The SN65 project car

Dude, this car is going to be one badass ride.

Hi All,

Well... I have been fitting the upper aprons to the engine bay and I ran into a bit of trouble. :-(

When fitting the fenders to the upper aprons and the aprons to the engine bay I encountered a slight, for lack of a better term, misalignment issue. While the passenger side fender lined up with the shock tower exactly as planned, the drivers side road up against (hit, butted up, overlapped, encountered, encroached, etc...) it. :-( The shock tower must have pulled a bit when I welded the rectangular tube upper tower braces in place.

We could have solved the problem by grinding off about 3/16" off the drivers side fenders lower mounting flange / lip, but my brother said we were not taking any shortcuts at this point. He said "We can solve this with a little pull on the frame rack".

Easier said than done.

He positioned the rack towers (one on either side of the car) and attached one chain to the bottom of the tower at the frame rail, and another chain at the top of the shock tower. Well, when he started applying pressure, nothing moved. He took it up to 1800 lbs and the entire front of the car was lifted off the blocks (usually the car is anchored to the frame rack, but this was just a "little" pull and no one thought it was necessary). Even at 2200 lbs, nothing moved except for the driver’s side rear. It was also off the support block. We all looked at each other and said "Maybe the car is a bit stiffer than we thought". We had the entire car supported by the chains and the passenger side support block.

We had to chain the driver’s side rear down as we took the pressure up to 2700 lbs at which point we got the top of the tower to move. Wayne set the position by giving it a couple of heavy smacks with a sledge hammer and a block of wood to distribute the impact.

I hope a "stiff" chassis is a desirable thing, because this sucker aint gonna have much "give" to it.

Anyway, we achieved our goal. We moved the top of the shock tower 3/16" and now the drivers side fender and engine bay aprons are right on.

Catch you all later

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

Hi All,

Here is the mock up of the front end. I have the whole structure held together with tape and paint stir sticks. I needed to get a rough over all picture before I start bolting, screwing and welding together all the remaining panels.

This afternoon I will be bolting, screwing and welding this assembly together in an attempt to have all the fabrication done for a Wednesday meeting with the media blaster.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2053

Also, note the preliminary placement of the dome for the hood. Our preliminary calc's tell us that we will need a max of 3" to clear the highest areas of the engine. We will know better when we have the aprons, etc. welded in place.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2054

Catch you all later

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

man this gets better and better. i cant wait 2 see it finished.

AdRiAn

Hi All,

Panel after bracket after panel after bracket after panel...

GEEEZZZZZ!!!!

Will it ever end???

We are currently fitting and welding all the remaining panels to the chassis. Here are some photos of some of the rough cut panels clamped into place for prelim fit & trim work.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2055

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2056

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2057

I know I have said this before, but we should be ready to go off to the sandblaster by the beginning of next week.

Catch you all later

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

Hi All,

We are having a minor controversy here this morning. :-(

My brother is not very happy about my wanting to take this car on the power tour. His concern is that the paint (which he will be spending about 4 weeks to apply) will get all chipped up on a cross country jaunt. This is the first scheduled showing of the car and he feels that chipping it up would be a very bad idea.

I can see his point, but I really wanted to go on the tour.

In any event, I am wishing to show the car at some the major national events after it is finished in May. Do any of you have any recommendations as to the best events to attend??? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

Hi All,

Here is a list of shows that we are planning on attending over the next year. Please review the list and let me know if there are any obvious omitions.

1) The Rod Rod Power Tour (June 4th, 5th, 6th, ect...). We have desided to do the tour, but we are going to have to determine just how far we are going to go based on our schedule at the time. We will at least do the Wisconson, Illinois, Indiana legs. If we can work it into our schedule, we will complete the tour to the end.

2) GoodGuys, Ohio (July 8th, 9th 10th). This show is a must for us. There are going to be many fine cars brought by many of the most notable builders in the country. I am hopeing for consideration in the Goodguys 2005 Street Rod & Street Machine of the Year competition. I guess if you have to dream, you might as well dream big.

3) GoodGuys, Wisconson (Aug 12th, 13th, 14th). Local event....

4) MCA Grand Nationals, Youngstown, Ohio (Sept 2nd, 3rd, 4th). Gotta go.

5) SEMA, Las Vegas (Nov 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th). Gotta Go.

6) World of Wheels, Chicago (Jan). Local event...

7) World of Wheels, Indianapolis (Feb). Local event...

8) Autorama, Detroit (Mar).

9) World of Wheels, Minneapolis (April). Local event...

10) World Ford Challange, St Louis (May).

Thanks in advance for your input.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

if you take this car to detroit i'm sooooooooo gonna be there. that's only an hour's drive for me.

this project seems to be turning out extremely well.

Hi All,

Well here is how the car sits right now.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2068

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2069

Note that we are using the 03 hood hinges. We like these items because of the integral locking tab that prevents the hood from sheering off the bolts in the event of a collision.

