The search for parts is the ongoing saga that occurs with any project.  You can never plan on when or where you will find them - the only thing you have to be sure of is that you buy them immediately after you find them as someone else will get them if you don't.  It is usually easier and cheaper to just make a lump sum offer if the prices are reasonable and you have the space.  You never know when you will need the parts along the way.  They are also a great source of income into the project as parts can be restored and sold off as needed.  These are the ones we got lucky with:

Stash # 33 - Yet another IRS - Feb'10

You never know what you will find on Craiglist.. that is for sure. Responded to an ad for a Mustang rear suspension and a couple of hours later.. ended up with another Cobra IRS in the driveway. This one is out of a '99 Cobra (28 spline inner/outer axles). Could not pass up the deal at $175. Not sure where it will go or what to do with it.. but it will find it's way into another project - no worries there.

Stash # 32 - More New Mustang Parts - Feb'10

Nothing special here.. just some more modern Mustang parts. Found a wrecked Mustang GT locally so we ended up getting the harnesses and heater system for cheap. Also finally found a steering wheel for the cars.. been looking for a while on this one. Two reasons for this choice: the style is "somewhat" similar to the original with the single horizonal bar, and secondly Sparco has been clearing out some wheels on Ebay cheap so this made them affordable too. We'll see what it looks like in the car I guess. The model is called "Veloce" and is leather with the perforated leather strip at the top.

Stash # 31 - Lots of Misc Parts - Nov'09

Since we already have most of the parts we need.. stashes are not coming up that often. We do still get some deals from time to time. Bought a set of tires for the track for $100 - Michelin Pilot Sport Cups (Thanks Shawn!). These come new on the Porsche GT3 and the Viper ACR. They are basically street legal slicks. These ones are 265/35 18's and have lots of life left on them. Also picked up a set of Rebco corner weight scales for setting up and weighing the cars. I bought them as non-functional for only $25. After and hour of troubleshooting and fixing as issue with the circuit board, I had them up and running. I always wanted a set, but could never justify the $1500 cost. Now I can weigh anything and everything on the car, and the car itself. Will be interesting to see the weight difference between the motors etc. Also got a 2004 Mustang GT cluster for $10 locally. Finally - this one showed up in the paper the other day. Ad only said "Fairlane Parts". There was a faint picture where I could make out what looked to be a '68 tach cluster. Turns out he also had a '70 Hurst Torino shifter (with wrong handle). I got there as quick as possible and walked away with the parts for next to nothing :).

Stash # 30 - Another Torino and lots of parts - Sept'09

Been a while since we have come across a parts find. This one trumps them all and then some. We recently ran into an interesting once in a lifetime situation and had to act fast. Been talking to a Torino guy on and off for several years now trying to find some parts. Just looking for a couple of odds and ends, nothing major though. The other day we got a call and the same guy asked if we were still interested in parts. We said sure and listed off the parts we were looking to get to finish up our projects.

Long story made short, he was moving out of the country with very little notice (moving within the week) and had to get rid of everything he had fast. We thought OK.. here is a good way to get some good parts to finish the car with and go from there. He said he had a lot of parts and could not list everything. I thought sure.. you have some parts.. but everyone says they have a lot of parts. We struck a tentative deal on everything sight unseen. Little did we know what was to come...

Couple of conditions - we only had a couple days to pick up everything (required several long road trips), we had to take everything (and I mean everything), and we had to take a spare car with the deal (which just happens to be in the form of a 1969 Torino GT FB 351 4-speed car). We have more parts now than we know what to do with. Came with enough parts to almost complete the '69 and likely finish several other cars. Not sure what to do with the '69 yet, but it may become the next car to follow the TwinTorino project as I have plans for future cars. I'll let the pictures tell the rest.. and they only show a portion of what was there. Tons of sheetmetal, tons of NOS parts, etc, etc, etc. We am still sitting here pinching ourselves on this one and it does not seem real.

Stash # 29 - More Modern Content - Mar'09

Since we haven't really been looking for many parts lately.. there have not been really any parts stashes. We did manage to come upon many modern Mustang components from one person that almost completes the parts needed to finish this project. These include 4 sets of Hypercoil springs (2 1/2 ID front, 2 1/4 ID rear), Maximum Motorsports tubular lower control arms and caster camber plates, and rear Eibach IRS swaybar (Thanks Doug!!).

