66 Mustang coupe

[Dick Longbridge]

4 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Wel... due to a change in circumstances this is very sadly going to have to go. I expected to sell it but not for another good 12-18 months but life.. 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

 

Not sure It's a suitable car to sell on here as while it looks and plays the part it's a bit... spendy really.

To be fair the brakes before the upgrade didn't lack power but the sudden onset of the peadle sinking while holding the car in traffic was quite puckering. Going dual circuit for almost the same money was a no brainer.

Sad times. Honestly, I think this is my favourite car on here. At least you've done a cracking job of giving bringing it up to a decent standard since taking it on.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Ta muchly

 

 

It's one of those things, I'm reluctant to sell it as its likely only going to be  6 weeks to maybe 3 months of fun*  and everything should be fine.. in theory.  Alas the council tax and gas and leccy bill's need paying and  astonishingly wont take promises as payment!  I've agonized over which one to sell, the Rover has sentimental attachment as my son chose it (I know, I know) and like the Jag would probbaly take longer to shift.

I've loved every minute  of it, ok no not the welding in the hottest weather for a few dacades but in general it's been a joy. There are a few odd jobs for me to do which I'll probbaly document them in the next week . Possibly my  circumstance  may change as really its survived so long without being fucked around with, motor swapped and big alloys shoved on and customized like most on sale.

[danthecapriman]

Maybe you could rob a bank or something!?😆

Seriously though, sad times having to sell things like this. It’s a great car and one that’d be very difficult to replace. 

[SiC]

'stangs are such fantastic beasts especially the earlier ones. 

I intend to buy one eventually. Even possibly importing one directly from the states. Probably involves selling all my cars just to buy one though. 

What do you reckon you'll put yours up for? 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

44 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Maybe you could rob a bank or something!?😆

Seriously though, sad times having to sell things like this. It’s a great car and one that’d be very difficult to replace. 

I couldn't rob a bank,  good guys drive Mustangs, baddies drive chargers ... maybe one day.😁

 Times are tough for everyone, I'm by no means in the worst situation  going. Stuff was supposed to happen and what ot, it hasn't  and has been delayed -  cake tomorrow isn't bread today. Knowing my luck I'll sell this in thr next  month and  a week later it'll all be golden, probbaly.*

29 minutes ago, SiC said:

'stangs are such fantastic beasts especially the earlier ones. 

I intend to buy one eventually. Even possibly importing one directly from the states. Probably involves selling all my cars just to buy one though. 

What do you reckon you'll put yours up for? 

 

The early ones are in my eyes the best and prettiest  looking ones,   tho tbh bar the gopping mustang 2 none are  bad  to look at.

States prices are good, beware of cowboy importers. I do or did have a dream if going out there in a year or two and buying a car while there (on hold.. wub wub) but the savings are massive. And if it's a mustang you can get parts here faster than  a modern, barring body panels because "world" atm.

Price wise it would be mid to high(ish.. maybe ) teens.   I had a ream typed up but TL/DR a v8 car you could drive immediately is18-20k ish 

[Bren]

Sad.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

So today's plan was to do what I didn't do in a huff of moaning yesterday.

Alas at the crack of 10 am I threw back the curtains and it was beautifully  sunny and warm.  Ha.. make the best of it so a change of plan and throw it back together and take it for a spin and get  a few photos  for evilbay.  Thr pics look good as my son did them 😜

On 2/18/2023 at 2:39 AM, Bren said:

Sad.

 Aye 

 

 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

[Matty]

Looks perfect. Too many shiny tarts about. Hope things fall right for you and the sale doesn't happen.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

It is just right.   There are way to many shiny ones out there,  I saw one at a show -a 65 I was scared to get closer then t feet, red witha black interior really nice , and  had 2 or 3 peopel show me pictures of their  mates  ... super shiny one. Or it's in the process of being made shiny..... i  like driving it 

[SiC]

I Spotted your eBay advert. You just about come up local on my "local classic car" search criteria 🤣🫣

[Low Horatio gearbox]

I resisted temptation to  use all the clichès going 🤷‍♂️

Some similarly priced ones are shiny, tho reading g thr full blurb  they need a headliner, dash and carpet like mine but shineeeeey paint. Or that and they are jot actually UK registered.. I did LOL as somone offered a quid for it. Very shrewd negotiator 

[wuvvum]

Love that!  I'm assuming you don't take payment in kidneys?

