69 -Shelby style

[Pakrat 1,043]

Thought you may want to hear how i came to get my 69. I saw it a friends shop one day .I told my friend i would like to build a Shelby replica some day .He said "tell you what ,sand blast a car for me and it is yours ". Went home and got my trailer and loaded it up.When i got home and started to unload it i thought it looked familiar,turns out it was my old car i sold 25 years ago .It looked rough but it was because of several coats of paint and primer that was peeling. After blasting my friends car i starting sanding the paint from the quarters and the roof ,and if i hadn't tossed a body saw and had it bounce up on the roof it would have been dent free.After mounting it on my rotisserie and blasting the rest of the car i couldn't believe how straight and rust free it still was after all those years .It is mine again and it will stay that way this time.

 

That's awesome. Can't beat a California car, I live in New England but bought a San Jose built car to avoid those rust issues, well worth it!

 

Welcome to the site!

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

After i got it primed and block sanded i realized ,I FORGOT THE ANTENNA!

I did a little shopping and found a nice electric antenna at Auto Zone . With a fine cut hole saw ,and a wet rag under side to keep it from warping ,i cut the 3/4 inch hole in the quarter . I guess that is somthing you need to think about ahead of time ,glad i did before painting .

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Fender time ! I started with the pass side first ,bolted on great but i noticed the door needed to be raised about a 1/16 inch .The driver bolted on just as nice but that door needed to be raised 1/16 inch as well .I took the fenders back off and raised the doors and bolted the fenders back in place, and set the hood in place to get the gaps . I bolted the headlight assembly to the fenders ahead of time ,it was easier with the fenders off the car .After the front fenders ,i bolted the front valance and the stone deflector in place . I am going to use stainless button head bolts after it is painted .

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

You still have to watch for those cars from the coast but normally they are fairly rust free

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I bolted on the fender eye brows and just sat the hood peak molding in place ,didn't want to bend the tabs just yet .They fit perfect .

I modified my original bumper brackets ,the end just cuts off flat ,and made a plate from 3/16 plate steel and slotted the mounting hole in the end .Bolted the brackets in place and bolted on the front bumper .

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I had found a set of 70 grill lights at a swapmeet ,they cost me a fortune ,$25 hehe. The wires would not plug into my 69 harness so i pulled out the light sockets ,carefully un swedeged the sockets from my 69 turn signals and put them into the 70 grill lights and sealed them with clear silicone and swedged them back . Now they plug right into my original harness with out any adapter needed. I measured out the studs on the back of the lights and drilled the holes in the valance and front fender to mount the lights.

 

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Edited December 3, 2014 by Pakrat

[MikeStang 247]

Looking good man.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

The fiberglass brackets for mounting the head light dust shields came with the front fenders but they were not bonded to the fenders ,that is ok this way i can make sure they are positioned correctly.

I didn't have the metal part of the dust shield so i took the front pieces out of an old junk set of fenders ,made a template and made my own pieces out of 20 gauge galvanized sheet metal.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I bolted the metal pans to the inner radiator support ,then i bolted the fiberglass brackets to the metal pans pushing them out to where they would touch the inside of the fender ,marked the spot and removed everything and bonded the fiber glass bracket to the fenders.

The bracket is on the wrong side in these two pics ,when i put the metal pans back i put them on the correct side and bolted in the plastic dust shields .They could not have fit any better .

[RPM 1,190]

albums/b520/jchreeves/IMG_2244_zpsa4549286.jpg?1417644599071[/img]

I didn't have the metal part of the dust shield so i took the front pieces out of an old junk set of fenders ,made a template and made my own pieces out of 20 gauge galvanized sheet metal.

 

That is top shelf fab work! Very nice.

 

Bob

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Thanks .It is not hard to do if you have the tools.I have been collecting sheet metal working tool for a couple of years ,still a few i want .

Best tool i bought so far is the spot welder ,just a Harbor Freight welder but it is a 220 so it welds sheet metal very nice .I plan on getting a miller spot welder with a whole assortment of tongs ,this one only reaches about 8 inches with a 2 inch throat but it does radiator supports ,tail panels and any thing i can get it to reach over up to 18 gauge . Harbor Freight even has a combo shear ,break and slip roll that is well worth the price for the Mustang hobby.I have that for small pieces and a 52 inch 16 gauge shear and break for bigger pieces .