Stash # 28 - More Modern Content - Nov'08

We managed to find yet another wrecked 2003 Cobra. This time we just picked parts that we needed from the guy parting it out (Thanks Erik!). This one yielded cooling fan, steering column with key, door and trunk latches and locks, Cobra steering rack and intermediate shaft. Also managed to find another person parting out a 2004 Mach 1, so we grabbed the front cover off that engine with sliders, tensioners and chains to fix the engine we just got.

Stash # 27 - Torino # 3 Arrives - Oct'08

Finally the website pays off. We actually found this car through a visitor to this site (Thanks Victoria!) who emailed us and said they had something we might be interested in that was sitting in their backyard. After seeing a couple of pictures, we decided to make the trek across the state to grab it. Unfortunatly the elements took their toll on the car as you can see.. but there are still many good parts left we can use on our cars.

Stash # 26 - Modern Powertrain Part 2 - Oct'08

Finally after years of searching for another Mach 1 4.6L 4V powerplant - we struck a deal for an engine, trans, rear etc out of a wrecked 2004 Mach 1.  This is complete with engine, transmission, rear end, suspension, steering and brakes.  Only problem with this engine is that is was in a front impact and it did crack the front cover.  The heads and block look fine, so hopefully everything inside is OK too.  This is from a 13k mile car.  Things are really rolling along now!!

Stash # 25 - Modern Seating Part 2 - Sept'08

Out of luck, we found a local supplier that had a demo model (brand new) Sparco Torino in black. We struck a deal on this one and had a brand new seat for much less than half of retail pricing.

Stash # 24 - Modern Seating - Aug'08

We finally managed to track down some used seats for the cars.  The are very fitting, as the model name is "Sparco Torino".  These are in nearly new condition at a fraction of the cost (Thanks Damon!).  See our seating page for a section called spot the fakes!  Know what you are buying.

Stash # 23 - Mega Modern Mustang - Jul'08

Things have been slow on the stash front lately.  We have most parts we need, so we have not really been looking as hard lately.  This one has been in the works for a while.. just needed to wait a while (Thanks Don!!).  This will yield a lot of parts that we need for our builds, which you really need a car or to spend a full day in the junkyard to get, plus there are a lot of Cobra specific parts too.

2004 Mustang SVT Cobra

What is there:

Front suspension assembly & sway bar

Cooling Module

Power steering rack (Cobra/Mach 1 unique)

Every single wiring harness

Power door lock and window system

Full interior minus front seats

Bassani Exhaust (should sound interesting on Torino)

4 good track wheels/tires (just scratched up a bit)

What is gone:

Entire body structure :)

Engine / Trans / IRS

Front seats

Mirrors, side scoops, misc. HVAC parts

Front and rear fascia were long gone

And some shots before the previous owner tore into it..

Stash # 22 - More Mach Parts - Feb'08

Found some additional Mach 1 parts through online forums.  Lots of wiring and electronics this time.  This should be the bulk of the parts to complete one car.  Parts include:

2004 Mach 1 Gauge Cluster (Thanks Geoff!)

Lots of Mach 1 Wiring (Thanks John!):

PCM Harness

Battery Junction Box Harness

Aux Fuse Box (With fan breaker)

Body Harness (With inertia switch and FPDM)

Dash Harness (With GEM module)

Stash # 21 - More of the Modern - Dec '07/Jan '08

This month saw more modern parts showing up for the builds.  These were found on Ebay and through local classifieds.  Nothing big here, just some additional essential parts

Brand new 2003/2004 Cobra Steering Rack

2003/2004 Cobra A/C Condensor (need A/C for the Power Tour)
More Cobra wiring harnesses
Wiring diagrams

HVAC dash control panel for a 99-04 Mustang

Stash # 20 - T56 Transmission #3 - Why Not? - Nov '07

We found this one on Craiglist - it was just advertised as a Mustang transmission.  A couple more questions later, turns out it came out of a 2003 Cobra, which only comes with a 6-speed manual.  Some negotiations and $250 (!) later, it was ours.  We don't really need another, but the price was just too good to pass up.  Just needs new 3-4 syncros, which is not a hard fix.  We have to do that for one of the other T56's anyway.  It even came with a Pro- 5.0 shifter.  Special thanks to Keith for picking this up for me! 

