There is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your pride and joy getting wrecked by some plank who don’t care. Contrary to what people may think, we don’t think pound notes when we see things like this, we feel the pain of the customer as we understand. This week we have dropped what we were doing in order to get a car sorted out for a lovely couple.
Customer Cars
This ’66 Coupe was a genuine two car owner from new from California USA on it’s original black plates before the current owners bought the car here in the UK. This car is a real honest car, and was unmolested by upgrades and is as it should be. It even has the original smog filter still in place.
This is the owners only car and is their daily driver. The owners popped out for the day where they parked up went about their business as they normally do. When they came back to their beloved car, there was this damage from a hit and run. We can only assume that the damage was done by a lorry by the way it went through the original fenders like a can opener along with the grease marks! The type of scumbags that do this to a modern vehicle and run of without leaving details contact details makes us mad. When those ‘people’ do it to a classic car, regardless of the make and model, it’s much, much worse as you can see that these old cars are obviously loved and cherished.
Adam was sent an email to show the damage and was asked if he could pick the car up and take it back to the yard. We obliged and promptly started on working out what could be saved, what need straightening, and what needed to be replaced.
Yogi is doing his thing here with a new front fender and valance from our stock to replace the original metal. They are being fettled into place and being shaped to fit the car’s lines. Some gaps will need to be built up and others opened to make them look right. It’s nothing that we haven’t seen many times before. In fact after the damaged parts were removed, when we measured up and checked it all out, structurally the car is still straight and sound where it needs to be.
Where possible we try to re-use the OEM parts and replace what we can’t salvage. It’s easy to see the new sheets of metal which are in stark contrast to the colour of the car.
There needs to be a few more days work on her yet before she gets a new coat of paint and we can start putting the trim and parts back in place.Once we finished, it will be as good as new.
WebShop
We have some new additions of stock from Holley which include some of the following;
Mr. Gasket, which can be found here. Anything from a full small block engine gasket set to an oil breather cap. We really rate the quality of these gaskets and hope to get some more shortly.
Our ever popular 600cfm Street Warrior rangehere, in both manual and electric choke options, we had SIX of each when this post was prepared, with one in a customer basket ready to go.
Sniper EFI fitting kits and accessories. We also have some carbs in which have been reserved for back orders.
Patches
On a side note, not strictly our stock as such, we have some Mustang Merch. We have some embroidered Tri-Bar patches at £5 each, and the Mustang or Ford logo ovals at £3. If you are interested drop us an email to order. We may even start to stock these as an item if the interest is there. Ideal for t-shirts, trunk bags, coats etc. You can even buy our logo if the urge takes you!
We can even take special orders for patches too, again email us with your requests.
We would like to thank those of you that responded to our last post about the ‘courier damaged brake disc’. It seems as though our assumptions were confirmed by many of you. Some of the comments we couldn’t leave on the blog as they were a little colourful should we say. We have demoted the ‘new’ customer to ‘ex-customer’ with the big “C” cancelled button applied.
Customer Cars
This week Yogi has completed the installation of the replacement 351c into the car and we have had a test run before we tune up properly and set the carb.
Here we have it running and she sounds sweet even with our startup default settings.
Borgeson Swap Out
The car has now had the swap out completed and we just a final road test to make sure all is good and we are happy with it.
The last thing to do on the car is the refitting of the centre console. It was left on the back seat as the owner couldn’t get it to align up properly. Not a big job by any means, but it can be niggly to get right. We got it fitted and all looks good inside again.
Adam was deciding which labour ‘rate’ to apply 🤣😂
Small Block Choices
The Cleveland 351 4v was sitting on the engine stand ready to be fitted into the car as soon as we could make space in the workshop. In the meantime we have a customer supplied rebuilt engine which will be fitted to their car also sitting on a stand.
What would you choose, the 351 or 302? There are of course Pros & Cons to each engine!
Yogi prepped the customer’s 302 engine with oil and made sure everything was as it should be. This is something we always do before we fire up the engine. We have designed our very own tool to make this happen without even starting the engine. We can then hand turn the engine over to make sure it’s all free before we fit the spark plugs. That way we know we are not starting a dry engine which could damage the engine and cause a lot of wear and tear in those first few seconds.
Did You Know?
It’s a fact that 70% of engine wear occurs on a cold start up! So when you see a somebody start their car and rev the nuts of it (literally), smile to yourself knowing that they are causing unnecessary wear to their engine.
We have had a delivery of some nice – something different external mirrors. These are wired into the indicator loom and will flash in unison to show your intentions to the vehicle behind.
Ford Article
Mustang Maniac are please to see that Ford are going to race the Mustang as a works team in IMSA.
Ford Performance to Develop Mustang GT3 Race Car to Compete Globally; Will Compete at Daytona in 2024!
