A busy week with cars being returned to their owners after their small services and MOT tests, and a busy weekend finishing the yard with the new dog enclosure. This little project has been waiting for a while now, only because we had to move a few of the older cars out-of-the-way first. The dogs like it and can see what is going on around the yard when we have visitors.
while we are on the subject of cleaning up we had some wheels shoot blasted and the result is pretty good. In fact we are thinking of just getting some lacquer of the wheels to make them smooth to the touch, and easier to clean, they came up that good.
Before:
After:
We have been given some more great photo’s by Gary (Thanks again Gary), who thought we may like this one in particular. The photo in question is the batch of the 1964 Official Indianapolis 500 Pace Cars that were built. One of these cars is genuinely ours, guess which one it is. Oh, we don’t know either.
’64 Indy 500 Pace Car
Back of the Pace Car
Under the hood of the Pace Car
We have been sent this picture as well, but we don’t know where this is – does anybody out there know and can let us know? Please keep the pictures coming and we will try to post them up for you.
Guess the true story and the two fakes.
Story 1:
To work for us here at Mustang Maniac you have to be dedicated to Mustangs. In order to do this we start our mechanics off at a young age and train them up to our very high and exacting standards. Rumour has it that this could be the first known photo of Yogi. 😉 Story 2:
The guy who had this rather unfortunate accident or small fender bender as our friends on the other side of the pond call it. While driving his Mustang, he told us how it happened. “Driving along I was looking at the road when this very pretty girl caught my eye. Only for a split second I turned to look again to fully ‘appreciate’ the rear of the young lady in question, when I suddenly got up close and too personal with the car in front of me.” When we asked how he felt about the damage, he responded with: –
“It was worth it!”
PS: We think it was little longer than “a split second” somehow.
Story 3:
We have had a few incidents during our road tests where the cars were pushed a little too much on the limit should we say. We can’t condone this type of behaviour, so we had to have strong words with this young apprentice. We won’t be paying his traffic ticket!
Customers Cars:
Chris’ i6 Coupe has had some parts shot blasted and he started working on painting them with the Red Oxide paint. He placed them in a nice neat orange storage box, but we grabbed a few sneak pictures – shhh, don’t tell him though. 🙂
Last weekend we managed to get a bit of Spring cleaning done, so we continued again this weekend. This time at the darkest depths of the yard, not quite in a barn we found this little lot. It has been rumoured that the Moon has had more visits than this secret stash of Adam’s non Mustang cars. We intend to get the dozen or so cars out and clean them up to see exactly what we have here.
We found the cars during a little earth moving exercise by the main workshop.
As we have been working flat-out during the week and the weekend is the time we can do our own sorting out. So thanks to everybody who gave up their time on Saturday to help out. We also had a very welcome guest Gary who paid us on Saturday as well. The welcome break for a cup of tea saw the collection of goodies that Gary brought along with him rapidly reduced to empty wrappers. We all sat in the Boys Club and listened to more great and funny stories Gary shared with us. This could be the petrol head version of sitting around a came fire?
Earlier in the week we had our very own Hertz Mustang out an about and then it was promptly joined by another customer’s early version. So we just had to capture the moment. Old or New version your favourite?
Customers Cars:
We get a lot of cars in for their annual MOT and this is rare old lady was here for just such a reason. A 1963, 144ci Falcon Sedan Delivery. This Manual car has what is known as “3 on a tree” shift. There are so many features on this car that are carried through to the early Mustangs.
A Mustang Maniac branch in Norway?
Could be! this is Dag who lives in Kristiansand – Norway. Dag is a good friend of Yogi’s who is working on his 1969 beast fitting up his 1050CFM Dominator carb. We are pleased to see that he is wearing his Mustang Maniac shirt. We do have to wonder where and how he got that MM shirt – Any ideas Yogi???? 🙂
Adam will be away from the office all next week. So if you need to order from the WebShop it will still be business as usual.