I have all the brackets, plates, etc... ready for installation. I have everything preliminarily fit up, but there is still about two days of final adjustments and welding to go. I would jump right in on this, but I am afraid it is beyond my rudimentary capabilities, at least if I want things to line up just so. Also, my brother and the other bodyman capable of doing the quality work that this project requires have been buried with collision work lately.

I have found out something interesting in regard to the ways both of these cars were fabricated. The tolerances are COMPLETELY different. While it is relatively easy to fine tune the 03 chassis to within 2mm, the 65 body is all over the place. Some items are off as much as plus or minus 1/4" from side to side. I thought that maybe it was an issue with the 65 donor car we were using, but that is not the case. I measure my original 65 fastback and find that (even tough the car looks straight as an arrow) it is off as much as the donor we used for this project. This is nuts. I can see why it takes so much effort to get the fit on these cars anywhere close to right.

Anyway...

If things go according to plan, we should finish up all the fab by this weekend. If we don't it won't be because I was holding up the project on my end.

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

Hi All,

Today, since I have gone as far as I can on the front aprons, I started roughing in the rear fender flares. My goal is to locate the top of the wheel openings at 26". That should place the opening along the same plane as the major body line (the top line of the side scallop) along the side of the car.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2075

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2076

What a pain in the butt. I thought that you just located the flare on the side of the car and glued it in place and you were done.

Well...

if you want a solid finished product, you have to flare the quarter panel behind the FRP flare. Look at the photos and you will see what I mean. Again, this is as far as I can take it. A real bodyman has to do the finish hammer and dolly work and then finish the project off by welding all the tabs together.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2077

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

Hi All,

Anyone out there know where I can find the driver and passenger side SS channels that retain the window gaskets. These do not appear to be available through any aftermarket supplier.

HELP!!!

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
St Charles, IL
630-762-0387

Hi All,

This weekend was not as productive as I could have wished. We got a lot done, but unforeseen issues, slowed the progress to a crawl.

The most notable of these issues, was caused by me due to a basic design error. It was a simple geometry, of all things, and, after it revealed itself, I felt so stupid. Why is it that the simplest issues always are the ones that cause the most headaches?

Anyway...

I was making every effort to use the 03 Cobra hood hinges. I was determined to use these because they feature an integral safety interlock that is supposed to keep the hood from breaking free in the event of a head on collision. Well, after locating and welding the hinges to the hood and positioning the hood on the car, I got a nasty little surprise. The hood would not open. Instead of pivoting up away from the cowl, as I had predicted, it pivoted into the cowl. In order for this hinge to work, I would have to relocate the hinge backward into the cowl area about 1 1/2". If I did this, I would have to slot the top of the cowl in order for the hood to open.

AAUUUUGGHHH!!!

I needed to have the hood / hinge installed before any of the final fit up of the front aprons. So, not having the hood ready put the breaks on the whole front end. I was so depressed.

We have revised the design to incorporate the hinge used on the Ford Explorer. It should work well, but the redesign and installation will have added another week to the project. I will keep you posted as to this week’s progress.

I have posted some photos of the final fit up of the rear wheel flares and the panels we fabricated to seal off the quarter panels, rear tail light panel etc... to the floor and structure of the 03 chassis. Note: The welds look a bit uglier than they really are. After they are media blasted, sanded and caulked, they should fade seamlessly into the structure of the 03 chassis.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2085

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2086

Fitting up the flares was quite an ordeal in and of itself. The flares are not exactly the same. The overall shape, contour and wheel opening are a bit different from one side to the other. Getting them to line up the same on both sides was difficult, to say the least. I had to position one side, measure it, position the other side, measure it, make adjustments to the first side, measure it, make adjustments to the second side, measure it and then repeat the process over and over until I finally got them to match dimensionally on both sides of the car. All in all, I am very happy with the final results.

Catch you all later. I have a lot of work to get started on.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

We have ordered the new hinges and also, the replacement oil filter casting we need to clear the steering linkage.

Once the hinges are mounted / installed, we will be able to finalize the upper aprons and move on to media blasting, priming, painting, assembly, tuning, driving, cruising, racing, showing, fun.

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

I spent yesterday struggling with the hood hinge issue. The new hinges we ordered would have solved our problems if they fit, but they were so large that I would have had to cut down into the lower cowl (into the passenger compartment) to get them to fit. Well, that was not going to happen, so I drew up some ideas on how we could modify the 03 cobra hinges and ran them past Wayne. After resolving a few issues with the design, I asked Wayne if I could do all the fab work. He said "There are plenty of other things I need to do, so go for it".

Here are the photos. I had to section the hinge, add 1 1/2" of 10 gage and shape the section into a gooseneck to clear the cowl when the hood opens. I think they came out great.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2087

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2088

Today, I can fab the brackets for mounting the hood and re-align the front end so that we can complete fabrication on the chassis this weekend.

WoHoo!!!

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

looking good.

