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  1. #1

    Default Which to do first Exterior, interior or motor

    Looking to restro mod my 83 GT I just picked up. Needs interior redone (ripped seat, faded carpet and such), Exterior (needs paint and trim)
    engine (have new heads, intake, headers and exhaust from another project) and suspension (needs bushings and go fast parts)

    I plan on doing it all but am trying to decide what to do first. Not a daily driver (yet) but don't want to backtrack a lot (puts parts on only to take them off).

    For Paint I am going to strip and re-color
    For interior I am going to recarpet, new upholstery, dash etc.
    For Suspension I am looking at MM maximum grip package, 5 lug and 4 wheel disc brakes
    for engine I am looking at heads, intake, exhaust for the time being with upgrade to dart block and twin turbo in the future (just need new short block).

    Any suggestion?

  2. #2

    Default

    Engine
    Suspension
    Interior
    Exterior (paint)

    Now if you are doing a complete color change:

    Suspension
    Strip engine compartment
    Paint Engine Compartment
    Engine
    Paint Door Jambs
    Interior
    Exterior

    Well at least that would be my plan. A whole lot easier if you are repainting the same color. Also, you can flip flop engine/suspension. If it runs OK, start on the suspension, if it runs horribly or not at all and can't be easily made to run better, start on the engine.

    Good luck, big, big project.

    I can tell you that big of a project takes time and usually will burn you out and you will not complete it.

    So, try to keep it driving as long as you can. Do the engine, drive a bit, Do the suspension, drive some more, do the interior...etc. This way you will still love driving the car and hopefully you will keep working on it. The minute you lose interest it is done...

    Kenny
    Last edited by mudgepondexpress; 08-02-2019 at 02:32 PM.

  3. #3
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Default

    There's no perfect answer just know that going in. Also keep in mind you are easily looking at $15-20K for a project such as this and that is assuming you are doing the majority of the work yourself. A decent paint job on a Mustang will start a $5K, doing a strip and repaint can easily reach $15K if you have to pay a shop to do the work. Interior work will easily be $1K just for the basic materials, plus any labor if you have to have a shop do any work. You can easily spend $2-3K for a stock interior with a shop again. Anyway, not trying to derail the project, but all too often people don't look at the real costs for something like this before tearing into the car.

    If you plan on doing some serious suspension upgrades, I would start there. Get everything installed and sorted out. After that your engine and drivetrain would be my next focus especially if going Turbo, etc. Then I would do the paint and body work and finish up with the interior.

    I personally wouldn't consider doing a color change on a car without stripping it down to the bare shell. That way EVERYTHING gets painted the proper color and when finished NO ONE will be able to tell. That's my anal retentive nature there, your desires may vary. I also don't like overspray on my suspension, engine, interior, etc. so I generally remove either everything or at least as much as possible to prevent such occurrences. Yes, you can mask like crazy, but overspray can still happen and I personally HATE tape lines. If I were doing a project like this (which actually I am doing several ) I would get all the mechanicals sorted out and adjusted properly. Then I would tear the entire car back down for paint and body work. Re-install all the suspension, drivetrain, etc. Finishing up with the new interior as the final touch to a well done Fox! The nice thing about doing like this is that if you have everything sorted out and keep all the parts together and marked as they come off, then the reassembly is pretty straight forward with minimal hassles and you get the benefits of everything being fresh, clean, detailed, painted, etc. all at once as the final product. Good Luck!
    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
    1969 Mach 1
    1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
    1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
    1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
    1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently

    Current Capris:
    1981 Capri Roller
    1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
    1982 Capri RS 5.0/4spd T-top Full Restoration Stalled in TX
    1984 Capri RS T-top Roller
    1983-84 Gloy Racing Trans Am/IMSA Body Parts

  4. #4

    Default

    Great answers....
    I think I will save paint for last. Suspension and engine at same time with interior as I go.

    When I bought the car my wife said she wanted me to have something comfortable for my commute. I told her that this will be comfortable when I am done. Also I could go out and buy a $25-30K car or I could build one "just like I want" for the same or less. This is going to be fun!

  5. #5
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by devittjl View Post
    Great answers....
    I think I will save paint for last. Suspension and engine at same time with interior as I go.

    When I bought the car my wife said she wanted me to have something comfortable for my commute. I told her that this will be comfortable when I am done. Also I could go out and buy a $25-30K car or I could build one "just like I want" for the same or less. This is going to be fun!
    I completely understand wanting to build your own and that is my standard belief. I just mentioned the costs to make sure you were being honest with yourself. Unfortunately too many Fox owners have no problem dropping $10K or more into the engine, but don't want to spend $500 on a set of TMI seat covers. Good Luck!
    ​Trey

    "I Don't build it hoping for your approval! I built it because it meets mine!"

    "I've spent most of my money on Mustangs, racing, and women... the rest I just wasted."

