Well I had trouble in paradise recently. The car was with the body guys who were going to straighten the rear chassis rail and fit the kit up for me. Great, things are moving, until i received this from John (my builder).

OK, where do I start???? Things have gone South, read on I have had an interesting week.
I got home on Thursday from work, there was a message waiting for me from the guys who HAD the old girl to talk to them urgently. So I contacted them Thursday night and was told I had to come and look at the car as they had found problems. They would not tell me over the phone what was going on.

Now, just to give you a quick in-site to the plan, these guys were recommended and they also told me that they had a lot of experience in fiber glass and body kits. This is why I decided to let these guys do the work. Anyway, when I got there on Thursday night the kit had been fitted to the car and taped in place using “Duct tape”. This was just to see how the kit looked and how it fitted. These kits needed a lot of work to fit them, they just don’t fit straight on the car. Anyone with any knowledge of Fiber glass will know this, and also know what to do. These guys had “no idea” at all what to do – short story they told me Bull Shit about what they could do. These guys were trying to tell me that it was going to $AUD50,000 plus to do the work. And they also told me that the car was twisted and bent. We knew that the rear RH chassis rail needed to be pulled back into shape but the rest of the car is perfect.

These guys were trying to tell me that the car was stuffed because of the twist in the body and that it was going to cost thousands and thousands to fix that as well. And to top it all off – the guy who was in charge told me that the car was not worth anything because the body was twisted and he offered to buy the car and everything else for $AUD5000. It was at this point that I started to get a little angry and I was going to hurt someone.

So we turned up on Friday to collect the car and kit, etc and also told the guys that we were taking the car back, and if they tried to stop us we would be back with the Police.

Anyway, the old girl is back in my Shed this weekend and I am in talks with an old school panel beater who has retired now, but he will be coming out of retirement to work on the old girl. He has built quite a few Show cars and some of my good friend in the car club know him very well and he comes recommended.

I am not happy with these other guys – they told me that they had fixed the chassis rail at the rear and were well into fitting the kit, but again it was all BS.

So needless to say my heart skipped a few beats on this one, but all came together in the end. Last week the car was with the new guy and things are progressing well and i should have pictures this weekend, i promise!

So i finally took the big step and purchased a complete RHD HID projector kit for HIDplanet. In the lead up to purchasing the kit i made sure i researched the whole thing thoroughly and lucky i did as i almost purchased the wrong kit which would have been a disaster.

It turns out that the projector headlights themselves are RHD/LHD specific. It’s something i never really thought about, and HIDplanet being an American site all bar one of their kits where LHD. So i was almost about to purchase the LHD Bi-Xenon Audi A6/RS6 kit until i dug deep and discovered i needed the RHD Single Xenon Bosch kit.

The kit arrived on Friday and here are some early pictures.

So here’s what the kit includes:

Complete Bosch Xenon D2S HID Projector Package:

If you are looking for a complete package solution for your HID needs, please consider our Bosch/Hella/Philips package. This option gives you a cost effective parts kit to replace critical H.I.D. parts that may have been damaged.

The package includes:

# (2) Bosch Projectors
# (2) Hella/Philips LVQ-212 G3 Ballasts
# (2) D2S HID Bulbs
# (2) Ballast Covers/mounts
# (2) Ballast connectors

And check out the cutoff.

I’ll be setting this up in the 7″ housing with a clear glass front and instead of the silver reflective inside it will be a matte black around the projector. I’ll keep you all updated with pictures as things progress.

Well this is not the most exciting update but it is an update never the less. My 1967 – 1968 Shelby light tension hood hinge springs arrived this week. The light tension springs are needed due to the lighter weight of the fiberglass hood over the factory metal one. Just another piece of the puzzle.

So I still have a lot of shopping to do with RRS, the biggest of all is the 3-link rear suspension kit. Here is a run down of the benefits of the setup.

The RRS 3-link is designed to transform the handling of an early Ford chassis to match or exceed the demands of new millennium performance production Fords.

This is accomplished by focusing on the following four criteria:

1. rear geometry and roll centre
2. suspension reaction time
3. torque transference (chassis stress management)
4. ease of installation and tuning (bolt in ride height and shock tuning.

A closer look shows the incorporation of the rear disc brakes kit which I’ll also be picking up. This rear kit uses molycarbide rotors which offer 25% improved stopping distance.

Besides the paint, this purchase will most probably be the most expensive single purchase remaining in the whole project. I’m not to sure when I can set some cash aside for it either, so it may be a good few months.

It seems a lot of people are interested in the new licensed replacement Dynacorn body shells I reported on earlier.
Well Dynacorn have now come out with some details, and it seems the rumors were almost spot on.

– MSRP is $15,500 for Part # MS67FB with doors and deck lid.
– Plus a Crating and Handling Charge of $495.00. All Bodies are shipped FOB Leetsdale, Pennsylvania or Oxnard, California freight prepaid, or you could make your own freight arrangements

Ok well i know you all may think RRS are paying me or I’m some crazy RRS fan or something like that, but i assure you that is not the case. I just find there is a lack of information on Mustang parts and news from this side of the planet.

Anyway back to business, as i mentioned last week RRS are coming out with a Shock Tower Brace and it’s confirmed that for Australia it will be available in four weeks at $AUD395 incl GST. plus delivery.

But there also is the exciting news that there will be another product ready for sale in four weeks time, the under-dash Pedal Booster/Master Cylinder which is slated for a $AUD1,500 retail plus GST and delivery.

I think this will further damage my bank account. I still have the rear brake package and rear suspension to buy.

Again both these products haven’t been advertised or featured on their site, but have been confirmed. You heard it here first.

