68 Stang Conv - now what?

Hi there. Last year I had the opportunity to buy a '68 Mustang from a friend's father who was getting too old to enjoy it. Needless to say I jumped at it. It's in quite good condition - most everything is original - & I really enjoyed driving it (I'm in Canada so it's in the garage for the winter).

Now it's time to start planning what I want to do with it. Here is a list of what I plan to do; what I'd like are comments on what should be the highest priority, as well as on how to approach them. I'd like to retain the originality of the car, but update it for all the practical reasons. I'm not a mechanic, barely a weekend one, but have access to a friend who's got a pretty good inventory of tools (and knowledge). Anyway, here goes:

Brakes - I'd like to replace the original drums with a new set of power disc brakes. I understand this may be a job beyond us - we'll see. Cooling system - it's the original tiny rad & even here in Canada summers can get rather hot. Last year I almost overheated a couple of times when caught in stop&go traffic. I can completely replace the rad & fan & get a shroud, or someone suggested just rebuilding the core. Opinions? Body - while the quarter panels have all been replaced, the floor boards are in need of replacing. Stereo - the old am radio just doesn't cut it when cruising with the top down! Carb - it's got a 289 with the original 2-barrel; I'd like to upgrade to a 4. While I'm not looking to have a top-notch muscle car, a bit more power would be nice!

That's the short list. I'm leaning towards approaching it in the above order, but I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks!!!

Greg;

You could upgrade the brakes, they did come with disc fronts as an option, my '67 had discs. You would need to replace the spindle and the proportioning valve at least. I am not too sure about all that is involved, but I do know that much! <LOL> I don't know why your car overheats, I live in Florida and at the time I had my '67, I lived in south Florida and it never overheated, so, re coring may be an option or look for a replacement heavy duty cooling system with the larger radiator and eight blade fan, but you could also try to add an electric fan, thermostatically or manually controlled in front of the radiator to supplement the air flow since stop and go traffic doesn't make the fan on the water pump turn fast enough to produce sufficient air flow sometimes. You can get replacement floor pans and have them installed at a body shop since they will need to be welded in. Check Hemmings Motor News for parts dealers, there are a plethora of them for pony cars. You could upgrade the radio, but why not just get an FM modulator to attach under dash you play FM through the AM radio, with the top down, cruising, stereo doesn't need to be a priority. They you can get an FM modulator which allows you to use a portable CD player or cassette player to play CDs or tapes through the FM modulator for the AM radio without wires. ut there are NOS Philco-Ford AM-FM Mustang radios out there that will fit into the original space and also aftermarket suppliers who make perfect fit radios, some with CD or tape players as well. Keep the old radio incase you decide to sell the car. replacing the carb requires replacing the manifold as well. You can get that done easily enough. I think the hardest and most costly changes will be the brakes and the floor pans. Others will correct me if I am wrong.

Mark