    Mustangs Past: Too many to remember!
    Current Mustangs:
    1969 Mach 1
    1979 Pace Car now 5.0/5 speed
    1982 GT Stalled RestoModification
    1984 SVO Still Waiting Restoration
    1986 GT Under going Wide Body Conversion Currently

    Current Capris:
    1981 Capri Roller
    1981 Capri Black Magic Roller Basket Case
    1982 Capri RS 5.0/4spd T-top Full Restoration Stalled in TX
    1984 Capri RS T-top Roller
    1983-84 Gloy Racing Trans Am/IMSA Body Parts

  6. #6

    Default

    As an aside and price comparison: My wife just purchased a 1991 Mustang 5.0 LX convertible. The exterior is very nice, engine great, suspension very good, interior rough (faded and carpets / seats well worn). I am almost finished restoring the interior myself with purchased TMI cover, ACC carpets, etc. I am just cresting $2000 in this little project. I have nothing left to purchase and just have to finish the drivers seat (am rewelding the frame). Yes it looks new, but dang I didn't expect to spend that much! It happens quick! Convertibles are a little higher priced and I probably have $400 in upgrades (cup holders, new switches and stereo head unit), but it was still painful.

    Kenny

  7. #7
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Drivers seat.
    Temp repair with seat cover or whatever. Restore later with interior.
    Nothing worse than a ripped or worn out seat and a new engine or something.
    Will be going in and out when car is being worked on.
    Seat will be serviceable the whole time.
    Almost like rebuilding the car backwards order from factory sequence.

  8. #8
    FEP Power Member ccurtin's Avatar
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    Starting from nothing with the Capri (see my sig) I wished I'd done it a little different:

    Set a monthly budget and stay within it. (I did this right.) If the 'next step' is two months of budget, wait. Find other things to do and research. Yes it sucks but it avoids spending lots of $$ that sit in the garage as you run out of money for some basic parts. Plus you can focus on the simple, but detailed things you'd miss if you could throw money (for example, remove, clean and paint every bracket, screw and bolt in the engine compartment. No cost, but you're moving towards your goal.)

    As annoying as some of the Motor Trend TV show are one common theme makes sense: make it safe first.

    1. brakes
    2. seat belts. Check them now. that aw-sh!t moment when you want to the first drive and it doesn't retract at all really sucks.
    3. Engine compartment and front suspension. Clean, clean, clean and see what you've got. Helps define later budgets.
    4. wiring. take a hard look at what you have under the dash and in the engine compartment. Again blowing fuses or finding the ignition switch is shot when you go to start the first time isn't fun. Also allows you to look at your budget and decide if messing with the mess is worth it, or buying a new harness.
    5. engine. once you know you've got a safe car, waiting to get it to run is frustrating. Engine was the last thing I did and I had a beautiful car but it wouldn't move!
    6. interior. here is where the months when you've spent the budget in the first 12 hours comes in. Lots of really nice options for seats, DIY rebuilding/cleaning etc. available. You'll be amazed how some of these cleanup (or the parts on craigslist clean up) if you research how to clean them right.
    7. paint. This is going to be the most expensive (based the comment above about having engine stuff). so plan to pay or do right yourself. At least at this point you can drive it

    I'd also recommend getting a build book like Stacey David sells or similar to keep track of everything. Same with an old digital camera to take tons of pictures as you try to put it back together.

    Good luck.

    Chris
    I'm an FEP Paid Supporter and proud of it. Are you?

    1984 Capri Turbo RS - Alive after 7 years! Build Thread
    2018 Mustang GT - daily driver

  9. #9
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    If stuff is there, see if you can get it to run and sort basic stop/go related stuff

    try not to rip it up so bad that it’s not driveable for long periods if you can

    Never a bad idea to look at the under the car stuff like suspension and steering and brakes and wheels and tires — they are a good next stop.
    Good to get that old crap tore apart before the bolts get more stuck. Clean, prep, paint, and anti-seize every damn thing you can.

    i would not get wheels and tires until after youve picked lug arrangement and brake setup and the stuff is fit on the car. Odds are one look at 4 lug prices and you’ll look at 5 lug!

    i would not waste my money or endanger other drivers on the streets with coilovers. Do a moderate setup based upon the 93 Cobra street car version. Rides and handles way better than a GT or TRX setup ever did. Your kidneys will thank you if you drive it much

    Test fit everything and shake it all down. Better to mess up a beater than a nice one

    Engine and trans. If you are just rebuilding and have access to a run stand or dyno go that route. Otherwise put it back and shake it all down. Ideally one of these before you find that the fenders you are leaning over are polished and pretty

    Interior as you can find period stuff in nice condition for sale. New stuff can and frequently does suck by comparison and lets the cars down

    The stuff everyone else has said above has a lot of truth to it

    life and builds happen — we don’t always get to do cars how we’d like to. And so many never get done which is why I say try to keep it driveable

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