69RavenConv

I am about to switch the hosting over to amazon web services in the next few days for some bandwidth breathing room.   Then I'll have to work with the forum software customer service to make the upgrades compatible with a new version of PHP so we can finally secure the website away from the bots that have been eating the bandwidth.  The current hosting company has been less than useful unfortunately.

We used rubber side molding ,an aftermarket side trim we got at our local paint shop ,we glued it in the channel with E6000 ,staples held nicely 

Glad I'm not on Eastern time and up before Phil gets to work.  :)

I had bought 3 gallons of gulfstream aqua ,enough for my 69 Mustang and my old 35 Ford and tucked it away ,i checked and it is still good so this one will go gulf stream as well  ,this pic is pretty close to what it would look like .

Very clever! 

I was able to remove the old switch, it actually fell apart in pieces! 
While I wait for parts to arrive, I've rigged up a stop light switch I had laying around, and used a band clamp around the steering column. 
It's actually working great! Maybe I'll just leave it this way? :)
 

Well, guys.  You win some and you lose some.  I don’t feel like I lost, but I don’t feel like a winner right now.  I have had a busy year and am now just getting into the car.  It has been in my garage all this time.  Bruce did some fine work on the car before I got it, and he was completely truthful about the car.  But, it was outside for many years after he did his work.  It was covered by a bunch of heavy duty tarps.   The engine was rebuilt with roller cam/lifters and even had roller tipped rockers.  It was a sweet build, but Mother Nature will win every time.
The first clue was when I took the carb to be rebuilt and found out it was totally ruined.  The carb rebuilder who is very experienced said it was the worst corrosion he has ever seen.  I had to trash the carb and buy a new one.
The second clue was finding the same corrosion in the aluminum police interceptor intake.  At the same time, I realized I could only turn the crank 90 degrees before it got stuck.
I pulled the intake and almost cried.  As I was lifting it out a bunch of debris fell out of the intake onto the engine.  This is what I found.  I still need to pull the heads.  I am praying that the cylinders are ok, but I doubt it.  I hope the damage is only in the heads and the engine block can be saved.

And why does it need wheel wells? :)

Well, not into a car, but into Texas Ed at the Mustang Steve Bash in New Braunfels Texas on Saturday. What a great guy he is. Wish it was earlier in the day instead of as I went to my car to leave, but we had a great chat. 

Bots are hitting the site and causing the issues.  I am working with tech support still to try and fix it.  I thought it was already resolved.  There is another issue with upgrading the forum software I need to take care of but it currently crashes the entire forum so I am unwilling to do so until I have ample time to devote to it.  I am hoping to have the bot issue resolved by the end of the week.
Just a little update for you guys.  Bandwidth upgrade would only be a bandaid and not a full solution, so do not feel obligated to donate any more money.  And thanks for your donations so far that should cover the monthly losses for the remainder of the year.

I got a hold of a date and numbers correct carburetor last month.  Got it off ebay and after a little barter/swap I 'made an offer'.  Seller accepted and I had a shop, J and J Carburetors, rebuild and restore to original specs. I Installed a choke kit, bent a new fuel line, hooked up the pcv and installed on my 69 Cobra Jet.  A little fiddling around with the idle and the choke's fast idle speeds and we are back on the road.  All in all I am very satisfied with how it all turned out.  Gotta say the carb shop did a great job.  Three weeks turn around including shipping, no extra's, ran it before sending it back and did it for the price quoted.  Brian

I do not believe three is an exact placement. The pictures int he link below are very clear & should give an idea of the location.

https://www.deadnutson.com/firewall-vacuum-tree-plug-kit/

Hey guys a bot hit the site and I had tech support take care of it.  The donation amount is busted and always shows that amount.  Currently the ads don't cover the costs anymore.  It's close but not quite there.   So anything you donate will sit in the PayPal account to pay the bill.  I'm currently in the process of moving and other big life changes (Fiancee), which is why it took so long to take care of this.  Sorry for the delay.  
 
