I’m finishing the labeling of the components for the heater box before I pull it out. These videos help with replacing any “left over” parts and memory joggers.
Unfortunately I did discover an area of rust and that is never a good thing!!!
Take a look:
Coming up next the box comes out and we take a good look at it.
Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. With the floor pans welding, sealing and coating finished the next step was to apply the heat and sound barrier. This is …
With still some adjustments need on the fenders, I need to tackle the fender extensions. If you recall the first video at the beginning of the fender fitment series of post you can see that the there’s no way it will fit (view the link HERE).
As I fitted them up here is what the left site looked like (this is after the altering the hole):
Gap
Pretty large gap.
The right side was better with almost no adjustments to the holes.
Not to bad right out of the box.
Almost acceptably gap.
This video clearly shows the difference in quality of the fenders. Quality control measures are that great.
Clearly the right side was much better formed then the left.
With a little more adjustments with a body dolly I was able to close the gaps.
Thanks for reading. Next up “What caused the compression issue?”
Nothing But Curves – Should have packed the Vette!!!!! Welcome back to Project Sports Roof (#ProjectSportsRoof). We stripped the old fender and retained all the usable parts. Next we are going to fit the new fenders up to the …
In case you didn’t notice, the fenders that were on #ProjectSportsRoof look as though car had driven into a half pipe at a skate park. Left Fender – major.
Welcome back to #ProjectSportsRoof. I run my car projects much like I run my IT projects. You always have to know where to start and know the end game. As with any project that isn’t being built from scratch, in other word, you have to work with what you’ve got, the final goals may change based on what you start out with. So here at the beginning an inventory of what we have and what is need is necessary.
This is the part of the project where the list of To-Do’s begins. Although these videos are short, I did spend significant time looking over each section of the car. From this I’ll come up with a parts list and then tasks list.
Keep in mind that I intend to this to be a driving project – keeping it on the road while it’s being restored (we’ll see how that works out).
As you can see the body is in pretty good shape over all. But there is still a lot of work ahead.
With the near completion of a customer’s project (1975 Model 110 VW) and the beginning of another customer’s Jensen Interceptor, I’ve finally completed my search for my next personal project.
Having recently completed and sold my 1984 Corvette and my 1970 Mustang, I’ve found my next project.
Introducing “Project SR”. It is a 1973 Mustang Sports Roof. The VIN breakdown looks like this:
Born: April 1973 in Dearborn, MI (Code F)
Body Series: 02 Sports Roof Code: 63D
Engine F Code – 302 2V V8
Color Code 2B – Bright Red
Trim Code GA – Black All Vinyl, Mach 1 Luxury
Axle Code: 8 – 3.00:1 gearing
Transmission Code: W – C4 Automatic
DSO – Originally delivered to dealership in Omaha, Ne. and then shipped to Arizona(??)
That’s how it left the factory, however, that is not how it’s sits today. Here’s a little back ground.
Project “SR” is a rescue project for the second time. The first ‘known’ attempt was by the immediate previous owner. Pulled from a junk yard by father/son combo for salvation. This team has spent some meaningful time on this project. As the factory codes show the car was powered by 302 2V as built. When the father/son team pulled it out of the desert sun, it had 351 cid engine that was seized. That is how is end up with the current 351 2v from a 1972 Mustang. Putting the power to the rear wheels as it drove off the assembly line was a C4 automatic transmission, after all these years it now has a C6 automatic. Front end was completed by the team and then a couple fateful fender benders (both front fender on different days) and a desire to build a rat-rod had led this ‘Stang to it’s new home – my drive way!
Why pick this particular car out of the thousands I’ve viewed online and 30 or so I’ve looked over? Well, I have a thing for Mustangs (and Corvettes) and this one is significant. It is the last year for the big Mustangs as the 1974 models were…..um…..different. What’s more the Code 63D Sports Roof/Fastback has a limited production for the 3 years is was offered. 1971 shows a production number of for the 63D 23,956 units, 1972 end with 15,622 Sports Roof examples and 1973 bottoms out the list with only 10,820 units – that is less than production of convertibles. So out of the total Mustang unit produced of just over 518,000 for 1971-1973 only 53,358 63D’s were produced. So you have last year production for the big bodied Mustangs and for the 63D and the lowest production.
So we are going to have some fun restoring this one and my followers on WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and a couple more will be able to keep up. Search on #ProjectSR.
Over the next few weeks I’ll do a project shake down that will uncover what it needs which will help me arrive and what I want to accomplish with this beauty. Follow along and I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, hints and tips.
1973 Mustang SportsRoof. If Mach 1 Mustangs have gotten a little too pricey for you, may I suggest a less flashy fastback like this? The 351 under the hood isn’t as powerful as the top-of-the-line Cobra Jet, but it’s the same …
A 1958 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark III, which has lain dormant in storage for over 35 years, is to be restored by leading classic car restoration company Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth (CMC).The DB2/4 was recently purchased from the Bonham’s Newport Pagnell Aston Martin works sale on behalf of a client. The car was sold for £104,540, going over its estimate of £30-50k.“The car was an attractive restoration project in 1977 when it entered storage, despite the fact that it had lead a hard life,” said Nick Goldthorp, Managing Director of CMC, “There were splits in the front suspension turrets which had been welded and crash damage to the offside body and rear chassis which were repaired at the time. But it would now appear that the chassis needs re-aligning.”