This week has been very busy again with a much-anticipated delivery of parts from the USA, we were not disappointed with it that’s for sure, but more of that later. We have also continued the clearing up of the yard, a spring clean in the summer. We have also had a more than usual number of cars to look after. Regular visitors will notice the changes to the yard, we have moved some of the long-standing cars, including a rare genuine factory optioned GT that we just haven’t got round to restoring yet, to their new hopefully temporary homes. The cars were all under tents and on the backs of lorries awaiting their fate, or decision. We think the sun and hot weather has made the decisions much easier, either that or Adam got a little sunstroke! Anyway moving on, the space will be used for customer cars delivery and collection, valeting and new larger enclosure for the guard dogs. The skip will be going now as we have two other small skips that we now use. The big result is that we can now even turn our transporter lorries around without any problems at all now, a first for Mustang Maniac.
Customer’s Cars:
We often have cars that have been bought and not much is know about the history of the car. We have a real gem of a rare car and its full history. We now see this car each year for a service and an MOT, we also discuss the next little projects. This really is a fantastic looking car. Thanks to Gary who has kindly given us the following information so we could put it on our blog:
This particular car was built the day before the Mustang launch and was ordered by Ford centrally as dealer launch stock.
Originally when the car was bought it came with very little U.S. history, so after 6 months researching late last year a real stroke came Gary’s way. A visit to a vintage Mustang forum and a random search for ‘Pagoda Green D code convertible’ was made and up popped a trail from 2007 discussing the colour of the James Bond mustang from Goldfinger. One member commented that “it’s not pagoda green as I had one of those with the rare d code engine in the late 90s”. He came from Terre Haute, Indiana – the last known address of my car! The member was contacted and sure enough, he had owned the car. Over the next few months and with his help and many letters sent to the U.S., since then a full history has been traced from new.
Gary is the 9th owner (including 3 dealers). It spent all of its U.S. life in a 40 mike radius of Terre Haute Indiana and its 99k mileage appears to be genuine. The first owner was a banker from Paris Illinois (20 miles from Terre Haute) and really wanted a dark blue car, but as Mustangs were in short supply at launch he had the dealer paint it dark blue. In the late 70s fashions had changed and red convertibles were in vogue so he had it then been painted red. He part-ex’d it in the mid 80s for a mid 50s Thunderbird. A dealer bought it for his son’s 18th birthday, restored it underneath (which is as it is today albeit with a few local repairs). The son kept it for 4 years and sent me photos of it in red with him proudly sat in it. The 3rd owner was a Terre Haute business man who kept it until 1995 and his son also sent me a photo of it. The 4th owner who was Gary’s initial contact) checked the vin and realised it was an important, rare early car. He proceeded to have it bare metalled and painted back to its original rare colour of Pagoda Green – Ford only sold this colour for the first two months of production then changed it to Tropical Turquoise. It is suggested that only 200 Pagoda Green D Code Convertibles with White Trim were produced. He also replaced the worn trim and fitted sports wheels. He then sold the car to his attorney (who kept pestering him to sell it) in 2001. The attorney guy was the last U.S. Title owner in the car file when Gary bought it, he had kept it until 2007 only driving it 800 miles. The car then went to Malta via a trader in the UK, where he kept it until late 2012 when it was imported to the UK. It was correctly registered and Gary bought it from the dealer.
Gary has given us a great idea, we would like to our customer cars on our blog with their history. So if you can give us the details we will put them on our blog with some pictures. Who knows we may be able to establish a pattern of movements?
Chris’ i6:
Work has started on Chris’ coupe in the yard at long last. He was seen with a grin on his face and an 18v Snap On impact wrench. The suspension needed to be removed along with all the other bits, so we have some first day restoration pics. There was some helpful hints on how to remove seized steering joints without damaging the threads!
