Thanks preaction, it had some rust in the cowl and floors but it’s rust free now. Just trying to get it all back together.
So the shop that was working on my car closed. I got my car back with a tow truck and about four loads in a truck. The shop owner had told me the car was “ready for paint” but when I started putting all the pieces back together nothing fit. The floor pans were Frankensteined, the quarter panel didn’t fit right and pretty much anything that could come apart, was apart. The car was a total mess. I’ve had my car for over 25 years but I felt like pushing it off a cliff. My car was in worse condition after being in the body shop than it was before. I felt defeated and I hated my car.
I couldn’t sleep and stayed up night after night trying to figure out what to do. Should I junk the car, sell the car, do nothing or start over with another shop? I decided the logical thing to do would be to sell it. It was a hard choice, but the smart choice. I added up all the money I had put in the car and put an asking price of 20 cents on the dollar. It was the whole my loss, your gain crap. I swore I would never be the guy with a car in pieces, sitting in his garage but that was exactly what I was. Then, as expected, in came the lowball offers.
It was easy to dismiss many of the offers and I understood where the people were coming from. How much value is in a car that is completely torn apart. I had thousands of dollars in new parts and the price I was asking just about covered that amount, the car itself was basically free. But something happened that I didn’t expect. Someone came at me with a reasonable offer, cash in hand and I didn’t know what to do.
Sure I hated my car and wanted to push it off a cliff. I didn’t want to see or work on it anymore. The car was more trouble than it was worth. But when push came to shove and I had my opportunity to “off” the Cougar once-and-for-all, I couldn’t. It meant something to me. I stayed up all night sending out emails to different shops, in different states, all over, anywhere I could think of. I needed to find a shop that could put my Frankenstein back together. I ended up getting a response from a guy in Illinois. This could be the right person for the job. His claim-to-fame was building a Mustang limousine. If you can cut two cars in half and make one, you can definitely fix my car!
I spoke with Chris Ingrassia of Mustang Retorations, Inc. for 45 minutes the first time I talked to him. He’s a really nice guy and you can tell he knows everything there in to know about a Mustang. I told him everything that was wrong with my car and he just shrugged it off and said, “That’s no problem, you should see the other cars that come through my shop.” I ended up speaking with Chris another 3-4 times over the next month. It seemed like a crazy idea but I loaded my car up on a car carrier and had it shipped from California to Illinois. The first thing to do was to cut out the poor floor repair.
We went with a one-piece floor pan. My floor was not terribly bad before the other shop did their magic but it was so hacked up it was easier just to replace the entire thing.
Chris suggested to install a passenger side torque box like the '68’s had. I agreed.
I got a couple of used seat risers from WCCC. The first shop cut mine out and put Mustang ones in. This really bothered me.
With the floor complete they’re moving on to the body, jambs first.
Quite the moving story. I am glad you are going back in the right direction. Looking good!
At least this looks to be heading towards a satisfactory ending. Your story is way too common.
Chris the ‘Doc’ Ingrassia, he is on the youtube.
Operation Mustang, he wears the white lab coat. 
I got an update from the body shop today, and I’m impressed. The previous shop replaced the driver side quarter panel and nothing fit right after that. The gap for the trunk was off, the extension stuck out past the trunk and the profile didn’t match either. When I talked with Chris from Mustang Restorations Inc. before I sent my car out, he mentioned the fit and finish they do at the shop. It looks really good in the pictures, I’ll be out there next month to see it in person.
Lookin good! Glad you stuck with it and found the right shop. I know the feeling of being ready to give it up. But when you look at what you’ve invested and what it’s worth, you lose money no matter which way you go. So might as well finish it up and enjoy it if you can. And with the quality of work you are doing, it will be worth a lot more all put together than as boxes of parts!
Btw - I love to see those old black CA plates still on the car! My Cougar came from Hayward. I hear Tesla’s are everywhere in the Bay Area now.
My first car was a 67 Cougar. I sold it in 84. Regretted it ever since. I finally picked up another one after all these years. It needs what you’re doing to yours but I’ve waited to long. My goal is to check it out front to back. Fix the worst. Make it safe. Drive it for a while and enjoy it. I couldn’t stand to see it in pieces. I passed up several projects much like yours. You described the exact senario I want to avoid. I’m pulling for you. I hope you get to enjoy yours soon. It will be very nice when it’s done. Watching to see your progress.
