Tavares, FL June 13, 2017
Shortlink to this page: https://tinyurl.com/1965-Mustang-GT-350-Clone
This Mustang was featured on Scotty Kilmer's 2-million subscriber YouTube channel with 70,000 viewers. It was posted in Sept., 2018.
Update May 22, 2019: The Mustang doesn't have aircon and the Florida heat is now 90 degrees, so not much driving.
A local mechanic diagnosed that I have burned valves from bad timing set by a different shop. It sputters, plus there is a front seal oil leak and the alternator is now not charging enough to keep the battery charged. This is after I had an auto electric shop diagnose the electrical system and he said it was the regulator which I replaced with a later electronic regulator provided by Ford. The manager of the shop that diagnosed the burned valves won't let his skilled mechanic work on an "old car" so I am searching for someone with a good rep to get this fixed correctly. My DIY days are ending. When I lived in Southern California, we had many skilled vintage Mustang and Shelby mechanics plus local Mustang parts specialists, but here in Lake County, FL, they are hard to find. Many don't even know how to work on a carburetor since the industry moved to fuel injection around 1971 and the Paxton adds complexities they don't understand.
Update Dec. 28, 2018: The Mustang is running fairly well. Periodically, it hiccups, and I think that may be old gas with Ethanol that gunked up in lines, but I have a fuel filter to catch most gunk. The rubber filler tube connecting the cap to the gas tank was loose and fuel seeped past one end when filling with gas. I may have to get a new tube since mine is original. I am driving short trips to isolate further issues. The fuel gauge doesn't always work. A faint clicking can be heard. The engine diesels (keeps running after shutoff) so I have to research that (no longer a problem - resolved by another mechanic around Feb., 2019). Paxton says to use high octane gas. I am using middle level of 87 octane. The front main seal seems to be leaking oil. The engine was sitting almost two years, and it is a different 302 block, so maybe sitting caused the leak, but I will live with it for now. The exhaust system needs work to keep it from rattling against the chassis. I hear a faint whistle, indicating a vacuum leak, and the radio doesn't work, so there is that. Front suspension bushings are clearly worn and the front wanders a bit, so that is on the list. But to brag, this is a California car living in Florida since 2006, and no rust in floor pans, etc. I just replaced the weak windshield washers. I used to have a set of locking wheel nuts (one per wheel), but at some point, the key was lost and a mechanic drilled them off, so I have been searching for a new set that will fit the Shelby wheels (from Shelby - maybe 1974). But, it is great to drive the car which ramps up quickly in speed when needed with the AOD 4-speed automatic. (See the Scotty Kilmer video link below which shows it at speed.)
Update Dec. 1, 2018: The car was down since October because I thought the bearings in the Paxton Supercharger were bad - made grinding noises when hot. (Or it could be an idler pulley or alternator). Magically, I had a local mechanic drop by and the sound was gone. Has not re-appeared. So, I then replaced the bad regulator (not the alternator as one shop said) with a newer
electronic" Ford regulator that was a bolt in. Charging was good and the red dash light stayed off. Then a constant rattle caused by the exhaust hitting the chassis plate was fixed by the local mechanic inserting washers to drop the plate down (used in Convertibles - about 15" square to reinforce the chassis).
At that time I took many pictures of the underneath - hardly any rust, or it is surface rust, except the corner of one door where water got trapped inside and is bubbling out the paint. The "adjusted" chassis plate is temporary until I have a muffler shop move the pipes up, and also align the GT style exhaust trumpets to not hit the rear apron. The car is running well, but front suspension, sitting for 5+ years, is a bit sloppy, so need to start replacing the bushings and also tracking down many rattles. Looking for recommendations for moderate level brands of bushings. Many years ago I installed a full set of chassis urethane bushings and the car drove like a roller skate, but too harsh, so I later replaced them with OEM bushings. I also have torn the front doors apart to replace the window parts to get easy movement of the windows. May look in to getting electric windows instead. This car is a work in progress, but I want it to be reliable enough to go on long road trips.
Updated Oct 3, 2018 - I made a video in August 2018 after the Mustang was running and submitted it to the Scotty Kilmer channel on YouTube with 1.4-million members. He edited my 35-minute video down to 14 minutes and published it on Sept. 30th. 4 days later, over 42,000 had watched the video, with good and bad comments. Well, I did wear Crocs! (As of May, 2019, over 70,000 have watched it.) https://youtu.be/HfrLZmyaNJ0
May, 2018 - The engine is in, but no brakes. So the car was taken by a tow truck to a mechanic on May 17, 2018. See more details and first start VIDEO in the updates section below. Later I got the car back which cost over $1200 to update the master cylinder, replace brake lines, etc. I should have done it myself, but was tired of working on the car.