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ford Mustang, the iconic sports car that created the pony car segment, will lead Ford’s return to global sports car racing as Ford Performance prepares a new GT3 race car for competition in 2024.
Ford Performance revealed plans for its all-new Mustang GT3 race car that will compete in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) 2024 race season, including the 24 Hours of Daytona.
The new Mustang effort, announced in advance of this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, will be a joint program between Ford Performance and long-time racing collaborator Multimatic Motorsports. It will feature both a two-car factory-backed IMSA GTD Pro works team managed by Multimatic, as well as customer Mustang race cars for the GTD class starting at Daytona in 2024.
“Mustang was born to race from the start and we’re thrilled to introduce the GT3 version to compete head-to-head against some of the greatest manufacturers in the world,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports global director. “With 58 years of global endurance racing heritage, including NASCAR and Australian Supercars today, we are ready to take Mustang to the next level of global performance.”
“Multimatic Motorsports is the perfect partner on this project for us,” said Rushbrook. “Not only have they worked with us to develop numerous customer Mustang programs in the past, but its work on the Ford GT program and the new Bronco® DR customer race programs has shown together we can provide championship-level race programs for Ford and its customers.”
“We’re excited to work on this new IMSA program as well as the GT3 customer program with Ford Performance,” said Larry Holt, Executive Vice President of Multimatic Special Vehicle Operations. “We have a long, great working relationship with each other, both at the highest levels of professional sports car racing, and in developing competitive customer race program and vehicles. We appreciate their faith in us, and together, we can’t wait to show the world what’s coming down the road with Mustang.”
The new Mustang GT3 racer will be powered by a Ford 5.0-liter Coyote-based V8 engine developed by Ford Performance and built by long-time racing collaborator and world championship winning team, M-Sport of Cumbria, England.
The two organizations have a rich history in the FIA World Rally Championship and recently collaborated on the development and preparation of the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1, which finished 1-3-5 in its debut race at the Monte Carlo Rally this past weekend.
“We are delighted to be broadening our relationship with Ford and extending it into the racing world after a very successful 25 years together in the World Rally Championship, which is once again delivering stunning results with the Puma Hybrid Rally1,” said Malcom Wilson, owner of M-Sport. “M-Sport has a wealth and depth of circuit racing knowledge and expertise, particularly from our GT3 programme that used an M-Sport developed V8 engine for GT3 that powered us to victory in the 2020 Bathurst 12-hour race and 2019 1000km of Paul Ricard.
“Our most recent engine project has seen us become the official British Touring Car Championship engine supplier which also uses Ford engine architecture,” Wilson added. “We are very excited about working directly with Ford Performance and Multimatic on the Mustang GT3 and will be working very hard, leaving no stone unturned as we join forces to fight for more victories around the world.”
The race-specific powerplant will continue the heritage of high performance naturally aspirated V8s in the Mustang platform. The engine will carry the heart and soul of the world-renowned Ford Coyote® and have performance and packaging modifications to make it championship ready for world class GT3 endurance racing.
The new Mustang GT3 race car will feature bespoke Short-Long Arm suspension front and rear, rear-mounted transaxle gearbox, carbon fiber body panels, as well as a unique aero package developed to meet GT3 targets.
Ford and Multimatic will make both factory-backed and customer-ready GT3 Mustangs available to teams from the start of the 2024 season.
Joey Hand, one of the winning drivers in the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours GTE Pro class in the Ford GT, is going to be one of the test drivers for the new program, as well as continuing on in his role as a development driver and coach for Ford Performance. As part of that, he will also drive six NASCAR Cup road course races in 2022 in a Rick Ware Racing Ford Mustang.
“It’s awesome to be on the ground floor of another amazing sports car racing program with Ford,” said Hand. “As much as I like to compete and win on the track, I also enjoy being part of the development of new race vehicles like this Mustang. We did a lot of testing with the Ford GT program, so it will be great to be working again with a lot of the same people at Ford and Multimatic as we get this car ready for competition.”
New Mustang GT4 On The Way Too
Although the Mustang GT3 for IMSA is new, Ford and Multimatic confirmed that the successful Mustang GT4 customer race program will continue into the future, with a new Mustang GT4 expected to debut in the 2023 season.
“It’s important to us to continue to support the Mustang GT4 effort as well,” said Rushbrook. “We’ve had a lot of success both here and in Europe with the current Mustang GT4, and we look forward to being able to provide our customers with a brand new car for competition in the GT4 category starting next season. We’ll have more to say on that in the near future.”
The new Mustang announcements for sports car racing adds to a series of new racing Mustangs coming in the near future for Ford Performance. The 2022 Next Gen Ford Mustang will debut in the NASCAR Cup series Feb. 6 at the LA Coliseum and then at the Daytona 500 two weeks later. And Ford Performance is developing its new Gen 3 Mustang for the Supercars Series that will debut at the start of 2023.
