It arrived...

Andy · March 03, 2011, 05:41:30 PM

My dads new car arrived today, didn't get to see it till I got home and by then the light was poor, so sorry for the naff photos.

The condition of the car is pretty damn good, straight body and the interior is about 2000 miles from being fully refurbished and a pretty looking engine bay without any of that technology stuff!

My dad cut his teeth with one of these, owning and drag racing one in the mid-seventies so he'sa pretty happy to be back in the seat of one.

Has got a slight water leak that has made itself known on the way home, but nothing too major it would seem.

1967 Ford Mustang:

<removed at users request>

More photos to come at the weekend after a drive and wash...

art b · March 03, 2011, 05:52:26 PM

it looks a beaut .....

Incursus · March 04, 2011, 02:28:03 AM

Not bad for a Ford

Cunning Plan · March 04, 2011, 03:23:16 AM

Real nice!

ianjpage · March 04, 2011, 04:05:58 AM

mmmm very nice

FUBAR · March 04, 2011, 07:32:20 AM

Very Nice!!

F Body · March 04, 2011, 07:47:30 AM

Nice Ass

Pity about the fog light

Andy · March 04, 2011, 08:01:56 AM

you know what, we're not sure what that is...

Haven't been over all the controls but because it's white I think it might be the reversing lamp.

Fieldy · March 04, 2011, 09:03:59 AM

Gorgeous colour

Jo · March 04, 2011, 09:04:19 AM

Very nice, my fav shape of Mustang

HardRockCamaro · March 04, 2011, 01:44:48 PM

Looks lovely!

Lose the caravan lamp...

Motorama · March 04, 2011, 03:29:22 PM

Quoting: F Body

Pity about the fog light

Quoting: Andy

you know what, we're not sure what that is...

Haven't been over all the controls but because it's white I think it might be the reversing lamp.

I'm guessing the original reverse lights have been converted to indicators

Andy · March 05, 2011, 08:33:46 AM

Well just took her out today.

It had a bit of a water issue on the way home, the radiator cap wasn't sealing and left a nice film of water over everything when it got home.

Dave was a bit concerned it's overheating so we're now looking into what could be up. It does appear to be running hot and leaking at the cap, not sure if this is just a duff cap or something more serious.

Re the lights:

The big horrible bolt on is a reversing light. Slightly intermittent as you have to keep the box lever forward for the microswitch to turn it on.

The two smaller lights have been converted to indicators with WHITE lenses. Surprised it got through an MOT like that but it's got a ticket for a year so...

Other than that, it is a real deal old car, acts like a boat, feels like a boat, stops like a boat! Something with Dave told me about, but has to be experienced is the effect driving along has on the bonnet. It goes through the front grill and is constantly fighting to lift it up. It also acts as a wing and makes the front end incredibly light.

More updates sure to come....

Oh, and we got the dates about the fishing thing wrong, so we MIGHT be coming over to MK for the meet, but more likely in the Camaro.

Titsy · March 05, 2011, 09:28:00 AM

Quoting: Andy

The big horrible bolt on is a reversing light. Slightly intermittent as you have to keep the box lever forward for the microswitch to turn it on

I'd take it off as the MOT doesn't require a vehicle to have one, only that it works if there is one. My '95 US spec Camaro has the reverse lights converted to indicators with amber bulbs and clear lenses, and no reverse lights.

Fieldy · March 05, 2011, 09:45:11 AM

My pick-up never had a reverse light either

Andy · March 05, 2011, 09:57:04 AM

Didn't know that, will definitely put that forward for thought.

philoldsmobile · March 06, 2011, 08:25:52 AM

a quick flick through MOT regs revealed this very odd regulation...

By law a reversing light is classed as an optional light and not an obligatory light, therefore there is no requirment to have oner at all. However it goes on to state that if you do have an optional light fitted then it must comply with regulations which merely state,
1. Not more than two can be fitted to your vehicle.
2. The lamp must be white.

No person shall use, or permit to be used on a road a vehicle unless every lamp, reflector, rear marking and device is in a good working order and clean. This does not apply to front fog lamps or reversing lights."

no mention at all of it working or not. Same (believe it or not) applies to the speedometer, it has to be there, and theoretically has to work, but no part of the MOT test includes a speedometer test!

