Ford Rustang: Car SOS embarks on its biggest salvage yet (2024)

There are car restorations and there are car salvages... and this is certainly a case of the latter.

Set to star in tonight's episode of popular motoring show Car SOS is this 1965 Ford Mustang, which the presenters say is 'officially the biggest project to rebuild the most knackered motor' it has ever featured.

Having sat under covers in a garden in Charlton, London, for the last 33 years, every part of the sixties Fastback had rusted through, with its doors hanging on by a thread after more than three decades of dilapidation.

The episode on National Geographic at 8pm charts the team's efforts to return the American pony car to the road. But there are controversial decisions made that could make Mustang enthusiasts and collectors - especially those in the US - wince...

For those who don't know Car SOS, the show follows a format: find a deserving petrolhead who has faced a struggle in their life; collect their cherished motor that's fallen into a state of disrepair without them knowing; complete a full restoration in a matter of weeks; present the vehicle back to its rightful keeper with plenty of fanfare.

Tonight's episode features a car that presenter Tim Shaw described on first sight as 'comedy scrap'.

The extremely rusty 1966 Mustang belongs to 76-year-old John - a former mechanic, caretaker and handyman from Charlton.

John has owned his Mustang for over 40 years, but when tragedy struck his family over three decades ago, its upkeep was neglected.

John's wife Lynn died in 1988 at the age of just 32 following a battle with cancer.

She passed away shortly after giving birth to a third child, Jon Jr, which left John as the sole parent to three children, forcing him toimmediately give up his job and receive benefits.

The much-loved Mustang - understandably - was put under covers in his garden, where it remained for the following 33 years. Though John always had the intention of fixing it back up, both he and the Ford have gotten older and rebuilding it had become a lost cause.

John's son Floyd wrote to Car SOS asking if they could repay his dad for the years of selfless devotion by surprising him with his four-wheeled pride and joy ready to be driven on the road once more.

But, as viewers will witness tonight, the car's dilapidated condition after years of neglect had put the Mustang on the brink of being binned rather than salvaged.

Having been parked on grass under sodden sheets in John's garden in London for decades, the British weather took a significant toll on the car.

'It was no different to dredging it from a canal. A scrapyard wouldn't have wanted it - they want steel, and it was almost entirely rust. It was just brown with nothing to it at all,'explains Tim Shaw - the co-host of the show alongside mechanic Fuzz Townshend.

'Almost everything needing to be replaced,' Tim says. However, many of the component parts required reconditioning and retained in order for the car to legally keep its original identity.

Fortunately, Tim and Fuzz enlist the help of Sid, real nameNayan Patel, the owner of Sid's Paint Shop in the West Midlands which specialises in Ford Mustangs, to take on the bulk of the work.

The team had just 65 days to completely rebuild it before it was due to be revealed to John in front of a packed O2 Arena, London, at a Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live event.

'This by far THE worst car we have ever seen on Car SOS and thebiggest restoration we've taken on to date, as well as the biggest risk and biggest reveal,' Tim tells us, estimating that around 1,700 man hours were spent sourcing, fabricating and reconditioning parts for John's much-loved Ford.

The controversial decision that will make some classic car collectors wince

In order to make the Mustang fit for the road, many of its major components - including the engine - needed to be replaced.

It also underwent some modernisation, including adding fuel injection, fitting wishbone suspension, replacing the old steering block for a more precise rack and installing disc brakes in place of the drums that the car left the factory with 58 years ago.

Making such wholesale changes to a car of this vintage might irk some enthusiasts and collectors, who will debate if a vehicle retains its originality with so many new parts.

Though there is one major change to John's Mustang that will do more than raise eyebrows among the classic-owning fraternity.

That's because Tim, Fuzz and Sid embarked on moving the steering wheel across the car to convert it into a right-hand drive.

'I doubled the workload for us because I had an idea because I have an opinion on left-hand-drive vehicles driven on our roads,' Tim explains.

'The UK is obsessed with keeping cars "factory" or "standard" while the rest of the world points and laughs at us in the face asking why don't we admit there is better engineering out there so that we can actually use it rather than leaving it in the garage and polishing it because you know truthfully that it doesn't drive well.'

Shaw, who owns a Mustang, went on: 'I've said it before and Fuzz said it after driving one on the show; a 1965 Fastback is one of the worst classic cars to drive - it's massively underpowered, the brakes are crap and it only wants to go in a straight line.

'And one of the reasons why the classic Mustang - one of the most iconic cars of all time - isn't seen much on UK roads is because they weren't sold in right-hand drive.'

As Tim points out, the decision went against what the UK Mustang owners club and classic car collectors recommend, with such significant adaptations to the Ford believed to be equivalent to 'burning money' but devaluing its originality.

We asked classic car experts at Hagerty UK about the impact of a vehicle's value when the steering wheel is moved across.

John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty Price Guide, tells us: 'Everyone expects that a LHD to RHD conversion will reduce a classic car’s value, and in many cases that is correct. Lots of buyers really put a premium on originality, and swapping the steering wheel over can compromise the interior of a car and cause complications with steering, wiring and suspension.

'Some cars – like American muscle cars – are also supposed to be left-hand drive, and feel a bit odd if converted.

'That said, there can be good reasons for conversions and some cars seem to suit it, especially if the work was done in period.

'What Hagerty would say is that the quality of conversion is absolutely key. As a specialist classic car insurer, we need to know that the car continues to be safe and that the modification has been carried out properly.'

You can make your own mind up about whether converting from left to right-hand drive was the correct choice by watching the episode this evening...