I'll monitor the Bandwidth this month and see of a plan upgrade is necessary. 
Thanks for your patience 

I was able to get to the track for a test and tune night for its first three passes.
The launch limiter was set at 3500rpm initially thinking that was conservative, but it was blowing the tires off in the first two gears on those two passes.  The car was 100% as I drive it on the street (even tire pressure and shock settings).  On the third pass i just took off easy.
Ran almost 135mph on the second pass and 136 mph on the third pass.  
I have everything to be legal to faster than 9.99 and 135 except the paper work for roll cage cert and the competition license.
 

 

the replacement clutch setup that went in last year is operating and holding well now.  i know i'm shifting at 7800+.  i also have the throttle adjusted so it's opening all the way.  just trying to find the right time in the next few weeks to get it to the track.  except for some shock adjustments and removing the tool kit from the back seat, i will track it just as the car is setup for the street.
 

Always amazed by the skills seen on this site.  I replaced a spring on my lawn tractor and felt I accomplished something :)

Always amazed by the skills seen on this site.  I replaced a spring on my lawn tractor and felt I accomplished something :)

I have been wanting a belt grinder, ok I have a belt grinder but I have wanted a specific type of belt grinder.
so I finally broke down and built one.
the vac base was a $40 swap meet find.
all the steel was free, salvaged from other stuff. I can’t allow new or slightly used steel tubing go to scrap if I see it’s usable.
the motor was free.
the paint I already had.
the wheels I bought, was planning to make them but I wanted to move this along.
still need to buy the VFD

Getting started on the rear seat panels ,i have a set of fairly nice panels . The old paint is flaking off so i removed as much as i could ,especially where it is flaking .
Passenger side is in nice condition ,driver side has a couple of gouges that i filled with duraglass ,once it sets up i will sand it smooth .next step is to primer both panels with high build and block sand until perfect . Then reapply the texture ,a few days of drying time and i will mount them on a backing so they do not distort and use them for a brand new mold .they will have all factory holes and back side mounting bracket .
That original paint really stinks when sanded!

Congrats! Great looking car, love the paint

Had a surprising weekend with my stang 'Penny' guys.  I had signed up for the Keels & Wheels "Concourse de' Elegance" show in Seabrook, TX.  Ive been twice before (last before covid), but this show is full of amazing vehicles, and I have been happy they let me even show.  
Well, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to "up my game" in a short amount of time, and I noticed that the trunk was 10pts of the score.  I've never liked the stock treatment and said I wouldn't do it, but I never seem to get around to "doing it right" like I said I would.  So, to try to improve my score I bought the stock trunk liner, jack bag, and spare-tire cover.  Spent a little bit of time laying it in there, and trying to make it look decent.  Came out like this:

All I had to say was: "Well, it certainly looks better than nothing/what I had".  So I went with it.

The surprise came when I checked the judges sheet Sunday afternoon:  "Best in Class"!!  Unbelievable!
I've only put the car in maybe a half-dozen shows, and I've never done better than second place anywhere.  But the real surprise is that the show in Seabrook is one of the more prestigious shows (at least around here).  
It rained on Saturday, but didn't take any sunshine out of the day for me.  Aaron Shelby was here, and gave me a big "congrats" when I left the show - certainly an amazing day for me:

IIRC ... 140 MPH Speedometers were only used on 1969 Shelbys, so pretty much the rarest 1969-70 cluster out there.
That cluster is probably worth a whole lot more than a Deluxe 120MPH 1970 Tach Cluster.   May as well try and find the correct cluster and re-sell that one.
Doug   

" I've just been enjoying driving the car. "
I'm calling bull$hit. No way a car with that clean of an undercarriage is being driven. Ya, I've got a bit of envy going on :)

Ask for someone smarter and they show up. Like a bat-signal. :)

The ground wire for the washer pump is tied to the driver's side ground lug.