[Low Horatio gearbox]

I'd need to make change,a good kidney is worth way more!

[Low Horatio gearbox]

So  stuff has happend (not as much as I'd like but heigh ho... ) so this is not  actively for sale, hopefully till I've finished my feindish plans etc etc..

The TL/DR: tided  some wiring, some new tyres and mad it run better.. maybe

 

Last week I tidied the  witing to the  rear lights up.  No before pic,  but we've all seen loose dangling wiring IRL.  Some cheap cloth wrap from Amazon and  th results are  excellent considering the cost and my skill level.

Also to the tyres.  Remember last year when I cured the clonk from the  drivers side track rod hitting  the PS ram... yeah well I forgot to check the tyres and had some nasty outside shoulder wear. I caught it but not before the wear had robbed my and my stupidity of a lot of miles.  Black circles had some modern sized equivalents to the Michelins and  at £75 fitted so substantially  cheaper than the premium ones . Tbh I have been unimpressed witht them as they were not cheap and ignoring my own fault for the wear they have not been particularly grippy, or outstanding  elsewhere  so I'm jot crying. The Nankangs seem just as quiet/loud trippy and comfortable as the MVX's.  A small bonus they dont have the "protection"   ring on the outside ot the Michelins  which look stupid.

 

Today I had another faff with the carbs again in an effort to ease the hard starting - damn you autochoke, and also improve running in general. previously I'd adjusted the throttle linkage and damper and got the idle down from high, as ther is no tacho I guess 1200ish down to 1000 or so.    I took the air cleaner off and had a good stare and gave all the linkages and moving parts a shove, prod and investigation. Nothing seemed amiss but I'd been spaying attention to PhillA , Vice grip garage and Junkyard digs a lot lately so I felt confident I knew wtf did what, or at least should do.    Starting  and running  the engine up  ran round to the front and wat had what was happening,  this took  2 or 3 goes between it dying if its own accord or my prodding.    I could see the auto choke kind of working.... jt kept opening and closing slowly every 15 or so seconds so a lead it may be ish working. I  wanted to take it off as one whole unit but  a long mounting screw was fouling, or seemed to I wasnt eager to pull a working car apart yet.   

But... my investigation also showed I'd need to take the vaccum tube on thr backnof it off too... which was sort of moot as the steel hard line that went to the real LH bank cylinder 5 was.. well just floating next to it's intended port.  Skip back  18 odd months when it had been delivered it was loose and had been jammed in hard but, obviously not hard enough.  To be fair its hidden down low and ind the dark depths , if you were jot specifically looking at it it was resting close enough to look like it was seated.  I pushed it back in... and yeah it didnt really want to fit that well or snugly, the pipe being a smidge to big it seemed & would only seat about 1 mm. Enough to go in but not stay there for long .

I took it off and dressed it with a file - insert the vices are fucking amusing praise here - till it was a good push fit and went in more than 2mm.  I smeared it in blue hylomar and  pushed it in and made sure it was going nowhere, at least for now, so it should work/draw vaccum of some sort I guess.   

I reset the  idle mix screws by bottom g them out and then backing them out 2 and a half turns and slacked off the throttle linkage adjuster  a little too.    The result, well as it was already half warm starting was first time and as quick as it ever was when it's already warm so I'll have to wait  for a proper cold start  another day.     A test drive and  it felt better, I'm not sure if it's just wishful thinking but it  idles much nicer and the low and midrange just seems  better so I will take it!   I should clean if not rebuild the carbs  and had I known how long the faff if a new carb would take..  I would have 🤔😒   But in the last 1400 miles it hasn't used any appreciable amount of oil, doesn't smoke and is the only car in the fleet not to have had a FTP and ironically I havent scraped the paint on it parking it in the garage either unlike the other 2 shitters 🤣

Half term is over now so I can try and do all the stuff on it that  I lied to myself I'd  definitely , really honestly do last week and didn't.  And also pretend I  know wtf I am doing with the carb again.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

This got a run Thursday all the way  Abergavenny  to collect a prescription  for the GFs elderly and quite poorly cat.   40 odd  miles with little issue tho thr idle was weak.

