1966 Ford Mustang

Coupe

289

5 Speed Transmission

6R07C159997

Clear

Gasoline

Everything on this car is recently new or restored! Conceived and built as a tribute re-creation of the car from the movie 'Bullitt' staring Steve McQueen This is my 1966 Ford Mustang hardtop coupe, Highland Green Bullitt restomod, made in my interpretation of Steve McQueen's hot rod as seen in the movie BULLITT. Being a man on a budget I am very much aware that it is not a 1968 fastback. (Please No Emails - I understand the purist point of view and I wish I could afford to make it mine as well.) Every car has a story, so take a moment and read the story of this car and his builder. I've always wanted to own a Ford Bullitt. And unlike a lot of wishes, I decided to do something about it. I knew I would have to do it over time and I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it out of the fastback that I so long for. So I decided that if I was going to make a compromise on the body style I would not compromise on the mechanics of the beast. I wanted the ultimate version to be a car that Steve McQueen / Detective Bullitt would happily jump into and tear ass away leaving the fastback far behind him. I set out in June 2010 on a quest to find the car that would be best suited for my resto mod operation. Wasn't easy actually. I found it sitting in a barn in central California, not so very far from the factory it was made in San Jose Ca. It had belonged to an old woman. She lived in a Mobile home, with nothing but a carport - and that Mustang rested outside her back doors for decades. Age creeps up on us all, and soon she couldn't drive anyway. The sun creeped on the car too, and ruined the paint and the interior. Someone had been watching that car however, and that old woman sold it to the nearby neighbor boy. Turns out that boy and his father did a damn good job making a hell of a motor. (The engine block reads C5AE-6015-E and thus a 289ci motor.) Still not satisfied, they managed to find a 1995 GT Mustang 5 Speed transmission and attached it to the motor they had built, and they turned this car into something more than the old woman's sleeper that it had been. Squeezing a set of headers in there was no easy task either from what I understand. They went through five different sets until they found a pair that fit. That 5 speed transmission made life difficult. Air shocks in the rear. Brand-new radiator with electric fan. Going from an automatic transmission to manual transmission require a whole new clutch kit from the pedal down. But then something happened... Sad, but true...Turns out the boy fell in love with a Chevy. So this is where I arrive on the scene. I find the car in a really big barn, covered in the kind of dust that only barns can make. The paint was gold and pealing. The interior was gone. Not as in ruined mind you - but as in completely missing kinda gone! No windshield, no rear window either. Based on the feathers, I think the farm chickens had adopted it as a fellow inmate too. But the boy walked right up to it, lifted the hood, connected the battery - then turned the key. Third time was the charm. And when that car fired up it was kinda amazing... who would have guessed a monster like that was under the hood, in a BARN?! I asked if I could drive it? The boy nodded his head, found a wood crate and placed it inside and as crazy as it seems now I drove her down the dirt road beside the orchard near his home. OMFG. Over and over - I just kept thinking this was insane. All of it. Hell yes I bought that car! Here's what I found in that barn... VIN# 6RO7C159997Engine rebuilt in 2008 with TRW parts. 65,000 miles on odometer (probably 165,000).Factory V8 Car Performance Built 289 / Stroker 302 V85 Speed Transmission F4ZR-6394-CA / 1995 T5 GT MustangOffenhauser 360 Intake Manifold Holly Carburator3' Exhaust with Performance Exhaust ManifoldsMallory Electronic IgnitionAmerican Eagle Headers After I got it home I got to work and added (over the next seven years)... Luxurious Black Deluxe InteriorRestored Front and Rear SeatsNew Carpet and HeadlinerKick panels with speaker availability option.Grant Steering WheelNew Dash Pad All New interior panelsIlluminated in soft Green - triple gaugesBlackout coatings on rear lights and front grilleBFGOODRICH 215/60 R15 Front TiresBFGOODRICH 225/60 R15 Rear Tires on Torque Thrust Wheels with 'American Racing' Insignia Highland Green Paint 'R' San Jose California Car The story of all of that is as follows... 