Last month, we introduced you to our new Timber Wolf '69 Mustang project car. Obtained as part of a Timber Wolf Moist Snuff sweepstakes, the Boss 302 clone is currently undergoing a transformation at Flores Motorsports. Rick Flores, with assistance from Rusty Mahan and Gary Cass, will build the fastback into a modern Boss 347 restomod.

We have a new project car-but this one is different. For one thing, you'll have a chance to win this '69 Boss 302 clone after its transformation into a muscular-looking restomod at Flores Motorsports. In conjunction with Timber Wolf, we're going to rebuild this Mustang with numerous improvements and upgrades during the next several months. Then it will be given away as part of a Timber Wolf Moist Snuff Speed Shop sweepstakes. See the sidebar for more information.

Repro Boss StripesI'm restoring a Grabber Yellow '71 Mach 1 and recently ordered a set of replacement stripes. Since it will be a few months before I install them, I've been researching the side striping and noticed that there are several different "cornerings" on the area between the front fender tire opening and the bumper. I've noticed at least three striping differences:

Yes, you are indeed looking at an article on our Project '66. This little project started back in 1999 when I was the technical editor for Mustang Monthly. The car was to be restored in honor of the '66 hardtop I drove in high school. With a few liberties taken (A/C, stereo, etc.), the Mustang would be a duplicate of the car I once owned.

Part of any restoration project is replacing worn or unsafe steering and suspension components to ensure a safe, comfortable ride. Either you can go back with stock parts and rubber bushings (if you like your 35-year-old Mustang to feel like a 35-year-old Mustang) or you can upgrade to any of the numerous levels of aftermarket performance suspension kits out there for the vintage Mustangs. The choices run from improved bushing designs to full-on tubular adjustable upper and lower control arms with coilover shock conversions. That's just the bolt-in variety too. If you really want outrageous, then you can weld in a Mustang II-style system with rack-and-pinion steering, but that's more for all-out restomods and engine conversion groupies.

When we wrote about our Project '66 in the Feb. '01 issue of Mustang Monthly, we discussed the pros and cons of repairing the rusty flanks of our project with patches, quarter skins, and full quarter-panels. Once our quarter-panels were replaced (along with the outer wheelhouses), all that was left in our once large pile of new sheetmetal parts were cowl patches and the taillight panel. We replaced the cowl patches in the Mar. '01 issue, and now in this issue we will finalize our metal repairs with the replacement of the taillight panel.

Many first-time Mustang owners know that something isn't "right" with their automatic floor shifter, but think it must require a major repair to get it fixed-so instead, they just live with the problem. That's how I felt back in 1985 when I bought my first Mustang, and the shifter wobbled back and forth so bad that I figured the entire assembly was trashed. Later, after spending money on parts and labor, I found out that the shifter slop was because two silly, little plastic bushings had worn away. After removing the long console in my car and the four bolts that held the shifter body to the floor, I realized that I could have fixed it myself for a few bucks' worth of bushings.

Project '66 took about two years to complete. We learned a lot along the way. As you'll see, a restoration project will always have a few surprises. Follow along as we take the car from the beginning to the finished beauty.

In our July 2000 issue, we completed the conversion from six-cylinder front suspension and brakes to the safer, correct V-8 counterparts for our '66 hardtop project. The installation went smoothly, so we thought we would tempt fate this month by finishing up our V-8 suspension and brakes conversion at the other end of our hardtop. While we are opting to replace the complete axle housing and all suspension in one fell swoop, you can use this article as a guide for any one of a number of smaller projects, such as shock replacements or shackle bushing replacement, or simply use the detailing part of it to bring your V-8 suspension up to snuff.

Our resident technohead and technical editor Mark Houlahan is building a '66 Mustang hardtop for his personal enjoyment. It will be Anniversary Gold with a 289 V-8. Because Houlahan wanted his unusual steed to appear stock on the surface, using an 8-inch rear axle for the rolling stock was his only choice in the correctness department-it just made sense. When Houlahan called me and expressed his interest in a restified approach to his restoration, we talked about the rearend. We both agreed that the 8-inch differential doesn't get the credit it deserves for reliability. And for engines producing less than 350 hp, the 8-inch is a logical solution. What's more, an 8-inch was logical for Houlahan's hardtop.

Though our '66 Mustang hardtop project has been painted for almost two months in real life, in "magazine life," we're still working on the bodywork. Previously, we've featured articles on floorpans (with the addition of torque boxes), rear framerails (with trunk floors), radiator core support, and fender apron replacement. This month we'll head toward third base with our sheetmetal repairs by replacing the rear quarter-panels and outer wheelhouses. After this, the only repairs left for our '66 are replacing the taillight panel and repairing the rusty cowl vents, which will be featured in upcoming articles. Then we will follow through with preparing the car for painting and showing you how you can paint your own car.

With our hardtop now residing in our own garage instead of the Mustang Monthly tech shop, we're constantly badgered by the Mrs. with "When are you going to finish that old Mustang out in the garage?" Trust me, honey, we're working on it. We're still hunting down the elusive rebuildable 289 core. Our first try at one from friend Jack Smith (see Hoofbeats in the May '01 issue of Mustang Monthly) was too worn to overbore and use. So while searching for a good 289, we decided to continue with the interior buildup. In the past few months, we've assembled the dash and installed the headliner (along with the front and rear glass). Our next step is to reassemble our door internals and install and adjust our door and quarter-glass fit and their mechanisms. These adjustments vary by year, so make sure you have a Ford shop manual handy (either in print or on a CD-ROM) to observe the exact adjustment procedures and their proper order.