Previous winners of the Brock Yates Trophy include a 1955 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing Coupe, a 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 and a 1954 Corvette. All entered vehicles (judged and unjudged) are eligible for the People’s Choice (Marque of the Year), People’s …
If there is one name that stands above all others in Aston Martin’s 100-year history, it is David Brown. The industrialist bought the company in 1947 and powered it forward for 25 years, the longest period of continuous ownership in Aston Martin’s …
Emulation is probably one of the most commons things in the car hobby. We see a car at a show or race and are instantly entranced by its siren song of looks, performance, and imagination-stimulating allure. And after enough exposure, commitment to building a duplicate becomes irresistible.
Ron Scott Jr. had always loved the vintage race look on classic Corvettes. Wide wheel flares, spoilers, race-style wheels and brakes, the growl of a powerful V-8 through headers and race exhaust, they all had him entranced to the point he wanted to build one of his own. He wanted a car he could not only show, but also take to track days and autocross events as well. After searching online, he found a suitable candidate on eBay to start his build with.
“I found the car on eBay for $35K. It was rough, with some bodywork completed and a second-gen LT1 out of an early fourth-gen Camaro sitting in the frame. It was pretty much a roller with no interior, wiring, or anything special. It was perfect for what I was looking to do, as we didn’t want to modify anything that was nice.”
Well the Griffith was developed by a Ford dealer, Jeff Griffith. It was a tubular frame with a British TVR body bolted on. He produce the cars in that configuration, until the source of the TVR bodies dried up he found replacement with a sleeker (nicer looking in my option) by Intermeccanica in Italy.
So what powered this homogenized sports car?
Well since Jeff was a “Ford” guy so you can bet he at least had a Ford iron block in the mix. The total production of the Griffith was 285 cars from 1964 t0 1966.
The TVR Body looks great!!!
This 1964 Griffith in the British TVR body had two engine options. Both were Ford 289. Both were overhead valve and had cast iron blocks. The first option had a bore and stroke 4.00″ x 2.88″ and a compression ratio of 9.0:1. Five main bearing and hydraulic lifters topped with a Ford model C3AF-9510B two barrel it produced 195 bhp. The second option matched up with the first option, except with a higher compression ratio (10.5:1) and topped with the Ford model C30F-9410AJ “4” barrel. That boosted the bhp to 271!!! That’s a heck of a jump…but wait…keep in mind this car weighted only 1450 lbs!!!! Think about that!!!!!
Love the British Racing Green in this ’65 Griffith
For 1965, TVR bodied car matched the two options in the previous year to the ‘T’.
’65’s 289
1966 was a different animal. No more TVR bodied Griffith, this baby tucked it’s power house iron in an Italian steel body from Intermeccanica. And like the body…the Ford engine was gone. In it’s place was a Plymouth V8…yes a MORPAR!!!! It was an iron block with overhead valves. Bored and stroked to 3.63″ x 3.31″ and a compression ratio of 10.5:1. Add in the 5 main bearing and solid lifter and top it off with a Carter 4 bbl. carb (ADB3853S) and you could coax 235 bhp out of it. Not bad…down from the 271 with the Ford 289. However the car with it’s new Italian designed steel body, weighted over 1000 lbs more then the TVR version, topping the scale at 2540 lbs.
I use to work at a Montgomery Ward back in the mid-70s in the automotive section. I hawked batteries, mufflers, shocks and stick-on compasses.
So is it Montgomery Ward or Montgomery Wards? That little quirk of midwestern English gets so many English fundamentalists worked up, but as we can see from this photo of the parking lot of the newly opened Montgomery Ward(s) in Gary, Indiana, sometime in 1958, as found on Pleasant Family Shopping‘s excellent post on the mid-century history of the chain store, even the company seemed a little schizophrenic about its naming convention. What do you see here?
Worked there many years ago for a little extra money. If you look closely at this one you will notice the passenger side is a little off color wise, good ol DDM headlights. In front of a closed down Montgomery Ward Automotive.
Montgomery Ward automotive shop would be perfect for maintenance on county vehicles and the cafeteria would be perfect for the jail kitchen. Parking would never be a problem and it is centrally located in Richmond county.
As promised we are going to take closer look at the Golden Hawk Gran Turismo (GT).
I really like the Golden Hawk it has very cool lines.
I love the roof line and I live the molding on the pillar, just above the quarter panel.
I love the ‘muted’ fins…there but not huge…The tail lights are great looking as is the slope of the trunk lid.
Love the curve of the fender that are topped with Chrome,
The Gran Trisumo emblem it spectacular and I like the unique placement. Notice the Studebaker emblem on the mirror.
I love the way the fenders end in a single headlight. The grill…well….I wouldn’t have done. What I do like about the front end are the vents that end in signal lights.
I like indications of a hood scope and the taper for the hood. I especially like the way the top fender molding has a slight curve and tapers at the end, above the headlight. The vent on the front fender is very cool old school!!!
Last but not least….I would not have those wheels on it…I’d rather have steel wheels and poverty hub cabs.