Unfortunately for most 1967 or 1968 owners their car is not a GT. and therefore is not fitted with the factory GT tachometer. Those who have tried hunting one down will also know that a genuine one will cost you big dollars and even more if repairs are needed.

Fortunately one Aussie guy has come up with an alternate solution. Mike Brand is now producing and selling his Retrogauge™ Mini-Tach’s all over the world. I actually bought my original 1967 deluxe hard seat backs of Mike and i have nothing but praise for his operation.

Here’s some background information:

In my professional life I have a company which specialises in the import, design and manufacturing of automotive and marine gauges. Having worked in the instrumentation field for most of my life I figured it shouldn’t be too hard to modify or build a tachometer to suit my purpose. As most ’67 and ’68 Mustang owners would know, there is a location in the instrument cluster for a factory clock. The clock was an option and not that common, so the majority of the vehicles out there have nothing more than a plastic blank filling the space. Because this is centrally located, I figured it was a great spot to put the tach. The problem was I didn’t want to cut my cluster and of course I was after an authentic look.

I set about building my tach using existing tooling that we had available, which after some modification turned out to be ideal. The tach is manufactured using components from various countries but the final assembly and calibration is done under my own roof in Australia .

Mike’s novel and ingenious idea has seen him feature in Mustang Monthly so it seems to be turning a few heads. It certainly is something i would consider if i wasn’t going with the Autometer gauges but none the less it’s going to prove a great way for those who can’t find nor afford an original GT tach to have that bit of GT flare in their ride.

Basically here’s what it’s all about:

A custom designed solution for any ’67 or ’68 Mustang owner who has ever wanted a tachometer for their car but doesn’t want to pay an exorbitant price for a genuine GT cluster. The RetroGauge™ Mini-Tach is an ideal solution for the following good reasons:

* No cutting or modifying any part of the dash or cluster whatsoever;
* Simply replaces the plastic blank (crosshairs) or clock in the instrument cluster;
* Illuminated by the existing dash lights so no extra lighting is needed;
* Only two new wires required – one for the feed and one for the signal;
* Characters and dial emulate the existing instruments for an authentic look;
* Available in both 6000 and 8000 RPM versions (V8 only at this time);

BEFORE

AFTER

You can visit Mike here http://www.retrogauge.com/and stay tuned for a look at my original deluxe hard seat backs i bought from Mike.

There’s some exciting news this week out of the RRS stable here in Australia with word getting out they are about to add a Tower Brace and Monte Carlo bar package.

As this is a new product details are a little limited although early reports from RRS indicate that the brace will be available in about four weeks and will be priced at around $AUD400 and luckily enough I’ve gotten my hands on image of the brace.

This is great news particularly for Australian enthusiasts who previously had to look overseas for a similar brace. Personally I was leaning towards the Total Control Products (TCP) tower brace seen here.

But now with the prospect of such a quality item here in Aus it makes my decision easy.

RRS already provides advanced suspension, brake and steering conversion kits along with many other products to suit ’60 – ’87 unit body Fords and this looking like another quality product to add to their inventory.

Here’s a good visual breakdown of the products RRS already provides.

More info on the brace next week.

I’ve revisted this idea again which i spoke about in part one. I’m still 100% going to go with the projector headlights and have decided on the Bi-Xenon Audi RS6/A6 projectors and ballasts from HID Planet

Here’s what you get in the kit:

RS6/A6 Bi-Xenon ECE Complete System:

Complete RS6/A6 HID System comes with projectors, bulbs, ballasts, and ballast housings.

This Complete System comes with the parts needed for a full retrofit or replacement. The system comes with the following:

# RS6/A6 Bi-Xenon Projectors
# Hella Generation-3 12V Ballasts (pair)
# Philips D2S 4100K Bulbs (pair)
# Ballast Housings (pair)
# Ballast Power Leads/Pigtails

They look great I think and although there is a little bit of work in the modification, installation and not to mention wiring for the Bi-Xenon solenoid I think it’s well worth it in the end.

Now that I’ve decided on the lighting system, I have to choose the actually headlights that will be cut out and used as the housing for the projectors. What I’ve come across is the European style ‘Angel Eyes’ headlights like the Volkswagen and BMW’s use.

So basically imagine the second image with the projectors, coupled with the above image using the Angel Eye light housings. I think that will look great! although I do imagine A LOT of work on the wiring and electrics.

I think my next update on this will be when I buy the various parts. Stay tuned.

Photos courtesy of Aleks and Fastbackfreak.

Early last year the Australian magazine Unique Cars ran a story with a new company called Eleanor Mustangs Australia. The story, below, got me a little worked up due to the fact the makers of this clone were claiming so much, yet the car in their story was obviously far from a clone. and they were offering them for an absolutely absurd price. For that money you could buy one from Unique Performance and it would be an official Shelby continuation vehicle included in the registry.

I ended up sending in a reply which i was told got published, unfortunately i don’t have a copy of what i wrote. but here are some comments from members of the Justmustangs forum.

eleanor mustangs actually “featured” (ie. 2 page advertisement disguised as a report) in Unique Cars a few months back.

they are definitely pricey – from memory about $140,000 —- EVEN MORE if they had to source a fastback for you!!! Shocked

and there wasn’t a very specific list of what you got for that kind of money.

ps. Unique Cars sorta redeemed themselves the following month by publishing a letter from someone saying just how poorly they compared to Unique Performance cars in the US price wise.

It’s worth noting that late last year the companies site, which wasn’t really updated or informative, was taken down and it appears that the company has gone under or folded. A few of us emailed and tried calling them when they were a float but not one of a us got a reply.

While i do love and encourage more quality builders keeping these classics alive and reviving some from the wreckers, I’m not too fond of those in it to make a quick buck. Much like what is happening in the states right now with the MPSS Eleanors and the people who lost all their money.