new member with basic questions
 

"Mornin' folks. I'm a new member and am happy to have found this BB. My wife bought me a 66 coupe for Father's Day. It's a project and I'm getting ready to dive into it: 289 with 208k on the clock, runs OK but the adolescent children of the previous owner have made a real mess of the body. Lot's of questions! Here are three:
Best shop manual? I've used Haynes/Clymers and have been nonplused. Are there better ones still available? Question #2: Aftermarket? Don't wanna start anything nasty here, but are their favorite suppliers and/or places to be avoided? Last question: I belong to a vintage motorcycle (XS11) listserv and enjoy it immensely. Are there other, favored Mustang BBs/listservs that are frequented by members of MustangWorks?
Sorry about all the bandwidth. Great to be back in a Pony!

Jim O.(Project66)

Welcome to the Mustangworks Jim!

I'll give my answer to 1&2 together.
The best shop manual is the original FoMoCo manual. You can get a copy from a place I like to use for parts

http://www.musclecarparts.com/paddock/

The Chiltons manual is good too and much less expensive.

There are other classic mustang bulletin boards, the competition http://www.mustangworks.com/interact...oard/frown.gif .

http://www.mustangsandmore.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

http://forums.stangnet.com/

and if this isn't enough to keep you busy check out this site.

http://www.courtave.net/~tschmidt/nomusic.html

Let me say you are a lucky man to get a mustang from your wife for fathers day. Does she have a sister? http://www.mustangworks.com/interact...board/wink.gif

-JON

Red,

Excellent advice!

You might also want to checkout vintage-mustang forums at:
http://www.vintage-mustang.com/forums/wwwthreads.pl

One of the best forums for a stock mustang.
Mustangworks and Stangnet are pretty good with the go-fast toys http://www.mustangworks.com/interact...oard/smile.gif

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http://www.comports.com/2bav8

Thanks for the advice and links, guys. I've spent the better part of my work day playing on Mustang sites.

Jon, I'll readily admit that I don't deserve such a fine wife (sorry, no seeeeesters). I owned Mustangs as a kid (65 Conv, 67 Conv, and a 65 HiPo), and have talked most of my marriage about getting another. In addition, it's midlife crisis time for me and I think Patty would rather see me work through it in a Mustang than on my motorcycle (vintage Yamaha muscle bike). What a joy to now have both :=)

I've had the car less than a month and have just starting to prioritize its "issues." This weekend I'm working brakes and front end. In its present form, it's barely safe to drive and I get lots of clunking when turning or going over bumps.

Drive train is OK- leaks and burns oil, two weak cylinders and generally not a lot of punch. All the plugs are black, the exhaust is stinking rich but the tranny sounds solid. Stock two barrel that will get kitted soon. I used to use Autolite plugs in the 70s, am trying Bosch platinums now.

Speedo is about 10% fast at 55- probably a major contributing factor to the 208k on the odometer. To-do list goes on and on, but its gonna be fun.

Thanks again for the shout.

Jim O.

Jim, sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy. Have fun!

Matt, congrats on the new position as moderator at stangnet. Thanks for all your advice here too!

-JON