Shortlink to this page: https://tinyurl.com/1965-Mustang-GT-350-Clone
Here is a June 15, 2017 overview video of the project and what needs to be done. It is 17 minutes long.
My poor 1965 Mustang Shelby GT-350 clone convertible bent some rods in 2013 and sat for years while I had the engine slowly rebuilt. Here is what it looked like in a Eustis, FL car show awhile back. Now, in March/April, 2018, the engine is rebuilt, installed and about to get running perhaps in May, 2018. Read all about it.
I started this page in June, 2017. The engine was back from Eustis based engine wizard Dave Triplett and it was now time to install the engine, so I created this page to log progress for various Facebook Mustang groups. I am retired, so can spend time on it now.
Info will be posted with the most current pictures or info in the updates section down below.
I have owned this Mustang since returning from a "draftee" tour of Vietnam in 1970. I paid $1014 for it then and it was red until painted yellow around 2010. It now has a brown top which works better with the yellow. The auto body shop instructor (now retired) at Lake Tech college in Eustis, FL painted it for me on his own time for a reasonable fee. The car now has about five paint job coats on it. The original rangoon red, then when I had it repainted once, the shop TWICE used bad batches of paint, resulting in a third coating, then this yellow one. So the paint is thick and chips easily. There is only one rust spot, in the lower passenger door. It was a garaged California car until I moved to Florida in 2006, and the humidity caused a rust spot in the lower passenger door corner to grow since then.
Here is the Mustang in a 2009 Eustis, FL Georgefest parade. For you Republicans, that is former Lake County, FL Republican Committeewoman Georgia Phillips representing the Lake County Republican Executive Committee.
Modifications to the original 289 2CV C4 convertible include:
- Built Ford 302 with Edelbrock aluminum roller cams, heads and intake, with low compression for the Paxton Supercharger like used in the Shelby GT-350. The Supercharger blows through a Quickfuel systems 650 CFM carburetor and is only a 5 pound boost. As it is, the 14" tires cannot maintain traction in low gears, but I don't want to change from this wheel design for wider tires or larger wheels. The car is built for road racing, not drag racing.
- Shelby clone modifications include Koni adjustable rear shocks, front Gabriels, front A-arm drop, 1" sway bar, Shelby 10-spoke 14" wheels, 9" rear axle (3:56 ratio, changed from original 2:73 used for C4 automatic), Front slotted disk brakes, Shelby side scoops (non working) and Maier Racing fiberglass hood with scoop and hood pins. I have not replaced the rear drum brakes with the larger 10" drums used by Shelby.
- Hellwig rear "helper" springs for the rear stock springs.
- Modified B&M Hydro Ford AOD 4-speed automatic with overdrive which gets about 23 mpg on long trips.
- Interior is fairly stock and needs refreshing.
- Paxton pressure gage.
- Custom, lightweight driveshaft.
- Front brake discs were modified, slotted and drilled for cooling.
- Custom, fabricated wide base oil pan with baffles specifically for hard turns in road racing.
- Shelby style aircraft lap seatbelts. ( Factory seatbelts were not required in cars until 1966).
- Ceramic coated Headers by Doug with dual exhaust and H pipe.
- Aoogahh horn - no mail order Mustang Whinney horn.
- Replaced the dual pot master brake cylinder with a single, big pot cylinder like Shelby used in 1965. That was stupid... and I plan to install a new two bowl master cylinder when possible which is much safer (being done June, 2018).
My Mustang History
When I attended Santa Monica College in Los Angeles County, California around 1965, I rode with a friend in his new Burgundy hardtop 1965 Mustang on the car cruising street,Van Nuys Blvd., in the San Fernando Valley every weekend. We handed out flyers to other Mustang owners and organized a Mustang Cruisers Club to drive together on the weekend Cruises. We got so many of them that we blocked intersections and the cops made us break up the combined cruises. Thus I knew what Mustangs were, and what Shelbys were. I lived one block from Carroll Shelby in 1965-1972 in Playa del Rey, CA when he drove his Cobras and GT350's to work at the LAX facility. Later, I called the Shelby plant at the LA International Airport and their PR department let me have the 1966 GT 350 engineering prototype for a weekend for the Santa Monica College (CA) homecoming parade. I put 400 miles on the vehicle, which was the first prototype having the clear rear quarter windows and a built C4 optional automatic. The prior year Shelby only had 4-speed manual transmissions. I got followed by car buffs trying to figure out what it was. We brashly connected a rental tow bar to the Shelby rear bumper to tow one of the floats. I was in an SMC men's service club called the Opheleo's and was President. So, besides the Shelby, we organized a "Fastback" parade, and also got a Corvette Stingray, a Plymouth Barracuda and an AMC Rambler Marlin for other members to drive in the parade.
