The week reached a nice high point by changing the V8 rumble sounds of two very nice rare cars, for different reasons. We start this weeks post with the Park & Pic section with a little added twist!
This week’s Park & Pic car is owned by Gary W. whose rare car we have been looking over the recent years for him.
Gary’s latest visit to our yard was to swap the car’s near silent single exhaust, for a nice new dual system without the excess noise if possible was the brief. As Gary wasn’t too sure what “sound” he was after we gave Gary a sound tour! As any Petrol Head (UK) or Gear Head (USA) will know, the exhaust not only helps with performance but also helps with the throttle response and not just the sound or character of the car. We took Gary around the cars in the yard and storage and started them up for him to hear the difference between the engine note of each exhaust setup. Gary eventually picked the sound he liked with the eventual winner being the classic 2″ dual system from Scott Drake’s with a “H” cross pipe. This setup gives a more even and balanced V8 burble, the mufflers are more about driving pleasure but without the shout. After all, driving a convertible with the hood down with the wind in your hair is a real pleasure in Classic Mustang, when fitted with a loud and shouty exhaust may sound good for a while, but it can soon become tiresome on a long trip.
Here the single exhaust setup is shown with two mufflers that give that silent cruising experience.
The twin system being fitted which is a difficult job to get right on a convertible due to the additional strengthening under the car. You have to position the exhaust so that there is no vibration off the pipes moving and touching the bodywork especially when the engine is under load or engine braking. The final exhaust tips were fitted with the classic turn-downs that are just visible under the rear valance.
While we were fitting the rear section it was time to sort out the rear spring plates that were a little (ahem), distorted should we say. The plate which is under the leaf springs and axle also takes the connection for the rear shocks. The change of leaf spring plate will make the car sit better again and the shocks become more effective again.
The new plates were under-seal treated and fitted back to the car.
Gary has kindly sent us a couple of pictures of his car under the hood, before we got her and then after some little updates.
We mentioned that this Park & Pic will be with a twist! That twist is that we bombarded Gary with questions while he was with us and we thought we would share his interesting story with you. Although this looks like a lot of words it’s not and is a great read.
MM- Your name for the record and do you have a nick name? Gary W aka “Boris”!
MM- What was your occupation and what are you doing in your retirement? I started life as a commercial vehicle mechanic before joining Ford. I did lots of jobs at Ford mostly in Commercial Vehicles and ended up as Commercial Vehicle Director before retiring.
MM- Do you have any hobbies or pastimes? Old Mustangs, grandchildren and playing guitar and banjo.
MM- How did you hear about Mustang Maniac? When I bought my old car some years ago I needed lots of parts and Mustang Maniac seemed to be the only ones out there who carried it all in stock. Some suppliers ‘say’ that they have the parts in stock, but in reality they get it shipped from the US once your order is placed. I was let down badly with false promises from a number of suppliers which made me look around for other reliable supplier. I was then recommended the great Mustang Maniac guys and I have never looked back since.
MM- Why did you want a mustang? I had various cars and motorbikes before I ended up with a Cobra replica with a Ford 351 engine under the hood with all the nice bits. But I really fancied an early Mustang.
MM- Why this particular car? It seemed to call out to me. I knew I wanted an early car although I wasn’t fussed about a convertible as I was looking for a nice coupe. Then I spotted this car in a dealer ad and before I knew it, the cobra was exchanged and it found its way to my garage.
MM- Is there any history about your car that would be a talking point to other Mustang owners? That’s interesting as it only came with its last title owner from the US. I spent 6 months searching web sites..it was made a bit easier as it’s a very unusual colour and spec (D Code). I struck lucky on a vintage Mustang forum when I searched the “Pagoda Green” D code and found a thread from a guy in Terre Haute, Indiana – the last known US address of my car. I contacted the guy and he gave me a good start on tracking its history right back to owner number one who bought it after visiting the New York World Fair Launch in April 1964. I wrote ‘old fashioned letters’ to each owner in turn and all but one sent me pics and info – interestingly its been blue, red (twice) and finally was bare metalled I the early 90’s and painted back to its current factory colour.
MM- Has there been any problems with the car and how were they fixed? There were lots of mechanical issues, mostly because the underneath had been restored in the 80’s. It was nicely done, but the correct 64 1/2 parts were not really available then, as a result these cars tended to be ‘just nice old cars’ they were often just patched up. I replaced all the rubber bits, all fuel and brake lines, cleaned and painted the chassis, as well as replacing a long list of other bits and bobs.
