Why should it be typical fashion? Someone who bolted on a grab a trac set up would never stand a chance. Someone who welded in a MII wouldn't either. Someone who put 55k into the driveline and chassis would and those would not fall under the 'typical' banner since the typical mods to the 65-6 cars are nothing more than bandaids to make them somewhat more competative with the handling of a late 80s sport coupe
If you can build a name for yourself more power to you. You can do all my body work in the future since that is something I can't do. No patience for it.
BTW personal frame of reference is big in these types of discussions. I would never pay Boyd or Foose or anyone else $150k for a muscle car that I can build myself and have it out perform for less What you get with those guys are metal working skill but if that is not important to you, then you never have to pay for it. I'm an all go, maybe add some show later person. I bought my mustang with a clean body and decent paint. I put all my money into the driveline Only body work I did was paint a new hood for it.
Hi DS,
Maybe I should have been a bit more clear by what I ment when I said "typical". What I actually ment was not a car that was built as a race only vehical. A car that was built to be driven everyday (or at least could be driven everyday). I have seen some pretty outlandish early stangs, but I would never consider driving one of these on the street. The car I am building will not be your typical grocery getter, but it could be if you wanted it to be.
As far as building a name for myself, that really is not my intention. I really do not want to be one of those people who are known by one name. You know Troy, Boyd, Cher, Bono, Bozo, etc... I really can't see people pointing in the street saying "look there goes Bob!!!"
As far as body work goes, I only became involved in bodywork after my brother opened up his own shop...
Julians Collision Center
3985 Commerce Drive
St Charles, IL 60174
Without his experties and input none of this would be possible. Actually, none of this would be possible without all the tools and equipment available in his shop.
I also think you are being a bit hard on the custom fab guys. Just because thier cars look pretty does not meen that they have no balls. The Hemi Cuda Troy just finished has got to get up and move.
Where you from. Maybe we could get together for a beer. Agree to disagree. Get really drunk and start a fight with the first person we see in a Chevy.
Sn65
MD is a little far for a drunk night of chevy baiting
Although it might be fun...would you like to race the 65 Cobra or the 65 Cleveland powered stroker both off which look relatively stock in appearance (the only way to fly IMO is low profile BTW)
My only expereince with these guys is what I see on TV. Most of the time I see crate motors going into cars and the edlebrock techs there setting up the carbs. I know a certain amount of advertising revenue is generated from these shows which is why certain products are used and some amount of airtime gets dedicated to showcasing a suppliers name, however, even troy's car (flashforward fastback)....IMO looks great, has a lot of power, needs to be quite high in rear when riding from all the motion shots I have ever seen of it...prob not going to be a real corner carver or all that good at the drag strip either.
Its nice that you are open to criticism and not personally put-off by a differing view point.
Given my frame of reference regarding one-off custom hot rods is it really possible to acheive the status of building a car like this for a customer and billing 100k or more for it without a certain degree of name reputation? How will a customer that actually is willing to spend 100k or more on a car going to find you and know you can do it without a certain degree of recognition in the appropriate circles?
MD is a little far for a drunk night of chevy baiting
Quote:
Originally Posted by dodgestang
Although it might be fun...would you like to race the 65 Cobra or the 65 Cleveland powered stroker both off which look relatively stock in appearance (the only way to fly IMO is low profile BTW)
My only expereince with these guys is what I see on TV. Most of the time I see crate motors going into cars and the edlebrock techs there setting up the carbs. I know a certain amount of advertising revenue is generated from these shows which is why certain products are used and some amount of airtime gets dedicated to showcasing a suppliers name, however, even troy's car (flashforward fastback)....IMO looks great, has a lot of power, needs to be quite high in rear when riding from all the motion shots I have ever seen of it...prob not going to be a real corner carver or all that good at the drag strip either.
Its nice that you are open to criticism and not personally put-off by a differing view point.
Given my frame of reference regarding one-off custom hot rods is it really possible to acheive the status of building a car like this for a customer and billing 100k or more for it without a certain degree of name reputation? How will a customer that actually is willing to spend 100k or more on a car going to find you and know you can do it without a certain degree of recognition in the appropriate circles?
Hi MD,
Maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle... NO... Wait... I got it... How about at the 05 Power tour. I am planning on going for the long haul. Come on. It will be fun for all. But maybe we will not be able to find each other seeing as our cars will be sleepers in the crowd.
I allso see your point in regard to engine building. No one seems to do it anymore, although, in the Boyd verses Chad rat rod comp (a really stupid name BTW. Rat rod. Geezzzeee) Chad is building a flathead. Or actually, having one built. Advertising plays such a big part in these shows that it is hard to avoid. The parts that go into the build are parts that have been donated and negotiated by the suits, regardless of which are truly the best parts for the build.
