69ShelbyGT350H

I painted my 1969 GT's 10 spoke body color (Gulfstream Aqua), looked nice with the GT center cap and chrome outer trim.

The Nitto555's will be going to a buddy of mine. Not sure where the drag lite's will go. I ran them (Drag Lites) on my 69 Mach 1 with some old Hoosiers back in the day, but had the factory 10 slots for every day driving. Times have changed, and so have tires and rims. 1969_Mach1, I agree about not liking rims that look too big and sidewalls that are too small on a classic car, but this looks like SO MUCH FUN!!! Remember that my car is NOT a daily driver and will spend time in the show circuit and be doing some DEMO runs on the track circuit. Jump up to about 1:10 to see the classic Mustangs, maybe we will see them on the track in part 2.

Ok, so they DO fit, but I guess that would only be until the suspension travels too far. Maybe its because the car is not finished but there is like 6" between the tire and fender. Guess I should get something that goes inside the fender? Guess t The Nitto NT01 sounds like a nice tire. 245/45ZR17 95W, 6.3 tread depth, 25.55 diameter, 9.72 actual tread width on an 8" wide rim. Enjoy some photos of the Nitto NT555's I have on there now which are P275/50R15 101V, 6.3 tread depth, 25.71 diameter, 11.10 actual tread width.

Legendary GT9's are now available in 17x7 and 17x8 versions as well as the older 15x7 versions. CJ Pony is offering them individually, as a set of 4, or the 17" as a staggered set. https://www.cjponyparts.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=GT9+Alloy+Wheel I'll be keeping my factory aluminum/steel 15" rims with the Goodyear Poly Glass tires for "Show" purposes, but am interested in getting a set of performance tires for spirited driving (drag racing, road racing, etc). As mentioned, I am looking at the Legendary Wheel Co GT9 rim. Rear gear change is an option as I currently have the 3.0 LS. A high 3.xx with Truetrac sounds like a lot of fun! The 69 Shelby has an enlarged front wheel fender opening and the larger 1970 KK spindles that Ford installed for the larger 15" rims. The rear is still the stock 69 Mustang (Mach 1) setup with one smaller lower leaf spring AO Smith added that (does not affect tire fitment). So my choice is either the 15" or 17" Legendary GT9 Shelby style rims. The question is, what tires to run on the front and rear that will keep the classic look while putting as much rubber on the road. I currently have a set of Center Line Drag Lite 15" rims that I will not keep for this car. On the rear I have a set of Nitto 555 P275/50R15 101V, 25.71 diameter, 11.10 wide for 7.5-(8.5)-9.5" rims. They are short and fat, but they fit, and I have no problem not using them for a more appropriate size (pending a change in gear). So, just to get an idea, who has tires that keeps the classic tall (vs low profile) sidewall that fills the rear without rubbing or making modifications. 15" and 17" versions welcome. Backspacing: 4.25” on the 15x7", 4.5" on the 17x8". Note: I have no interest in rolling the rear fender lip. The CJ Pony 17" Combo tire options is as shown, tires are BF Goodrich G-FORCE Sport COMP-2:

Took a grungy old alternator, cleaned it up and gave it a little paint job. Now I just hope after all that work that it still works, or a re-build will be in order. View my build photo album by clicking on the image

Ok, ok, I now have to admit that the import guy was wrong. The PS bracket does go on first, then the A/C bracket. Turns out my aluminum water pump has a little step just under the bolt holes that caused the A/C bracket to tilt back. I had to carefully remove some material from the aluminum water pump so the bracket would stand up straight. I will put a notice on my previous message so in the future it will not come up as correct.

Not knowing much about the car (sorry, I have not been following you), but that you seem to have a lot of modifications to the motor, get the biggest Aluminum one you can get that will fit. Anything you can do to keep the temps down is going to help. I got a 24" 3 row View my build photo album by clicking on the image

Edit Note: The following is an incorrect statement as it causes the A/C bracket to twist instead of just leaning back. The solutions as stated in my next message was a ridge on the aluminum water pump just under the bolt holes for the A/C bracket. I just want to report that I have resolved the issue with the A/C bracket not fitting correctly. It took an IMPORT guy to stop by and tell me that the A/C bracket goes on the water pump first then the Power Steering pump bracket. What do you know, looks like he is right. Photos to come.

Good to hear about the NPD ckt board. I have mine, just have not finished cleaning up the gauge cluster enough to re-assemble it.