There was some more pics of the work along with the ceremonial handing over of the Mustang Maniac scraper from Mart to Chris with them shaking hands and having a laugh. As John pointed out the looks on the faces were “I’ve done it – you’re doing it”. But some dip stick had deleted the pics during the transfer to the PC for upload. Yes he has been ridiculed, he will be made to take a bath in used engine oil as punishment. 🙂
Acapulco Coupe:
Mart’s Acapulco Coupe is getting more of the pretty bits and functional parts added to the car. The washer jet pump was not working so needed to be replaced. We are at a point now where have given the car a little something special. For a our full restorations we have a little tag placed on the car. We stuck a certificate if you like, on the car to show it has met with our highest levels of restoration for a rebuild project, Mart’s number is 35. We are proud to put our name to our restoration projects and the work we do.
Stock:
We mentioned earlier in the post that we have had some stock delivered. We have been waiting for these for a while now and ordered a few sets to get us started. These are on now on our WebShop, but the image does not do them justice at all. They are bespoke to Scott Drake Magnum 500 styled wheels which are made from a machined Aluminium Alloy. Available in Gloss Black and a real beautiful satin silver. The wheels had been in stock less than 24 hours and we have sold a set already.
We have been blessed with glorious weather this week and as a result managed yet another tidy up of the yard. This time we had an agenda to get Chris’ i6 from round the back to the front so we can start work on it. Not in the workshop? Nope, we have a car in the panel shop at the moment taking up the space, but we want to give Chris a chance to get on with his car. The first job is to see what is underneath the car which require plenty of scrapping and grinding and filling. If you remember we had Mart’s coupe at a similar stage about eighteen months ago. Now Chris is stepping up to walk that same long path. The dirt and dust will be outside so better for Chris and the workshop. The car has had the axle removed so was sitting on axle stands at the back. The present and unique problem of how to move a car that was rolled in had to be solved? Adam got the forklift out and had an idea. Pick up the back via chains and wheel it round. The second problem was that the car was half on a rotisserie that need to be removed in order to move it. We had some very welcome guests down who kindly gave up their time to help out. Spence and Paul thanks very much for your help. The car was moved to the main yard where it was perched while the areas were made clear.
A space near the fence was cleared for Adam’s resto mod project, and next to it Chris’ i6 was going to get a new home for a while. We will be making an enclosure to keep them dry and away from the elements. The car was again fixed to the forklift and moved near to its new home.
It was turning out to be a complete nightmare to move the car into position on a chain so Adam had a back up plan B. move it via the forks.
The weight of the car was very front heavy so it required a very technical balancing act!
Chris taking a ride in his own car
The car was dropped on the axle stands and the more genuine technical work to bolt it to the rotisserie.
With the car bolted up and balanced we turned the car over and for the first time Chris was able to look at his work for the next few months. There was of course plenty of innuendo around having a bit on the side, let alone having two bits on the side at the same time. Yes we know its corny but we found it funny (again). anyway, the centre bar was bolted in place and a celebration cup of tea was required to go with the melted chocolate cakes, Chris was volunteered for the tea duty honours, well it was his car after all.
Chris did point out that one part of the car wouldn’t be rusty, right where the oil leak was.
Other News:
We had a guest vehicle brought over to us to have a look at, not our immediate field of expertise, but not a bad car on first glance – a Pontiac GTO that was parked up next to 66 convertible.
We have a couple of cars awaiting collection in the main workshop and grabbed a couple of pics of their ghostly presence.
