This will be the last post of the year so we just wanted to wish you our customers, readers, followers and fellow Mustang lovers a Happy Christmas and a healthier and more productive 2021. Lets face – it couldn’t be any worse than 2020 that’s for sure.
Project Bookings:
For the new year we are looking forward to working on our list of projects. There is good news and bad news depending on who you ask.
Mustang Maniac restoration project slots are now fully booked up until the end of 2022. That’s right – TWO years waiting list now for the large project work. However we will be able to still maintain our regular services and repairs. But, please give us a call and we will let you know the first available slot for your pride and joy to get our expert attention. That way we can manage your expectations and we can get your cars worked on in a timely manor.
Our Cars:
The project Resto Mod has taken another step forward with the prep work ready for the paint.
We are delighted about the way our project’s seats have turned out. Yogi has hand made, one off bespoke fittings and brackets to make them work. All will be revealed in the near future. But for now you will have to wait a little longer. 🙂
We have some new stock arrive in the way of a dual master brake cylinder with a bleed nipples. These are 1″ 1/8 fitting and are still a stock looking item, with a nice user friendly touch.
These will be on the WebShop as soon as we can. It can be a real pain to bleed these for a new installation. Now things have gotten much easier.
We have a very limited Edition of the new 2020 Mustang Maniac Calendar. these will go out to our most loyal customers. that will leave a few remaining, so if you made a recent large order or selected at random, you could be getting one with your order.
The Sounds Of Christmas;
Adam has a new purchase which arrived at the yard earlier this week. He told us it was for the Christmas entertainment for us. We got all excited; food & drink festivities. When he opened it it wasn’t exactly what we thought.
Snap-On, we should have known. But this was no ordinary Snap-On tool box. Oh no,
With his rather dodgy “Ho, Ho, Ho”, he began to set it up. This was not a nice picnic hamper.
This was a Bluetooth Speaker! He told that it was going in the big shed so we can listen to some nice music while the cars were being worked on.
what was the first song, something festive? Something fun? Take a guess..
What you are listening to on the soundtrack is the sound being recorded on a little ol’ Samsung Galaxy s9+, it’s not an overdubbed sound track! The speaker is loud and the quality is absolutely amazing. Adam’s comment was that it was little prezzie for myself, to hold my gold Snap-On wrench!
It’s not to late to get those last minute gifts in from our WebShop. If you don’t know what to get the petrol head in your life, our vouchers are ideal. They can be used for Classic Mustangs as well as our ever increasing supply of new Mustangs as well such as the S197 and S550’s. Order as many as you want and use them when it suits you.
Have a well earned rest if you can and we’ll catch up in the new year. Thanks for your support throughout the year, it honestly means a lot to a small little company like Mustang Maniac.
The wind-down to the end of the year has seen our internal projects move forward another step, we are looking forward to this one trying out new things.
With the end of the year is looming and we are all looking forward to the Christmas break and a goodbye to the year 2020. This year has seen unprecedented disruption and lifestyle changes for everybody, Mustang Maniac are no exception. We hope that next year will be much kinder so that we can get some sort of normality back.
Project Resto Mod
We mentioned that the resto mod has had some hand made bespoke brackets made for the seats, These are now working as we expect and have needed a few little tweaks which we will keep to ourselves for now.
Yogi has been masking up the car in order to add the underside protection. Masking up and multiple layers of our own underside treatment process. This is the only mask that we don’t mind to be honest.
The front of the car has taken on some colour around the inner fenders.
The back of the car will also be getting some treatment for protection before the final undercoat and colour gets applied.
We will be bringing you more on this as we move it along. It would be nice to get a few layers of colour on so that it can cure of the Christmas break. WebShop
We often hear about how how other suppliers are cheaper than us. When we check those items aren’t even in stock. We could be cheaper than everybody else if we don’t stock the items as well. Virtually all our customers know this and appreciate we have to cover the costs.
To prove the point here is a shipment that came in this week to add to our latest stock items.
We have already sold one of these shells, which saves us some storage space. The other shell is sitting in our Stock. When we say it’s in stock, we really do mean it’s in stock! Who else do you know that orders two Mustang shells, just to keep in stock?
We like to think that we can provide you with everything you need to restore a classic Mustang, along with repairs and servicing of your Mustangs all the way up to the latest models. We have what you need on the shelf. Perhaps we may have the odd car for sale now too. Email and ask us. 👍
Last week we posted about our latest batch of gift vouchers that had arrived. Already we have had sold a number to some lucky recipients for Christmas.
If you are stuck for a gift for that petrol head in your life, order online and let them choose from the Aladdin’s cave(s) of our comprehensive stock.
Did you know?
Henry Ford’s wife, Clara Ford, drove Detroit Electric cars like this one until the 1930s. The car had a top speed of 20 mph and an 80-mile range.
