Howdy from Austin, Texas!
I hope y'all don't mind a bunch of stupid newbie questions.
I just bought a 1968 coupe with a 289 V8, automatic transmission, and power steering. I believe it has a two-barrel carb and I know for sure it's a single exhaust pipe out the rear end, although there is an exhaust leak somewhere.
On the drive home (1300 miles) it started overheating. I took it to a Goodyear service center and wound up getting a new radiator, water pump and thermostat. I left the overheating problem and a ton of money in Greenville, SC. :-)
The car seems to run pretty strong, and it doesn't smoke or anything like that. It is pretty obvious to me that it needs a tuneup, but I'm not surprised - it has not even had a license plate for the last two years, the owner kept it in his garage and started it frequently enough to keep it from seizing up.
Supposedly the car has the original motor, transmission, etc. The owner said that he's owned it since it came off the showroom floor and he said it's never been wrecked or had any major mechanical work done to it.
I crawled around underneath and my 2000 Maxima has more rust under there. The body looks nice and straight and all the seams match up right.
He had it repainted "a couple" of years ago. The paint job is pretty but the quality is pretty bad - there is a lot of orange peel and some pretty obvious drips.
I'd like to do several things to it but I want to make sure it won't decrease the value of the car. I am also torn between trying to get it back to showroom condition (i.e. a real restoration) and modernizing it (restomod).
So here are my questions:
1) Is it true that having the original engine increases the value of the car? 2) Will it decrease the value if I have the motor rebuilt with high-performance parts? I want to make it nice and strong - not because I plan on hot-rodding it, but because I want it to last a long time. 3) What if I put a 4-barrel manifold and carb? Will that decrease the value? 4) How about dual exhaust? The stock exhaust system is leaking and I really love the sound of dual exhaust. 5) How about a performance cam? Will that increase or decrease value? 6) I see TONS of options for the brake system. It seems on the low end I can add power brakes pretty easily for not too much money. On the high-end there are front brake kits that sound pretty awesome. Good or bad for the value of the car? 7) How about an after market air conditioner?Wow, I guess that's it for now. I suppose that's a lot!
Thanks for taking my questions! I can't tell you how thrilled I am to finally have a vintage mustang!
Thanks! Thomas