This week we have had a car into us for a conversion and an engine rebuild. Then Adam has had an interesting conversation with a now ex customer who has been awarded the dreaded “C” button. We will get into that little later. It’s well worth a read and you tell us if we are right or wrong!
Customer Cars
This ’68 has come in for a little work on the steering. OK a lot of work on the steering, a swap out to the Borgeson setup.
First it’s out with the old;
Unfortunately, this is as far as we have gotten with it, but it will be finished next week.
On this subject; we have been asked why are we more expensive than others when we fit these kits. The simple answer is – we do it right! When fitting these kits there are a couple of things that need to be done to make them fit properly. Incorrect fitting will damage the “rag joint” and will wreck your set up. We also use upgraded bolts, custom anodised fittings (arrowed), just like in this swap out we done towards the end of last year.
As this was an aircon car it needed a couple of extra bits to make it fit to just look and feel right. We are not going to say what those adjustments are as that is out secret(s) we have developed. The steering column needs to be adjusted otherwise the steering can be pulled up or you run the chance to squash the rag joint. In essence what you are paying for – our experience. You can’t buy it of the shelf, but we have it for hire.
351 Cleveland 4v
we mentioned in a previous post that we had a constantly over heating engine and was smoking like a chimney. We had our UK engineers acid dip it and rebore to 0.30 over with new pistons. The crank was measured and spot on to specs so it was polished and reused. There are also new valve guides and reconditioned heads. The cleaning for these engines is the worse part. We need to make sure the oil and waterways are spotless.
Yogi gets to work with painting and building up the engine in stages.
New water pump, oil pressure, water temp sender, thermostat and housing, bolts and a part that we had made just for us as they are no longer available, the 67 – 70 water bypass tube.
We fitted correct core plugs, new gaskets, harmonic balancer.
The exhaust manifolds have been painted black to match the engine with super high heat resistant paint.
Now we have another engine ready to go into the engine storage shed.
Hammer Time!
Here’s what happened; we we had a company order a set of front discs from us and we shipped them out via our normal services. A few days later we get an email to say they had been damaged or ‘must have been dropped by the delivery’. They wanted a replacement set of discs. Obviously such events are out of our control and these things may happen as they are a heavy bit of kit.
They arrived back at the offices, the box was fine! So we took the package into the dispatch room to investigate further. As we unpacked them there was no damage to the outside of the rotor, very strange.
We flipped the disc over to the inside and there it was, massive damage.
The casting had splitered and cracked off.
What amazed us was the amount of damage was located in the middle area of the disc. Our initial thoughts were that this has indeed been dropped onto a hammer about a dozen times by the looks of the damage. Possibly dropped into a hydraulic press that was working. I doubt we will ever know.
A little heads up that we don’t make very public; for parts like these, high value or rare items, we check before dispatch. 1) all the bits are there, 2) the item is fit to send out and not damaged. Perhaps we need to take photographic evidence as proofs before sending. That’s a drastic step and time consuming considering the number of orders we send out. It shouldn’t be necessary to be fair, but we may not have a choice.
The reason we check is exactly for this eventuality. We have no idea why this part was so unlucky enough to be dropped this many times, in the same location, in a recessed part of the rotor. We can only wonder why.
Adam was not impressed that the part was “dropped” and did not send out new parts. The money was refunded and the (ex)customer has been allocated the “C” button and is now a proud owner on the “C” list who won’t be buying from us again.
So, that leaves the question what happens to the part? It gets taken to the scrap skip and the company has lost a chunk of money as it can’t be resold and we can’t use it either. As a business model that’s not sustainable. Mustang Maniac has to make, (trigger warning) a “profit” just in case this happens. Other than that we could add the loss to the rest of these parts which will go up and people moan about the cost of the parts again.
Were we right? Should we have even given a refund or said no? In the interests of customer service we refunded. Can you imagine the furore on the social media? ‘Look what we got sent by Mustang Maniac etc’.
It’s no secret that Mustang Maniac like the front disc and rear drum setups on the Mustangs. It can never hurt to have a little extra stopping power at your feet. With that in mind Adam has sourced a new range of 2 1/2″ rear brake drums. This offers quite a bit more surface area for the rears. These drums are stock looking, but pack a punch.
First the drums come with a backing plate with both left and right hand side handbrake fitting. They also come with the brake cylinder.
Inside, the brake shoes are huge, all new springs and upgraded hardware for the self adjusting system. These need to be on show to be honest!
We have already sold two sets of these and will be on the WebShop soon. They won’t be the cheapest rear drum set that you will buy, but you are getting a lot for your money.
Back to normal at the yard with the WebShop being updated over the Christmas break and the workshops being rearranged for the cars to be worked on. We have had lots of positive feedback for the minor changes to the items where we show the real time number items in stock. We have also had a number of people asking us for sheet metal to complete projects. We are being very careful about the allocation of our panel stock. Some orders have been fulfilled from our back orders with a few more to be completed hopefully this week.