It might come as some surprise, but back when Model Ts were selling like hotcakes, the wife of company founder Henry Ford, Clara Ford, was actually driving an electric vehicle. While Henry Ford had experimented with EVs, the company would not make a production EV for several decades. In the early years of personal automobile ownership, the makers of the Detroit Electric had found that many women of the era preferred electric vehicles.
The company capitalized on its advantages by employing a female salesperson to sell the cars to women, including Clara Ford, who drove the vehicle until the 1930s, using it for short trips to visit friends and run errands – she drove only about 5,000 miles during her first year and a half of ownership, according to service records. At one point, her car was being recharged each night by the grandfather of current Ford President and CEO Jim Farley, then an employee at the Rouge plant.
Henry Ford actually purchased two Detroit Electrics for his wife, the first being a 1908 model, which cost $2,600, equivalent to $73,500 in 2020, from Anderson Carriage Company. The cozy cars – flower vases were standard equipment and passengers seated facing each other – were steered by lever from the rear of the car. The cars’ silent operation also made conversation much easier than their gas-powered counterparts. The vehicles had a top speed of 20 mph and a range of 80 miles, though one model reached more than 200 miles between charges during testing.
Clara Ford was not the only wife of an auto company head to drive a Detroit Electric car, either. Helen Joy, wife of Henry Joy, president of the Packard Motor Car Company, reportedly drove a 1915 model. More than 4,000 Detroit Electric cars were being produced annually during the company’s peak in the 1910s, but demand dropped in the 1920s as sales of gas-powered models like the Model T reigned. The Detroit Electric was only available by special order for several years before the company folded in the late 1930s.
What with the current look down coming to an end next week, we then go into a tiered approach of some sort which nobody seems to understand. On top of that the Christmas holiday season is upon us. People tend not to bring their prized cars out in the poor weather and are tucked up for the winter, so we don’t don’t get to do the normal upkeep on cars. With that in mind the general slow down for this time of year hasn’t seen a slow up in the work pace for us. We suspect that people are taking advantage of the restrictions to move those little projects towards a completion. Here at the yard we are doing the same, our resto mod project is taking some unique leaps forward. All these little posts are related to the original classics, but modern take on them, the revived Bronco, Resto Mod shell and the Mach-E.
Resto Mod
Yogi has been busy with the Resto Mod and has taken a good few hours of trial and error to get the bespoke rear seats to fit. For that very reason alone we are not going to give the secrets away, but we will show the final results when they are fully fitted of course. The results are amazing and look like the natural progression of the Mustang interior all be it with a twist. We have pixeled out some of the ‘clever’ bits Yogi has fabricated. We could if there is enough interest offer the conversion to other cars, maybe.
The front dash has been fully rust treated behind the dash, a time consuming job. Essential preparation, but so often overlooked.
The engine bay is taking some extra smoothing to get ready for the primer, undercoat and couple of top coats.
We hope to bring you some pics of the colour scheme very soon, so watch this space. 🙂
WebShop:
We have been asked if the Mustang Maniac vouchers are still available? Simple answer is yes of course, they’re available all year round. In fact we have already had an additional batch ordered in, as it looks likely to be popular as customers are not dropping in and choosing for the obvious reasons.
The Postage Poll.
Thanks for votes on the little poll we had about a customer who didn’t want to pay the reduced rates postage we offer. The percentage is that 92% of you agreed with us. Thank you for the support. It seems that we just can’t please everybody, but we try.
Other News:
DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 18, 2020 – For once, what happened in Vegas, does not have to stay there.
After COVID-19 knocked out this year’s SEMA show in Sin City, Ford is pivoting to virtually reveal epic customizations of the company’s latest all-new products from the streets of the Motor City. The event — Ford Auto Nights, SEMA Show Special was a two-day live broadcast experience on Thursday and Friday. Ford unveiled customized build reveals, with interactive vehicle immersion sessions and an on-demand content library.
“From upfitters to outfitters, and from hot rodders to outdoor adventurers, the show must go on, and our first-ever Ford Auto Nights SEMA Show Special keeps the customization and innovation going virtually,” said Kim Cape, director of Ford global brand and integrated marketing. “This passionate, die-hard audience with an appetite for our Ford brand is vital to us.”
Bronco
Bronco, Ford’s new outdoor brand of Built Wild SUVs, and the only domestic brand of SUVs with standard 4×4, celebrates 55 years of innovating the off-road landscape.
From the all-new and sixth-generation Bronco two-door, the first-ever Bronco four-door model and Bronco Sport, the Bronco of small SUVs, the entire family is born from innovative design, capability and extreme durability testing to ensure adventure and fun with endless customization options.