Mini Article:
Firstly a big thank you to Gary W. who is an Ex-Ford employee from a senior position. Gary often brings us in his incredible knowledge, as well as some very unusual items. This week was no different as we were asked what this was: Obviously Ford, we thought employee tag, we were close. Gary informed us this was an employee tool tag. The Tag or Chit or Crib was taken to the store when a specific tool was required, the employee’s Tag was hung in the borrowed tool’s place. Thus denoting who had the tool and where it could be located. Once the tool was returned the tag was given back to the employee. We have a seen a single note that says there were five tags per employee. We haven’t seen this confirmed anywhere else yet. We have been looking for more information on these fantastic little pieces of history and found the following incomplete information so far: The Ford River Rouge Complex (commonly known as the Rouge Complex or just The Rouge) is a Ford Motor Company automobile factory complex located in Dearborn, Michigan, along the Rouge River, upstream from its confluence with the Detroit River at Zug Island. Construction began in 1917, and when it was completed in 1928 it had become the largest integrated factory in the world. From what can gather they started in 1932 they were still using them in 1954. They switched to a plastic photo ID sometime later, we are not exactly sure when though. They used most of the letters from A to Z, but so far only found these references: A – Motor building. B – Motor building, paper. C – Plant, Tank engine, Power plant, Specialty Foundry. N – Stock, Blacksmiths. W – Crankshaft, Dies, Jigs. We would love to know the full list of the codes that were used, if you have any information or correct what we have found to date, then please let us know. We would like to have a little article in it’s own right. Thanks again GW for another little piece of the jigsaw, Gary gave us four tags which were given out to our very lucky guys who would honestly appreciate them.
Update 12/7/2015:
Comment from Gary 17:14
Hi, thanks for mentioning the tags in the blog. The reason I personally think they are very special is that the River Rouge plant complex was the very first motor factory built to handle the complete process of building a vehicle – from making steel and cast iron through to wood processing, casting, pressing and assembly. Henry believed that was the only way to make the cars affordable – and he could control every stage. He also wend the mines producing the ore and the forests growing the timber. So the Rouge was where our beloved car business all started. Up to that point various factories and suppliers worked to build a car. From that point all future car makers would try to emulate the Rouge. If the tags have ‘R’ stamped before the word Rouge they are the very earliest tags…so come from the pockets of Ford workers who were in the business from the very start! History is great eh? Gary
Firstly we would like to wish all our friends on the other side of the pond a Happy 4th of July, we hope you had a great time and are not to full of apple pie! For us we had an unusual weekend as we had four of our cars on display. This was no ordinary car show, this was to help out a lovely local school called Little Munden Primary School. Mustang Maniac was approached to see if we could help out with an annual fete at their school by letting them borrow a car or two for show. Being as it was 4th July and we obviously have lots of American cars how could we refuse? We decided a selection of old and new both Mustang and pick up trucks. Early morning meant two cars delivered and a shuttle car back and forwards.
On our way
We arrived with the first delivery at the school to see them setting up for the fate and lots of smiling faces.
It wasn’t long before Chris picked up a couple of passengers from the school gate to the cars park up area, they looked to be enjoying the short trip.
The next trip was the fast cars, we had the Shelby GT500KR and the always popular UBB (which stands for Ultimate Bad Boy), Mustang packing a monstrous 1000bhp. Of course people say to us, “Got a Mustang, bet you don’t pass many petrol stations!” With these to ladies that not to far from the truth, but we prefer to say “It’s SMILES per gallon, not miles per gallon.” It was mentioned to us that these cars could be heard coming through the country lanes to the school, but they could be right.
It wasn’t too long before the cars got their first visitors of Staff and PTA from the School.
We understand that the school had a great day and we were glad that we could help out.
5th Gear and our UBB:
Both these videos and a lot more are on our YouTube channel:
We often get cars from all over the country delivered to us for various work, this one was a little different though, this 66 Convertible had come all the way over from France specifically to us to complete some work on her. Quite what she needs we have to analyse, but first impressions are it’s not too bad.
Under the hood we got to see something that is not that common, double support braces and an expansion tank for the radiator.
We are looking forward to working on this car just to show Europe just how good we actually are!