Customer Cars
’65 Fast Back Time Trial
This little lady is being prepped ready for her next adventure, a trial across Russia! We are so pleased to see this car being used and enjoyed all around the world.
The front brakes have been swapped over and fitted with some heavy duty pads, which was a ‘no brainer’ to advise the owner.
The rear brakes have been completely rebuilt with all new parts.
The diff has been opened, cleaned and inspected while we removed the half shafts. Bearings and seals were replaced before refitting.
Metal Mayhem
Yogi has been in the panel workshop and removing the back of the car, literally. As we took the rear quarter off we could see that the rust worm has done its best to wreak havoc everywhere. The quarter was to bad on the outside when it was first done, but over time the damage from inside was showing under the paint. A rare sight to see the original panel part number too.
The inner arches will need replacing.
With the inner arches removed back to the frame, it’s clear that we would have to rebuild the back of the car with new metal.
When you are this deep into a strip down, you just have to keep going until you find some good metal to tag the new stuff onto. Patching will cost more in time and effort than it will be to replace the metal. What’s left of the bigger chunks of metal before they hit the scrap skip.
It’s nothing that phases us, regular readers will have seen photos like these before. Then a few posts later we show the car rebuilt and looking as good as new.
351 Block Dies
This engine has been a problem for a while. Budgets from the owner didn’t allow us to do a full strip down. So it was done best as we could at the time. The problem was overheating.
The waterways were clogged and not flowing the water around the block properly. In the picture above right you can see the ‘temporary’ core plugs that had been in the block for so long they had started to fall apart. When the plugs were removed the root of the problem spilled into the yard.
No amount of flushing would get this back to where it should be, we had done it a couple of times in the past. It was better, but has never right, it soon clogged up and damaged a couple of radiators in the process.
Sometimes enough is enough and you just have to stop throwing good money at a partial fix. The owner has taken our advice and gone for a engine swap. There will be more power, the engine will work as it should and no more overheating issues.
Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind to customers in their own interests. We will do what we are told, sometimes we just have to be brutal.
First things first, we hope you had a good Christmas break and lets hope we can start to get some sort of normality back in our lives this year! A big “Thanks” to those of you who kindly dropped gifts over to us and your kind wishes for the holidays, it was much appreciated.
We’re back in the driving seat (well office chair actually) again with our first post of 2022. If you’re anything like us, last year was a tough one with restrictions, shortages and rising costs. The year did seem to fly by when we look back at where the time had gone. Over the holiday break Adam was around the yard sorting through a large heavy pallet of stock to be put away and working on the WebShop.
We do have a New Years Resolution though; we are aiming to upload more YouTube videos of our products.
Customer Cars
We are always getting asked what the stock exhaust sounds like on a first gen Mustang. Most of the time we are fitting big fat loud exhausts. We have plenty to choose from and sometimes we have to start a few cars when customers can’t make their minds up.
We have the ’66 Coupe back on the ramps for new exhaust system where the owner has chosen the stock option. We have people complaining that the exhausts don’t fit properly. We have never had that issue and we are showing you the correct set up including the clamps which should be sideways for clearance.
Each side of the engine from the manifolds.
To the first section with the H-Pipe setup.
Mounting of the rear boxes and the clamps.
The sideways on with the car shows that the exhaust system hardly drops below the from chassis arms, highlighted with a couple of lines on the first picture. Even at the rear the boxes don’t hang low to scrape over the ground.
But what do they sound like? Here we have the video we have just uploaded to our Channel on YouTube. You can find lots of other little videos to demonstrate our products.
We have recently fitted one of our new products to a customers car; our T Park Locks which can be purchased here. A simple and stealth security option we recommend.
Other stock just in
Adam had a delivery just before the new year where his back order of rear springs have now turned up along with a some panels.
A fairly short post this week, but we should be back to normal from next week.
From all of us at Mustang Maniac, we just wanted to say thank for your support this year and we look forward to seeing you all in ’22.
What a year it’s been, Covid on and off, a few of us had caught it and we’re still here. We have gained some great new customers, we have put a few (ex) ‘customers’ on the “C” list. We have listened to what you said; we have updated the website, we have introduced free postage, we have even sold some sheet metal to customers. We have upped our social media game, we now have staff just to deal with that for us keeping you up to date on deals. We have started to stock all 50 plus years of Mustangs, widened the stock range for Falcons and other early Fords. We have created partnerships with new suppliers giving you even more range and options depending on budget. We have re-invested in Mustang Maniac as the home to Mustangs and the UK’s Premium Mustang Supplier.
Above all we have been honest with you on everything we do. So when we say a “Big Thank You, to all our Customers and Friends for your support” – We mean it!