Not sure what you are referring to when you say it looks like I "cut off the inside ends of the bracket". No metal has been cut on the replacement bracket, though I thought I was going to cut it to make it fit. I put the original away for safe keeping. Only the rubber insert was trimmed. Unfortunately, I did not see your response until 10 hours after you posted, so I'll pull the NPD bracket off the car and take more photos with measurements of it and the radiator for you tomorrow.

Interesting, I think I kept most everything I took off the car and I have nothing like that. per the description, it does seem to the be correct part for that location. I'll add it to my next order.

For comparison purposes, I deleted your other photos and added the one of mine that has mostly the same view as yours. I see your cable comes out and runs behind the transmission floor support and is attached via a clip to the smaller of the two holes on the driver's side support. I do have more cable than shown, just have not run it up and through the firewall yet. Its pretty stiff and I am trying not to make too sharp of a bend in it. The clip holding the cable on the left side of the picture is the original clip, never removed from the floor during my restoration. To help with the bend further back by the trans cross member support I might turn it 180 degrees, improper but it would move the cable further from the H pipe and allow for a larger radius to enter the trans behind the mount. I will also have to look into the clip as in your photo on the trans cross member support. Thank you for taking the time to take and post the photos. It's really interesting that no other 69/70 FMX build has this detail. David View my build photo album by clicking on the image

If you were closer I'd tell you to bring it over. Noting like a little "competition" to help with the motivation.

I found this video by CJ Pony. A mistake they made is that as the threaded rod is attached to the center link, do not hit directly on the threaded rod with a hammer. Thread the castle nut back on enough so that it can take the impact of the hammer, and not the rod, causing damage to the threads when you go to put your new idler arm and castle nut on.

The JBA's are Ceramic coated, the H pipe is SS, and the rest is aluminum coated. The entire firewall, floor and roof were sprayed with Lizzard Skin CI. The firewall to the floor has Dynamat followed by the factory firewall pad, and then the rest of the floor has the factory style tar sound deadener mats from ACC. The carpet is the fully Jute backed version from ACC as well. A dissipation of heat from the exhaust tubes is desired as the exhaust travels to the back of the car when you do not have the same diameter tubing from the front to back such as I do. As the gasses cool so does the density which effectively reduces the amount of air flow and, reduces the need for larger pipes. Though I do have the JBA 1653SJT shorty headers, to keep the factory look I have gone with a factory type exhaust from the H pipe back, but used the 428's 2.25" pipe instead of the 351w's 2.0" pipe. The pipes are close, but not touching anything under the car, so there will be no rattles, and no direct contact heat exchange. The car is being built for fun, not as a race car, not as a daily driver. If I was not here telling you all about the mods to it, most of you would walk up to it at a show or on the street and say its an all original Shelby that looks like it just came off the showroom floor after a couple of test drives. And that is the intention. You're going to have to get on your hands and knees to inspect it, get your head deep into the engine compartment to see more than just the squared off radiator and Sandon A/C compressor. As unless you are going to take wrenches to it so you can look deeper, your not going to see what I've done to it, with a casual observation. Also, how many people ceramic coat their entire exhaust system?

Wish I could remember, I had the entire suspension and steering out of the car when I took it off. But then, I have one of those 12 ton Harbor Freight presses and it can move a lot of things that don't want to move. I might have used that to press it out. Or, it may have been so worn it just pulled out. The center link pin goes through the metal shaft that is in the rubber bushing, so heat is out. Some penetrating oil and a BFH might knock it loose. Mine was an oily mess, and I dreaded working on it. View my build photo album by clicking on the image

Here is what I am currently dealing with. Its not touching now, but I am sure once the exhaust gets hot it will sag down and sit right on the pipe. I cant leave it this way even if this is correct and will find a way to re-route it. View my build photo album by clicking on the image

Agree, pricey, but you will never have to replace it again. That's the Open Tracker one on the left side of the photo. View my build photo album by clicking on the image

I replaced my factory 24" radiator with an aluminum one and found that the rubber insert was going to to have to be totally removed for the bracket to fit over the top of the radiator. Figuring I am going to have to cut and lengthen it (your B dimension), I purchased a cheap repro from NPD to cut up. How surprised I was when it arrived, and its "B" dimension is larger than my factory stock one, for a 24" 351w with all the options. I then took my repro rubber insert and using a box/razor knife, thinned the rubber down so it fits in the bracket and over the radiator. Yes, be careful, I did need 2 band-aids after that process. In the below photo, these are the repro parts, the factory rubber would have little rubber dots that stick out of the holes on top of the "B" section. This is not bolted down so it is still up off the radiator. Ford also added a pair of hex headed screws in the bracket that go into holes in the front radiator support to help hold it down. You can see the holes in the repro bracket and the one hole under the bracket in front of the radiator cap. The two bolts at the front alone were not doing a good enough job. I'll have to get back to you with all the dimensions and the part# from NPD if you are interested. Update on the NPD Part: 8A193-2BBRACKET, Upper radiator Saddle, repro, fits 24 inch radiator, improved design, better stamping, more correct appearance with stamped tabs in the support like the original part, C9ZZ-8A193-B, D0ZZ-8A193-A$29.95 Appears to be a Scott Drake part