The MAD Bronco Sport Badlands turns the Bronco of small SUVs into the ultimate for overlanding adventures. Ford teamed up with MAD Industries for a build that is an outdoor adventurer’s dream conversion. MAD is an established Ford project vehicle builder, with a rich history of custom builds, tricking out everything from a Mustang to an F-350.
The Ford Bronco Badlands Sasquatch 2-Door Concept reveals Bronco’s modularity. This concept is built around one of the Bronco program’s customer-use scenarios, in which a comfortable Monday through Friday Bronco is converted for a weekend of extreme off-roading, and then back to stock Badlands spec for the week ahead. Instead of the potential damage to Bronco’s factory-equipped body parts, Bronco brand’s Built Wild innovative design process enabled the concept to have swappable front fenders and rear quarters. Easy to install before a trail ride, and removable, these concept accessory parts are made from robust and impact-ready materials that replace stock painted parts. And for a throwback cue to the first-generation Bronco U13 Roadster model, the Bronco features a tough stepover replacement panel for maximum thrill and open-air feeling instead of traditional doors. 3D-printed titanium parts strip weight and increase strength.
The Ford F-150 Limited Hybrid SuperCrew by BDS Suspension project vehicle highlights the ease of customization of the new F-150 while showcasing the all-new Pro Power Onboard mobile power generator. This is the “foreman’s truck,” which works all week with the tools and equipment onboard to do any job. Friday evening arrives, and those work tools and equipment are easily exchanged for adventure gear and supplies. Sunday evening arrives, the party is over, and it is back to business for F-150 on Monday morning, so the truck easily transforms back to its all business tools and equipment.
The Ford Ranger XLT Tremor SuperCrew, outfitted by Ford’s vehicle personalization team, enables even the most adventurous of lifestyles. Using the all-new 2021 Ranger Tremor as a starting point, this custom adventure truck features a selection of available Ford Accessories and Ford Performance Parts that complement the vehicle’s incredible factory capability and enable adventure seekers to not only get to the most remote trailheads, but also carry a mountain bike, kayak and all the gear needed for a day of hitting the trails and the lake.
Also on the same SEMA event came the big news:
Mustang Mach-E
For the first time in 56 years, Ford is expanding the Mustang family, bringing the famous pony into the electric age with Mustang Mach-E, an all-new, all-electric SUV born of the same all-American ideals that have inspired the best-selling sports coupe in the world. The production Mustang Mach-E GT with options arriving next year, is targeted for 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds.
Just look at it! Ok it’s electric but you just know that it will be the animal to drive that it looks like.
When Ford Performance and Vaughn Gittin Jr. from RTR Vehicles collaborate, you know vehicle performance goes up a notch, as the Mustang Mach-E 1400 demonstrates. The Mustang Mach-E 1400, an all-electric road rocket that shows just how much performance can be harnessed without using a drop of gas. This one-off Mustang Mach-E with its seven electric motors and high downforce is ready for the track, drag strip or gymkhana course – anywhere it can show how electric propulsion promises extreme Mustang performance.
With the Covid lockdown in place for the second time are being very conscientious of what we are working on in the workshops. So as such there is very little in the way of customer work going on at MM, but the WebShop has stepped up a gear with what it seems lots of those projects being worked on again. It was a similar scenario during the last lock down. Here we have last Monday’s post ready to for their collection. We will be asking you for your opinions on that a later in the post.
For Sale:
Mustang Maniac have been asked again to find a new owner for a customer’s car, this particular car was purchased for someone that just can’t come to terms with a classic car sitting in their garage. So as a Mustang Maniac customer we will endeavour to find them a new owner for the car.
This is a beautiful 1967 Ford Mustang automatic coupe that has had 2 owners in the UK from 2016, originally a san Jose built C code 289 V8, but the car was upgraded to a 351W by its first owner back in 1972. At the same time its original Lime Gold paint was changed for candy apple red but the original black interior remains. The car was imported by pilgrim sportscars from the dry-state of Nevada in late 2015 so the body is super clean and virtually rust free. While the paintwork is very good and show-worthy, its not perfect… But It is certainly a real head turner.
We took a video of the car when we drove to somewhere a little more pleasing on the eye.
The car has had a huge amount of money (£20k plus) spent – mainly on the drivetrain and suspension – over the past four years by previous owners and customers to turn it from an OK cruiser to a proper useable, reliable and fun car that is surprisingly good in the twisty bits as well as being more than capable of long-distance continental runs.
Upgrades fitted include (in no particular order):
New 351W ‘mild cam’ crate engine (300hp and plenty of lovely torque) with high rise manifold, Holley 4160 carb and billet pulleys (for a touch of under-bonnet bling) supplied and fitted by Mustang Maniac in September 2019. Mustang Maniac also stripped and fully rebuilt the gearbox. New prop shaft fitted by Hauser Racing in may 2017.