Today was however something I'd  been meaning to do over 2 weeks ago but managed to convincingly shirk.  The passenger footwell was crusty when  I got it and 9 months of use and many miles had turned  what was there but only in the litterally  loosest sense was now pinholes that failed toresist  the prod of a lazy finger.     About 2 inches by 8, the firewall lip that the floor panel sits on a d is welded too was there but just for far gone to weld too.

 

It's a typical place for Mustangs to go, it's more unusual to find one without rust there than  not (or an existing repair)   I cut the lacework of what was left of metal  back with a grinder and a dremel  - it's a tight fit in the corner. Luckily  i didn't have to remove  masses before  I was into solid metal and  roughed up a template in paper.  While ultimately I wanted  to make a decent repair what I wanted to do vs what my currentlt skilled leve is means a more functional strong  patch than a smart strong  patch.

The welding started spectacularly badly as in.. the GFs dad had taken it back to his too "urgently weld up a  friend  quad bike frame"  by wich I mean it had sat in his workshop for 4 months but all the settings had been put back to zero. This mean in my haste I had no ground current on,  then it birdnested, ok re set. Then  had current but on pulse and a birds nest, ok reset . and finally the right settings. A few tacks in and  soem manipulation with swear words and a small hammer and it was a decent fit. As ever about halfway thru welding   it all started to come together  so invariably in cleaned up and rewelded some bits .    It's an OK job, paint will hide it from the inside and  Vactan, paint and  underseal will  protect it 

 

I should have made the hole bigger and removed more metal but I was  wary of  doing more damage  and making more work -you can see 2 Nick's in the lower edge if the hole in the first picture where I did that.... twice.

 

 

Anyway it's in and a reasonable job, but not pretty. As a treat I took it for a  spin, not that  I'd be able to feel a difference mind. And yeah the idle  caused it to stall out at a roundabout, starting had no real change.  More faffing  and it's ok now  but for 30 odd quid  I'll bite the bullet and get a rebuild kit.   The only other things to do/get are  some fiirmer rear springs  and carpet  there isnt much more  I  feel is needed.  

The carpet can wait as its spendy. The springs are not desperate and the only ones in UK stick last time I checked were uprated Hipo ones - harder than std but also raise ride height by an inch over std, and I'm sure my ones sagged and inch  or so.  I'm not keen in the  bum up snout down look so it can wait (also spendy).  No doubt I'll sort the carb on it and the  new one ordered last year will turn up within a few weeks.

[Low Horatio gearbox]

Well I'm afraid it has to and is going, hence the low start and no reserve on the evilbay auction. The irony of selling my best car in terms ofreliability not lost on me . (Sadly it was only an stay of execution, promised not kept etc , wub wub)

 

[High Jetter]

Seems to be going OK, do you have a target figure in mind?

[Volksy]

On 2/27/2023 at 11:06 PM, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Today I had another faff with the carbs again in an effort to ease the hard starting - damn you autochoke, and also improve running in general. previously I'd adjusted the throttle linkage and damper and got the idle down from high, as ther is no tacho I guess 1200ish down to 1000 or so.    I took the air cleaner off and had a good stare and gave all the linkages and moving parts a shove, prod and investigation. Nothing seemed amiss but I'd been spaying attention to PhillA , Vice grip garage and Junkyard digs a lot lately so I felt confident I knew wtf did what, or at least should do.   

Have a look at Luke's - thunderhead289 on youtube - page. He's specialises on carbs from early American stuff. He did the Plymouth Satellite and a few other revivals with JYD ages back, until they parted company for whatever reason. 

 

 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

1 hour ago, High Jetter said:

Seems to be going OK, do you have a target figure in mind?

