LEDS

Variable speed windshield wiper switch

Engine

Early 289 and 302 had a nylon covered timing chain gear “to reduce noise”. I found this all this out the hard way with my 65 coupe when I sprayed the nylon gear ring down into the oil pan getting caught up in the oil pump and breaking the driveshaft off and causing NO oil pressure. This was so burned into my brain I remember lying on the very frozen driveway on January 25, 1981 looking up at my crankshaft fixing it all including a new oil pan gasket. I was so surprised that there was no apparent motor damage running for maybe a minute with no oil at all until I realized something was really wrong and turned it off.

Now in 2026 that nylon gear ring was SIXTY years old. I could not let that timing chain stay in place. When I finally got the timing chain cover off I was surprised it already had an all metal single row timing chain set but had some slack. I replaced it with a double row set anyway.

On 5-19-26 I took the valve covers off to paint them. I was horrifically surprised to see RUST everywhere on the head, rocker arms and under the valve cover. By this point the motor had already been run a few times in short bursts for about 20 minutes. The driver’s side was much worse than the passenger side. My guess is the driver’s side was exposed to open air by the breather cap. The passenger side head is sealed in with the PCV. The Facebook groups said a complete teardown was needed. Only a few said go for it – what do I have to lose - so I did. As it turned out MOST of it was surface rust only that mostly wiped off. Between lots of wiping with lacquer thinner and various wire brushes I got it all pretty clean. I eventually ran the motor for a few minutes until hot and changed the oil. There was no debris in the drain pan. I added a magnetic drain plug but I am not concerned about this rust at all now.

I could only initially run the motor for a few minutes at a time because the radiator had a small leak. When I went to get it repaired I was quoted $625.00. They were only reusing the top and bottom caps and replacing everything else. I really wanted to keep and use the original radiator but a brand new original looking 3 row radiator was $375.00. I could not justify the extra cost. There also will be no shiny bright aluminum radiators in my car.

After resolving the rust issue I took to making the engine look better. This took most of a weekend. It will never be show car nice but is better than when I started.

Photo taken 6-14-26

I like stock looking motors without bright colors standing out. This will stay as is for a while. But I want to occasionally switch back and forth to the “Cobra Powered By Ford” valve covers and Cobra oval air cleaner that has not been bought yet.

Gas Tank

The Facebook Mustang groups said this is mandatory to replace the gas tank for a car that has been sitting. And in this case they were completely right. A new filler neck, gas tank and sender kit was the very first thing I bought. The original tank was totally rusty inside. When I removed the tank there was a LOT of loose rust flakes rattling around in the tank. I also blew out the gas line from back to front. It was full of unknown debris that cleared out of the gas line with a POP.

I needed a new gas cap. I know this is the 1965 cap but I like it better than the 1966 gas cap. Good enough.

Interior

This will be some of the last things I redo. It badly needs a new dash pad, 2 front seat covers and carpet. That all costs about $600.00

Steering

I have already fixed some of the steering issues mainly by getting the complete power steering system professionally rebuilt. I highly recommend Randy at https://www.stangerssite.com I cannot say enough good things about my experience dealing with him. He rebuilt the cylinder, control valve and refreshed the pump to show car standards for just under $300.00 plus all shipping.

It arrived just as shown. This is most of what he did just before I started installation – pump is not shown.

After driving for about a week I noticed a strange shake and body roll when going over some bumps. I did the front wheel shake test just before any driving was done. They were solid. This issue happened because of driving. The driver’s side lower control arm rubber bushing vaporized letting the tire go in many bad directions. I drove it like this for almost 3 weeks including some at 80 MPH. That was very dangerous I am very lucky the control arm did not break. I would have crashed for sure. New ball joints, shocks and all rubber front end parts got replaced.

This is my original steering wheel all cracked and missing parts. The horn did not work. I did not see the worth in fixing this. The original center hub is now a wall ornament. Sealing the deal was I got a real original Pony interior steering wheel which is my all time favorite steering wheel in GREAT condition with NO CRACKS and all of the chrome dots were intact for a very good price. The center hub is repro but I did not do any polishing of the steering wheel. So the purchase justification was not just about looks. I got the horn working too.

Transmission

The transmission has been the best part of the project. It has shifted well but goes into reverse a bit harder with a clunk then I remember from my other Mustangs. I don’t remember the “Green Dot” option on my other 66 allowing shifting first to second and third where selecting drive actually starts in second. Researching this I now have an earlier C4 transmission. Later C4 did not have Green Dot. It has a small whine when in first gear. I do want to get the transmission inspected and serviced.

Future work

New shock absorbers

New dash pad, carpet and front seats recovered

New rear springs. I hate the driving up hill stance it has now from the very tired rear springs

Possibly U joints there is a vibration at 40MPH +

The transmission has a leak now that it did not have during the 7 weeks it was sitting and getting worked on.

Time to DRIVE it

The first engine fire up with LOTS of new parts was on 5-27-26

First ever drive on 5-30-26 at 2:00

This was the first street legal driving since 1989. I was still unsure if the transmission would shift properly until THIS moment.

Rusty made it 30 miles first round trip back and forth to work on 6-3-26 cruising at up to 75 MPH. It is a little sketchy…

Stella was my first passenger going for a nail trim on 6-6-26. She loves going for car rides but not without the other dogs.

First Sunday morning Grocery Getter at Acme in Woodbury on 6-7-26 with Willie, Lizzie and Stella.

A little goof taken on 6-7-26 parked back where it all began at Tom’s storage yard when I first saw the Mustang. The bare dirt patch is growing in quickly.

A Little A I To The Rescue

Brooks Stover has become quite the expert in making A I photos and sent me this. I thought it was really well done right down to the possible “reflection” of me in the door that was not actually there in the flat dead paint when taking the original photo. Making my car look like this is at least $20,000.00 away to pay for professional rust repair and a good paint job. NOT going to happen…. The A I photo details were pretty correct except for the Mercedes logo in the hubcaps!

Car Guy Stuff

There are LOTS of car shows in my area in warmer weather. The closest is Woodbury in September. I used to go and take Pickles and Shelby with me. Even though I have a “classic” car now I don’t see myself sitting at or IN a “car show” very often totally consuming a lot of Saturdays.

There is the former Kmart parking lot in Mantua NJ that is now an indoor self storage that has an informal car event every Monday night. It is not a judged or popular vote “show” event just roll up with what you have and park. I went for the first time on 6-15-26. The place was packed. Easily 200 classic cars of all kinds.

Updated 6-21-26

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