Eaton TruTrac LSD (3.00 gears) fitted by Hauser Racing in July 2017
Rose jointed stainless steel Monte Carlo bar
Stainless steel export brace
Timken wheel bearings all round
High flow aluminium radiator
New power steering arm and pipes
Rebuilt power steering pump
Stainless steel h-pipe exhaust
Bilstien dampers
Ford racing front springs
Five leaf drop eye rear springs, improving handling while maintaining a perfect stance
Uprated 1″ front sway bar (anti-roll bar) reduces roll and massively improves turn-in.
Retrosound DAB radio with bluetooth
New dashboard trim pieces and new bezels with led instrument lights New door cards and pull handles
Classic Cougar small rev counter fitted in place of the clock on dashboard – matches the original instruments perfectly
Brightlight Customs LED rear light conversion
Brightlight Customs headlamp loom conversion and high output headlamps
While the car originally had factory aircon, Mustang Maniac removed the under bonnet elements of that when we fitted the new engine
We took a drive video on the way back to the yard.
£31.995 OVNO message 07980 746617 for more information or a viewing, or contact any of us at Mustang Maniac and we will be able to help you out with any question.
Resto Mod:
Yogi has been working on our Resto Mod Project again this week and we have some more pics of that for you.
The underside has started to get some attention as well, The fact that the bits you can’t see will be as good as the bits you can see.
As we mentioned at the beginning of the post we had some packages to go out, here is that picture;
Thanks to all our customers who have supported us through these difficult times, we really appreciate it. We will continue to do our very best to keep the WebShop up and running although supplies are becoming difficult with the lockdown rules.
However, we had a complaint! Yep, this customer has now been awarded the honour of the “C” button as we were a little gobsmacked at their response.
Basically a new customer had ordered 6 small screws and and complained about the £4 postage and packaging. They sent us an email to ask if the P&P was correct and that they didn’t want to pay that much. We advised that is the cost of the postage and the packaging, but they could always come and pick it up if they wanted. They went on to ask why couldn’t ‘just put them in an envelope with a first class stamp on it, and take it to the post office’. We went on to explain that the post office was miles away, our time and fuel would outweigh the effort and cost of the parts.
The email then took a rather rapid downward spiral saying they are disappointed with our service etc. We did not send the parts and will not deal with this ‘customer’ again. We have given plenty of postage options such as couriers, standard mail, signed for to name a few, but nothing seems to make some people happy.
We’re confused to be honest with you. We would like to know if we were right or wrong.
Please vote with a thumbs up to agree with us, or a thumbs down to say that we should drop everything for a tiny order for an unknown customer on their say so.
Hot of the heals of last week’s post we had a number of emails along with a few visitors to the yard and the wanted to take a look at the Hawaii convertible Mustang. We left them to it to keep social distancing and they liked what they saw, they were very impressed with all the paperwork. They did make an (cheeky) offer, but it was not up to Adam’s expectations for such a great example of a Fox Body Muzzy. The guys did see the funny side of the photo being took while they gave the car a real good once over, then a second and third over!
Like we often say, the car isn’t actually up for sale, but money talks in the Mustang Maniac yard and the car could be yours. We are waiting to see if these guys will up their budget and drive of in this little lady.
Our Cars
Yogi has now started to pick up the Project Resto Mod we have in the body shop. The car is being prepped for some paint shortly.
But first Yogi was rubbing down, filling, and rubbing down again. All this takes time, and any shortcuts here will show later in the project.
With the base sanded to a glass like finish the etch was added.
Then a base primer was applied.
Eventually the car was pretty much ready in primer.
There was key coats applied, rubbing down, more filling and more primer.
There is still plenty of rubbing and prep work to be done before Yogi is happy with it.
The smaller parts of the panel work are also given the same love and attention.
Other News:
COLOGNE, Germany – Ford has announced that the limited-edition, high-performance Mustang Mach 1 will be available to customers in Europe for the first time ever.
Making its European debut at Goodwood SpeedWeek taking place in West Sussex, U.K, in front of a global virtual audience, the Mustang Mach 1 is the best-handling production Mustang ever offered to customers in Europe.
Performance is boosted to a level worthy of the iconic Mach 1 moniker with enhanced aerodynamics, a specially-calibrated 460 PS 5.0-litre V8 engine and uprated cooling for improved track capability.
The Mach 1 is also the first production Mustang in Europe available with a high-performance TREMEC six-speed manual transmission, featuring rev-matching technology for seamless down-shifts and an upgraded oil-cooler system for high-demand performance driving. Customers can alternatively specify Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission, featuring an upgraded oil-cooler and recalibrated software for optimised performance in road and track driving conditions.
A unique suspension setup further enhances road performance and track-readiness. Specially-calibrated MagneRide® dampers and bespoke springs, anti-roll bars and bush specifications deliver improved control and response under high cornering loads. Retuned electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) software enables the Mach 1 to offer the most precise steering of any Mustang in Europe.