So, here is this original Mustang about 1972 in the fields near Playa del Rey, California where both Carroll Shelby and I lived.
And below, here it is about 1973 or 1974 on the right behind the Sigma Chi Fraternity house at California State University, Northridge (then known as San Fernando Valley State College). I worked the graveyard shift in a gas station and bought the two Mustangs on the left after they were towed in with dead engines where stupid college students bought them with student loans, ignored "that little red light on the dash" and blew the engines from low oil. Even here, you can see I am holding a camera. My haircut was a reaction to the anti-war demonstrations and the burr cut I had to wear while in Vietnam. The California license plate is IN HOC, which is the latin motto for Sigma Chi. Now, in Florida, I used to have IN HOC7 as the license plate (but now I have a Florida standard vintage car plate). Sigma Chi had seven founders. IN HOC is the motto of Alexander the Great, "In this sign you will conquer".
Over the years, I added Shelby parts and did most of the work myself. In the 70's, you could not find any printed Ford Mustang shop manuals or guides, so I actually had to buy a microfiche copy of it and scan the images in a reader at the library. In one later mishap, I had pulled and rebuilt the old 289, and used a cheapo 3 leg engine stand. It fell over while being rolled around, and hit a corner of the rebuilt heads, bending some internal valve parts, which had to be rebuilt. So, this time I used a FOUR leg engine stand.
Over the years, I saved many old parts, especially anything I could remove from the leftmost Mustang in the above picture, thus I have many boxes of old parts. We even used a torch to remove the entire dash to build a wall mounting, but I gave that idea up and gave it away.
In 2006, after working as a consultant in Iraq for two years, I had BadAss Racing in Napa, CA build an entire new drive train, with an AOD automatic modified by B&M, and a built 302. That is when I moved from California to Central Florida near Orlando. Here is the Mustang when driven from NAPA to Florida via Route 66.
Around 2013, the engine developed a slow leak in the head gaskets, which let water seep into the cylinders until they filled them enough they would not compress, and I bent some rods, so had to pull the engine for a rebuild described on this page. Another lesson: If you see moist air coming out of the exhaust, remove the plugs and check the cylinders for internal water leaks in the head gaskets before you damage the internals!
The new engine was built by a local Lake County, FL engine wizard, Dave Triplett, and machining was done in a local machine shop only used by drag racers. ( I will add more after I get it running!)
===========================================================
The following Update log is posted in reverse day order, so most recent status posts are at the top:
==============================================================
Oct. 4, 2018 - I submitted a 35 minute video about the Mustang and issues with older cars to the Scotty Kilmer Channel on YouTube. Scotty edited it down to 14 minutes, which is about 3 times longer than most outside videos he publishes and uploaded it on Sept. 30. In four days, 42,000 people have watched it and posted over 350 pro and con comments. A lot of them commented about me wearing Crocs. If you like cars, I suggest you subscribe and watch Scotty's channel.
July, 2018 - The Paxton Supercharger developed a rasping sound like bad bearings, so it is parked. The firm that bought Paxton is in California and says they can rebuild it for $350. Waiting for the time and money to do it. (Update - the noise went away and the Paxton works fine.)
June 3, 2018 Update: The Mustang is having all new brakes and a modern dual bowl modern master cylinder installed at Jack's Garage in Tavares, FL. A problem with old cars is when they order parts for it, they sat for so long the internal gaskets fail, and that happened, so waiting for the THIRD master cylinder to arrive which hopefully works. Hopefully, I get it in 1-3 days.
May 17, 2018 - Departing for Jack's Garage to have brakes rebuilt and other adjustments:
May 17, 2018 Video of first running as installed with NO tuning or timing changes. Car loaded on tow truck to take to Jack's Garage for new brake system and tuning.
May 10, 2018 - Engine is in, done, and running, but NO BRAKES!
After five years, the rebuilt engine is in my 1965 Mustang Convertible, owned since 1970, and I will upload a short video soon of it running.
However, after sitting for five years, the ORIGINAL 50 year old master brake cylinder failed internally and NO BRAKES. And the unit needs to be upgraded to current "two bowl" standards and two mechanics would not work with it, two said wait until tomorrow to just look at it, and then I found a new place that ONLY works on vintage cars (Jack's Garage in Tavares, FL) and had three early Mustangs in his shop. But he can't work on it until next Wednesday, so the car sits in my driveway until then. The first picture is from about five years ago. It looks the same now.