Stash # 19 - Mega Mustang Parts - Nov '07

This one is the one we have been waiting for.. lots of modern Mustang parts.  This should get us close to having enough parts to make up two complete vehicles.  Just need one more engine.  More pictures to come as soon as we take some.  Parts in this stash include (Thanks Dean!):

1999 Mustang front clip section
Right and left 1994-2004 Mustang strut tower assemblies (new)
2 x 2003 Cobra pedal assemblies
2003 Cobra Hydroboost & Master
Pile of Cobra/Mach 1 wiring harnesses
1999 Mustang complete dash assembly
3 x Front Mustang K Members
Misc HVAC parts
Suspension parts (control arms, knuckles, hubs)
IRS Parts (control arms, spindles etc)

Stash # 18 - FR500's - Nov '07

Nothing special here - just a pair of genuine Ford Racing FR500 wheels with tires.  18"x9" and 265/35/R18.  $100 hit the spot nicely.

Stash # 17 - Misc. Torino and Cyclone Parts - Sept '07

This parts stash once again stems from a wanted ad placed in a local classified ad paper.  After negotiating a deal (half of the original price), we walked away with quite a few parts.  These include:

1968 Cyclone Buckets (can never have too many buckets)
Fastback rear door glass and mint trunk lid
Cyclone grills, dash, tail lights etc etc..
Misc HVAC parts

Stash # 16 - T56 Transmission #2 - July '07

We found another key powertrain component for the second car - T56 6-Speed transmission number 2.  This is something we found in a local newspaper classified ads section of all places.  After looking a the numbers, we found out it is actually out of a 2000 Cobra R, meaning is has a higher ratio (numerically) set of gears 1-3.  This trans looks like new and the price was right - so how could we resist? 

Stash # 15 - More Modern Parts - July '07

Nothing big here - just some more parts for the builds.  A 2004 Cobra radiator, 2004 Cobra hydroboost and a set of 4.10 gears for the IRS in Texas Torino.  These are all deals we found on  Mustang forums.

Stash # 14 - Big Parts Stash - June '07

This one is coming on the horizon.  We worked out a deal on a near complete car for parts which also comes with a lot of parts.  It is unfortunately requires a complete restoration so it is really of no use to us, but does have several parts we are looking for.  Update: This car has been sold on Ebay.  We walked away with a lot of rare parts, sold it for double what we paid for it, and invested minimal time on it.  It even went to the right home in the end (sure hope they are good at welding).

Stash # 13 - Bassani Headers - May '07

Not exactly a stash here - but a great deal nonetheless.  We found these locally on Craigslist.  They are brand new and cost 1/3 of what the sell for new.  These are mid length headers.  Hopefully they will package into the car.  We now almost have enough parts to do a complete car, so the cutting will commence very soon.  The parts collection stage is very time consuming - especially when you are on a tight budget like we are attempting to accomplish.

Stash # 12 - IRS/Differential #2 - Apr '07

Starting on the powertrain for the second car - we found another 2004 Cobra IRS locally on Craigslist.  The price was right, so we worked out a deal bought it almost immediately.  This unit was complete with rotors and calipers and have the 2R3V prefix on the half shafts which confirms the unit was from a 2003/2004 Cobra.  Pictures tell the rest of the story.

Stash # 11 - IRS/Differential - Mar '07

This almost completes the powertrain/drivetrain for one of the cars.  We found the IRS assembly locally through a contact we found on Ebay.  The IRS is from a 2003 Cobra, which means it has heavier duty inner and outer 31 spline designs.  The 2R3V part prefix will only be found on a 2003/2004 Cobra.  The IRS was removed from a car which was converted to solid axle.  We also picked up a spare IRS cradle from the same guys (special thanks to Austin and Sean).  The initial fit up will start this weekend.  Unfortunately this process is slower in finding parts when you are on a budget.  If it were a matter of calling up a place and paying the going rate, we would be much further ahead.  Brakes were also included (not shown).  First on the list of things to do is replace the wheel bearings and clean everything up.

Stash # 10 - Engine - Feb '07

Now we are talking.  2004 Mach 1 Engine - 4.6L 4V Engine.  Needs some refreshing aesthetically, but it is the perfect candidate for our cars, and the price was right.  This was out of a wrecked car and had sat for a while, hence the corroded surfaces.  As you can see, this engine is complete with wiring, computer, harnesses etc.  A Tremec 3650 will be replaced in favor of the T56 below.  Now this has us thinking about a shaker hood..

