Finishing up the front seats of Mustang and putting them back in the car. Yes, I know I should have gotten all the new carpet and the heat and sound deadening but I didn’t. They are easy enough to remove so not really a big deal. I did notice while the seats were out just how thin the carpeting actually was, there is nothing between it and the floor pans, I’ve got to get those done…soon…soon.
Here’s some shots of the final production.
Drivers seat
Passenger's Seat. This is the one I just finished.
As I’m sure you’ve heard or witnessed first-hand, Hurricane Irene threw her wrath against the eastern seaboard with initial landfall in North Carolina as a Category 1. Although predicted to be a Category 3 at landfall, this storm was still nothing less than a monster. This major hurricane realeased havoc from Myrtle Beach up to Maine as it churned along leaving major paths of destruction behind and massive amounts of rainfall. Power outages became widespread up the east coast, (includes my family in Pennsylvania at this current moment). Streams and creeks became raging rivers taking out roads, bridges, one being a 156-year-old hand-hewn bridge in upstate New York. It destroyed houses and stranded people in or away from their homes. Evacuated people are now stranded wondering the fate of their homes and personal belongings. Washed-out roads and bridges have left complete towns stranded without a way to get to or out like these towns in Vermont that have over 260 roads closed.
This storm has caused massive destruction and that has effected some of our own Mustang enthusiasts. Member, RobTRoma from PA, joked about getting a photo of his car next to a hurricane in our Mustang game thread. Featured above, what looks like a very nice ROUSH S-197 Mustang is sinking in a Subway parking lot in North Carolina during Irene’s throw-down. It almost has an ambience of Jaws coming out of the water before Roy Sheider exploded it.
Thanks for all the comments and emails on the Part 1 of the Cars You Never Heard Of.
Thought I’d follow it up with the Panther Kallista. This stems from the same article in “Classic and Sport Car” a UK publication. The article pitted pricey European cars against less expensive cars and rated them. It’s over all theme was “See you can get this close to the expensive cars, for less.”
1985 Panther Kallista
Kallista was the product of the Panther Car Company and they were built between 1980 and 1990, actually coming on the market in about 1982. The were a box chassis with an aluminum body. The engine that was first used was Fords 2.8 V6 which cranked out 2792 cc from its 12v configuration. The electronic fuel injection helped it deliver 150 hp and 159 lb ft of torque. Top speed was about 120 mph with the help of the 5 speed manual transmission.
In the article Kallista was compared against the Morgan Plus 8 which you can purchase now days for about 35,000 British Pounds (about $70k US) compared to the collectors price of 7,000 BP ($14k US). In that contest comparing Driving, Practicality, Character, Value and Usability the Morgan was judged with a total of 37 points and the Panther Kallista end up with 35.
I did find one on Ebay with a few days still to go with a current bid of just over $4k. It’s an 1986, 4 cylinder – not a V6.
Of course I spend a lot of time reading and again a lot of that is two or three-dimensional, although my wife says it’s a single dimension. She sees just “CARS” I see muscle cars, sedans (that I want to turn in to muscle cars), exotic cars and even some European cars. That’s multi-dimensional, don’t you think? I gained a little interest in them when I was a kid and my Dad surprised my Mother with a 60’ish MGB – mainly I learned that unless you wanted to fix ’em a lot…stay a way!!!
I gained a little more familiarization with another brand when I was in college. I had my license suspended….you can figure out why…so don’t make me say ‘too many speeding tickets”, ok? Thanks. So it was only about a mile or so walk to the campus from where I stayed, but if you are from one of the colder States, like northern New York, then you’d know that a morning jaunt on a Dec. morning is ‘nippy” to say the least. So I would catch a ride with a friend. He drove the one of the coolest cars I had ridden. It was a Citroen. Similar to this one:
It had the coolest suspension that would raise when you started it and lower when you turned it off.
My point being that there is another dimension to my reading – European cars. But I am in no way any kind of expert with any of them – although when I lived in Germany, I drove a very old European Ford Escort. That car was horrible!!!! However, it got me round, even when the upper part of the seat frame broke and the only way to drive it was by holding yourself forward using the steering wheel else the seat back, because it leaned so much, should dump you in the back seat. Last year I signed up for..please kneel…”HEMMINGS”… thank you….you may relax now… SPORTS & EXOTIC CAR magazine – some great articles and I enjoy Mike’s and Richard’s writings. Geezze, this is a long way around to the point that I picked up a copy of Classic & Sports Car magazine – UK produced – the other day.