Our work this week is coming to an end on the 66 Coupe with a few little updates. To bring this little lady up to a real nice spec again. The other 66 Fastback is getting out of sight TLC as well.
Customer Cars:
’66 Coupe
The old carpet was pulled out and the floors checked over while we were there. A couple of little bits to keep an eye on but nothing to cause concern.
Nice new carpets makes quite a difference to the interior and shows the Pony interior of to its best.
With the carpet out we replaced the heater plenum, which again can make nice difference to the ventilation and heating inside the car.
We had our glass guys come in and fit the front and rear glass once we were happy with the final adjustments to the headliner. We also make sure the glass is bonded into place to make sure there are no leaks from the screens. It may not be concours but at least you wont get wet feet.
The lights have been upgraded to a LEDs so that you can see where you are going. The difference is amazing to be honest and a well worthwhile upgrade.
We checked over the wiring and being exposed to the constant temperature changes under the hood they had gone a brittle. A direct replacement from stock will sort that out and give many years of trouble free usage again. A couple of little mods and it’s all done. See and be seen.
The other end of the car required a replacement trunk rubber. not a difficult job but time consuming to get right. Removing the old glue and prep for the bonding is the key. We have a couple of little trick up our sleeves for these type of jobs to make it go smoothly, but we shouldn’t share those to make life easier for others.
We have enjoyed working on a nice unmolested car like this, it makes life so much easier to be honest.
‘66 Fastback Time Trial
The fastback has had the upgraded brake pads from EBC fitted to give that performance (and more) for a car used for this style of driving.
We took the drive shafts out and replaced the bearings on each shaft. This makes a difference to having a ‘bum hum’ as Adam calls it, or a relaxing quieter drive.
With the drive shafts out we cleaned out the diff case, and the gears. We could then get a good idea of wear and tear. Those who have had dealings with the diff oil knows this is not the best job as it’s a bit on the stinky side.
Nothing out of the ordinary. But it was worth checking while we were at it. Nice new oil to go in, adjust the brake shoes and road test to see where we are at and maybe some small tweaks.
WebShop
Adam has decided that with his connections with Holley he would be willing to make special orders for the right customers outside of his normal ordering regime. You may or not know that Holley is a huge company and recently added Scott Drake to their inventory of parts. IF, you want to order some of these parts, email Adam and he will see what he can do for you. The caveat is that customers who order £10 worth of stock once a year need not apply.
Adam has had five big pallets of stock arrive and we are busy going through back orders and have notified those customers of their orders now being dispatched. Within the order we have detected a couple of bits. What they are for we’re not sure, yet!
All we know is that these parts were custom made with the dimensions and specification on the order form!
Adam has also ordered from the dark side! Yep, ACDelco parts. Not just any ol’ bits, these are compatible with Mustangs. Parts like the alternators which are direct replacement items. The spark plugs have black bases to make them look concours.
We have parts for the “Wolf” project come in, a part for us which has been on backorder for a while now.
We as in the ‘Media Team’ m may be taking next weekend off, so there may not be a post. Depends how bored we get with crap TV or families having a row. Sitting in a workshop surround by classic mustangs and a beer in your hand becomes a very appealing idea!
Mustang Maniac wishes all our friends and customers a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.
We’re trying to wrap up the outstanding jobs in the workshop to leave us in a good place over Christmas. This year falls nicely with the days off and we are looking forward to the break it has to be said. We have had many partners of our customers drop in for a few Christmas bits and pieces along with a number of emails for our ever popular gift vouchers. With yet more covid restrictions coming into force we are not sure how the offices will be opening, we will play it by ear. For now the offices are open, but we will ask that you wear a face mask. Keep an eye out on Facebook for updates if we are restricting access.
Customer Cars
’66 Coupe
We are continuing more upgrades on the coupe. The headliner is stretching out nicely now.
The front brakes from our stock of Leed Brake kits has been fitted and just needs the bleed.
New split reservoir master cylinder, custom Yogi lines and proportioning valve too. A no brainer safety upgrade.
Under the car we fitted a full twin exhaust system with H-Pipe.
Inside we still need to replace the carpet, the trunk weather strip seal, LED front headlights and the glass front and back to go in. Finally a road test then the owner can come and take her away and she will feel like like a new car.
’65 Fast Back Time Trial
It’s quite rare that we get a “Time Trial” car into us for some work, not for the model of car, but the fact they are fitted out with the complex equipment.
The interior was fitted out for the specifics for time trials and has been done well.
We couldn’t think of a better car to time trial in. It’s not about thrashing the car round a track at all, but getting from A to B with specific parameters to be met, number of miles, check points time constraints etc.
This car has finished a 10,000 mile trial and inherited some braking problems. The front discs had a caliper binding and also has a warped front disc.
The rears drums had the linings disintegrate and had to be removed to avoid a binding rear wheel accident waiting to happen. The brake shoes had nothing left on them at all. The metal shoes scored the drums themselves. You can see all the brake liner dust on top of the wheel cylinder.