The result is the fastest production Mustang around a track ever offered to customers in Europe.
In addition to its performance credentials, the Mustang Mach 1 brings exterior design that recalls the iconic Mach 1 Mustangs of the 1960s and 1970s, with bold bonnet and side stripes, performance-derived body-styling and unique 19-inch alloy wheels. The limited-edition model is available in a unique set of eight body colour, stripe and contrast-line combinations, echoing the distinctive design of the original car. Each Mustang Mach 1 is individually numbered with a distinctive plaque according to its build order.
“The original Mach 1 delivered the ultimate in production Mustang performance and proved itself with success in motorsport,” said Matthias Tonn, Mustang Mach 1 chief programme engineer for Europe. “The new Mach 1 is the most capable Mustang ever to reach Europe, with track-ready ability and a unique style that is more than worthy of wearing such a legendary badge.”
Yogi obviously has a ’69 Mach1, when we asked him what he thought of this launch? “I’ll see it in my rear view mirror on the drag strip!” 😀
Guest Blogger Results:
The poll from last week shows that the you liked the guest write up on our blog with just over two thirds of the votes. We will look to do more of them in the future for you. I think it’s a great idea as it means that I don’t have to do so much at the weekends. 😉
This week we have something a little different for you in the way of our blog contribution. We will have a guest blogger who wrote the story of a very unusual and rare car with a very lucky owner. More on that later for you, but first a mystery car arrives in the yard…
Hawaii 5.0
As the heading suggests we have a link to the great TV series all be it a tenuous one. We see this little lady which was parked up amongst Adam other little gems. We grabbed a few pics of it before it was moved around. Why is it here? What is it’s purpose? We asked Adam and he just said – ‘All will be revealed in good time…’ This Fox-body Mustang spent the early years of her life in Hawaii as a Hertz rental car for fifteen odd years. The car was then purchased from Hertz and shipped over to Spain for a couple of years, then eventually it ended up in the UK. The car’s incredible condition is due to its previous locations in hot climates without a doubt. Not only that, the car has a genuine 34,000 miles from new! Convertible for those rare summer days this is a beautiful car, but not to everybody’s taste and we get that. As the years go by, these cars just seem to look better and better or is it just us?
Under the hood is pretty much all original with many of the items that are normally missing for some reason or another.
How does it sound? Awesome, and starts right on the button.
The interior looks in absolutely mint condition, just like it was from the factory.
How do we know the real mileage? Well, with provenance like this little lot, there is no question it’s all genuine. Just incredible.
Now for our guest writer, our very own Mark L.
…….. and now were going to take you from Hawaii 5.0 to Madagascar …. Madagascar Orange to be exact. A rare paint option from Ford for 1968 model year under their “Rainbow of colors” promotion.
This extremely presentable example is now in the ownership of “Lucky Tony” from Milton Keynes (more on the “Lucky” moniker later). After decades of hankering for a classic Mustang Tony was in a position to realise his dream earlier this year and chomping at the bit to get one of his own. Though no stranger to desirable cars Tony was new to Mustangs and sought our advice. One of our associates here at Mustang Maniac advised and scanned classified ads with him and accompanied Tony to view potential vehicles. To his credit, Tony heeded all advice and even when frustrated at the seemingly constant “no it’s a shed” he never allowed his heart to rule his head …. the car had to be a good one and we’re pleased he stuck to that ethos when he could so easily have let eagerness steer him blindly into a rusty money pit.
Then this particular car came on the market and was located up “T’north” (ed. up north of the country for our American readers), by some considerable distance. Tony could only view it on a Sunday, but alas his ally in the search could not make it that day. It was agreed that Tony would go up and view the car and would pay particular attention to certain areas known to be previous or potential trouble. If he wasn’t sure he would video call and seek advice before making a decision.
Clearly Tony had listened and learned a great deal during the previous months search as he viewed the car and felt confident enough to buy, insure and drive the car home. Later he brought the car to Mustang Maniac for a a check over. Adam gave the car his usual fastidious check and pointed out that there were a couple of things that required attention and also suggested a few things that would improve the car and enhance the driving experience. He punctuated his look over by saying “Well …. we’re going to have to name you “Lucky Tony” now … cos you’ve bought a very solid car, with no Mickey Mouse welding repairs ….. it’s a good car and it will be better”. It was nice to see the weight lift from Tony’s shoulders and a mile wide smile appear.
The car was booked in to have the few issues addressed and begin the process of improving an already nice car. The car came back recently and was given to Yogi to perform his magic on. First was a niggling wheel bearing and a new brake caliper fitting kit to replace one that had previously been incorrectly fitted.
This mistake unfortunately had made the brake pads less than optimum so they were also replaced. Luckily the discs themselves were unharmed.