As far as open to criticism, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you deal with it. I do my own thing and if others do not like it, fine. A lot of the time you can find a lot of good ideas in others criticism. They are actually helping you when they think they are actually putting you down.
As far as "name" recognition goes I think you are better off building a business (of any kind really) around a name, not a person. I was talking with my brother the other day and said...
"Ya know, I'm really having fun with this build. What if we decided to start a company that built custom cars like this? what would we call it?"
We kicked around some ideas, some good others not so good. One that I liked was Blown automotive... Our cars will blow you away. Another was Julian Brothers. The twist being that everybodys last name would be Julian (not really, but everyones cards would read Earl "Schoemann" Julian, or John "Doe" Julian.
Anyway.... The point is that it is just as easy to build brand name recognition around any business name. Not just the name of an individual. I would be more happy building a well known business as opposed to any amount of individual status.
Sorry I havn't posted any updates lately, but things have been a bit rushed over the past week or so.
Work has been placing demands on my time. :-(
On top of that, my brother was in an accedent last week. Some idiot (driving when he was talking on his cell phone) pulled out in front of him (Wayne was doing about 50MPH at the time). Wayne went to the emergency room and the fool walked away. Wayne is OK, but he is going to be a bit sore for the next few weeks.
Anyway.... I digress.
Even at that we have a little work to report.
We have all the panels fit and ready to weld on the rear of the car. Also, we have found that we will not be able to just graft the 03 flairs to the quarter and have it look the way we want. We are going to have to copy the 03 design and modify it to mate properly to the 65 body.
SN65- all i have to say about your project, is that it is freakin awsome. i have always wanted to do that, but just dont have the money, but the only thing i would do different is use a 69 body style, which is my favorite. and to anyone that says its a waste of a good 65 because they arent around anymore obviously are not looking hard enough. get on any car website or autotrader magazine and you will find several classic mustangs, in every shape and form.
i someday would like to buy a terminator, probably wrecked, and do the same thing to my 69 mach
do you have a website or any pictures of your project? i would love to follow along
thanks
nick
The push is on. Enough with the fitting and figuring and calculating and planning and fiddle *^&@$*& around. Damn the torpedoes, weld, weld, weld.
We installed the measuring system to check the dims one last time before we started welding. It was a good thing too. I had tacked the drivers side shock tower in the wrong location. :-( I was actually 8mm off (shifted to far back). I am not quite sure what this would have done to the alignment, but it could not have helped much. So... after grinding off a dozen tacks and repositioning the shock tower, I am please to report that we are now within 1 or 2mm everywhere.
Woo Hoo
I have finished welding in the tower braces and the body to firewall cowl side pieces. I have some touch up to finish (I located some spot weld holes on the trim pieces that ended up in mid air. Opps... but it is nothing that a little welding can't fix).
After I finish the touch up welding and grinding (lots and lots of grinding). I will reinstall the measuring system. Check all the dims one more time and finish welding up the frame rails.
SN65- all i have to say about your project, is that it is freakin awsome. i have always wanted to do that, but just dont have the money, but the only thing i would do different is use a 69 body style, which is my favorite. and to anyone that says its a waste of a good 65 because they arent around anymore obviously are not looking hard enough. get on any car website or autotrader magazine and you will find several classic mustangs, in every shape and form.
i someday would like to buy a terminator, probably wrecked, and do the same thing to my 69 mach
do you have a website or any pictures of your project? i would love to follow along
thanks
nick
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the kind words.
If you ever consider doing the same thing I would recommend not using a wrecked car. Getting everything to line up is a pain the butt using a straight doner car. I could not imagine being able to fit up one that has been tweeked. Also, the only reason I used the Cobra was for the engine, rear end and all the SVT taged items and badging. A GT or any other chassis will do the trick just as well.
Let me know if you ever want to attempt this and I can help you out with all the pre cut items I have already engineered. They will most likely hav to be modified to fit a 69, but anyone attempting this should have no problem adjusting them for a proper fit.
Well. After countless hours of welding and grinding, I have the cowl / firewall area finished. I still have to fit the cowl cover in place, but I will not be able to do that until I decide how to install the windshield wiper motor and linkage.
I've not posted here in a while. Thought I might give a little update
Here is the current state of things.
Hi All,
Today, since I have gone as far as I can on the front aprons, I started roughing in the rear fender flares. My goal is to locate the top of the wheel openings at 26". That should place the opening along the same plane as the major body line (the top line of the side scallop) along the side of the car. http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/a...achmentid=2075 http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/a...achmentid=2076
What a pain in the butt. I thought that you just located the flare on the side of the car and glued it in place and you were done.
