Our new Shelby

We got a new Shelby and it’s not a Ford!

A couple of weeks ago we said watch this space….. Well the wait is over, here it is!

First of all we love our Mustangs and always will do and no we have not gone over to the other “Mopar” side. This is our 1987 Dodge Charger Shelby GLHS. This rarity came up for sale and we decided to get it for a number of reasons. Firstly it has a FULL and I mean full history, in fact the folder is overflowing with the original registration documents, owners manual, receipts, MOTs, and parts purchased from new from that we can see. The second reason speaks for itself, it’s a Shelby after all. This model was only produced in a very limited number of 1000, ours is number 693.  The previous owner has spend some serious time looking up details of this and the other Dodge Shelby numbers, there are quite a few with details and a few missing obviously. It would be nice to complete this but we simply don’t have the man hours to dedicate to it.  This car has a great published provenance and has appeared in a number of magazines articles, we have converted them to PDF articles and added quick links below. You can find the articles attached to the photos under Our Cars – Dodge Charger Shelby. We have added video on you tube to have a look around this car and listen to the engine as it is at the moment.

What does the GLH or GLHS stand for?

(this is true) – GLH stood for “Goes Like Hell” and GLHS stood for Goes Like Hell S’more

Would it surprise you to say that that the great man himself had car number 1?

Our photos before the work starts:

A little background on the Dodge Charger Shelbys:

Based on the Dodge Charger Shelby — Modified and sold as Shelbys 

Limited to 1000

Base price:  $12,995

For 1987, Carroll Shelby purchased the last 1,000 ’87 Shelby Chargers and had them shipped to the Whittier factory for modification.  As with the ’86 GLH-S all the cars came in single stage black without a clear coat.

The ’87 GLHS received the Turbo II with MP EFI air-to-air intercooled SOHC inline-four, cast-iron block and aluminum head. This was mated with the Chrysler close-ratio A-525 transmission.  This combination produced 175 hp at 5300 rpm and 175 lb-ft of torque at 2200-4800 rpm.  Compression ratio was 8.5:1 with bore x stroke of 3.44 x 3.62 inches.  It ran 0-60 in 6.95 seconds, the ¼ mile ET at 14.7 at 94mph, and a top speed of 134 MPH.

As with the ’86 GLH-S, the suspension was upgraded with Koni adjustable struts/shocks, anti-roll bars, and the alignment was altered slightly. The tires remained 205/50VR-15 Goodyear Eagle VR Gatorbacks, mounted on 15×6 inch Shelby “Centurion II” aluminum wheels.  The power-assist Kelsey-Hayes brakes featured 10.2 x .94-inch vented discs with 54mm single pistons in front and 8.0 x 1.28-inch drums in the rear.

Aside from the aforementioned black exterior, Shelby added a wider windshield decal (minus the CS logos), there were some unique name-badge decals, and larger GLHS decal on the c-pillar.  All were equipped identically with grey interior, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob, air conditioning, cassette stereo, sunroof, non-armrest center console and numbered dash plaque.  The 1987 Shelby Charger rear window louvers were no longer available on the 1987 GLH-S.

Quick Links to the individual PDF’s

Dodge Charger Shelbys History by Year

Dodge Shelby Charger

Dodge Shelby – Readers Rides

Dodge Shelby – Motor Trend

Dodge Shelby – Latest Weapon

Dodge Shelby – Hot Rod

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click for the video

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The ’67 “Mastic” Mustang Convertible

Watch this space for our new addition to our garage!

We have a pretty rare car that we will be posting details about soon, we have documentation, sales invoices and a history that will be sorted out and scanned for the PC so that we can put all the documents and pictures with it. There has been articles about it in the magazines, and we are excited to have something a little different. All I can say is that it’s quite rare, numbered and we are going to get her back to full glory, but it is still drivable at the moment. We even have a little video that we will post on our YouTube channel too.

A good-looking ’67 Convertible in a very BAD way

We have been pretty busy with a lot of cars all of a sudden that need various work from crash damage to MOT’s, we just don’t have enough hours in the day to complete it all.  But somehow we always manage to cope. We have recently been asked to look over a car that has recently been shipped over from the States to a customer of ours. The car was purchased in good faith and the initial pictures were promising as you would expect. We had a thorough look over the ’67 it and found some shocking points that just have to be seen to be believed. When buying any Mustang Convertible there are things to look out for, and this example is everything that you need to avoid. Just because it looks pretty it doesn’t mean that its a good car, the floor pans were welded into the rotten rusted metal, the joins were filled with silicon sealant or “Mastic” as it’s called in the UK. The sills have rotted through and I can put my hand inside a number of holes in those sills. The quarter panels have been filled and the chassis is hollow in some places. It looks like the whole body will have to come of and repair the chassis if we can. As a result what we have seen we have called this car the Mastic Mustang.