When we work on the cars we find all sorts of things, the odd dime here and there, the usual rust, paperwork, bird nests etc. But, we’re glad to say that it’s not very often that we get to see this sight. It’s a little difficult to make out from the picture, but the material all piled up is an old vermin nest! The floor pans on the car are shot to bits and need replacing of course. The seats were removed and their seat bases. When we opened them up we found the nests and a dead vermin, we say vermin as we can’t tell if it’s a mouse or a small rat, the decomposed body didn’t leave a lot to work it out from. Needless to say we safely disposed of the carcass. We suspect the mouse (we will call it a mouse for now,) had got imported into the country with the car. These pics are looking into the car and floor pans, well where the floor pans should be at least. The nest was made from the firewall sound deadening material, obviously the mouse, got in through the rust hole and starting taking the material out to make a nest. Clever creatures, but not very welcome when trying to restore a classic car.
Although this looks a complete nightmare, we have seen worse and it can all be fixed. The weather was a nice and we got a few cars out to be cleaned and Chris came well prepared with his flip-flops – you’re rockin’ that look Chris we must say!
half done
We had a drop in on Saturday with the mean green machine, the timing was out a little and Yogi looked at it straight away, obviously gaining more members to his Fan Club!
Under the hood is a work of art too, when this was put together Yogi hid all the wires from the engine bay as much as possible.
To set the timing up the power has to come from the battery, as the battery is in the trunk Yogi came up with an ingenious solution, a board inside the car! The interior of the car has some ’69 seats in it instead of the standard ones which make it quite unique.
Every so often we see a car that is little temperamental with the electrics, it’s understandable of course as the wiring is now over 50 years old on some of these cars now. The wires become brittle, earth points have lost the conductivity etc. So we can either replace the like for like looms in the cars for those who want a stock look. Or, we get the American AutoWire kits which are becoming more and more popular. The reason is quite simple, the wires replace the original, and add lots of options into the mix as well. Power windows, electric fans, lots of auxiliary wires, fog lights etc. all without having to break into the main loom itself. The old fuse boxes have 6 fuses, some of which are can be difficult to get hold of.
old
new
But the newer ones have the blade fuses with flashers and relays all set up ready to be used. What did this loom go into? This pretty little lady which is just begging for a ride out in this lovely sunshine.
We often get asked is Herbie’s worth the effort going? We always answer of course it is. There is a good turn out and lots of classic and new cars. Even if you don’t have a Mustang it’s a great place to look at them outside of a car show. These were pics were taken today, and yes we are bang up to date with the blog! Thanks to Lance “OCD man” for the pics. The cars:
The ‘Stangers have taken over Herbie’s and the food is great quality and good value for money too.
We thought we would finish with a pick of a couple of cars awaiting collection by their owners, rather a ghostly looking pair.
A slightly sad week to see the Highland Green ’67 fastback go back to the owner after we have got the car to a rolling a shell. The owner wants to complete the restoration themselves, which we can of course understand. Tuesday we loaded her up and shipped her off. Yogi’s hard work is surely to be appreciated when she is unloaded at the other end.
We often have visitors to the yard, this weekend was no exception. Adam’s Grandson Jack, (Yes – Adam is a Grandad) came to help us out in the yard. We had some work to do on an LAR lorry where he was helping out in the cab pressing pedals when asked, the extra pair of hands or feet can really come in handy. Jack was also given the important tasks of putting the new stock arrivals away in their correct places in the store rooms. Adam says that he has been a “great help this weekend”. Jack seen here sporting the Mustang Maniac work clothing. It will only be 6 long years before Jack can learn to drive, but he has already singled out a car that he wants: the Shelby KR no less! We can’t say we blame him with his impeccable taste, but there is a small problem – it’s Adam’s!
Jack’s first car?
growing into it!
Keep dreaming Jack there is a queue for that car or you can just start saving up for your own one 🙂
Thanks for your help this weekend Jack.
