Midlife's Home Garage

Midlife is the name of a 1966 Mustang GT Fastback.
It is also my nom de plume or alias on the internet.

Midlife is welcomed home by the neighbors. Some are "pink" with envy!

Quick links:

Repainting and Progress, 2005
Progress over 2004
Return to the Good, Bad, and the Ugly, now Repaired July 19, 2004
Midlife's Trunk is now Painted: History of Repairs, Feb. 1, 2004
Midlife's Driver Side Shock Tower Removal, Sept. 1, 2003
Midlife Driver's Side Wheel Well, July 4, 2003
Midlife Trunk Repairs June 1, 2003
Midlife's Rust Repairs, Part I
Midlife revealed: no aluminum patch panels!
Midlife stripped! The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
Mustang Wiring Diagrams, 1964.5 - 1972, and halogen relay diagrams
Slip Yokes, Driveshafts, Bad Seat Rails, and Workbench
Moved on into the Garage Majal!
New Toys (Tools) for the Garage!
Pictures from the Corn Feed I, 2001
Pictures from the MCA Pensacola Show! (March 24 and 25, 2001)
Garage Construction, Phase IV
Garage Construction, Phase III
Garage Construction, Phase II
Garage Construction, Phase I
Garage Plans!
Midlife arrives in Flamingo-Land! (Aug. 6, 2000)
Midlife's checkered history
Midlife's expense account (Updated 07/18/05)
Midlife's feedbag (mpg record) (updated 06/02/02)
Pictures prior to bodyshop...the good, bad, and ugly.
First week at the Bodyshop.
Second week at the Bodyshop.
Fourth week at the Bodyshop.
Pictures of Midlife stripped of all paint, showing bondo marks.
Final pictures of Midlife upon his/her/its return to the home garage.
New! Floorboard rust and holes discovered!
Midlife's wife's page (see the cats that were the deal for Midlife)

Midlife, his owner, fellow flamingos, and SWMBO (She Who Must be Obeyed) have moved to FlamingoLand, otherwise known as Florida. Pictures of new stables coming soon.

Midlife was acquired on June 13, 1998, and was in pretty good shape at the time: engine just overhauled, still stock components, interior redone, little exterior rust, but was in need of some routine maintenance. I hadn't been involved in mustangs since 1978, when my 1965 GT Coupe was totaled by being rear-ended by a 1947 Willys Jeep while sitting at an intersection, waiting to turn left to pick up my girlfriend. We were supposed to go see a "lecture" by Hunter S. Thompson that night, but had to miss the fun. Anyway, 20-some odd years of memories didn't fade, as I carefully went over the car. The owner told me the windshield or cowl leaked, the windshield was cracked, he didn't have any accidents during his tenure, the 4-speed Borg Warner T-10 transmission shifter was extremely sloppy, and the owner said it was in the shifter mechanism just below the shifter boot, minor rust bubbles on the lower front doors and on the driver's side wheel flare area, found transmission rear seal leaking, brakes good, engine excellent, tires OK, suspension good and tight, some apparent coolant overflow or overheating, but otherwise in very solid shape for 176,000 miles. Checking the underside, I found very little rust, some holes in the frame rails due to jack damage, and emergency brake cable not installed correctly. After looking for a stock 65 or 66 GT for about a month, this was the best I found, and bought it for $10.5k. A little high, but for a red GT fastback, all stock, with newly overhauled engine it wasn't too outrageous. Service records were available back through 1976, so the mileage was reasonably well documented. For a ownership history, go to this page. I figured it would take 12 months to turn it into a reliable daily driver, and that turned out to be a reasonable guess. I am now driving Midlife nearly every day to work, even in 100 degree temperatures without A/C. When the weather forecast is heavy rain or snow, Midlife stays in its barn, being quite content not to challenge all of those other animals attempting to stampede on the highway ranges.

To satisfy "she who must be obeyed", I had to settle for two manx kittens for a horse! I think I got the better deal. To see her web page, go here.

Why would I want to buy an old vintage mustang? Click here for THAT story! (Site under construction)

What was really wrong after I brought it home, and had a mechanic from Dulles Auto Clinic look it over? Not too much, actually, that was serious. Shifting problem was due to shifter grommets being completely worn away (about $2 in parts), a new radiator cap stopped the overflow, and the water leak was actually coming from the windshield gasket, not the cowl. I guess I was very lucky. What amazed me was that the mechanic didn't find anything wrong more than what I had found! That gave me great confidence to proceed.

Minor problems that cropped up with time included a ralleye pac tachometer (aftermarket tach inserted) that shorted at 2000 rpm, missing emergency switch, turn signal switches that continued to burn out, ammeter completely fried prior to purchase, had to rewire all engine harnesses to get the new ammeter to work correctly, new battery, fix passenger seat frame and re-upholstery due to rubbing on seat back frame, installed front bumper guards, replaced most of the primary electrical system, etc. Big problems that cropped up was misdiagnosis of clutch finger break (at least that is what everyone said it felt like), resulting in replacement of clutch (twice) and flywheel, all clutch linkage within the engine compartment, and another misdiagnosis by a quality radiator shop of a blown head gasket (turns out it was a bad new water pump). Fortunately, the guys at Dulles Auto Clinic double-checked these bozo's diagnosis and saved me big bucks. Can't say enough about good mechanics, even brought them a plate of home-made chocolate chip cookies. (Ya gotta keep them mechanics on your side!). Midlife goes into the body shop in the end of July for a a new 'do: original Candyapple Red paint, fix all the rust, remove waves, etc. Going to Manassas Quality Auto Body with strong recommendations and seeing two magnificent paint jobs. They only do about four restorations a year, though. The body guy is a Mustang fanatic, so that should really be a plus! Big bucks, though, probably worth every penny.

Anyway, for a complete rundown of all parts, repairs, and costs on a monthly basis, click here. Yikes! I can't believe repairs and parts have cost nearly $6000 to date! No wonder why no one likes to add up these costs! For a record of Midlife's mileage, click here.

In the meantime, I've learned a lot about old mustangs, having bought a lot of literature, shop manuals, wiring diagrams, and such. When I was in graduate school, I worked in an electronics shop, so I knew a lot about electricity. Well, these old cars are nothing more than exquisite door-bell chime technology, and is a piece of cake to trouble-shoot! Sometimes college education pays off. Anyway, here is a list of what books and such I have to refer to. (Site under construction).

I work two forums at least twice a day: the Vintage Mustang Forum (www.vintage-mustang.com), which has really great people, expertise, and wit, and the Frederick Mustang Forum (http://network54.com/Hide/Forum/goto?forumid=14160/). Another excellent forum is: Mr. Fomoco's (www.fomoco.com or http://www.fomoco.com/forummain/has really great info on stock 1960 - 1973 Fords.

There will be more additions, as I find time. If you want to e-mail me, just click here.