In this was a series of articles that pitted 4 pair of cars against each other. One car in each pair was an expensive classic brand/model and the other was relatively inexpensive newer brand/model. Two things dawned on me, one was,”Hey, I’ve never heard of a Reliant Scimitar SS1 or a Panther Kallista.” The second thing was, “Hey, have never heard of any of these cars!” Normally if I have just one of these realizations – I won’t read the article… nope not interested…. but this time I did.
And now I need to know a little about these cars and I know you do to….all three of my readers!!! So we’ll take a look at the Panther Kallista and the Caterham Seven and the TVR S3 and the Reliant Scimitar SS1.
First up is the Reliant Scimitar SS1.
This car (at about 3000 British Pounds – $6000 USD) was being compared to the Lotus Elan (at 16000 British Pounds or about $32,000 USD). Here is what it looks like:
Reliant Scimitar SS1
Not bad-looking!!!!
These cars were made from 1986 to 1990, however the Scimitar actually arrived on the scene in 1964 with a Ford straight 6 cylinder as the power plant. These more recent models had a spaceframe chassis and fiberglass body, an iron block, alloy heads, SOHC 1809 cc, 8 valve 4. It also sported a Garrett T2 Turbo with electronic multi-port fuel injection system. This allowed it to lay out 140 HP and 141 lb ft of torque and reach a top speed of 128 mph and it only weighted 1969 lbs.
They sported a 5 speed manual transmission, rack and pinion steering, double wishbone independent suspension and disks breaks.
Just to give you some closure, it was compared to the Lotus Elan where it scored 2 points less than the Lotus (38 to 40) in Driving, Practicality, Character, Value and Usability.
Any one out there have one of these? Know anyone that has one? If so drop a comment and pic.
Some people are visual creatures and some are more in tune with the mechanics of life. I am a visual creature. The shape and colors of things are what I see first. So the whole idea of designing and drawing cars just fascinates me. Since this is a Mustang enthusiast website, thinking of what the next Mustang will look like is a mini obsession of mine.
Back in September of 2009, I started following a blog on the design of the new Mustang for 2014. And what appeared on that blog just blew me away.
Now I realize that Area 51 exists for more than just concealing a crashed alien space ship. It is also a test area for military vapor ware that we may see 20 years or so after it is new, you know, after it becomes obsolete and is no longer top secret. Well, getting a glimpse into the design studios of a major car company is like getting a tour of Area 51. You may see things that amaze and confuse and things you may have thought only existed in someone’s twisted imagination.
So how would it feel to get a whole truck load of sketches of the 2010 Mustang, drawn by one of the designers, just months after the new design was introduced? Yeah, it was pretty special. Rob Jensen was one of the designers of the 2010 Mustang, specifically, the GT500. Now, maybe you have seen these sketches before. Maybe they amazed and confused you back then, as they were way too “artsey” for a production car. But some parts and pieces of them made it onto the 2010 cars and some of them were left on the drawing board, literally.
For the Mustang Enthusiast in the crowd that leans towards the visual, stunning design side of cars, please enjoy the collection of sketches in our gallery below. Some are from Rob Jensen, some are from others on the Ford Mustang design team. Still others are designs by professional artists and amateurs that put together some very impressive Future ‘Stangs.
One thing to keep in mind, if you are seeing it here, out in the open, then most likely it looks absolutely nothing like the next Mustang will look. Think of this as the Area 51 Museum of Mustang design. If you like something you see, give the artist some love as I will try to provide links to as many of the artists as I can. If there is another artist out there that we need to know about, definitely put them in the comments or drop us a line.
There was another dry spell which lasted until 1963 when Mercury took one Grand National NASCAR race using the 427 c.i.d for the first time. The followed that up with 5 wins the next year as well as a good showing at the drag strip with the Comet Boss 427 Dragster:
Comet at the Drags
1965 was a tragic year. Billy Wade (1963 Rookie of the Year) is killed during a tire test at Daytona, he was part of the Bud Moore Mercury team and had become the first driver to win four NASCAR Grand National events in a row. Mercury ended the year with only 1 Grand National win, however, Fords and Mercurys took the top 13 positions, while Chrysler sat out that season over the new rules that were meant to eliminate the use of some of its engines.
The 1966 highlight was the selection of the Cyclone GT was the Official Pace Car for that years Indy 500.
Franco Scribante will be out in his Ford Mustang GT350, as will rally ace Leeroy Poulter in the Ford Thunderbolt, Hennie Groenewald (Plymouth Fury), Jonathan du Toit (Chev Nova) and Carel Pienaar (Mercury Comet). Also able to fight for podium places …
So you’ve read my review and I promised to drop a note as to the “Long Lasting” part of Griot’s Garage’s – Long Lasting Tire Dressing.
Now is has rained nearly every day since I applied the dressing.
So take a look at the tires with 2 applications and 3 applications.