Throughout the year there are many car shows sadly we can’t get to them all, but we try to be there in spirit at least. A couple of Weeks ago at Brands Hatch racing circuit there was American Speedfest 3. We had Yogi representing MM there and the other half of the Bully Brothers Spence took his too. There was lots of photo’s being taken but we have picked the more unusual ones rather than just sitting in a field.
Of course we have to have the standard lined up in field shot, there was some promotional girls welcoming the visitors to the circuit.
Crossing of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge in Dartford Kent.
yogi tries a rolling refuel!
Taking pictures of those taking pictures of you.
Special thanks to Chris and Paul “Lob Monster” for letting us use your pics.
Customers Cars:
The Highland Green ’67 car has been featured over the last couple of weeks in order to get her back as promised. But we haven’t forgotten the Acapulco coupe. Glass has started to go in and now looks a little more like a finishing project, hopefully the rear glass will be going in this week too. Jack even got in on the act to help Mart fit the rear quarter windows! Not sure what is next on this little lady but it could be more glass or the interior if it’s back from the trimmers.
This week we have got back to the cars that needed finishing off and the time has just flown by. Yogi was working hard on the glorious Highland Green ’67 Fastback which will be delivered back to the owner on Tuesday if all goes to plan. The car has had some real nice mods fitted to it which will make subtle differences, and they will also make the handling that much better too. Brake lines finished and bleed for a solid pedal, and all joints on the suspension have been greased and tested.
We also fitted a nice upgrade to the cars in the form of a centre hand brake, stainless steel lines to the rear drums are fitted as standard.
centre hand brake
underside fittings
stainless hand brake lines
The steering column is a very nice and not so common tilt option. The handling of the car is important to the owners so as well as the Mote Carlo bar under the hood the rear end has had an adjustable sway bar fitted too. Again not so common but does make a difference.
The wheels are on and we now have a rolling chassis to get to work on putting her back together again.
Our yard also had the pleasure of Yogi’s Mach1 too, a little trip out on the nice days. The car had a few minor tweaks to the carb and needed a road to make sure it was all was OK. The results we have posted on our YouTube channel and also have here for you. Ever wondered what it’s like to run this car at Santa Pod drag strip in a Mustang (which he does)? Watch this and find out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIIW0cX-1Pw
We even managed to grab a few picks under the hood, but don’t tell him! 😉
You can read all about Yogi’s car that featured in Classic American magazine here.
Customers Cars:
We have been working on the Acapulco Blue Coupe to get the lights working and bumper on this weekend. The lights are stock on the outside but has LED’s on the inside. This enables us to run amber indicators and was as the red side and stops lights. Not required on our MOT tests due to the cars age, but it will make it safer regardless.
rear light
LED board
fitted
front lights
The rear bumpers can be a complete pain align correctly, but a few tricks of the trade got this bumper to line up better than a lot of other we have seen. Yes we know the gas cap is wrong we will change it soon.
Feedback:
We have had some pretty good feedback from the Kroon Oil we are now stocking on the WebShop, at £33.60 for 5 litres is also a pretty good deal too, click here for the quick link.
We have got back into the swing of things and we have been completing a lot of service jobs and not too much on the restoration front. We decided this week that we will give you a lesson in Mustang advertising for something different.
We will start with a little quiz – What has a Poodle, 5000 litres of foam and a Mach 1 Mustang got in common?
The answer is: A Sony advert!
The need for the advert:
Back in July 2007 which wasn’t long ago but seems ages in the terms of technology, a new Sony Pan-European marketing campaign was launched to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the company’s HD proposition and to educate consumers about the intricacies of the new High Definition technology. While there was currently high awareness of HD, there was still a significant lack of understanding amongst consumers, with only 59% having heard the term ‘HD Ready’ and 13% knowing about ‘Full HD 1080’. The Sony HD marketing campaign aimed to educate and inform consumers about the benefits of HD which we now take for granted. The campaign consisted of TV / cinema advertising, in-store branding, a targeted online PR campaign, dedicated HD Flash microsite and a ‘Guide to HD’ DVD which tried to provide consumers with an insight into the full range and benefits of HD.
