Question for the Mustang nuts out there

[Caustic_Cobra]

I am looking at starting another project car and really want to build a 65-66 fastback. I have been crazy about them since I have been a kid.

While searching ebay and craigslist for the right car, I came across a company outside of Pittsburg who claims to provide a rolling chassis car minus motor and drivetrain. Not all that different of a concept like Superformance, ERA or others. But anything I find on ebay or craigslist, I am immediately suspect of.

With that in mind, I inquired and talked to the owner of Steel City Classics (wegotmuscle.com) and he claims to be a distributor for Dynacorn and other assorted restoration parts companies. He says he has fixtures for the mustangs, replaces and repairs all rust (ie floor pans, rockers, quarters etc.) in house in a matter of days and can have a car ready for shipment in 8-10 weeks. All for $18K. I couldn't restore a car for nearly the price they are asking if I wanted to and in this economy there are alot of scams out there.

My question is this:

Has anybody on our forum heard of them or for that matter dealt with them in the past or currently? I just though I would post here before I make a plane reservation to fly out to see them. Things that sound too good to be true, usually are!!

[FWB]

i heard of dynacorn........


http://www.dynacornclassicbodies.com/ford_models2.html


call them and ask for a recommendation to a distributor

[venum14]

Hi Mike,

Even though I own a Cobra I still want to build another Mustang someday. In the past, I have owned a '67 GT fastback, '69 Boss 302 and '73 convert. For many years I have been a friend of Ron Bramalett, who with his brother, owns Mustangs Plus in Stockton, Ca. Before starting a Mustang project, I would try to contact Ron and pick his brain. I have looked at the Dynacorn bodies and they are well assembled. Several years ago Ron built a '67 Dynacorn Fasback and it is on display in his showroom.

The Restomod shop (next to Mustangs Plus) performs outstanding Mustang restorations and repairs. A few years ago they replaced the entire front end including shock towers on my sons '65 fastback due to an elderly gentlemen running a red light. The Restomod shop has all the 'jigs' to perform extensive repairs and they were the only one that I trusted to repair my son's Mustang. If you want to talk to someone at the Restomodshop ask for Terry.

[FIA-ERA]

It's a tough call these days. I've seen a lot of shops buying coupes and then converting over to fastbacks with parts from dynacorn. Hey, to each their own but to me that causes real problems down the road. If it was a racecar or something, hey do what you want, but these guys sell these sometimes as true fastbacks! I've owned my 66 Fastback for 21 years and they are really getting hard to find. I hear they have a 65/ 66 fastback from dynacorn out there but it's pricey and then you have to find a "vin" from somewhere. Then you can wrap up a lot of money real quick into one of those!! Even a rusted out POS here in Ga. are going for 5K to 6K! I would do a lot of research and look at a lot of cars, guarantee some are old coupes in disguise! Good luck, Matt

[tkb289]

Mike,

I owned (2) '65 fastbacks some years ago, both fun cars and there could be another one in my future as well.

If you plan to build and drive the car, and not as interested in resale down the road, then take a look at Dynacorn.

However, especially since you are in California, I would look for a clean '65 or '66 and start from there. Yes it's more expensive up front, but by the time you are done the cost delta may not be that large. There would then be no issue with having the correct VIN number, and selling an authentic fastback will be a lot easier, and you will probably recoup more of your investment.

Just my .02

[351-EM]

Caustic,

I can personally speak to this, as I have had dealings with the owner Bill. I ran across him on ebay looking for Mustang project (Fastback) and we began to discuss options. He inquired into a trade involving my Everett Morrison Cobra and he gave me a run down of some of the cars that he had in the restoration processes throughout his shop. After driving up there to Pittsburgh from Virginia Beach, I settled on 2 possible cars. A 69 R Code GT Fastback that he has just finished painting and a 67 K Code Fastback that he was finishing up panel changeouts on getting read for paint.

I chose the 67 K code and there in the fun ensued. His demeanor seems well & professional, but he failed to provide all of the parts promised to complete the project and claimed to have many of the K code specific parts when in reality he did not. After communicating about missing parts with him for several weeks, he refused to respond to any of my emails & calls and I consequently gave up. I do not regret the trade, as I have wanted another fastback for many years now, but I certainly did not get the better end of the deal. He got my car and had a few things that needed done to it to turn it around quickly as he said he likes to do on cars, while I received a shell, random parts and alot of crap from my wife as to why I would do something that "ambitious".

Needless to say, given what I went through in my dealings with this guy, I would steer clear of him and look elsewhere for your desired project. He will tell you everything you want to hear, but fail to deliver in most cases. If you want to discuss it via phone, please pm me your number and I can call for more info.

Best Wishes,

Chris

[Cashburn]

I've been watching that closely too. His feedback is awful.

[Don]

Mike, when considering business with unknown vendors, I have contacted the Attorney General, Consumer Protection and Secretary of State's offices, in this case PA, seeking public information on the companies and if there is any past or pending action. BBB has been in the news recently concerning their rating methods and whether or not BBB membership influences a rating.

Curiosity, are these replica body companies licensed by Ford ? If so, might be a positive.

[351-EM]

I certainly wouldn't recommend dealing with him on any project at all. Aside from my obvious issues with him, his craftsmanship leaves much to be desired. I ended up having to go back over most of the panels, joints, welds, and seams to correct half assed work. Steer clear.

He doesn't provide a complete Dynacorn body for the fastbacks. He purchases the individual parts from them for about $9K and assembles them. He stated that he prefers to do this in order to keep his costs down and when it came time for me to start getting the body completed here in VA to prep for painting, I had to find all of the interior rear brackets and fastback specific parts to assemble prior to getting it ready to paint. I doubt very highly that anything he does is done with a Ford license in mind.