If it just about breaks into the teens I'll  cry but only a little bit, the mercenary in me would say more would be lovely😁.  But my situation currently without wanting to sound overly dramatic is such that if it ended right now and the buyer paid promptly, then it would  buy me a good few months breathing space.     

I was  surprised it went so big so quick - follow me for big tips on making small losses on selling old cars into huge losses! 😂

[Low Horatio gearbox]

1 hour ago, Volksy said:

Have a look at Luke's - thunderhead289 on youtube - page. He's specialises on carbs from early American stuff. He did the Plymouth Satellite and a few other revivals with JYD ages back, until they parted company for whatever reason. 

 

 

I'd watched 2 Junk Yard Mook videos on carb rebuilding/tuning about 3 weeks ago and fancied my hand.  I found a suitable rebuild kit for £35 on Ebay or a very cheap copy of a 2 barrel for a reasonable £125 but with hindsight it would only have just arrived and I'd be giving it to the new owner.

[mercedade]

 

3 hours ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

If it just about breaks into the teens I'll  cry but only a little bit, the mercenary in me would say more would be lovely

Sorry to see this is going.

Seen your ebay ad and just thought it'd be worth clarifying what "(I've had the car a adjusted so cold starts are ok but it runs atrociously  when warm)" means. (and feel free to tell me to go suck my feedback, I know you weren't asking).

I couldn't tell if you were saying this is the current state of play, or if that's the thing you've done in the past and now reversed because you also say it runs fine. Just didn't want you putting people off unnecessarily.

 

[High Jetter]

On 3/28/2023 at 10:38 AM, Low Horatio gearbox said:

If it just about breaks into the teens I'll  cry but only a little bit, the mercenary in me would say more would be lovely😁.  But my situation currently without wanting to sound overly dramatic is such that if it ended right now and the buyer paid promptly, then it would  buy me a good few months breathing space.     

I was  surprised it went so big so quick - follow me for big tips on making small losses on selling old cars into huge losses! 😂

Sorry to see it didn't make that, hope you're not too down about it.

[SiC]

I definitely think the classic car market on pre 80s stuff is softening off now. It's not the first car that I'm surprised at how low it went for. 

I don't think your mid day auction end did you any favours though. Saturday or Sunday evenings are the best to get people engaged near the auction end and bid it up last minute. 

[Low Horatio gearbox]

5 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Sorry to see it didn't make that, hope you're not too down about it.

 A situation where an amount of money right now is better than nothing - I've  a shortfall for 2 - 6 months  so really anything is better than nothing and let's face it I still have 2 spare fun cars. I've cart blanch to replace it immediately once things change cashflow wise.

If I'd not been in a rush I could have  added a reserve,  started higher etc etc but it needed going and that's the end of it sadly.  I needed the cash now 🤷‍♂️  like right now. 

 

4 hours ago, SiC said:

I definitely think the classic car market on pre 80s stuff is softening off now. It's not the first car that I'm surprised at how low it went for. 

I don't think your mid day auction end did you any favours though. Saturday or Sunday evenings are the best to get people engaged near the auction end and bid it up last minute. 

It ended 6pm last night 🤔

 

 Tbh I'd rather undersell it than deal with  somones overinflated expectations/ disappointment or  inevitably  getting chipped on price when they turn up.  It is what it is as they say, no one takes much risk with auctions  for old cars much now for cars above 3 or so I in value. I think the market is trying to self justify the  higher asking prices everything is listed for,  and  no one wants  to risk their "investment".   It's all classified with maybe an offer here and there or an auction starting at pretty much their asking price.   I deffo could have got more but I'd needed to have start selling it 2-3 months ago at least  and stuff I've casually watched has been lingering on Ebay or car and classic for a long time.   Plus it's a Mustang possibly  the only American car that is amply served with choice in the uk.   

  Being honest I'm more put out with selling it now  against my hearts wishes  (but definity what the head and bank wanted) than what I got for it money wise.  Mild consolation some random messaged me seconds after the auction ended offering a little more and citing Ebay issues (needed to log in and verify their age)  and then an hour later with a little more on top of that.  Alas I've a few moral scruples left - if I'd won something for, if not a total bargain at least pretty good price then I'd like to get it.