Well...
if you want a solid finished product, you have to flare the quarter panel behind the FRP flare. Look at the photos and you will see what I mean. Again, this is as far as I can take it. A real bodyman has to do the finish hammer and dolly work and then finish the project off by welding all the tabs together. http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/a...achmentid=2077
Catch you later.
SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387
Anyone out there know where I can find the driver and passenger side SS channels that retain the window gaskets. These do not appear to be available through any aftermarket supplier.
HELP!!!
SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387
SN65
What you are in the process of doing will definitely serve this hobby well. It is an interesting challenge as well as a means of keeping some cars on the road as opposed to the scrap yard. I respect those who can complete a concourse restoration. However the day you start driving the car you loose a lot of detail which makes the restoration a waste of time and money, unless you will only drive it occasionally. The important thing to consider here is what do you want If I am paying for it, it better be what I want not someone else’s idea of a restoration. The other consideration is what it will do for the hobby. I am of the opinion that you are pushing the envelope and that is what this hobby needs. This way you will be in a position to drive it as you would any new vehicle. All the best and hats off to you.
This weekend was not as productive as I could have wished. We got a lot done, but unforeseen issues, slowed the progress to a crawl.
The most notable of these issues, was caused by me due to a basic design error. It was a simple geometry, of all things, and, after it revealed itself, I felt so stupid. Why is it that the simplest issues always are the ones that cause the most headaches?
Anyway...
I was making every effort to use the 03 Cobra hood hinges. I was determined to use these because they feature an integral safety interlock that is supposed to keep the hood from breaking free in the event of a head on collision. Well, after locating and welding the hinges to the hood and positioning the hood on the car, I got a nasty little surprise. The hood would not open. Instead of pivoting up away from the cowl, as I had predicted, it pivoted into the cowl. In order for this hinge to work, I would have to relocate the hinge backward into the cowl area about 1 1/2". If I did this, I would have to slot the top of the cowl in order for the hood to open.
AAUUUUGGHHH!!!
I needed to have the hood / hinge installed before any of the final fit up of the front aprons. So, not having the hood ready put the breaks on the whole front end. I was so depressed.
We have revised the design to incorporate the hinge used on the Ford Explorer. It should work well, but the redesign and installation will have added another week to the project. I will keep you posted as to this week’s progress.
I have posted some photos of the final fit up of the rear wheel flares and the panels we fabricated to seal off the quarter panels, rear tail light panel etc... to the floor and structure of the 03 chassis. Note: The welds look a bit uglier than they really are. After they are media blasted, sanded and caulked, they should fade seamlessly into the structure of the 03 chassis.
Fitting up the flares was quite an ordeal in and of itself. The flares are not exactly the same. The overall shape, contour and wheel opening are a bit different from one side to the other. Getting them to line up the same on both sides was difficult, to say the least. I had to position one side, measure it, position the other side, measure it, make adjustments to the first side, measure it, make adjustments to the second side, measure it and then repeat the process over and over until I finally got them to match dimensionally on both sides of the car. All in all, I am very happy with the final results.
Catch you all later. I have a lot of work to get started on.
We have ordered the new hinges and also, the replacement oil filter casting we need to clear the steering linkage.
Once the hinges are mounted / installed, we will be able to finalize the upper aprons and move on to media blasting, priming, painting, assembly, tuning, driving, cruising, racing, showing, fun.
I spent yesterday struggling with the hood hinge issue. The new hinges we ordered would have solved our problems if they fit, but they were so large that I would have had to cut down into the lower cowl (into the passenger compartment) to get them to fit. Well, that was not going to happen, so I drew up some ideas on how we could modify the 03 cobra hinges and ran them past Wayne. After resolving a few issues with the design, I asked Wayne if I could do all the fab work. He said "There are plenty of other things I need to do, so go for it".
Here are the photos. I had to section the hinge, add 1 1/2" of 10 gage and shape the section into a gooseneck to clear the cowl when the hood opens. I think they came out great.
Today, I have fit the hood hinges to the car preparing for the final fit up of the front clip this weekend. I will be tweaking things this afternoon. Move this a bit, shift that here, etc...
Also, not to get ahead of ourselves, we have mocked up a simple graphic on the passenger side. It is a play on the Boss 302 stripe packages of the late 60's. We were thinking of different designations for the car, you know, things like Boss 4.6, 4.6 Cammer, etc. But I like the simple SN65 designation for this car. I think it is kind of fitting.