[Protowrxs 111]

Great pics, great fab work and great progress!

Very cool watching this one come together.

You should have your own reality show ;-)

 

Stephen

[Pakrat 1,043]

I agree, I am enjoying following along on this one, lots of detailed info and great work. I'm jealous of all the tools you must have at your disposal to do this stuff, living vicariously thru your build is better than dreaming about it like I usually do.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

To get to the finish line is going to take a bit ,money is running thin .I am about ready for what minor body work is left ,and paint .There is the next problem ,WHAT COLOR? I have raven black ,and i always wanted a 69 Shelby in Straight black with no stripes .I already have a 67 Shelby replica in black and it is a pain it the butt to keep clean .I also have Gulf Stream Aqua ,probably the prettiest color Ford ever had ,I just can"t decide .

[Pakrat 1,043]

I don't know why but I always thought the '69 Shelby looked great in Black Jade with a white interior.

[SparkyGT 26]

Nice project, I have a 69 GT350 so am doing a lot of stuff soon that you are doing, which brand of fenders did you use? (hood, valances etc.?) my originals are beat to hell. I msgd cobraman as well.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Hah ! This is the third kit i have bought for this car .The first was Mustangs U. and it was terrible .The Gellcoat was like sanding on bubble gum .I left the hood setting in the sun on a bench and it folded over it ,when i picked it up it was so soft my fingers almost went through the under brace .Right from the start the hood had a 3/4 inch bow in the middle at the fenders . The cobranda was better but needed so much work i just sold it off .I wound up giving Stang-aholics a try and like it very much ,so far not a problem .This has to be the nicest hood i have seen yet ,They use a much better resin and gellcoat .The pieces will not need much to get a really nice finish. About the only thing i have had to do so far is a bit of sanding on the end caps and side scoops to get them to pull up tight to the body.I am looking for a 69 convert and i plan on using them again.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Nice project, I have a 69 GT350 so am doing a lot of stuff soon that you are doing, which brand of fenders did you use? (hood, valances etc.?) my originals are beat to hell. I msgd cobraman as well.

Do you have any pics of the original fenders under side ? There is supposed to be a metal support under the mounting lip or some where in that area ,i would like to make it for my fenders .

[SparkyGT 26]

the mounting lip that goes from rad support back to the firewall on mine are all steel, the fiberglass is molded on. I think that's what you mean?

 

my car is a early Shelby

 

I will see if I can snag a picture with my phone.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

the mounting lip that goes from rad support back to the firewall on mine are all steel, the fiberglass is molded on. I think that's what you mean?

 

my car is a early Shelby

 

I will see if I can snag a picture with my phone.

that would be great .

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Just a few goodies i have been gathering .

Aero Form coil over front suspension.

Wilwood 4 piston disk brakes .

Hellwig 1 1/8 inch front sway bar.

Borgeson steering box ,pump and hose kit .

A friend of mine pulled the brand new 4 leaf ,KYB shock set up and went 4 bar .He gave me the leafs and shocks with only about 1oo miles on them .

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I wanted to see how the new suspension pieces were going to fit so i temporarily bolted every thing in .I assembled the spindle and disks as a unit first .I also bolted in the Borgeson box .

Edited April 13, 2016 by Ridge Runner

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

My favorite purchase ,so far .

The BFGs are 245-60-R 15s ,i like the way BFG tires ride .

I had to mount up the two front tires ,i needed to roll the car out and i didn't have any other wheels that would fit the Wilwood hubs.

v

[Rcodenewf 44]

Very nice work indeed! Love the fabricated fender pieces. Do you like the 3 in 1 shear, roll and pan brake? I was going to purchase one but heard so many negatives about them that I didn't bother. Yet, if you used one to do the fender pieces I see nothing wrong with those!

 

We have princess auto up here in Canada which is similar to your Harbor Freight and I believe they sell a 3 in 1.

 

Thanks and I'm enjoying following your build.

 

Regards...>john

[SparkyGT 26]

here are a few of the driver fender, you can see how the lip is steel and bonded to the rest of the fender

 

 

 

 

this is an original driver in my storeroom, patched up though. I have an earlier branda passenger that is all fiberglass and wavy as ever, and a really beat up passenger that we grabbed off the ground when we got the car way back. my plan is to eventually see if I can get some originals that are good shape or buy some aftermarkets, cut them up and bond my metal mountings on. not sure if this really helps you at all.