1. Exterior: I power washed and cleaned the entire vehicle from head to toe. I carefully inspected the car for any and all rust and body damage. Finding none I turned it over to the paint and body man. Being anal-retentive I decided that I wanted it to be the proper Highland Green, and not some cheap imitation. I did the research and I found the paint for the ridiculous price of $800. But did I pay that? Yeah I guess I did. So the paint went on, under the hood, in the trunk, door jams and everywhere else I thought that it needed, including the exterior body of course. When I got the paint back I was not happy. It had light orange peel in spots. In an area (about the palm size of my hand) on the hood - I spotted multiple spiderweb thin lines in the paint. But standing back and looking at it I couldn't help but be in love in any case. I had a few choice words for the guy with the paint gun and I chased him away from my car. I didn't want the 10 footer paint job. But that's what I got, and he got my money. Still I confess even a 10 feet she's a badass looking car and I was in love. 2. Interior : I gathered up all the parts to the interior that the farm boy had and cleaned them up. I then found the missing items that I needed from National Parts Depot, such as the seat covers, hog rings and other necessary interior parts. I used a wire wheel steel brush and cleaned the floor plans. I took the time to really put in some quality sound deadening material on the floorpans too. And that's necessary considering how loud that 3 inch exhaust is. New headliner installed. Down with the carpet then the seats. I took off the instrument cluster and carefully rebuilt it. Then the dash pad went in. A new package tray what the rear window and then I upgrade on the rear seat and trunk separator was snapped in place. The new reupholstered rear seat went in front of that. 3. Engine Compartment: Every time I ran the Engine it just seemed like it would get hot pretty quick. I wasn't sure but the only part about the whole system didn't look replaced was that water pump. Radiator was brand-new hoses were brand-new thermostat housing and thermostat brand-new. So I went out and put in a new water pump and radiator fluid. Problem solved. Electric fan was hardwired to the running ignition system. I only wanted to run the fan when the motor was up and running warm. So I installed an electric thermostat. I put in a new battery. As a precaution against barn dust, I even changed the fuel filter. But other than that? I haven't done a thing to the motor other than to listen to it roar and idle in my driveway. 4. Wheels: No self-respecting Mustang Bullitt would be caught dead without a set of American Racing Torque Thrust wheels. Those wheels must be graced with BFGoodrich tires. So they were ordered from Summit racing and on they went. 5. Trunk: My steel wire wheel brush came back out, and I cleaned it. I put a coating of NASA inspired insulating spray down to protect against rust. Not the AutoZone version mind you, but the bootleg good stuff from my friend working at Edwards Air Force Base. Very nice. Then on went to the national parts Depot trunk liner. I don't know if the Jack that I found with the car is the period correct one, but I cleaned it up nevertheless. 6. Powder Coated Parts: When your building Bullit one thing becomes very very apparent. All of the parts that you can buy are almost always in chrome or just unpainted metal. But try and find those same parts in matte black. That is no easy thing. So I decided that I would powder coat all of the parts that I would need. Small things of the trim variety a pretty simple and they look really good too by the way. But powder coating the bumper is harder. I don't have an oven that big. Did I mention I was on a budget? Flat black paint on the parts that are too big to go in the oven. So that about sums up all of the work that I've done on this car. Six paragraphs does not do justice of seven years work however. Many many long hours are spent on this vehicle. And today I have to sell her. I just can't believe it either. Age it would seem is an equal opportunity destroyer and I can no longer physically work on this - or any other car. I just can't. But still, I halfway expect (or just kinda hope) to see her inside the pages of Hot Rod or Car Craft Magazine someday. Like a lot of things in my life I have standards. And selling this car to the new buyer is no different. I want you to know everything that I know about the good, the bad and the ugly of the car. So having described all of the good above... Let's briefly discuss the bad. 1. Paperwork - According to the registration in California, it's been off the DMV radar are since 2006. ( which is fine because it hasn't driven 5 miles since I got it in 2010, and after seven years the car of falls off of the DMV books anyway. ) Thus no DMV fees in California should be due. Of course I've got the free and clear title / pink slip in in the name of that young man, signed and in my greedy hands. I'm ready to hand it out to the next buyer. 