Stash # 9 - Transmission - Feb '07

Not really much of a stash here, but it is another key part for one of the cars.  This is something we found locally on Craigslist.  Turns out the trans has a broken input shaft and a bad 3/4 synchronizor setup.  Looks like there will be a "how to rebuild your broken T56" coming up soon on our site.  Keeping with the theme of a cheap build - this is how you have to do it.  The price came in at about 1/4 of what they usually cost (Thanks Kamal).  A quick trip on Ebay yielded a new 10 spline input shaft for $20.

Stash # 8 - Misc. Parts Stash - Jan '07

Another small one locally.  This one was found based on another wanted ad on a local classified ads newspaper (Thanks Bob!!).  This one yielded:

Another small one locally.  This one was found based on another wanted ad on Craigslist.  This one yielded:

This is the best stash to date as it includes many modern parts - which makes these cars stand out from the rest.  Some of these parts were purchased on Ebay and we picked them up from vendors at a swap meet (which is great as they could not sell them while waiting for us to arrive).

Nothing big here, just a nice parts stash locally.  This one was from a wanted ad on Craigslist.  This one yielded:

This one stems from a wanted ad placed on www.kijiji.com.  The car had been sitting in an old wrecking yard for 25+ years untouched.  Yard owner called me and told me what was there.  We drove 4 hours to get there and it was more than worth the drive.  Car is/was a red/red 1968 Mercury Cyclone GT.  Car was very rusty after all these years and would take a massive undertaking to bring back.  Floors were completely shot as were most of the panels.  Card had sunk down to the floor pans over time which made getting anything underneath near to impossible.  Since the car sat so long, most of the parts removed were in good shape and were not worn too bad.  Seems as though the car had become the home of some resident raccoons which left lots of "presents" on the floor of the car which made removing parts rather unpleasant.  Armed with select hand tools, in the end an axe was used to remove the floor pans to get the seats out as getting underneath to get at the bolts was next near to impossible.  Pictures do this story justice.

This one was a pretty fortunate score, and was pulled off in 24 hours.  We posted a wanted ad on Craigslist for Torino parts etc.  Got an email the next morning from someone who had spotted a 1968 Torino in a scrap yard but it was very rough (Thanks Dennis!!).  We went to check it out in the afternoon and went back in the evening with wrenches in hand.  This one proves there are still good deals out there.  This stash yielded:

This story begins with a wanted ad for bucket seats in a local classified ad on an internet site.  The seller calls and says he has a set of buckets that have been sitting around for years, and even still have the mounting brackets etc.  I get a description and was sure they are the right ones.  He says that are not cheap though.. so I figured this one was over.  Price rang in at $50 for the pair.  After that - I told him I would be there the next night to pick them up immediately.  He said he also had a few more parts from the car.  For an extra fee on top of the seats, here is what we ended up with:

And here is what the stash yielded:

2 complete bucket seats with brackets (obviously need a recovering)
Complete sets of power steering from 1968 390 Torino
2 complete front and rear bumpers in excellent shape
2 complete tail light assemblies for a 1968 fastback Torino
Tons of interior parts - door panels, blue dash panel etc. etc.

Stash #1 - "Goldmine" - Local Stash - Apr '06

This one started out as a typical - OK.. here is a couple of extra parts for our project.  This was listed in a local classifieds paper in the classic parts section.  Turns out there were many many more parts than described.  Here is the ad:

And here is what the stash yielded:

3 complete sets of front disc brakes from 1968 Ford vehicles!!
2 complete sets of power steering from Torinos
2 complete door assemblies in excellent shape
2 fenders in great shape
Ranchero bed trim, misc trim, tailgate, exhaust etc. etc.
1 nearly complete 390 engine and 3 302's.
1 set of ET "Daisy" mags
2 FE C6 transmissions
Tons of interiors parts (mint black dash pad, door panels etc.)

Complete console with shifter
Tons of exterior parts (grilles, trim, brackets etc.)

Tons of engine parts (starters, distributors, alternators, dampers etc.)
etc. etc. still finding more parts everyday as we dig through things.  See pics below: