Chris Jones' '67 Mustang hardtop is slowly recovering at DVS Restorations thanks to It Takes A Village and the Vintage Mustang Forum.
Quite some time ago, we told you about Chris Jones and his unfortunate mishap on a rainy Los Angeles freeway with his mother's '67 Mustang hardtop. He lost control on wet pavement, spinning out, smacking a center divider, totaling his Mustang in the process.
Chris' mother purchased the car new, which made it a very important family heirloom. It was unthinkable to imagine the car gone. When Chris brought his unfortunate experience to the Vintage Mustang Forum (VMF), it struck a nerve with just about everyone including us. We asked Chris what we could do to help and so did others. People offered up parts and services to help save the car from a date with the crusher.
Dave Stribling of DVS Restorations in Indiana was one of those people. He offered the most precious commodity of all - his time... The car was shipped from Southern California to Indiana where Dave and his people went to work tearing the car apart to determine what could be done. Dave found the damage wasn't beyond all hope, pulling and yanking on a frame table, getting the body closer to its original factory dimensions. The front end assembly, damaged beyond repair, was completely removed forward of the firewall.
While DVS has been working on the body, we've been doing what we can to help Chris here at Mustang Monthly Magazine. We have an AOD transmission core we're going to build for Chris here in Southern California. Chris has a 5.0L block we're going to investigate building as a carbureted roller tappet 302. We're also putting out feelers for a 9-inch rear end for Chris.
It Takes A Village isn't an official project, but more a demonstration of what people can do for each other in times of misfortune. It's a grass roots effort to help keep a dream alive. Keep an eye out for updates in Mustang Monthly.