Our Project '66 is now running and getting some much-deserved break-in miles, but a few items remain: the Mustang's options. Since the soul of this project has been to replicate a previously owned Mustang, we want to add the same options that were on the original car. We added power steering, Deluxe interior options, and wanted to add a console like the one on the original, but didn't have one to restore.

Our destination on the long, hard road to completion is upon us. We've come so far since 1999 when we started with a $300 rusty shell to the nearly completed car on these pages. If it weren't for the continued support of our advertisers and readers, our '66 could have become just another unfinished magazine project car. But we prevailed and the little hardtop is done. Some of you saw the almost finished Project '66 at the

There's always one last item that makes a project perfect. The handblown glass Christmas-tree topper, the fancy ribbon around a gift box, or even the cherry on top of a sundae are examples that come to mind. For Mustang Monthly's Project '66, the one item we wanted to top off our restoration was a Rally-Pac. The Rally-Pac Ford offered in the '60s became a much-coveted option through the years, and having one in your restored Mustang was icing on the cake. Though our project car has been completed and on the road for more than a year, we've added a few items as they became available, such as the newly reproduced console trim that allowed us to finally install a console. Now we can do the same with a Rally-Pac.

Getting the 289 together for our project car has given us a much needed boost of enthusiasm. While you're reading this second part of the engine buildup in early 2004, due to editorial lead times we're tapping away at the keyboard in November. We've completed the drivetrain installation, and the car is almost complete. Barring any major setbacks, our project should be running by the end of 2003 and any bugs worked out in plenty of time for a debut at the big 40th Anniversary bash in Nashville.

During the course of a restoration, there are hundreds of decisions to be made. Some are made up front before a single wrench is turned, while others are often made on the spur of the moment because of a great deal on a rare option or for personal changes. For Mustang Monthly's Project '66, we knew right up front this hardtop was going to be converted to a V-8 with all the correct and proper accoutrements, such as V-8 suspension, steering, and brakes. Most of the conversion fell into place easily, since these areas needed a complete restoration anyway. Instead of replacing the six-cylinder steering with new six-cylinder steering components, we simply ordered the V-8 parts instead.

It would be great to hop in a time machine, go back to 1966, and purchase your Mustang exactly the way you want it. Of course, that's not possible, so owners often take small liberties during a restoration to add options and conveniences that didn't originally come with the car. Unless you have a rare Mustang or you're restoring your car to the letter of the buildsheet, adding power brakes, power steering, a console, Styled Steel wheels, and so on isn't such a bad thing. If the addition is done properly, using all the correct parts, can anyone really complain? We're talking safety and/or driving comforts here in the 21st century.

Our Project '66, while encompassing a full restoration, is also tackling the well-worn quest of converting a six-cylinder car to V-8 specs. While we've previously covered suspension, brakes, chassis stiffness, and steering, we're now involved in our drivetrain buildup for our hardtop. Our previously installed Currie Enterprises Super Eight rear fitted with a 3.25 gear and their traction-sensing differential center section will be able to handle our 289's power with ease. But what about what goes between our hotted-up (yet stock-appearing) 289 and our beefed-up (but also stock-appearing) rearend? What we needed for our project was an equally capable, well-built, performance-oriented C4 transmission that retained an outwardly stock appearance, but could handle whatever our 289 could throw at it.

After detailing the engine compartment, dash, and interior, we've finally reached the rear of the car. Now it's time to detail our hardtop's trunk. When the project was debuted-fresh from the paint booth-at last year's MCA Grand National, we installed the gas tank, the taillights, and the rear bumper so we would have a sealed "storage" area for our trip to Raleigh-Durham. But once we returned from the show, we removed everything from the trunk area so we could document the detailing properly and not omit anything.

After recently assembling Project '66's dash, we were left with a nice hole in the center of it where the stock AM radio formerly resided. We wanted the stock look, but couldn't bear the thought of listening to AM stations. I mean, I'm only 32! That's way too young to start listening to AM talk radio. So we needed some quality audio relief for cruising, car shows, and those occasional trips to work.

The interior of a Mustang is where everyone spends his or her hard-earned money. And why not? When you're sitting at a stoplight, what else do you see besides the hood and a chunk of decklid through the rearview mirror? You have to stare at the interior every time you climb aboard your Steed. No one wants to look at the peeling chrome of a dash bezel or the cloudy lens covering your instruments. No, you want the interior to look as nice as the day it came off the showroom floor, no exceptions. Right?

Our '66 hardtop has come quite a ways from 1999 when we picked up the rusted body and headed back to the Mustang Monthly shop with nothing more than a basic outline of a project in our heads. Now that our paint and bodywork are completed, the easy (or somewhat easy) road to completion is upon us.

Learning to weld is one thing, and learning to rebuild an engine is another. But actually completing the final shaping and sanding of a car's body, then applying a glistening coat of your favorite color to it takes some real time, investment, talent, and a bit of luck. There's a lot to be said for applying your own paint. In today's world of the do-it-fast-and-push-it-out-the-door mentality, it's becoming harder and harder to find a paint shop that will either paint an entire car or paint over someone else's bodywork. You can call any local shop that has a decent reputation and usually the folks there will flat-out tell you they don't do all-over paint jobs. Actually, they make more money on insurance work, or they'll estimate the job so high, you'd be crazy to accept it.