2. Original parts. This is the resto mod project, so a lot of the original parts which I never had in my possession are gone. 3. Brakes: The factory original braking system is still intact. And in my opinion that is not a good thing. The car is far faster than these brakes will account for. I always wanted to put a disc braking system all the way around, just didn't have the money. Like I said I don't drive it far, if at all. But to take the pictures that you see I pulled it out into the street I drove around the block and scared the hell out of the cats, dogs and children in the neighborhood in the process. (i.) I noticed when I stepped on the brakes it pulled to one side. My mechanical nature tells me that as the condition didn't exist prior to this, thus the brakes probably need to be bled. It very well could need slightly more in the form of new rubber boots on one of the master cylinders in one wheel. (ii.) underneath the car the emergency brake cable needs to be connected properly. I don't know how to spot weld the connecting bracket in place. I have the parts available to do it, but I can't crawl underneath that car. 4. Wiring: The young boy and his father put in a new electrical wiring harness. And that's good. They got the engine running. And that's good. But getting everything else up and operating has been a task that I have had to tackle. I still deal with it. The running lights all work but under the dash just looks like a foreign language to me. I hope the new buyer speaks electrical, as I do not have a fluent handle on it. I've taken care of the basics but if you look hard enough you will find while I take pride in doing a good job at whatever I do, I'm no electrical expert. 5. Exterior: (i.) A two car garage is smaller than you would think. And even the careful man in love with his car will on occasion scratch the paint. Add in children and a significant other, and well... Dings to the paint job are the result. There are a multitude of dings here and there and I've tried to photograph the ugliest of them. (ii.) Doors need to be adjusted for proper gaps. 6. Motor: You might recall that I said that I scribbled all the information down the day that I bought her? I'm embarrassed to admit that I can no longer find that paperwork. I've got receipts, I've got my original notes from finding the car. I just can't find THAT note. All I can recall is that he said it was bored and stroked something larger than the motor that is installed in the vehicle from factory. A 289 bored and stroked into a 302(?) A Tremec Transmission(?) And he rattled off a list of names and parts from Summit racing that I cannot fully remember now. He did say that they spent more converting the Mustang over to a 5 speed transmission than he was willing to admit. So this then is the end of this long description. You buy a car and you wonder about the history of it. Did he really install the balanced and blue printed crank? You can't see inside of the motor so how would you know? What was the owner not telling you about the body, rust or street racing right? Well in this case you know everything I know. And I hope that doesn't tear down the value of my car by being honest. Also, I hope you can understand what it is that I have for sale and appreciate how hard I have worked to bring Her this far from the humble beginning's inside of an old barn. But more than anything I hope she finds a good home, I really do. I will post a video on YouTube that you will be able to go to and listen to the vehicle run. And while I can't tell you exactly what's in the motor, the sound of it running should tell experienced Mustang man out there exactly what he needs to know. Driving it around the block and onto the main road I can bark 2nd and 3rd gear very easy. Please do not bid on this vehicle if you do not have the ability to buy the vehicle. Please do not buy it if you expected to be spotlessly perfect when you come to pick it up. Please do not buy my car if you do not read and understand the above detailed description. I need the buyer of this vehicle to ultimately concluded the sale at the end of this auction so that I can concentrate on the medical procedures of June, coming at me like a train on the railroad tracks. I don't need to worry about this car or concluding this deal. Please don't waste my time. Regardless of where you are in the United States there are some amazing shipping companies out there that will give you a good deal on delivering this vehicle to your doorstep. I've actually used the services myself in the past. I will work with your delivery company to pick up the vehicle if necessary from my driveway and help them load it up. Of course you are responsible for the shipping. If you happen to live in the Portland Oregon area I would be happy to work something out financially and deliver it to you. And depending on the success of my other auctions here on eBay, I may have brand new spare parts ( still in packaging) to sell as well at a fair price.