The Reenmachine DOHC '67 Shelby Clone Convertible Progress

[reenmachine]

Where did you get the Goodyear hose, clamps, and wiring harness plugs? I need these for my 302 EFI project and haven't found a decent source. I have looked around everywhere near me and can't find anything.

Thanks,
Eric

The plugs were kind of a one-time score, but they're out there. Talk to Painless.
There's a local place called Applied Industrial Technologies that sells the hose. It's the kind of place that construction companies, forklift guys, and the like go to for hydraulic hoses, etc. Here's the Goodyear link:

http://www.goodyearindustrialproduc...ialhose/view_product_detail.pl?product_ID=194

You can also check out the chemical/oil resistance tables there to see its suitability for gasoline applications.

Search the Goodyear website for a distributor in your area and ask for this hose. Here's the search URL:

http://www.goodyearindustrialproducts.com/cgi-bin/ep/ipd/locator/locate.pl?business=4

Hope this is helpful!

 

[65-347]

I've been workng on making a floor panel for the trunk. It will cap off the fuel cell, protecting the sending unit and fuel pump wiring that protrudes from the top, and it gives me a nice cubby hole to mount the ECU and related wiring associated with the EFI system. I'm going to carpet the whole thing so it looks clean.

I know this was do a while ago but did you use a stock filler tube? I'm looking into the same set up for my 65. Thanks (by the way this is a great car)

 

[reenmachine]

I know this was do a while ago but did you use a stock filler tube? I'm looking into the same set up for my 65. Thanks (by the way this is a great car)

It's a modified stock filler tube that comes with the fuel cell remote fill kit. Fuel Safe welds in the bung for the cell's vent hose.

 

[70vert]

less rear skip over rough pavement?

So I know you mentioned it rides, handles, and steers like a new car, but I'm wondering if you've taken it over rough pavement at speed to try out that Cobra IRS.

I'm most likely going to go with composite leaf springs and a panhard bar for cost reasons, but I'd love to know what I'm missing. ;-)

It's a modified stock filler tube that comes with the fuel cell remote fill kit. Fuel Safe welds in the bung for the cell's vent hose.

 

[reenmachine]

So I know you mentioned it rides, handles, and steers like a new car, but I'm wondering if you've taken it over rough pavement at speed to try out that Cobra IRS.

I'm most likely going to go with composite leaf springs and a panhard bar for cost reasons, but I'd love to know what I'm missing. ;-)

Yes -- frankly, one of the most noticable things is how the car performs on the freeway. For example, going around a cloverleaf on ramp at speed, the car is very stable over the expansion joints and imperfections in the pavement. There is no "side hop."

However, as much as the handling has been improved, some aspects of the ride quality aren't so great. The super-stiff '03-'04 cradle bushings, designed for a brutish car that weighs a lot more, are overkill in this car and allow a lot of road vibration through. I've also got too much spring in the rear -- great for all-out handling, but that's not all I'm after. I want a more refined, smooth ride that still has a lot of handling capability. I'm going to replace the cradle bushings with softer '99 ones and back off on the spring rate a bit. The rear dampers are adjustable, so I can compensate for the softer spring.

 

[SN65]

Hi Reen,

Haven't seen any posts lately. Hope everything is going well. Do you think you will have the car finished by the end of Feb??? If so, maybe you could show it at the Autoramma. That is our plan. It would be nice to have adjoining spots.

Bob

 

[reenmachine]

Hi Reen,

Haven't seen any posts lately. Hope everything is going well. Do you think you will have the car finished by the end of Feb??? If so, maybe you could show it at the Autoramma. That is our plan. It would be nice to have adjoining spots.

Bob

I've got this '68 fastback that I've got to get torn down and off to paint, then I'll be back on the convertible full time until it's done.

 

[reenmachine]

The '68 is almost ready to go off to the plastic media blaster and then to paint. I just have to gut and remove the doors, weld in the subframe connectors, weld in the Cobra IRS brackets, and do a few misc. other things first.

BTW, the rotisserie is from Auto Twirler and it is excellent. After finding the right position you can turn the car with one hand. Sure will make the undercarriage work easier!

 

[Route666]

How did mounting the rotisserie to the car go? Did you have to drill your own holes or anything like that?