[Caustic_Cobra]

Thanks you guys very, very much for your insight. I learned long ago that things that are too good to be true usually are. It is a shame, because the way he stated it, was that he has fixtures and jiggs for mustangs and can knock out a doner car of rust with Dynacorn replacments parts in a matter of a couple of days. Plus he mentioned he was a distributor for dynacorn and other assorted mustang supplier parts company for quite a few years...so it made some sense to me as to his ability to produce a car at a lower cost. To boot, he claimed all vin#'s to be legit, although I had yet to ask him for one to run a search on.

I also found out that dynacorn earliest model mustang year is a 67', although I am guessing you could interchange floor pans and get away with it??

He sold a car here in Gardena, California about 4-6 months ago. It is about 15 min from me so I do have an opportunity to see one in person before I do anything.

Matt--I have heard of that coupe to fastback conversion as well, but doesn't the vin state whether a car is a coupe or fastback?

Chris--I am so sorry to hear that and I want to thank you for your candor. I am going to pm you as I would like to talk to you in person, as I will most likely steer clear as you said.

Thank you guys again very, very much. As I have stated before, this is just such a great community of enthuiasts that come together to help each other out.

[289ACE]

Caustic, If it was me I would go with something like this over the Dynacorn path

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/2118423050.html

It is a "real" car, does not seem to be too much of a project, and would probably be cheaper to finish in the long run.

Jay

[Caustic_Cobra]

Don--that is a good point and not a bad idea.

Jay--Thanks I have been scouring ebay and craigslist as well. There are some nice cars out there at reasonable prices. Unfortunately or fortunate depending how you are viewing it. I have been looking at various cars, but it was just the ebay listing that I mentioned that caught my attention and I was really curious if anybody had any experience with Steel City Muscle.

It just saddens me that there are people out there at were unjustly taken advantage of (i.e. 351-EM). What is amazing to me is that there are those out there that can and will knowingly deceive people. And not to mention, still be able to look in the mirror every morning and like the person that is staring back at them.

[Caustic_Cobra]

EM-351 sent you a pm.

[Caustic_Cobra]

Chris,

Just got ur message, sorry I missed it. Too late to call you now. I will call you in the morning.

Thanks for trying to reach me!

[slider701]

The main issue (regardless of the craftsmanship) is the legality of the build you are planning on buying. The 1967 and earlier Mustangs had the VIN in only the driver's side shock tower (one visible and one under the fender).

Where you get into big trouble with the resto-mod shops like Unique performance, Gateway Classics, this guy in PA, the guys in Oklahoma (Classic Recreations) is what are you getting for a title??? Are you getting a title to what used to be a 67 Mustang that is now completely replaced with a Dynacorn body? Are you getting a shell of a 67 that had just a new front Dynacorn clip put on? Are you getting a VIN plate that was cut out of a complete basket case and was welded back in place on what used to be three different cars pieced together with a combination of Dynacorn parts???

Yes, Dynacorn makes complete service replacement bodies for both GM and Ford products. There are very specific processes in place, which varies state-to-state, which regulates how the VIN is supposed to be taken off the original body and placed on the new service replacement body. This has to be done in the presence of a police officer, sometimes a state trooper, to verify that VIN tampering/washing (what ever you want to call it) is not happening. If a shop is doing one car a year they can usually keep track of this process. If they are a ton of them then problems arise and next thing you know you're in the news for title issue, like with Unique and a few others have encountered with the 67 GT500E conversions.

http://jalopnik.com/cars/breaking-ne...ing-319267.php

http://jalopnik.com/5582902/police-r...r-vin-swapping

http://jalopnik.com/5608672/classic-...ck-in-business

The other issue is that some shops, like Gateway Classics use a complete Dynacorn body with a new state issued VIN. This is really the best way to go in my mind because there is no assumption that the car is an original 1967 Fastback Mustang, real Shelby, or any other issues/questions that may arise down the road. How one registers a car like this in a state like CA from emission standpoint is a different story. I don't know if you need a SB100 exemption for a Dynacorn built car with 2010 VIN.

[Caustic_Cobra]

Slider,

Thanks for that information. That is exactly what I am afraid of when dealing with companies such as some of the ones provided in the links.

That is not to say there are not many, many fantastic companies out there who do honest work. It just makes you realize you have to perform your due diligence. And it definitely hard to do when dealing with companies out of our geographic region.

[zrayr]

Originally Posted by slider701

The main issue (regardless of the craftsmanship) is the legality of the build you are planning on buying. The 1967 and earlier Mustangs had the VIN in only the driver's side shock tower (one visible and one under the fender)....................."

the Ford VIN is also on the passenger side apron under the fender.

Z.

[Prof]

There are still plenty of good body shells out there for under $5K. I recently came across a guy with 20 of them stored on a farm. Keep looking and remember, as my dad always told me, old cars are like trains...if you miss one, another will come along shortly.

I bought mine (pic above) in 1983 for $1800. Restoration and 1993. Lots of fun!I hope you find what you are looking for.

[legenmetals]

Prof is correct. Here are photos of a build I just completed. The foundation is a solid Southern California body I picked up a few years ago.

[Caustic_Cobra]

Prof,

That is true. My dad used to say the exact same thing, but about women!

I need to add, both you and legenmetals have absolutely stunning cars!!! Thank you for sharing the pics...beautiful.

As I said before, I really think the chase is one of the best parts to our hobby. I guess the same could be said about women or our significant other...ooops...did I just say that?