I plan to enter it in both the Tavares and Mt. Dora 4th of July, 2018 parades.
March 2-30, 2018 Update: Spent hours under the car connecting the exhaust to the headers, AOD flexplate to the AOD converter, installing the starter, fabricating a new battery hold down bracket to connect to my new battery tray, cleaning power cables, etc. Then had to track down correct TWO gaskets for the Paxton airbox and installed the Demon QFT carburetor in the box. Still too hard to reach third bolt on each side connecting headers to exhaust, so will do it on a lift after the car is running. Also can't easily reach and install two bolts connecting the AOD case to the block, so have to wait until on a lift. I have made videos and pictures of every step, so will assemble and upload them some time after the car is running. Still to do: Install and connect alternator, radiator, fuel pump, finish cleaning out fuel tank and lines, install Paxton... It also helps that a nasty neighbor reported me for a code violation of having a non-running car in my carport, so I have to get it running by about April 20. One issue is that the weather, rain, winds, heat or cold affect how willing I want to work out in an open carport. Florida weather varies a lot. But today, I hope to get the alternator installed after reading my cryptic diagram of where all the wires go.
March 1, 2018 - Engine Installed in Engine bay - HOORAY! The 302 engine is in the car with the help of an 83 year old neighbor.
Dec. 2, 2017 - I haven't been very good at updating this, but a number of above items were done. Now need to clean out fuel line and tank to ensure old fuel with ethanol in it did not gum it up. (Thanks, environmentalists and past FL Gov. Charlie Crist for passing the law to put damaging ethanol in gasoline). I am working to get an assistant to help me install the engine, then must re-attach alternator, supercharger, headers, etc.
Items to do (which will be removed once they are done and inserted in the daily section below where it was completed):
Done: Clean and paint engine bay, including rust preventative by battery tray, and install new Scott Drake battery tray. I already have all cleaners and paint.
Done: Reinstall parts and wiring removed for engine bay cleaning - solenoid, regulator, etc.
Start organizing parts to reinstall - they are in many boxes - spread out on three workbenches for cleaning, installations.
Install Edelbrock water pump after ordering custom gaskets from Edelbrock. Stock gaskets don't fit right.
Research issue of externally balanced Scat flexplate (that connects engine crankshaft with AOD transmission) to ensure it is bolted on to balance the crankshaft. then install it. Done: Mechanic said flexplate will only fit in one position on crank.
Organize pictures and drawings of removal process to ensure parts are re-installed properly.
Clean out gas tank and fuel lines to remove possible sludged up fuel because Charlie Crist mandated 10% ethanol be added to fuel and mine has been sitting for three years.
Done: Install new spark plugs and wires, ensure proper firing order used and
Done: Clean and paint older MSD coil and bracket.
Done: Figure out new routing for transmission fluid to radiators and obtain needed tubing.
Done: Install new battery and obtain new cables. Once supercharger is installed, you can't remove the battery without removing the supercharger.
I will periodically post other older pictures and documents related to this Mustang. See updates above.
Sept. 11, 2017 - Hurricane IRMA hit the area. I had to remove every staged part from the carport and store it, then bring it back out again afterwards. Bolts and labels got lost, causing later confusion. The Mustang is in a carport, so the winds shredded the car cover, so had to get a new one, otherwise no damage.
June 15, 2017 - Parts & tools organized, made overview video
Here is a 17 minute video I made on the current status and what needs to be done. Tomorrow is cleaning the engine bay and some other items on the task list.
June 14, 2017 - Had other commitments, no work on it
June 13, 2017 - what was done
It rained. Organized the parts.
June 13, 2017 - Some pictures of the current status of the car at the start of this log page:
Here is what it looked like when the engine was pulled on Oct. 10, 2015. It took me awhile to save the funds needed and the mechanic, who builds and races drag racers, worked on it as time was available.
Below is the engine as it was on June 13, 2017 on the engine stand, The blue tape covers holes to keep Florida's wasps and flying mud daubers from building homes in them. This engine work and machining cost me about $3000 and the block was replaced gratis after the first machining attempt resulted in deformations in one piston wall from internal rust. Thanks to Eustis, FL engine builder Dave Triplett for building the engine and detecting the defect in one cylinder wall of my old block.
The engine bay to be cleaned and painted today and tomorrow. Again, plastic covers holes to prevent entry by bugs, and the tin foil covers electrical components to prevent damage while spraying degreaser or paint.
==============================================================
Other pictures:
Magazine Ad picture for the "New Mustang"
Below: Carrying Korean War vets in Mt. Dora, FL 2007 Christmas parade.
===