 

[86bluecobra]

geez your vert is awesome i wouldn't mind having that 68 either. i admire body guys they do wonderful things with metal.

 

[86bluecobra]

BTW i forgot to congradulate you on the baby. we just had our 2nd girl 2 months ago. less cash for projects now.

 

[reenmachine]

BTW i forgot to congradulate you on the baby. we just had our 2nd girl 2 months ago. less cash for projects now.

Thanks! She's about 3 months old already -- hard to believe.

 

[reenmachine]

How did mounting the rotisserie to the car go? Did you have to drill your own holes or anything like that?

It was pretty easy, and there were no modifications to the car needed. The front mounts to the 2 holes on each side where the bumper brackets mount with two 7/16" grade 8 bolts per side. I had to drill an extra hole through the rotisserie arm for the second bolt. The rear mounted up through the factory hole through the rear frame rail into the trunk floor. I enlarged the hole in the rotisserie arm and used 3/4" grade 8 bolts (1 per side) with large washers on the trunk side and all-metal lock nuts. It's very secure all around.

 

[strange65]

WOW another long read, The talent that you apllied to this Mustang is amazing.
After seeing your Mustang and the SN65 project, I feel like an idiot for even comtemplating the granada disc brake swap and lost all motivation to do so.
Congrats on the new baby!
I do have one question that has nothing to do with the car.
With so many things that could have gone wrong, what motivated you to take this machine to this level of perfection?

 

[reenmachine]

With so many things that could have gone wrong, what motivated you to take this machine to this level of perfection?

Good question! I guess the honest answer is that I plan on building several cars like this full-time for the foreseeable future, so I figured I'd gamble it all and jump in head first. There are still lots of things that can go wrong before the car is finished!

On that note, I just took the '68 fastback project off to the media blaster, and it will go to paint after that, so I'm back on the assembly of the convertible. Look for much more frequent updates of this thread.

I sure got a lot of stares going down the freeway with the fastback on the rotisserie!

 

[reenmachine]

OK -- back to the convertible. I got the headlights on order yesterday. Instead of having low beams on the outboards and high beams on the inboards, I'm converting it to high/low on the outboards and insanely high on the inboards, to be controlled by a switch on the console.

All four housings are Hella 5-3/4" H4 conversion lenses, with 60/55W hi/lo beams outboard and 100W high beams inboard.

I'll get my A/C condenser mounting brackets back from the powdercoater today. Then I can mount the condenser, the hood latch/inboard light support, and the buckets for the inboards. It'll look different for once! The oil cooler is also on the way, so once it's on and plumbed and I finalize the routing of the A/C lines, the fenders and nose can go on and it'll really start to look like something.

Pics later.

 

[Edbert]

Nice, I have to take exception with something you said though...

This car has BEEN looking "like something" since your first post!

 

[reenmachine]

Lotsa little stuff going on lately...power top motor/pump mounting, wiring, and plumbing, etc.

I came up with a way to do the windshield washer without the foot pedal pump assembly. There'll be a plastic reservior in the engine compartment with an electric pump, and a small pushbutton by the wiper switch. Pushing the button will run the pump as well as cycle the wipers, and the regular wiper switch operation will be unaffected. It's working on the bench right now, and I'll post a how-to when I put it in the car.

I got the A/C condenser mounted and then the hood latch support with the inboard light buckets. Every little thing with reproduction Shelby parts turns into a project as every single part typically requires rework to fit. The inboards were no exception, but they came out great in the end.

The inboards are 100W Hella halogens which will be controlled by a switch on the console as driving lights, and they have the approximate output of the Death Star.

 

[reenmachine]

BTW, I've been keeping a log of the progress of the fastback pictured above on my website here. Feel free to post comments, questions, etc.

 

[SN65]

Hi Reen,

Glad to see you back on the vert. I bet you long to see it on the road. We just took a 67 vert into the shop. The owner wants a stock restoration as far as the body work goes, but he wants a slightly modified drivetrain.

I told him to check out this thread and see what a real modified 67 vert looks like.

How is all the wiring going. Wiring one of these from scratch has got to be a daunting project. Personally, I would not know where to start.

Good luck and hope to see you on the road soon.

Bob