New 70 Grande Owner with a few Questions.

[Scerena4]

First off I want to say that I love reading all the posts in the forums because the group that is on VMF are very knowledgeable and courteous and seem to always try and help if they can.
My name is Kyle, I'm 25 and from Southern IL. I've always wanted to own a classic mustang even before I had a driver's license. I've been looking for about a year now and I happened upon an add on Craig's List for a 1970 Mustang. I e-mailed the guy about it, he sent me good enough pictures that I decided to go look at it , low and behold its a Grande which is a plus, and eventually decided to buy it for 3,800. So now my project begins. I didn't want to get into a full out restoration on my 1st mustang so I figured this was a good starting point. The car has nearly zero rust. He replace all the floor pans, torque boxes, etc and had the entire engine rebuilt. I was lucky enough he kept every receipt he had for the car along with the original door sticker. I had a few questions about the car and was hoping someone on the forums could enlighten me.

1. I thought this was a really good buy, but based on the pictures what do you guys think?

2. I've been looking for weeks online and in all the magazines that I have and can't seem to find the molding that goes over the rear of the vinyl top. From the pictures of other Grande's with Vinyl tops its black. Was just curious if anyone knew where I might look to find one of these.











Sorry for the wall of text and pictures and Thanks in advance for all the help.

[mustang656man]

wow, you stole that car, its a beauty! wes

[DRAGPAK428]

Looks like a nice reliable car, You did the right thing and spent a little more and got a lot of car for the money. Good Buy!

[Maxum96]

From your pictures it looks like you scored a good deal. Interior looks very good. Is there any rust underneath? That's the real issue with vintage Mustangs.

[mikeofwarr]

Looks sharp! From the pics it looks like a good deal. Have fun with it!

[6T7]

It looks like you got one hell of a deal for $3800. Nice looking Grande! Does the A/C work? How does it run?

[Scerena4]

There is zero rust on the bottom and the car runs perfect, the car however doesn't have the A/C compressor in it but the mount is there on the engine block I just have to buy a compressor and install it. Anyone on the Trim molding for the back of the vinyl top?

[scedd]

Originally Posted by Scerena4

1. I thought this was a really good buy, but based on the pictures what do you guys think?

You answered your own question here, because what YOU think is all that matters.
Saying that, i thinks its a beauty

[6T7]

Regarding the top trim pieces, what about the contacting shop that did the new vinyl top? You said you have all the receipts for the car. Maybe the trim peices are lying on a shelf there.

Try here:

Tosy's Mustang Farm
714 South Street
Wrentham, MA 02093
(508) 384-8777

They may have those pieces.

Otherwise, you'll have to try ebay and craigslist.

You can do a search of all Craigslist regions by typing it just like this:

1970 Mustang site: craiglist.org

There may be someone that is parting out a '70.

[desertMustang]

+1 on craigslist. I picked up some trim from a '73 that a guy was sending to the crusher. I only needed the little "V" coupling piece, but he let me have it all for $20. You could also check the classified sections here. There are some Mustang recycle yards. I don't think there are any repros for your car.

[71grande]

As stated, you got a good deal. Consider going with a Sanden A/C compressor since you have to purchase one anyway. A bit more efficient and reliable than the originals. They offer both R-12 and R138 coolant systems. Classic Auto Air offers kits.

[buening]

If it were a 69 I'd have a set of rear moldings, but they are different. Keep that in mind.

[buening]

Sorry, thought you were talking about the rear window mouldings! Disregard previous post :p

[masergt]

Fantastic car Kyle. I love Grandes. $3,800 is an insanely good deal for that car. Your car looks to be in excellent shape and is very nicely optioned. In terms of the AC compressor, be sure to get a modern Sanden compressor and I would switch to R134a refrigerant at the same time. You can get the sanden/R134a conversion kit from Classic Auto Air which also has all the parts for original factory air systems.

The houndstooth upholstery in your car is actually quite rare and until very recently upholstery kits with the houndstooth option were not available. I really like it. I know West Coast Cougar sells them (as this was also an option on deluxe interior cougars in 1970). If your seat upholstery is all good except for the tears in the houndstooth on the drivers seat, don't replace the whole thing. You can buy the houdstooth material and have that sewn in to your original seats. The original upholstery is so nice you want to replace as little as is necessary.

I'm not completely sure if the vinyl top trim is reproduced (It will be in NPD's online catalog if it is available). Most repro chrome trim is quite poor quality so you really want to hunt down some good used or NOS stuff. If you keep an eye on eBay it does come up every once in a while. There were actually multiple vinyl roof options on the grande starting with a base 'half' vinyl roof or landau roof. I actually think the full roof like your looks better but most Grandes seem to have the half roof version.

Here's an example of the trim you're looking for

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Mustang-Coupe-Grande-VINYL-TOP-BELT-TRIM-RH-SIDE_W0QQitemZ370281515392QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotor s_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item56367f8980

Here's a complete set but also including the front ones for the half roof version which you don't need.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1970-Mustang-Grande-Coupe-half-vinyl-top-trim-molding_W0QQitemZ390115134926QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMo tors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5ad4ac8d ce

[6T7]

I'd snap up that trim on the "Buy It Now". It's cheap enough. Take what you need, then sell the parts you don't need.