The car was nursed back to us where we are going to sort these brakes out properly, new drums cylinders, shoes etc. to the rear. Were not sure why a bar was welded to the shoe as they are supposed to move, there must have been a reason for it at the time.
We will check the spindles for damage as we replace the front disc brakes with another disc kit. We will be recommending some performance pads to go with the new discs this time. We shall catch up with the owner to see exactly what the requirements are when we get to that point. We have plenty of options to suit all needs and budgets.
We have been very busy behind the scenes as we reported a number of posts ago. The WebShop now has a “For Sale” section where blemished or promotions on certain items can be found. This page will be updated regularly, when they’re gone they’re gone. Potentially, this page could be updated on daily basis. Not just classic Mustangs parts, but also the newer models too. Things like service kits, air filters for modern models, grills, shock absorbers, in fact anything could go in here. We recommend a bookmark to keep an eye on our new For Sale page. Click the picture below on any of the links to go straight to the For Sale section.
Also we are getting emails to ask if something is in stock. Even though we say it is in stock. So now we are updating (again), all the items will (eventually) show the real time stock levels. These stock levels are updated instantly, as soon as somebody buys something, the items will update within a few seconds.
We are working our way through the many thousands of items to show the new stock levels at the bottom of each item. So as you can imagine that’s a huge task, so please bare with us while we update the sections. We’re getting there!
Hopefully there should be no need to send us an email to ask if the item is in stock, it says so and also now has the number of the items in stock as well now.
Something Different:
Adam’s wife Lynn has got her own little side line going of home made items. They have been in the offices on the counter and been selling well. Check out her instagram account here or the link below for the
There are some great ideas for stocking fillers, company logos, Football team emblems, customised items, bespoke printing, embroidery you name – it’s probably there.
Her best sellers in the office for obvious reasons are these little items. We think it also has something to do with Adam’s sales pitch! “If you get your car tuned by us, and you give it some – you gonna need one of these afterwards!” 😂
The embroidery is also on fabric, so you can simply remove the tissue from the logo and and sew the patch to your clothing or wherever else takes your fancy.
Adam has got Lynn on the case to add a few little bits of customisation – ‘to get some practice in’ as Adam had led her believe.
A little treat this week for us with a nice ’66 Coupe has has been pretty much unmolested. The owner wanted to have a few little bits done to her so we gladly obliged. The end of the post we will reveal Adam’s latest toy. We had very near miss with the answer.
‘66 Coupe
A nice straight car with red stripes always a good mix and guaranteed to turn heads. The headliner needed to be changed which is a big job as the front and rear windows need to come out to do it properly. Of course when the windows are out we check for rust damage and clean up ready for the refitting.
With the old headliner out we can see the original sound proofing still in place on the roof and the rear pillars. This is often removed or falls down and not replaced.
We changed out the rear quarter felts as they had all but disappeared.
The front quarter rubbers is a simple task but the overall process is a much bigger job, as they have to be removed. There is a definite technique to it, but we can’t be giving away all out little secrets.
Metal Mayhem
We are now at a pint where we invite the owner down to see the progress and decide on the next steps of their project.
Big Reveal:
The last few weeks we have been teasing you with the guess the car quiz. We have had a near miss courtesy of Peter R. with his guess of the Perana 4 door.
The (Full) Answer: Ford Cortina MkII “Perana” – 2 Door
The Twist? This is the only two door Perana with a V8 in white from the Perana workshops.
History:
Basil Green Motors (VIN: BG) is a former car manufacturer and racing team which is located in Edenvale, Gauteng near Johannesburg, South Africa.
The company has specialised in Ford vehicles, in which the manufacturer’s models are recognised by the brand name Perana added to the model name. The name Perana is a deliberate misspelling, as Piranha already had been protected.
Founded in 1967 by Basil Green the company dealt with engine tuning of Ford vehicles and participated in a variety of races as a racing team. After winning several races the Ford Motor Company became aware of the company and used the company for some of the South African models as a kind of in-house tuner.
The first model of the manufacturer was the Ford Cortina Perana V6, which was launched in 1967 as a tuning model. Production began one year later in the summer. Grosvenor Motors, then the largest Ford dealer in South Africa, took over the sales. The standard version was based on the Ford Cortina Mk II GT. For the units ordered by the Gunston Cigarette Company, the Ford Cortina XL was used as base model. The Ford Essex engine with 2994 cc was used as engine. Those engine were taken from the Ford Zephyr as well as the powertrain. Along with the engine conversion and lowering the Cortina Perana V6 was 64 kg heavier than the Ford standard model Cortina. The original recognisable features for the Cortina Perana V6 are a black strip over the bonnet, a black front grille and black coloured rims.
Why?