Tires with 2 applications of tire dressing
Here is the tire with 3 applications of tire dressing
Here is what I think as a wrap up. Long lasting to me doesn’t necessarily mean just duration, but can it stand up to everyday driving – oh—yeah…just in case I failed to mention, the Vette is my daily driver. It lived up to the Griot promise. I’ll continue using this product.
Before I attempted to use the tire dressing, I washed the car and gave the rubber a good scrubbing. For the actual application I used an old sock. When I first poured the dressing on to the sock, it was a bit runny, but still has some consistency. Keep in mind the temperature, 105 degrees in my garage where I stored it and where I was applying it and about 108 outside. I was a bit concerned, because with two show cars (one, a trophy winner and white!!) and having the tire dressing flung all over the paint isn’t cool, which is exactly what I won’t use the Eagle One brand.
I gave 3 of my 07 Vette’s tires two coats and I have one 3 coats. Take a look a the results.
First coat:
First coat - not even - most likely due to the sock.
Another first coat
An additional note – these pics were taken in my garage with a less than optimal source light.
Now with the Vette moved out into the sun and two coats.
Two coats - pretty nice coverage.
I really liked the 3rd application.
3 coats created a good look
So know I’ve given each tire 3 coats and since I don’t do this for a living, the next test had to wait. I had a few ‘honey-do’ chores, before I took the Vette for a drive. So the car sat in the sun for about an hour – temp was about 108.
With the to do list completed, I needed to take the Vette out to toss some air in the tires. Yes…average guy tools = small compressor that doesn’t hold enough air to top off four tires..heck…it can barely do one…got to upgrade one of these days.
Here is where the rubber meets the road and hopefully the tire dressing doesn’t meet the paint, but first a note. I did in fact drip some of Griot’s Garage – Long Lasting Tire Dressing on my chrome wheels and sure enough it cleans off with moist rag.
Take a quick spin about 1.5 miles from the house and I don’t drive 30 miles an hour…the tires spun pretty hard the entire trip.
I’ll mention, again the temperature and I think that might have something to do with it, but really this wasn’t bad. The real test was whether or not it spread to the paint and since it’s a black car you aren’t going to see it as easily – it’s a clear liquid as well. So a quick swipe with a white showed me all I needed to know, it came back clean.
So I’m pretty pleased with how the product worked.
As far as the “long-lasting” part. I’m not going to be able to render a fair opinion yet for a couple of reason:
1. I just put it on
2. We don’t get much rain here in Southern AZ but it is the monsoon season so it has rained 3 times since the application.
So that will have to be in Part 3 later on.
I need to add a few notes as I always do when I review a product. (Some of that laws school was worth the $$$.)
I don’t work for Griot’s, my only connection is that I”m on their mailing list. This is the first product I’ve purchased from them.
I did see a tweet from someone related to Griot’s Garage commenting on this review, but don’t know the individual.
I’m not Consumer Reports or Consumer Digest. I only comment on products I use in my search for “stuff” that works well for me.
Whenever I write about a product I try to follow the instructions provided and always give any variances or events/conditions that might impact the outcome.
For the Mustang the studs pass through the track and the nuts are under the car so a little space is need. Since most average guy’s don’t have a lift in their home garage, so I pull out the trusty 2 ton floor jack and a jack stand.
As most Mustang owners know, they were built with subframes. When jacking up the car with a floor jack place it on the frame, or use the standard scissor jack that attached to the seam at the rocker panel. Either way once it’s in the air, DO NOT FORGET to put the jack stand under the car. Yes it actually takes longer to do the set up then to remove the bolts…but take the time to be save.
2 Ton Floor Jack
Floor pan plug that protect the bolts and studs.
These plugs pry out very easily. I was able to get them out with just my fingers. Once they are removed you’ll have access to the nut. The distance between the opening and the nut requires an extension and the length of the stud requires a deep socket. These were 1/2″. The Mustang was raised in Arizona (get it? First reader to drop a comment explaining “get it” wins a DVD.) and all the plugs are in place. This kept all the road grime and what not off the studs and nuts, they separated easily.
When you are done you should have this many parts.
When I purchased the Mustang I was told that the upholstery was replaced at some point. (Keep that in mind for later as well.)
As you can see in the video I wasn’t able to get the seat out of the car. I initially I figured it was because I couldn’t pull out level enough for the studs to clear the holes due to the fact that I was holding the camera. However, after putting it down I still shouldn’t get the seat out. So I climbed back under the car and found that there was a second nut on the right rear stud. I’m guess it was doubled up, when the last installer wasn’t sure whether they already but one on? And of course you can see by the previous picture that those two nuts not the same as the others.
Part III will be coming up in a day or so.
Thanks for reading.
Tim