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Gibbs Brand Product

New product in stock – Gibbs Brand Lubricant

Here at Mustang Maniac we are offered many products to promote or sell, in fact to many to mention, as a result we try quite a few and recommend very few. Just over a week ago we said watch this space. Well, we are very pleased to announce that space has been filled with Gibbs Brand Lubricant. After we have tried it and tested it we can safely say that we all here agree it does exactly as it says on the tin. As a result we are now stocking this amazing product and we thoroughly recommend it for your car, house, boat or just about anything. In case you have not heard of the Gibbs Brand here are some details of the history and some of it’s uses, and it’s not just about cars. The uses are honestly endless read on and see for yourself: Gibbsbrand

What is Gibbs Brand Lubricant?

Gibbs Brand is a revolutionary, patented product with many unique features. It works in all temperatures to clean and eliminate corrosion, to penetrate, waterproof, and to lubricate all metals and mechanical hardware. It’s even safe to use on many other materials including plastics and rubber. It leaves no sticky dirt attracting residue and can even be painted-over! Contains no:- Silicones, Waxes, Acids, Corrosives, Teflon, Graphite, Abrasives, Arsenic, Kerosene, Perfumes, Carcinogens or Synthetics.

History of Gibbs Brand Lubricant

Paul Gibbs, when working as a chemical prototype engineer in the early 1970’s used his vast knowledge in the industry to develop a revolutionary multi-purpose lubricant and metal conditioner for commercial use in the marine, aerospace and motor industries. Because the product he perfected contained none of the chemicals that the competitive market utilized, Paul was able to get the product patented. After intense testing, Gibbs Brand Lubricant became the first patented product of its kind in the world. Over it’s lifetime Gibbs has been used by NASA, Rockwell, UPS, Ford Motor Co., Bell South, Burlington Industries, and many other companies around the world. Gibbs was put to use by Jacques Cousteau on his world famous underwater expeditions. In the 1990’s the weapons industry became Gibbs Brand’s largest market and still is today. Now being used by the military, police departments as well as weapons enthusiasts. Gibbs Brand has become the ultimate cleaning agent for guns. Because of its thin viscosity and rust-inhibiting capability, Gibbs eliminates jamming and keeps moving parts friction free.

Motor Vehicles – Maintenance & Restoration

Can be used as an engine ‘easy-start’ spray – even on two-strokes.

  • Will water-proof ignition leads and electrical systems
  • It will clean corroded electrical contacts & relays
  • Cleans and protects alloy wheels, leaving no sticky residue. See below for more info
  • Will not only clean metals such as aluminium and stainless steel, it will also help prevent further marking when handled.
  • Lubricates telescopic aerials without attracting more dirt.
  • Restores plastic trim.
  • Rejuvenates weathered and faded fibre-glass
  • Spraying the underside of a car will protect it, particularly from road salt in winter.
  • Frees-off sticky Ignition and door locks
  • Eliminates squeaky hinges
  • Lubricates throttle cables and linkages
  • Engine cleaning and detailing
  • Tar and glue removal
  • Protects Magnesium components such as wheels and gearboxes from corrosion – Porsche owners are using Gibbs Brand to protect the many precious Magnesium components on their cars.

Wheels

All types of road wheel can benefit from treatment with Gibbs Brand. BARE ALLOY  Wheels including Magnesium (which is very prone to corrosion) can be protected by regular treatment with Gibbs Brand. Leaving them with a long-lasting natural sheen.

POWDERCOATED / LAQUERED ALLOY wheels can suffer badly when the coating is chipped or scratched. Treatment with Gibbs will prevent water from penetrating under the coating and prevent unsightly blistering. CHROME / PLATED wheels suffer badly in our climate. Gibbs will provide an invisible layer of protection even in the harshest conditions. Because of its non-sticky nature, wheels treated with  Gibbs Brand will stay cleaner for longer. Brake dust and road dirt will be easier to remove. It also leaves a natural, invisible sheen. It won’t quickly wash off and its effects are long-lasting. Use it on tyre walls as well, for a natural finish.