About the advert:
The ‘Experiment’ (as it was called) campaign, produced by Fallon London, consisted of a sixty-second film and a shortened thirty-second film advertisement and three print executions, this was supported in-store with materials developed by WAVV RAPP Collins. The soundtrack was set provided by Iron Maiden’s – Can I Play With Madness. The ad was directed by ‘Pleix’, ‘Experiment’ shows Sony testing its HD products to the limit with a variety of unusual and creative experiments. An Apricot Poodle, classic 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1, custom-built industrial bubble machines, neon half-pipe and 5000 litres of foam all serve to create the craziest spectacle that only the very best HD equipment could capture. The ultimate aim of the ‘Experiment’ was to demonstrate how only Sony could offer High Definition like no other. The advert follows the progress of the test poodle inside the Ford Mustang as it passes through a series of experiments. Handycam camcorders record the entire process, Cyber-shot digital cameras photographed the key moments, BRAVIA televisions played back the live action while engineers analysed proceedings on their VAIO.
The Guardian Newspaper ran a story with Sony and this is what they had to say at the time:
“Sony has created an ad featuring a 1970 Ford Mustang, a poodle and 5,000 litres of foam to showcase for the first time in one film the extensive range of high-definition television products the company offers. The surreal-pan European campaign, set to Iron Maiden’s Can I Play With Madness, aims to educate consumers about Sony’s “lens to living room” vision of an HD future. In the ad various Sony products are shown capturing, or displaying, images of a bizarre scene featuring a poodle sitting in a 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 on a neon-lit half-pipe, while the car is covered in 5,000 litres of foam. Sony’s ad features a wide variety of products including the PlayStation 3, Bravia TV, Blu-ray discs, Vaio computer, Cybershot digital cameras and Handycam recorder. The ad itself, created by Fallon London, the agency behind the “Balls” and “Paint” commercials for the Sony Bravia, is called “Experiment”. David Patton, Sony Electronic’s outgoing senior vice-president of communications for Europe, said the company was dedicated to an HD future and that 70% of its revenues already came from selling HD-ready products. “HD is Sony and Sony is HD,” he said. “We wanted to show how across our range of products there is the ability to edit, record and watch using Sony HD products. Full HD represents the future of film, television and gaming and yet we’re finding that consumers are still unsure when it comes to understanding the relevance of key components such as HD1080 or Blu-ray disc,” said James Kennedy, the general manager for marketing communications for Sony Europe.”
The Advert:
Click the here for the hyperlink to the video on our YouTube Channel.
About the Car:
The car was a genuine 1970 Mach1 Mustang (5769cc engine) imported into the UK. The car was cut in half just for the advert. Little detail is know about the exact origins of the car, we do know that is was supplied by Carolina Classics and was supposedly first registered 27th august 1971. The company wanted to buy the car back after the advert, but apparently didn’t realise it was going to be cut in half. The differences in colour here we suspect are down to exposure and light, but the advert shows the car as orange and not red.
Probable for the first time ever we are going to show you the car as it was genuinely cut in half.
The car interior shows all the details of how it works.
behind the dash
clock cut in half
The engine is held in place by a series of welded supports to stop the engine falling over or out of the car. There is no gearbox in the car, it would have been nice to see that cut in half as well.
hood closed
radiator
inside the rad
inside the engine
The car does indeed have four wheels, the two standard wheels on the left hand side, and two small wheels on the right hand side. The steering is fully functional to move it about.
A lot of people thought that the car was a CGI fake or that it never happened. We can assure you it did – because we own it.
The contents of this post was prompted by moving the car away from the way wall where it has stood for a number of years now. Chris T, came to see us yesterday so we told he that we had a genuine Half Price Mustang Mach1 up for sale. He looked quite excited – until he realised it was literally in half! But, he still eemed to like though.