Then the bear fitted all new shock absorbers and a set of 4.5 mid eye leaf springs. The front spring perches were found to be living on borrowed time so replaced, the rear brakes were cleaned and adjusted, a Monte Carlo bar added and a headlamp relay kit wired in.
Then a larger sway bar to stiffen up the front and the steering valve and linkages were regreased and tightened up. A much improved steering wheel was added for aesthetics just before Yogi took the car to the alignment shop and locked and bolted the doors to tap in his secret camber/caster and toe settings. Lastly a small wiring fault to the hazards was attended to.
Lucky Tony turned up to collect the car before we’d finished the phone call to say it was ready and upon collection a plan of action was formulated for a few further upgrades in the near future … while we scoffed his biscuit bribe (clever man). The plan is to upgrade to a superior Borgeson steering box and possibly performance front coil springs once Tony has some miles on the car.
A short while after leaving we got a message to say :
“Hi Guys,
1000% better
I drive the car now … not the car driving me and me trying to stop it going in a hedge lol
Enjoyed every minute of the drive home”
We like that kind of feedback, not so much because it makes us feel good about what we do but also because it’s great to see someone finally get what they’ve wanted for a very long time and it lives up to their expectations. Now we will move forward with “Lucky Tony”… to exceed them.
Nice car. Well done Tony.
Great write up from Mark who was there to welcome the car into the yard with Yogi to give the rare beast the initial once over.
Should we do more guest writers for our blogs? 😀 Let us know in the poll.
Covid
Due to the UK’s Government lockdown for the next four weeks into December, we will be following the guidelines set out for us. The work in our workshops and blog updates could be affected we just don’t know yet. Watch this space for updates and above all:
We have been getting a few enquiries to the this Blog asking us about stock levels. Our WebShop has all the stock listings and is a real time update. The stock is updated immediately that somebody orders an item, it’s a completely automated process. You can always email us on sales@mustangmaniac.co.uk if you want a special order made for you that we have access to.
Stock:
We mentioned about a big batch of gearboxes that had recently been delivered. Well now we have some more date coded correct cylinder heads reconditioned and put into storage. These are lurking in the depths of the Mustang Maniac’s storage units.
These are just the latest batch, there are others hidden away too. These little gems are already like gold dust, so to be rare gems.
Remember these are not for sale at Ebay prices. Get your wallet out with big wad of cash and maybe you could tempt Adam into selling a pair. 😉
Our Own Brand Lowering Kits
Adam has now received all the components for the second batch of Mustang Maniac lowering kits. These consist of the solid lowering blocks, the longer U-Bolts and the nuts to complete the kits. Here we have Scott Drake’s kit and our own kit on the right.
The bag above shows our latest batch of two hundred nuts just for the lowering kits.
Customer Generosity.
Every now and then we get a given some great gifts from out customers of unique and rare items that we display in the offices where we can. Recently a customers was in his loft and discovered this little gem.
A diorama of a Mustang garage with a working light. The attention to detail in this model’s scene is amazing.
We don’t know much about this item. If anybody could shed some light on it that would be great. Or was this a one off hand made scene? Regardless is a great item to have and we always appreciate items that our customers donate to us.
Covid:
We are not sure what is happening or will be happening going forward with the Covid rules. Tier this or Tier that, mini break or circuit break it doesn’t make much sense at the moment. We are continuing to abide by the legal requirements as a business. Going forward with our work loads and blog updates we will just have to wing it for now. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the future. Mustang Maniac is and will remain 100% committed to our staff and customer safety. If you can order via the WebShop that would be the safest thing for your parts requirements. We will arrange local pickups by appointments only for now.
This week we have had a car in that is overheating and are on their fourth radiator. The problem is from the engine block that is depositing sediment into the radiator and blocking the the narrow pipes. In order to prove the fact Adam has got out his knew gadget to take a photo of the problem for the customer.
Thermal Imaging was a super expensive technology a few years ago, but this has now filtered into the automotive market at reasonable costs to make diagnosis easier. The radiator was scanned and clearly shows the cold spot on due to a blockage on the left hand side of the radiator. This quickly narrowed down the issue and Mustang Maniac started the flushing procedures of the radiator and water ways to try and fix the problem. Really and truly this engine needs to come out for a strip down and sort out.
That may full tear down may have to wait until we get the go ahead from the customer, but for now we shall try a few old school tricks to make her run cool again, if not it’s a new radiator again.
Stock:
Gearboxes.
We mention that Adam has been getting his gearboxes reconditioned and stored, well we have new batch arrive and now gone into the Aladdin’s cave of hidden treasures.
There has even been a couple of manual gearboxes properly restored such as this four speed Top Loader fitted with a Hurst shifter.
When a good customer of ours asks for a something to be brought in especially we go out of our way to make it happen for them. In this instance the customer wanted to swap out his Manual gearbox for a automatic. A few weeks later it was built to the customer specs and arrived with us long with our other stock ready for fitting.