Adam has been looking for an unusual UK Ford with something different to the normal modded UK stuff. During his hunting around his contacts led him to a source in South Africa. This car was owned by one of the tuners who worked for Perana works in South Africa. He took his own car in and it was given the same treatment as the other cars that were Perana(ed) at the time. A perk of the job if you like. This car did indeed have the V6 as they were designated at the time. But with the quest for power that never ends, the owner took this V6 back into the workshops for the nice new V8s that were becoming available from Ford.
So, Adam now owns a rare Perana from the original South African Perana workshops. He didn’t want the four door that he could of had that he found during his searches. Like all things from those days, this is not a fully documented Perana, but as it’s one of a kind. Adam just had to have it, a unique South African piece of Ford history to add to the collection.
The car needed a few things doing to it, like having a new fuel tank for a start. These fuel tanks are not off the shelf items, so Adam had one made for his car along with a couple of extras while he was at it. Now they are available of the shelf, whether he will sell them or not is a different matter of course. The rubber filler hose and fuel hoses were shot and perished. All the rubber fuel lines have now been changed over to the E10 compliant rubber hoses, available here. The rear mounted battery gave the engine bay the little extra room it needed for the V8.
The Adam has the original wheels, but he wanted something different, so he had these made just for his car.
The transmission is fine and shifts as you would expect.
Under the hood a new radiator was needed, water pipework and the fuel lines as we mentioned. The old carb was working (sort of), but wasn’t consistent in running. Adam has replaced it with a new Holley and will have a look at rebuilding the old one as little sideline hobby when he has nothing better to do! (Ed: Sounds like a Christmas Day job to us when the crap TV comes on.)
This single exhausted car sounds like a Mustang, not in your face loud, but you know it’s a V8 from that classic Ford burble.
Inside is pretty much original, except for a couple of bits missing. Nothing that can’t be sourced from the internet or an auto jumble.
Adam is pretty smitten with his new toy, ask nicely and he may take you to see if when you pop in!
Since we mentioned these in a recent post they are selling very well as they can be sent via email. mustang Maniac stock service kits and parts for Classic to Modern Mustangs. If you don’t know what to get the petrol head in your life for Christmas, let them choose with our E-Vouchers.
This week we have had a couple of near guesses with the little quiz and the end of the last few posts. We will have the last part four of our guessing game with the some dead give away photos at the end, but there is a little twist to look out for which will challenge any petrol head. We also have a fairly common problem brought to us a couple of times a year, coolant leaks.
Customer Cars
This ’67 convertible has the double whammy, a radiator leak and the heater matrix. While the coolant being drained from the system this is the ideal time to replace both the radiator and the heater matrix and have a good look around the hoses to check for any splits or persihing. The radiator in this case was quite obvious where the problem was and the owner has gone for a more modern efficient aluminium radiator as the replacement.
The heater matrix is a little more awkward to get to, and you have to be careful with the original heater box as over time it becomes brittle. There are a number of sprung clips that hold the two halves together via a lip which can break off. The leak inside the heater box builds up then eventually you get a footwell puddle.
The heater matrix needed a replacement and really recommend going for a quality part as this is not a job you want to do often. Under pressure the size of the hole only needs to be a pin prick size to start the rusting and onto the eventual failure. If you’re unlucky you will ruin the carpets and under carpets (sound proofing if any) if the failure is sudden.
Once the matrix is refitted it’s a case of cleaning up the mess and check for more leaks after the system has been flushed out a couple of times. The are little tricks to remove the airlock from the system. Did you know that there is a right way and wrong way for connecting the heater pipes?
The car wasn’t running very well and we soon found one of the issues. The carb was held in place by incorrect bolts along with a broken spacer, if that wasn’t enough the carb was held down by more than the odd washers as the wrong bolts being used. The carb gasket was also mounted with a mechanical no no. An unhealthy amount of silicon which is not exactly best practice. The reason for that is that the fuel reacts with the silicon and can break down going into the engine or block the airways on the spacer.
Then comes the fun bit trying to remove the old silicon without dropping the mess into the manifold. Once we had it all cleaned up we replaced the spacer, gaskets and carb. Then it’s a case to sit back and watch Yogi as he does his dark art magic ‘thing’ when retuning tuning the carb.
Above we have the carb located correctly before the throttle connections and the tuning starts.
Metal Mayhem
We’ve shown the build up dry fit process of the cowl section to the body. Now we have taken it to the next level by applying the colour before it’s all sealed back up again.
The base etch coats going on.
The primer base coats.
The top coats of colour and lacquer.
Once the paint was dry could clean the coating of the cowl ready for a good connection the chassis and spot weld into place properly. Just how they would have been from the factory.
Guessing Game (part 4)
A couple of good and close guesses last week so we will give the game away surely this week. We have the badge of the exact model and plenty of the car to see.
We had a previous guess which almost nailed it but the wrong MK version.
