beauty is skin deep

In getting Sally to where she is now she had to undergo much restoration surgery. No bondo was to be applied. Only sheet metal where needed so she could have the nice clean lines she had today. It is amazing at how you can actually feel she is tighter now compared to when she arrived. This was what she underwent before she would start to ride like a dream.

We had to make sure no rust was left. Rust is car cancer. It can however be cured. Through patience and perseverance. And doing so is so worth it.

the real deal

When we got Sally she had a 6 banger. It appeared to have come off a later model Ford. Quite possibly a Stang. We knew it was a switcheroo since her VIN indicated she was a “C” code. That meant she originally had a 289 with a 2 barrel carb. This was found in her fender VIN as well as the dataplate on her door which matched it. There was also a hidden VIN found when we dismantled her. (note: these are some samples for the fender VIN and dataplate. Not Sally’s.)

So it all pointed the way to the fact that she was really a ‘vert as she had the “08″ code as well matching to it. Now why would I mention that she was a real ‘vert? Well one of the things that happens here a lot is for some to “chop” coupes and pass them off as ‘verts. Before getting Sally I did extensive research. Checked out some “real” ‘verts and also saw a couple of “fakes”. It is amazing how many “fakes” sport genuine ‘vert items (more about this in later posts). The U.S. forums proved to be very helpful to. Check them out my Links. The peeps there are really helpful and entertaining too. Use the ‘net. It is very helpful and the old “fakers” hate it.

In fact, a known collector here must have been hoodwinked by a seller since he had what seemed to be a “fake”. He insisted it was “real” so I am not sure whether he is in the know or not.

But then this hobby is fraught with stories like this.

Needless to say the hardest thing to fake is the VIN. And hunt down the hidden ones. It gets even more painful when you go into Shelby turf then realize you didn’t get the real thing.

sally’s dark past

When we first got Sally she was pretty much all there but she had the shakes and was pretty much like an ex-junkie in withdrawal. Her tolerances were shot and she was pretty tired. Doors wouldn’t close properly and the gaps were bad. It was going to be a lot of work getting her back on the road to recovery. Even her ride was awful. She was rattly. Drum brakes faded bad and the c4 was lacking power.

So we set off at tightening her up. Having her undergo major surgery. She was going to be the better for it. We on the other hand would have to strip her down and expose all her hidden problems. Things best seen when all have been removed.

As innocent as she seemed I was pretty sure that she had quite a sordid past. Now we had to see how sordid and how we would correct it all.

Well I always wanted a vert and it was so hard to find one here that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg so when Sally presented herself I took her in.

(Note: The carrier who took her in – Viray Trucking – actually banged up her driver’s side door leaving a visible gash. Unfortunately I wasn’t there when they hauled her in. Have been hearing bad reports about them so be warned.)

changing the air cleaner

In an eBay screw up Sally was not able to receive the original convertible “snorkel” (is that what it is called) for the original air cleaner. So she had a stand-in.

Today I decided that she would look a little better with some bling.

So I installed a chrome air cleaner that resembled those hi-po ones from the time period Sally was made. Technically the base should be the same “gold” for a 65 but hey that is easy to remedy. Plus, we aren’t going concours anyway. Sally just wants some bling.

I also took a vid of her engine running with her shiny new bling which I will embed.

Having a nice clean engine bay makes all the diff.

And that is what we are slowly going to do with Sally. In fact, Afterglow was so kind to lend me a set of torque wrenches that I plan to get within the week so I can change her valve covers to bling bling.

Now what are these extra parts that came with the air cleaner for? Ever happen to you? Oops hope the new one don’t fly off.

it was an arduous road

Bringing Sally to her current state was no mean feat. It took a lot of time an patience. And a whole lot of elbow grease.

She was totally dismantled.

So we could make sure that we would actually get rid of all rust problems. That is the “cancer” of cars after all. Plus the previous owner did not do quite a good job with it. Lots of bondo to cover up the shoddy metal work. Maybe he just wanted to do a cover up job. Better watch out guys since it seems that is de rigeur in most “restoration” shops. Ever wonder how helpful that restoration dude with the claimed expertise is? Where does that individual’s real interest lie? In making a buck off you or in helping your car get to its best possible state. That is the owner’s quadary.

Sally really took everything off for us.