I’ve only seen pictures of my car since I sent it out last October. We were on a family vacation in the Midwest so we were able to squeeze in a morning to take a tour of the shop and check out the car. Chris (the owner) has posted a bunch of videos about vintage Mustangs on YouTube and even created a web-based TV show. He is a great guy and it was nice to finally meet him face-to-face. Almost everything in his shop is an old Ford. There were a bunch of Mustangs, a 1970 Cougar, a 1967 Cougar and a couple of Thunderbirds. It was really neat to see a shop that specialized in these classic cars.
Here is the Mustang limo Chris build some years back. He told us the story of brining his twin boys home from the hospital in this car when they were born. He said, “Their first ride was in a Mustang.” His kids had a better ride than mine. I brought my kids home from the hospital in a Hyundai.
I just took a picture of this Mustang because of the color, Calypso Coral. The shop just finished this one. The paint was as smooth as glass.
Getting ready for paint!
Just saw your thread and wanted to say congrats on getting back on track! I went through some pain with bodywork and different shops as well. It always pays to use a reputable shop or person who knows your specific car and has a good proven track record. I’m sure the cost will hurt a bit, but once it’s all shiny and you can put it back together, you’ll be very gratified. Pretty wild that you had to ship it all the way to IL to find someone you could trust. I live in CA now as well so I feel your pain.
Blitz,
The worst part about it was that I was paying top dollar at the shop in California. Costs are so expensive in the Bay Area, body shops can’t afford to do business here so they’re few and far between. Everything is so tech heavy there’s a huge void of skilled labor. I contacted about 20 local shops and no one was interested. The shop in Illinois is legit and after going out there, couldn’t be happier with the progress. In the end, it will be worth it. I hope…
Bryan
At least in the bay area they can still use paint and some products they can’t in many other parts of the state due to the off ball Air Resources regions the State established years ago. But yes most shops would rather do insurance jobs. Money is steady, pay is quicker, your not dealing with four or more repaints, rust … So many “hobbyest” want the pay as you go plan which means the work on the car starts and stops over and over again - dragging it out for a long time
If your doing a real full restoration there are very few shops can even think of maybe handling those jobs compared to the the smooth, shinny, dipped in plastic look many want instead on older and newer collector and popular cars. This also plays into the reason we have so few shops to available for some of us. Know people doing big dollar restorations even in the East that ship their cars to people in Utah or OK but that is because that is where some have established great reps so people would follow them where ever they are located though their current locations do help out at this point
Some shops can afford to be picky. Had a few shops around here at one point that would not take a car in that ever had a repaint or repair and they always had a waiting list.
Hourly rate is another thing that varies allot across the country. Just one more cost to live in the great state
Good luck with your choices and project.
Hi Bryan,
I feel your pain. I had my 1968 Cougar XR7 GT in a restoration shop that closed as well. The list of missing parts keeps growing as I am finalizing the little details such getting the interior lights to work, quarter windows to roll up and down, dash panels re-chromed and the adjusting body part gaps and emblems.
If you are just missing hardware that isn’t the worst thing that can happen as most of the proper hardware is available. I replaced a lot of mine as it just didn’t look correct when it was not shiny and new.
Hope your project keeps moving along. It will be worth it in the end.
Steve
The Cougar is painted! It’s been a long time coming but my car is painted and it’s time to start putting it all back together. Another huge thanks to Chris Ingrassia and Mustang Restorations, Inc… Every panel fitted, gapped and straight. I’m ready to see this car come back to life!
Looks good!
Seems like a pretty quick turnaround for all the work they did.
It’s been lightning fast compared to the other shop. I shipped the car out in October. Full floor, toe board section repair, seat risers, all gaps fill welded and hand filed. They found rust behind the stainless quarter window trim and repaired that too. I made about 20 notes on the car when I was putting it back together to ship and everything was addressed. The best thing about the shop is they were onboard with my dream. Chris is a car guy and he gets it. The first shop was full of excuses and it was like I had to beg them to work on my car. Mustang Restorations is professional, honest and the skill level is exceptional. I really couldn’t be more pleased with the work they’re done.
Gotta love the orange! Continued success!
Glad to see a good outcome.
I’m thinking in having mine repainted in a few years and may be looking for a good shop to do it.