To finish up our little gearbox stock level update, Adam came staggering out of the storage room to find his transport trolley had been moved from where he left it.
Adam’s devoted and loyal dog Shelby was on the look out for the culprits, we’re pretty sure that she was gonna make somebody pay for it!
Shocks:
Adam has had a new line of shocks come in from Scott Drake which are their low pressure versions. These new ’64 – ’73 lines are already on the WebShop, the fronts can be found here.
As our WebShop states; “These low-pressure gas shocks are an affordable upgrade from the original factory hydraulic shocks. These shocks are ideal for the daily driver that prefers a smooth comfortable ride over performance. For a more spirited driving we recommend Drake’s performance high-pressure gas shocks.”
Spax have now replenished us with another supply of unique personalised shocks in red. These red shocks can only be purchased through us. Adam is opening this batch to check for quality control.
Postage
We said that we are now using second class Royal Mail as some customers don’t want to pay the courier rates. That’s absolutely fine, but don’t expect it to arrive the next day as one customer complained about. Remember you have the choice for some items on how much you want to pay vs how quickly you want it. The little lot going out yesterday afternoon with a mixture of options including signed for or not;
The pilot has come to an end and we have decided to continue the service. We shall of course continue to monitor the feedback which so far has been overwhelmingly positive. Thank you to everybody who has taken time out to let us know what you thought of the options.
On a slightly negative point we don’t normally post about customers, but we felt we had too on this occasion. We will not be disclosing any details of what happened, but this customer needs to see a more public response as they keep sending us emails. The customer that has just been allocated the “C” button and has been repeatedly contacting us again. We honestly appreciate your apology thank you, due to the previous unpleasant experience from yourself with unreasonable expectations, we can assure you that we went over and above our normal excellent customer service we provide including a considerable expenses to ourselves, we even let you keep the item and gave you a refund. We will not be providing any more parts to you going forward or responding to your numerous emails. We’re sorry that the other suppliers are out of stock for the items you are requesting, please try other parts suppliers or you will just have to wait for your new “preferred supplier” to get the items in stock for you.
Expert Or Expertise?
We recently had a a customer complain to us that that their light up Mustang kick plates for the door sills was not working. We have had no problems with these items and fitted a few now without problems.
The customer insisted they were faulty as his “Expert Electrician” said they didn’t work. So they were returned to us and we opened the package to check them. We were hit with a tell tale burning smell.
Not only did they blow the transformers once, they did it twice! We never claim to be experts, as we are always learning. But, we do however have considerable expertise in classic Mustangs. We can confirm their experts ‘diagnosis’ that these transformers are not working. However we have never blown any up yet!
We have had some trouble shooting to do this week for customers and to be honest it was pretty evident what the problems were at first look. We have couple of videos and one of which is truly shocking. Turn up the volume and enjoy these little gems.
Customer Cars:
Clutch Judder:
This little lady had an issue with some clutch judder. This can be a worn clutch, face plate, bearings etc. In this case it was all of them! If you want to get your money’s worth this is pretty much the limit.
The prop shaft, gearbox and exhaust were removed before we could drop the gear box out. The flywheel was worn and showed the signs of the judder on what should be a flat surface, this one had a lip where it had worn.
The clutch itself was well beyond worn with bits broken off.
Adam got a “Full” clutch kit straight from the shelf and took it to Yogi in the workshop where he was taking the rest of the worn parts of the car.
Not cheap, but when things get this worn there is no option to replace. Yes, we could of taken the flywheel to be skimmed, but that would have taken lots of time and getting on the cost for a new one!
The bearing for the clutch was worn as well as this video shows.
Suspension Issues:
A customer has brought in their car to us with a diagnosis of it’s making a strange noise from the front.
So we got her up on the ramp and found this on the video below. No words needed!
The trouble of having this much movement invariably lead to worn or damaged parts elsewhere. After seeing this Yogi went off for a cuppa shaking his head. A potential accident waiting to happen, it wouldn’t have been a pretty when this lot would eventually let go!
Water Pump:
Lastly we had a car with a ‘funny noise’ coming from the front with a bit of a water leak. It was quickly nailed down to the water pump and it was replaced. While the worn one was sat on the bench we filmed this for you. It’s a little quiet, but you can hear the worn bearing.
Our Stock:
Adam has now had yet another batch of nice date coded auto and manual gearboxes back from being fully refurbished. All sitting on the shelf ready to go, maybe. However, if you ask Adam if has any gearboxes he will simply say; “Nope, ain’t got none”.
Tip: Like we said last week, get your money out and you might, just might be able to talk Adam into selling one to you. But, don’t hold your breath though unless it’s a proper wad of money.