Gibbs Brand Sponsored Shelby Mustang Photo-shoot 

magazine shoot 011 zzz The Gibbs Brand sponsored Shelby Mustang was out today dodging showers in Dunmow Essex for a photo-shoot arranged by Classic American car magazine for an up-coming feature all about the historic FIA race car.

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STUF 186 STUF 175

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Industrial & Commercial Applications

Stainless Steel With more and more use of stainless steel for wall cladding and hand rails etc in the work place and recreational areas such as shopping centres, finger-marking and smearing is becoming a great problem. There is a solution – Gibbs Brand will not only clean surfaces but make them much more resistant to further marking.

Gibbs Brand Is truly multi-purpose due to the unique way Gibbs Brand works, means that it has a huge amount of applications in industry, many of which compliment each other: Lubricant / Corrosion Inhibitor Gibbs Brand’s ability to lubricate without leaving a sticky, dirt attracting residue is particularly useful in polluted and dusty environments. Machinery that is prone to clogging and jamming will run for longer when lubricated with Gibbs. Bare metal cutting tools will stay cleaner and remain corrosion-free. Corrosion Inhibitor / Surface Cleaner When treated, bare-metal stock such as sheet steel and castings can be preserved from corrosion and handled without leaving corrosive finger-marks. Finished metal articles of all sizes can be cleaned, leaving a natural finish that is resistant to staining when handled. Gibbs will not interfere with any subsequent painting processes. Gibbs Brand’s cleaning abilities means that is extremely useful as a ‘prep-fluid’ for soldering and welding Penetrant / Lubricant Gibbs Brand is an extremely fast-acting penetrant;- speeding-up the stripping and overhauling of machinery and equipment, particularly when dealing with heavily corroded or seized components. Water-Proofer / Water Dispersant / Cleaner Not only is Gibbs Brand a water-proofer it is also a water-dispersant and contact cleaner, meaning that only one product is needed to deal with items such as external junction boxes used in the electrical and telecommunications industry. Gibbs Brand works in all temperatures, will not gel or leave a sticky dirt attracting residue, plus you can even paint over it!

Hand Tools and Power Tools

Note: Never use while electrical appliances are plugged in or live when spraying Use GIBBS BRAND to drive out moisture from wet power tools. Lubricates bearings and cleans electric motor brushes. It will not leave a sticky, dirt-attracting residue, or jell in cold weather. All types of hand tools will benefit from GIBBS BRAND’S ability to clean and lubricate without leaving a sticky, dirt-attracting residue. A wipe over with Gibbs will loosen any surface rust and will leave a thin film that will prevent rust in the future.

Around the House

Use Gibbs Brand to:-

  • Clean UPVC window frames and doors to maintain their colour and make them resistant to weathering. It will also lubricate and protect their locks and hinges – particularly useful in the salt-laden air of coastal areas.
  • Free-off and give clean, long-lasting lubrication to door locks, pad-locks and hinges.
  • Un-sieze even the most stubborn nuts and bolts and fasteners of all types.
  • Make curtains run smoothly by cleaning and lubricating rails and poles
  • Buff and rejuvenate tired and stained fibre-glass baths.
  • Clean chrome and stainless taps and fittings.
  • Remove finger-marks from stainless steel and aluminium appliances and splash-backs in the kitchen and around the house. It will leave a natural sheen that will be resistant to further marking.
  • Clean, buff  and protect tiled and ceramic floors.
  • Remove tar and glue residue.

In the Garden & Garage

         Use Gibbs Brand to:-

  • Free seized padlocks and keep them lubricated and opening smoothly
  • Make garage door mechanisms run more free.
  • Protect and lubricate all hand and power tools, particularly bare metal items such as drill-bits and saw blades.
  • Start stubborn petrol lawn-mowers / strimmers etc by using Gibbs as an ‘easy-start’ fluid – even safe on 2-strokes.
  • Clean and protect barbeques etc particularly during over-winter storeage.
  • Protect and water-proof outside light switches junction boxes and wiring.
  • Eliminate squeaky hinges and sticky locks of all types

Power Boats, Sailing Boats and Fishing Boats

Gibbs Brand will not wash off in fresh or salt water making it the ideal lubricant for boats, trailers and dockside equipment. Cleans and revitalizes the surfaces of fibreglass and marine metals, including aluminium, stainless, chrome, bronze, brass, and copper. Water-proofs electrics on inboard and winterizes outboard motors. Can be used as an ‘easy-start’ spray, even on 2 strokes. Provides a good running lubricant on winder ratchets, anchor chain reels, steering cables and all hinges etc.

Contact us for more details on costs and shipping, this amazing product is not as dear as you think.