MM- What do you like best about your car? I love the colour, although I do appreciate that it might not suit everyone. But that’s the beauty of our hobby – each to his or her own. I like the attention it gets whenever I take it out, but I mostly enjoy the great friends I have made since owning it. Mustang Maniac has a huge circle of friends and they all have stories to tell and advice to give when you need it – a fantastic group of people.
MM- Any dislikes about your car? I think I can ‘hear it going rusty’ from 100 paces. Adam has thoroughly inspected and worked on my car for a number of years now and he tells me it’s not going rusty – but such is my paranoia. Joking aside, I love it!
MM- Is this a keeper car or do you intend to change it in the future? No, this will probably be my last old car, although I have said that before.
MM- Do you drive it much if so where too? While it’s not a trailer queen by any means, I do use it sparingly..mostly for trips to the pub on a sunny day, which isn’t very often as we live on rainy island. Now that Adam and Al have worked their charms on her, I have no excuses for not using it. Well that’s the plan this year.
MM- Do you show the car? Yes I have shown it over the years. I am always amused when people stand by it and say loudly that “they never made Mustangs in that colour”, sometimes I leave it, sometimes I chirp up with the truth – it is believed that Ford only made 200 Pagoda Green “D Code” Convertibles before changing the colour in June 1964.
MM- Will you show the car this year? I plan to….I’d like to join the MM gang at a few shows this year.
MM- What’s your favourite car to date and why? My 1964 1/2 Mustang!
MM- What was your worst car and why? Morris Marina, I had one and it had truly awful handling and it was like an aspirin…..it seemed to dissolve in water! 😂
MM- Which car had you owned that you wished you had kept and why? A 1965 Ford Zodiac. I spent a fortune on it and it was lovely, but I had to sell it as I was saving to get married.
MM- what’s your dream car? Ford GT40
MM- Do you have any plans for upgrades to your Mustang? Not much really, other than fixing a feisty carb (the original Autolite 4 barrel) with either a rebuild, or maybe a replacement Holley. Then it’s just keeping the paint looking good. It’s a fine balance between keeping it as original as possible and renewing parts as they start to look shabby.
MM- Does your wife share your passion? Yes..ish…probably ‘tolerates’ rather than ‘shares’ – she loves the car though.
MM- Does she or do you let her drive it? She has no real interest in driving it.
MM- Would you go on a car or driving holiday? Not really as there are too many cars on the road now. They tend to make little allowance for a cherished old car, even though early Mustangs can more than keep pace with moderns.
MM- Have you met any famous car guys and what were they like? I met Carroll Shelby at the Goodwood Revival some years ago. He was truly charming and we chatted (he talked and I listened) for half an hour.
MM- Any hero’s you would like to have meet? Henry Ford and Elvis Presley.
MM- Who would you go on a cross USA Route 66 road trip with and why? I would love to do it ‘cannonball rally’ style with Jim Clark.
MM- What has been the biggest benefit of Mustang Maniac for you? Their expertise..as this was my first American car. I had no idea what it should drive like and assumed that when it rolled all over the place, they all did at. The guys have fettled my car over a number of years, so the car I have today bears little resemblance to the car that I originally bought – thanks again to the Mustang Maniac team.
MM- Any advice to a potential Mustang owner who wants to get into the classic car scene? Just do it! Look long and hard for the best car you can afford, buy wisely after taking advice from the right people. Have a yearly budget for repair, maintenance and running costs and enjoy the car while improving it.
MM- Thank you Gary.
We have not forgotten your cars if you have them sent in to us. Please keep sending them in, we love to see the cars and what better way to lead a blog post?
Customers Cars:
Yogi was pleased to see a genuine Shelby GT350 that had come in for a replacement exhaust. The exhaust was supplied by the customer with a new Magnaflow dual system, a big opposite to Gary’s new system above.
The old exhaust had seen better days and was soon removed from the scrap skip.
The nice new super shiny exhaust was fitted in stages, this time with an “X” pipe rather than the old “H” pipe setup.
The before and after pictures don’t really show a lot of difference, but turn that key and the difference is instant. I nice deeper note rumble of the V8 but without the slight pant of the Flowmaster system.
Memorabilia:
Thanks to Ian Coxshall for sending us the pics of his recent purchase of eBay. We can’t say that we have seen the Japan made toys before but a great find.
If you have any interesting memorabilia you want to share with the world, send us your pics and we will get them on our blog for you. It could be major kudos of bragging rights.
Other News:
We have already had an inquiry for the advertising fence, we will have to see if that goes ahead. Please give us a shout if you are interested, after all we don’t want to look at a battle ship grey fence, a little colour would be good we must admit.
Mustang Maniac 