Half price? Well we are not so sure, we were hoping that somebody could tell us, a car that featured in a famous innovative advert at the time and a true one of a kind.
Employee of the Month:
We have not run this category before, but congratulation to Mark AKA “Ruthless” hard at work. He often tells us that he is busy “knocking his pipe out!”
Late News:
Congratulations to Ken, a friend and customer of Mustang Maniac who was at American Speed Fest today at Brands Hatch. Ken has won the Classic American Best Mustang in show.
Even Later News:
It’s Herbie’s time once again. We have pencilled in 28th June for the usual beer and burgers and all things Mustang. Please feel free to join us. (Thanks to “Lob Monster” for letting us know).
The week after the Enfield Pageant is always a bust week tidying up and putting things away where they should be. Cars being worked on were moved in order to prep the cars for the Pageant, trucks transporting the cars have to be moved around and given back to LAR & SMR again. While we were moving things around we got the call from our friendly top class painter Paul. A car he had been working on was now ready to be delivered back to us. A customer owned 1967 Fastback that needs a full rebuild from bare metal. Paul had etched the car ready for the primer. (Thanks for the pictures Paul.)
The car is painted in the classic and loved Highland Green, and for those that didn’t know, Highland Green is the same colour as Steve McQueen’s Bullitt Mustang.
Multiple layers of primer added to the cars and then blocked back down again. A light coloured coat is applied to check the high and low spots.
The bodywork is masked up and paint is built up before more fine block work. Again the attention to detail is unsurpassed.
The car in various stages
The car was delivered back to us and put on the ramps in the workshop where Yogi got to work on the rebuild pretty much straight away, almost before we managed to grab some pics.
The attention to detail here is that the side detail vents that are fitted have the gaskets missing, allowing water to cause issues on the bodywork and inside. We make sure we fit those gaskets, here the subtle difference is not really noticeable, but such is our attention to detail.
The classic mistake made my so many painters on these cars is the undersill, a concours fail, if you are going that route. From the factory the paint stopped at the underside and a visible black line should be seen. Such is Paul’s level of detail.
The customer is still a little undecided about just how much work we will be doing on the car at the moment. But, we have been told the suspension, steering, brakes and rear axle are to be fitted in order to make this into a rolling chassis.
The rear diff is a very nice special build Truetrac limited slip upgrade.
The steering is getting the Borgeson Power Steering Box upgrade too.
The interior is a work of art too, the roof, floors inner arches all painted, in fact where the carpet and body panels go the paint goes there too.
The last part of the bodywork is the rubber seals in order to complete the final gaps.
The next job on her we shall have to wait and find out in due course, along with the final engine spec too.
We are going to show you some rare pictures not usually seen as the hood is closed so you don’t think of it. If anybody has tried to fit a hood spring to the hinges they will now the power of the springs and that they are not easy to fit. When the hood is up the spring is retracted so little or no pressure, but when the hood is closed an immense leverage is used to open those springs. You just don’t want to mess with these springs!
retracted open hood
stretched and closed
hood down
hood up
Adam is seen checking more paint colours are what the customer required that had come back to the yard taken from another Fastback. The colour is correct so the rubber is going to fitted to the trunk and given back to Paul ready to final gap the car.
WebShop New Product:
Modern day engine oils have come on leaps and bounds without a doubt for modern cars. Yet the old classic still have particular needs. We recommend the 20w – 50 formula. We currently stock two oils we recommend:
However, we are pleased to say that we now have a distribution to agreement to stock Kroon-Oil Classic Multigrade Motor oils. This oil is designed to meet the exacting American specs and has also been developed for the Classic Car owner of the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s. The oil is cheaper than the USA counterparts, but in no way a lesser product. We like this oil and would recommend it.
“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
Story 2: 
Probable for the first time ever we are going to show you the car as it was genuinely cut in half.
