A year after deciding not to purchase a 1969 Shelby GT350 Mustang, I was still regretting passing up on buying that rare and racy machine. I had used some of that money by investing in myself and going back to school to obtain a K through 8th grade multiple subject teaching credential. Looking back, I made many positive life decisions in that year since not buying the GT350.

While perusing the antique car classifieds section of the Orange County Register in the summer of 1994, I read a listing that sounded too good to be true. Someone had advertised a 1969 Shelby GT350 Mustang SportsRoof for sale, and it sounded like the deal of the century. According to the Kelley Gold Book for that year the car was underpriced by at least $4,000. 

The Fox Body Mustang is becoming an increasingly popular platform for restoration and resto-modding, and it's easy to see why. It offers timeless style at an affordable price point. The Fox platform also has enormous performance potential for those of us who love to go fast. The 5.0L V8 and Borg-Warner 5-speed manual that came with this 1989 Mustang GT are a great starting point for tuning, but owner Gabe Flores — the Brand Manager here at Classic Industries — wanted performance on par with modern-day muscle cars. So, he teamed up with Mustang Hub Magazine and American Powertrain to install a Tremec TKX transmission that can hold even more power than the stock Borg-Warner T5.

In highway patrol pony car parlance, SSP initially stood for Special Service Police when applied to the mighty 1982 Mustang. After evaluating a 1979 Camaro Z28 for an 18-month period, the California Highway Patrol asked The Ford Motor Company to deliver several Mustang notchback coupes for testing. The Ford Crown Victoria sedan was heavy duty enough for police duty, but it was underpowered and couldn't serve as a high speed pursuit vehicle. This is why the CHP had tested the Camaro Z28 and wanted to evaluate the Mustang. For whatever reason the CHP didn't select the Z28.

For many, one of the most alluring aspects of the old car hobby is the Barn Find. Practically every gearhead dreams of discovering an old American muscle car tucked away in someone's barn or garage that's a solid, low-mile example with all its original parts. Put some air in the tires, push the vehicle out of the barn, and haul away your rolling, running (one day soon) treasure chest of Americana. As the years fly by, these dust encrusted beauties are becoming ever scarcer, which makes the hunt that much more appealing. One doesn't need to be the automotive version of Indiana Jones to find these babies. One just needs to be persistent and to use all the tools at one's disposal. One such tool is a helpful article that you can check out by following this link: Top 12 American Muscle Car Restoration Mistakes.

This article's topic may be a sore subject for some readers. There are likely to be several gotchas in this list, where a gearhead or two (or several thousand for that matter) might have rushed headlong into purchasing and starting a classic car renewal project that goes awry and is hopelessly stalled. It's not something to beat yourself up about. It's called being human and making mistakes. Don't let the fear of making a boo boo or two get in your way of reading this article for some helpful hints on getting your old car project going or restarted. If you keep these muscle car restoration mistakes in mind, you won't fall victim to them in the future.

Our lead photo of a restored Lemon Twist yellow 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda is courtesy of Mecum Auctions.

The Most Common Muscle Car Restoration Mistakes

If you've ever owned or even considered buying a 1987-93 Fox Body Mustang, you know one of the biggest cosmetic issues with these cars is the dry-rot that attacks the quarter windows. These window assemblies are infamously surrounded by what is typically a faded, pitting, and often separating seal around the outer edge. 

What do these three pop culture luminaries from the 1980s and 1990s have in common: John Rambo, Bruce Jenner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger? One is a famous Olympic athlete who won the Decathlon. One is a famous actor and former governor of California. The other is the protagonist in several movies played by actor Sylvester Stallone. In addition to being well-known celebrities, they were all selected as code names by designers at the Ford Motor Company for three different concept cars for the upcoming 4th generation Mustang (a.k.a. SN95 or Fox-4). The John Rambo, the Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the Bruce Jenner were all concept cars leading up to the release of the 1994-2004 SN95 Mustang.

From the 1979 model year through the 1993 model, the 3rd generation Ford Mustang spanned 15 years of production. Ford's third-gen pony car is more commonly referred to as a Fox Body Mustang after the unibody, rear-wheel drive platform that this generation Mustang is built upon. A total of 15 distinct Ford/Lincoln-Mercury vehicles were produced on the formidable Fox foundation, including the Ford Thunderbird, Mercury Capri, and Lincoln Mark VII. The Fox platform is the second longest running platform of Ford's illustrious production history, behind Ford's Panther body-on-frame foundation architecture that spanned 1978-2012, or 33 model years. Read on as we take a look back at Fox Body Mustang history.

We often think of our classic cars as objects we change, whether we restore them to original condition, resto-mod them to fit the modern era, or simply maintain them to keep them on the road. But this change is not one-sided. More often than not, our carsalso change us. The following short film from Petrolicious shows how Addison Lee's life was changed by his 1965 Mustang Fastback. It brought him closer to his father, taught him how to work on cars, and eventually led him to a successful career as a racecar driver.