All is not what it seems or should be…
Clue: from the above picture on the left, what is the unusual twist about this car? Next week we will show you the rest of the car and reveal the details of why this particular car, is one of one!
WebShop.
We are nearing Christmas and wondering what to get the owner of a Mustang? Don’t worry as our Mustang Maniac gift vouchers are now available digitally too.
“Adam is the UK’s leading Mustang Expert, highly recommended by the club and work out of a Mustang Disneyland with piles of spares, lines of parts cars, and treasures….”
Quentin Willson – Classic Car Magazine June 2015.
“Mustang Maniac in Ware has done a really cracking job detailing the engine, fitting new suspension, replacing both floors and now she’s solid, shiny and sweet driving.”
Quentin Willson – Classic Car Magazine June 2015.
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“Adam and the team, with a very special mention to Al, have had my car for a few weeks to carry out its annual inspection, MOT and to fix some jobs they had discussed with me last year. Having just collected it from them today (Fri 07/08/2015), it runs better now than it ever has thanks to the care, attention to detail and ‘other magic’ they know. As usual the whole process has been completely painless – it’s a great feeling to know that the people looking after my old car think as much of it as I do…so I have absolutely no worries leaving it in their capable hands. This time they completed all the jobs on my list as well as rectifying a few more that I never realised were an issue, thus saving me from future trouble. I would strongly recommend Adam and the Mustang Maniac team to anyone wanting proper experts to look after all their Mustang needs….then you can simply leave them to it in the knowledge they will always do what’s best for these lovely old cars”
GW – retired Ford Motor Company Director
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“Mustang Maniac are the font of all knowledge. Adam is always there with advice and parts I need. My one stop Mustang shop. The standard of workmanship from his team is unmatched in the trade”. 101% recommended.
http://onemanandhismustang.com
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‘Adam and his team cannot be more helpful, not only do they do what you ask to be done, they go be-yond and actually replace/repair or correct things that you would never know should be done. Always lend and ear, and get you out of tricky situations…I wouldn’t take my classic mustang anywhere else”!
Lance Barrington.
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“Wow! As soon as I arrived at Mustang Maniac I knew I my car was in the right place. The service was so efficient, professional and boy do Adam & the Team know their stuff! I couldn’t recommend a company more highly. I even drove away with a tear in my eye – and this time it wasn’t the exhaust fumes!”
Liv Davidson
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“Chaps, what a difference, a lovely drive back home and even floored it for a while which chucked 40 odd years of leaves and crap out of the vents. Great fun at last!
Thanks again for all your time and attention spent on the car you guys have done an amazing job.
Cheers.”
Jon O’Leary
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“The work that you guys at Mustang Maniacs have done on the car was phenomenal – differences you have made since you got it and did a couple of days work, Pulls and accelerates noticeably better – absolutely beautifully and even sounds better. The brakes also seem to work so much better and it handles and steers so so much better in the bends and straight – no more steering wobble or unnoticeable !!! Petrol consumption is also so much better – really very noticeable indeed.”
Adam Dabrowski.
“First of all thank you for your hospitality and the rubber aerial seal and the keyring. The drive home was an absolute pleasure. I enjoyed driving the car before, now I LOVE IT. You and Alan definitely worked your magic on the Stang. You have transformed it from a good car to a great car. I will be your life long loyal customer.”
Mitch Rustem
“Just a brief email to say thanks that I was made welcome on arrival and the effort for taking the time to show me around the workshop and meeting with the mechanic (Alan I think) who ran through the work and set up he carried out on my car, this felt a very personnel service indeed. This is testament to your knowledge and love of Mustangs and how you operate your business.
My Mustang felt so much more driveable with all the little tweaks done. The brakes felt so much sharper, I didn’t have to apply the regular 120lb of pressure to stop. The steering was much more tighter, it held the line on the motorway with no shaking at speed. The handling has improved threefold and actually goes where you steer now. I didn’t realise how poorly she handled until Mustang Maniac put it right. All the cosmetically components and upgrades have given me a huge smile. Absolutely love it.
Thanks again for making my Mustang a good drivable car. I will be back for the next upgrades and advice at some stage as a returning customer. A very happy Mustang owner.”
Paul P.
“Mustang Maniac done some suspension work on my 1966 Fastback in went in with the usual old car problems lots of noises and bangs and worsted of all lots of body roll, they fitted a new pair of front shocks and springs a new 1” shaw bar and they sorted some other jobs that needed doing, the car now looks great with its new shocks and springs and it is sitting right but best of all it’s driving like a completely different car to how it went in I’m really pleased with their service”
Kev Rushworth.
I have had a few orders from you now with many more to come and I would just like to say what a fantastic service you provide shipped on day of purchase received next day on every order 1st class the best
If only the Americans could take a leaf out of your book
Regards
Greig Duffill
Mustang Maniac 