Brakes:
We have now got a full range of brakes for ’64 to 2020 Mustangs all of the shelf. We also stock the full range of brake conversions by well known and different brands; vented, slotted, drilled or both. We can also offer you different price points from budget ranges to the more discerning customers who demand performance parts that our customers expect.
Cars For Sale;
We have had a great response to our worst kept secret from last week of selling cars. We have now got a nice list of names in our database who are looking for cars from us. We shall now be actively looking to match our customers up when the situation arises.
So, we need to end the post by saying a big “Thank You” to those of you that sent us emails saying you like the idea of “buying with confidence” from us, and could they go on our list buy & sell lists. It seems that cars that are sensibly priced, with a known history, known service record and respected top quality workmanship from Mustang Maniac says a lot when you want to buy a car.
Oops. (A note from the editor)
Last week it was spotted that the post started with a Heineken logo. Their slogan is; “It refreshes the parts other beer’s cannot reach.” It seems as though this was a draft version, see what we did there? The error was quickly replaced with the correct Carlsberg logo. After I had finished writing a hundred lines of “I must not mix my beers up on a blog, and I’m Sorry”, I was allowed back on hallowed blog pages on Mustang Maniac.
Keep Safe everybody as we are on verge of a second wave of Corona 😦
We have a slightly different post for you where we can make a service of ours more public. there is a great advert by ‘Carlsberg Beer’ where they say; ‘We don’t do (what ever it may be), but if we did…’, then the they show a perfect Utopia for that scenario.
With that in mind Mustang Maniac doesn’t sell cars, but if we did….
(Spoiler Alert: We do!!)
In the trade it’s well known that Adam has some cars, in fact lots of cars! He doesn’t actively sell cars via adverts, Facebook or other social media platforms. However, if you did walk in with a desire for one of his cars, and the money to match that desire, then you can pretty much buy anything from him.
Unlike some other Mustang sellers who simply import the cars, tidy them up a bit and sell them on for straight money profits, we on the other hand actually care about the customer experience and the enjoyment of these cars going forward.
What we offer is unique service tailored for the buyer and the seller. We know so many people as customers, our list of contacts is extensive as you can imagine. Until now this has been a very private process we haven’t made public, but we are now getting more and more requests for our services. So we will put it out there that this is what we now do. Just like some car sales are now selling the easy parts to get hold of, we are now going to open up our services for car parts with car sales too.
Firstly we only sell cars that we know the history of. Cars that we have looked after, serviced or restored for a period of time. When the time is right for the customer they let us know and we deal with it for them. It could be to move onto a different car, buy another car or sell one of their cars, whatever those circumstances may be. We then look through our database to see who is looking to buy or sell a car. We get in touch with them and become the intermediary for the sale. A bit like a Mustang Owners Dating Service for quality cars.
What do we get out of it? Simple, loyal customers who will come back to us again and again. Recommendations for us and more customers.
Here’s a story of the latest sale we facilitated. A unique ’70 coupe which we have looked after for quite a while and we have known the previous two owners, was coming up for sale. The car was nicely converted to a right hand drive with a custom paint job, this is a stand out car in any crowd as it stood.
We had some visitors to our yard who enquired about a car and spotted this little lady. We informed that it was going to be up for sale very shortly and we were doing some pre-sale prep work on her. They were very interested and so we got in touch with our Mustang Maniac Sales Consultant who liaised between the seller and the buyers. The new customers wanted a few things done to the car to make it a little more unique with some satin silver stripes and a scoop to name a couple of things.
We arranged for the car to be customised to their requirements. Once we got it back to the yard we gave the car our now very respected specialist pre delivery detail service, the results are amazing and this is one cracking looking car.
The comparison before and after:
The owners Stacey & John (left and right in the pic below) were pleased with the results and managed to grab a shot of them before they drove away. Adam in the middle with our sales consultant at the front who made it happen for them.
Why buy and sell through us?
A no brainer really. We are the country’s premier Mustang parts supplier to the trade, Ford themselves and of course our customers. When you buy from us you know the following:
When we handle the sale for you, we filter out the tyre kickers Sunday time wasters.
We have previously worked on the car and know its history.
We can supply you with what you need – straight off our very well stocked shelves.
We can offer you the countries top after sales advice, parts and service.
Above all we care!
We will only sell genuine quality cars at a genuine prices. If you want us to sell your car for you and we haven’t seen your car before, don’t bother to ask us. Those customers of ours who are looking to buy or sell, send Adam an email at sales@mustangmaniac.co.uk to see if we can help you out.
Have you ever brought a car and have to take it somewhere else to be fixed properly? We’ve had plenty of those quick turn around cars from various places through our workshops, putting right other peoples work as we have shown on here many times in the past, without naming names of course. We want you to have the best experience possible with your car for parts, service and now sales providing you meet our criteria that is, why go anywhere else?
“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 