Sourced from : http://www.gibbsbrand.info/ & http://www.gibbsbrand.info/blog/
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A ride in the Indy 500 Pace Car

American Speedfest from a different perspective – Brands Hatch 2013

As promised I have uploaded the video clip on our YouTube Channel that was taken inside our Indy 500 Pace Car. The video is only a short clip but it gives you a very different view being part of that parade lap heading down to Graham Hill Bend. I’m happy to be able to share it with you and hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Click on the channel link for all our videos so far or click here for the quick link.

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Speedfest Update

Brands Hatch Speedfest 8 – 9 June 2013

What can I say apart from it was cold! To make up for it, the atmosphere was incredible and friendly, that certainly took the edge off the chilly weather all weekend. There was the three Mustang clubs there; Mustang Owners Club of GB, Mustang Drivers Club UK & Damn Yankees. There was around 200 Mustangs that I could see and had a rough guestimate at. It made me think just how many of these cars are in this country in one place. Just how many more Mustangs are out there that didn’t turn up? I would love to see the statistics on those facts. If anybody knows the answer please let us know. The Mustang clubs were spaced out a little, but it was well worth the effort to get around and speak to a few old friends and make a couple of new ones.

I took the 1964 Indy Pace Car with me nothing else would seem to fit the bill. I have taken it out twice in one year so far, unheard off!

I would like to thank James Caesley and ALL his crew at Brands Hatch for organising such a great event that looked and proved to be very popular and already talk of a repeat next year. No excuse not to turn up next time, book the weekend free ready. I was there on my own so didn’t get much chance to take too many photos but I managed to take a few going around in the Pace Car. I had a number of people asking me if it was a genuine vehicle, which of course it is. I will also upload a very short video to our YouTube channel when I get a bit of time of going round the legendary circuit. I will let you know once it has been uploaded.

I was excited and very aware of the class of cars on display, it was on everybody’s mind to give plenty of room and be respectful. It was a real thrill to be able to drive the Pace Car on a race track, it felt alive and so did I, to be part of such an amazing event with other classic cars was a big thrill. There were police cars going round the track with their sirens on the engines were roaring and I was among them. Awesome.

There was so many thing there to do at the event, there was go karting for the kids, there was some “Hollywood Cars”, which included the usual suspects such as the Ford Torino like in the Starsky & Hutch series, Dodge Chargers from Bullet, The General Lee mock ups. In fact too many great looking cars to list in one go. If anybody has a photo I could use, let me know and I could it on the blog for you.

The NASCAR racing was close and spectacular to watch and as promised, a thrill a minute. We need more of this type of racing in the UK.

On another note we are looking to be involved with another exciting product soon, this will be after we fully test and trial it first to make sure it lives up to our high standards.

Watch this space!

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SpeedFest weekend

8th & 9th of June 2013 at Brands Hatch is the American SpeedFest

Details from the Brands Hatch Website: http://www.brandshatch.co.uk/calendar/2013/june/american-speedfest.aspx

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Brands Hatch will adopt the Stars and Stripes next weekend on Sunday 9 June for a NASCAR-fuelled festival of motorsport – the inaugural American SpeedFest – in partnership with Chevrolet.
The venue will be transformed into a scene from Daytona with American-derived motorsport and an array of US themed entertainment.
On track action will be headlined by the Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series. Led into each race by the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car, these V8 monsters will provide thrill a minute bumper-to-bumper racing akin to the spectacle of the world-famous Sprint Cup.   Continuing the supercharged American theme on track will be Pickup Trucks, the Legends Cars Cup from France and the iconic Mustangs, Falcons and Corvettes from Bernie’s Historic V8 Racing Association.

Race fans will witness America’s most famous motorsport first hand with demonstration runs by actual cars from NASCAR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. A 2009 Jeff Gordon-liveried Sprint Cup car and an ex-Kasey Kahne Nationwide machine will provide a tyre smoking, engine roaring spectacle.  Fans will get closer to the action than ever before with free pit walks, grid walks and access to ‘Victory Lane’. Monster Trucks meanwhile will demonstrate their awesome power and even offer passenger rides for SpeedFest fans.

There will also be more than 600 American vehicles on show, a Chevrolet display, barbecue competition, Hotdog eating contest, live music and much more! The world-famous Red Devils parachute display team will also drop.

For more information visit the dedicated website www.speedfest.co.uk.   

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The reason we mention this American Speedfest is that our 1964 Indy 500 Pace car will be there. I am not sure who will be there from us guys here at Mustang Maniac but the car will be there, failing any untoward circumstances that is. Book your tickets from Brands Hatch via the link above.