Other than A/C compressor brackets, I do have another area that I am in need of some assistance. As I took the car apart in the late 80's - early 90's, I do not remember the routing of the speedometer cable where it comes out of the transmission and runs forward toward the firewall. I currently have it running in front of the driver's side transmission mount but it is very close to the exhaust in that area. Remember that this is the FMX transmission and on the driver's side the crossmember only contacts the floor mount on the back side of the mount. The passenger side the cross member contacts both the front and back of the floor mount. I forgot to take a photo of the area I am talking about so will do that later. I have searched the internet but do not seem to be able to find the correct FMX setup. Might anyone be able to provide some guidance in this area? Thanks. View my build photo album by clicking on the image

Worked on the exhaust the past couple of days. It's a 351w so the factory would have put a small block 2" exhaust on it. I complicated things by instead, installing the larger big block 2.25" exhaust, and as you all know, the JBA Shorties and 2.5" H pipe. I did have to have the 2.25" pipes modified slightly, 1st to match up to the H pipe, and 2nd, to remove the restrictive reduction where the pipes exit the muffler for the tips to be added. In my case, the Shelby exhaust collector accepts a 2.25" pipe so the restricted area for the adapter pipe (yes, even the GT500's got one) was cut off and a 2.25" pipe was welded on removing all the small pipe restrictions. I did dimple the H pipe for more clearance around the back of the trans pan so the pipes fit up very tightly and will have no interference with other items. Had to remove the rear shocks and do a lot of manipulation to get the transverse muffler with all 4 tubes in place, but we did it. It only took 3 people about an hour just for that part. View my build photo album by clicking on the image

Still not sure my AC brackets are on correctly. Going to have to take the compressor off (it's only on for fitment) to get the distributor hold down bolt on!

Physically I was OK. I was going less than 5 mph through an intersection that I entered under a green light. A car in front of me blocked me causing me to stop in the intersection and the light changed while I sat there. They cleared and I then continued to clear the intersection that I had legally entered and now have the legal right to exit. I had previously crossed the 3 eastbound lanes OK, and only had the 3 westbound lanes to go. The first two had cars in them, and they saw me and were waiting. The last lane was void of traffic. Just as I got to that last lane, a speeding Chevy truck entered the intersection and hit the front passenger corner as seen in the photo. The impact was so hard that my car started a counterclockwise rotation, the passenger rear corner of my car hit the front of one of the waiting cars knocking its grill out. The impact pulled my car alongside the truck, where its rear bumper entered my passenger rear wheel opening pulling the car around even more and then ripping the quarter panel between the wheel opening and door almost off the car. My car has spun about 270 deg in the intersection. Both front fenders were pushed back over the front edged of the doors and under the hood. Both rear quarters were under the trunk lid. Both the roof and floor had a wrinkle running diagonally across the car. Surprisingly, no glass broke, and as the impact was on the passenger side, I was safely in my driver's seat, with the seatbelt on for the entire ride. I suffered no injuries. I originally did not think the damage was that bad till I found I could not get out of the car. Climbing out the driver's window, my heart sank more and more as I was able to see the extent of the damage. I was initially given a traffic ticket for running the red light, causing the accident. I was finally able to talk to the car that I had knocked the grill out of and they concurred that there was a car that had blocked me causing me to stop IN the intersection under a green condition for me. With this information, they guessed that I was not speeding, trying to beat the traffic light as a 19 y/o with a fast muscle car and that the truck was speeding. The ticket was dismissed, and as the truck driver was not ticketed, the insurance company (State Farm) raised my rates for the next 5 years. Yea, don't get me started on insurance companies. May none ever have to go through what I did. Stay safe out there.

Would you be happy if the seat of the pants felt good, but then you got it home and checked and found it was only a 302 or 331? If the 347 is a selling point ($$), and you are ready to buy the car, I'd stop before signing anything and handing over any money and pull a plug. If the seller is against that, try walking away and see what the seller has to say. If it's not a selling point, and you'd be happy with a smaller motor, then it's up to you if you want to make the purchase. But that's just me.