Andy · March 06, 2011, 10:37:13 AM

As I was told by an MOT tester the general rule is, if it's there, it has to work. So a lamp that is fitted, must light up and must light up when required (e.g. When you select reverse the light must come on)

One thing which I'm loving is the loovered bonnet with the indicator flashers mounted inside.

philoldsmobile · March 06, 2011, 11:59:23 AM

only if it is a testable item, the reverse light is not. The tester should know that, but there are a lot of cowboys out there.. neither are rear fog lights if the car is pre '82

my old cutlass failed its mot on seat belts not locking, so I replaced them all at some considerable expense. I later found out from a competent MOT tester that on non UK spec cars a lot of items only have to 'work as designed' if they are testable items, and the American pendulum type seat belts are acceptable.

the MOT tester tugged them, and they didn't lock, so he failed it, unaware that the 'tug and lock' test ONLY applies to inertia reel seat belts.

philoldsmobile · March 06, 2011, 12:05:38 PM

definitive list. note under lights it has no mention of the reverse light. also it says all required lights are tested for operation condition and security.

http://www.motester.co.uk/CarOwnersGuidetoTheMOT/WhatIsTested.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.motester.co.uk/CarOwnersGuidetoTheMOT/WhatIsTested.aspx

Andy · March 19, 2011, 12:48:23 PM

Work began this morning on the cooling system. After what we thought might have just been a bit of a mishap it appears there is a bit of a lack of cooling on the car.

After completing a block check to see if there were any combustion gases in the rad we believe the head gaskets to be an ok condition.

After some googling we found a bunch of possibilities:

a) Thermostat is stuck or not opening enough
b) Lower radiator hose is collapsing due to the suction from the water pump
c) Radiator isn't getting enough air pulled through it due to there being no fan shroud
d) Radiator completely full of crap
e) Wrong Radiator

After running the engine for about 10 minutes with the cap off, we could see what looked like water flow in the top of the radiator, this showed that there was some movement of water so the thermostat must be opening, whether it is opening enough still needs to be seen.

The lower radiator hose was squashable by hand, and very easily. So the first purchase and install was a lower hose spring. It was actually very easy to install although my idea of just taking the radiator end off and feeding it in was a no goer. Once removed, it became obvious at some point on the elbow the hose had been collapsing. This made the hose much more rigid and hopefully won't stop any flow.

Next was the fan shroud, this was assumed to fit a 1967 20" wide radiator. After messing around getting the fan off, offering up the shroud, it became quite obvious the radiator was far too small.

The 1967 model was the first one with an enlarged engine bay which allowed for the big block motors. With this, they also increased the size of the radiators. As this car had been restored a few years ago a bill was present for a 'Ford Mustang Radiator'. No details of which year or engine size. After a phone call to the parts supplier, he said what is likely is that someone has purchased a radiator for a '64 1/2 - '66 Mustang which was a lot smaller and in reality running on the limit for cooling the 289 V8's.

Currently waiting for a price for a new one and whether it might be worth looking at a larger 24" one which was fitted to the big blocks as that'll definitely mean ample cooling.

philoldsmobile · March 19, 2011, 02:24:39 PM

Quoting: Andy

Currently waiting for a price for a new one and whether it might be worth looking at a larger 24" one which was fitted to the big blocks as that'll definitely mean ample cooling.

I'd fit the stock one, with everything as it should be, it will be enough to keep the car cool.. fitting anything else could cause other issues..

philoldsmobile · March 19, 2011, 02:26:03 PM

Andy · March 19, 2011, 03:59:19 PM

Quoting: philoldsmobile

I'd fit the stock one, with everything as it should be, it will be enough to keep the car cool.. fitting anything else could cause other issues..

Yeah we're probably going to go with that, although there is a number of opinions floating around the FMOCGB forum about fitting the larger rad and shroud.

Motorama · March 20, 2011, 11:13:48 AM

why do you think its the wrong rad? does it bolt to the original mounting points? you could get it recored and uprated probably cheaper than buying a new one

i would also whip the water pump off, i've had a couple of early Mustangs where the the impellers on the water pump had rusted out and they werent pushing the water round