Also the Mustang Owners Club of GB will be there for their annual show. Check their website for full details

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YouTube Update

LED Lights

After the long weekend we have got round to updating our YouTube Channel. We have now added the LED rear lights and the front side light bulb demo. We have various designs for the different years of Mustang.  Please contact us for more details and prices. We will be posting more videos soon.

Our YouTube Channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/mustangmaniacuk or click on the YouTube logo on the side menu.

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Busy Pageant Weekend

Enfield 25th – 27th May 2013

Firstly we would like to say a big thank all the people who stopped by and came to see us. It has been a very busy time for us and we are suffering a little with losing our voices from speaking to so many people. Our hospitality truck seemed to one of the biggest vehicles there and got as many looks as did our cars. We did get the sausage sandwiches in for a few of our regulars, we gained a few more converts. We have taken a number of pictures which we have updated the current pages for the cars, such as the T5, the Indy 500 Pace Car and our genuine ’66 fastback etc. Have a look at our updated pages. We also decided to get out our ’65 Convertible project car that was on a mobile jig. The trailer came in handy for transport and drew many people. We lost count of the number of people who asked how much it was, and how much it would be.

At he show we had some of our own cars; the Indy 500 Pace car, ’66 Factory GT Fastback, T5, ’67 Coupe in red. We also had some customer cars there as well, ’67 GT 390 Manual Fastback dark blue, ’67 GT Fastback dark green (thanks to Martin for bringing it along and supporting us), custom spec ’67 light blue Fastback.

We have taken some unusual shots of the cars this year. Tell us what you think or leave a comment.

Our RV Hospitality Truck

Our ’64 Indy 500 Pace Car

Of 189 that were allegedly made of which ten are known to still exist. There are five that have been restored and this as far as we are aware, is the only one in Europe.

Our Original ’66 “Factory” GT Fastback

Customer ’67 GT 390 Manual Fastback

Customer ’67 Fast back

Our T5

Our cars on show from the top of the Hospitality truck

Our ’65 Convertible Project

Some other pictures of our stand

We think the weekend has gone well, we could have sold these cars many times over. There are many new converts to the classic American Muscle car and we feel proud to be part of that scene and keep the legendary cars on the road. There are very few cars that have the presence of a Mustang Classic on the road, the experience to drive, hear and own these cars is a unique experience.  We still believe there is growing number of followers for these increasingly rare cars and this weekend has certainly confirmed that to us. We intend on being around to look after these cars for a long time to come.

Feel free to contact us on our new “Contact Us” page for any information on sales, parts, service or recovery.

Thanks again for the support over the weekend to everybody who took time out to come and see us.

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What’s in a name?

mustangmaniac.org

Things are moving along with the new web page but it’s not quite ready yet. In the mean time we have some good feedback from the new blog, Twitter and Facebook. It has been commented on that we didn’t a full domain name. So we are now proud to say that our blog is now known as “mustangmaniac.org“. Why the change of mind? We wanted to see how things progressed with the blog first. We have had nearly five hundred  hits in just a couple of weeks. Social networking does really seem the way forward.

The name change also makes it easier to tell people about us and rolls of the tongue much nicer as well. Don’t worry if you type in “mustangmaniac.wordpress.com”, it will still come through to us due to the clever stuff behind the scenes does all that for us. Enough techy stuff.

Enfield Pageant (click here for details) is on for 3 days tomorrow 25th – 27th May starting at 9am. We will be there come rain or shine. We have checked the weather obviously as we need to work out what cars to display. The weather is looking good with no rain forecast, but it will be cloudy Saturday & Sunday with Sun on Monday. Sun on a bank holiday Monday? They must have got that wrong!! We hope to see you at the Pageant so pop over to see us. Tell us what you think of the blog, what we can add, what you like or what you dont. Hope to see you there.

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Well – mustangmaniac.org actually!!

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The Pits

New building work

We are expanding at a fast rate. As a result we have run out of space it’s as simple as that. Not for the storage of the cars, we have lots of space for that, but  for the storage of the cars. We have needed another workshop for our cars for a while now and we decided that time is indeed now.  As a result we are building a new pit and clearing the land for a our showpiece workshop.

Start of our new workshop pit

Start of our new workshop pit

We have had to create space for a large temporary storage area until our workshop and show area is complete.

We are having to double up on our space for the customers cars. These cars deserve their own space, we need to work around them.

High heaven

High heaven

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