Hi All,

Today, I have fit the hood hinges to the car preparing for the final fit up of the front clip this weekend. I will be tweaking things this afternoon. Move this a bit, shift that here, etc...

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2090

Also, not to get ahead of ourselves, we have mocked up a simple graphic on the passenger side. It is a play on the Boss 302 stripe packages of the late 60's. We were thinking of different designations for the car, you know, things like Boss 4.6, 4.6 Cammer, etc. But I like the simple SN65 designation for this car. I think it is kind of fitting.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2091

The graphics would be painted black along with the center section of the hood.

Anyway... Enough foolishness for now. Time to get back to work.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

We came close, but did not completely finish the front aprons this past weekend. We were having trouble with the front end dimensions and gaps. We finally got them as close as physically possible (nice consistent gaps, dim's within 1/4"). But to achieve that we had to assemble and disassemble the front end about 7 times. Each time we would resolve one issue and have another rear its ugly head.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2103

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2104

We still have to position and weld the cowl in place, but that is something that we can accomplish in an afternoon.

Also, we contacted the media blaster and he cannot fit us into the schedule until early next week. That being the case, we will continue with finer and finer detail work. For example, we are working on the brackets for mounting the trunk latch. You will notice that we have reversed the typical trunk config and mounted the latch on the car and the striker will mount on the lid.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2105

We will continue to work on brackets, and fitting up different pieces until the blaster is ready for us.

Time to get back to work.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Just finished forming the last two apron trim plates. :-)

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2106

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2107

Also, we finished modifying the oil filter lower coolant casting. We had to convert the neck from the stock 90 degrees to a straight run in order to clear the alternator. Doing this eliminates the oil cooler so we are going to have to install a remote oil cooler setup.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2108

Oh no... Here comes my brother. I better get back to work.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Lately, there has been a lot of debate over graphics or no graphics for the final car. I am undecided at this point. Maybe we should just use the badges from the SVT Cobra as we originally planned. Maybe we should use the reverse "C" graphics with the SN65 designation. Maybe we should cave and use the GT stripe with the SN65 designation.

AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!!

To help resolve this issue, we have decided to hold a graphic design contest. No rules. No regulations. no requirements whatsoever. We don't care if you work up a 3D virtual reality, rotating computer illustration, or scrawl your picture on a napkin at the local dive with a few of your closest friends. Maybe you have no artistic ability at all and just convey your ideas in words alone. We have enough vision to be able to picture what it is you describe.

What is in it for you? Well.... Not much I am afraid. I wish I could offer the winner a scholarship, or free vacation, etc... but, like the rest of you, this wacky hobby has sucked every last loose piece of change out of my pants. With that said. The winner will receive a personalized plaque featuring a signed photo of the finished car, and an unused part off one of the donor cars. Also, you will be given a ride in the finished car, whenever we meet up at an event. Who knows, if you convince us you are a responsible individual, we may even let you drive. Also, the car will be painted with your design and we will give you credit for the design on the display we build for the car.

Just e-mail your entry to [email protected]

I will respond to every entry so that you will know we received it. Also, all designs must be received no later than March 31st, 2005.

Good luck

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

More and more details....

As I have been working on brackets for the front clip, Wayne has been working on finishing the trunk latch, catch and lock setup. We were struggling with the location of the lock and Wayne came up with the following solution (see photos).

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2110

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2111

Now, we have the lock hidden and we still use the factory fuel door for more than a badge. :-)

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Today, Wayne fabed up the side gas filler door. He had to trial fit the gas tank and the filler neck to get an accurate location. He marked the location of the plastic inner housing on the quarter. He removed the filler neck and the gas tank. He located the center point of the gas door, and drilled the center hole from the inside.

When he walked around to the outside of the car, he noticed that the hole he drilled was within 1/8" of the "X" I drew on the car marking the door location. I told him to trust me next time and he wouldn't have to go through so much work. :-)

Anyway, this is going to be so cool. Wayne ground smooth and flanged the rough cut opening so that the 03 door mounting ring (the part we cut off the Cobra) sits flush with the 65 quarter panel.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2112

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2113

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

This the first time I opened this thread.

Very impressive. I have a lot of reading to do.

Keep it up, can't wait for the end results.

This the first time I opened this thread.

Very impressive. I have a lot of reading to do.

Keep it up, can't wait for the end results.
Hi S,

If you think this is a long raed, check this out.

http://eleanor.pro3i.com/showthread.php?t=513328&page=23&pp=25

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Damn, that is a buttload of posts.

Hi All,

We are planning a get together starting at 8 AM on Saturday April 2nd at Julian's Collision Center located in St Charles IL for a viewing of the SN65 project car.

The car should be in primer at that point giving everybody a real good idea as to how it is going to look at completion.

Come one and all.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Damn!!!!

I hate it when "real work" interferes with this project.

All we had to do this weekend was finish welding in the cowl and the trim pieces around the passenger and driver side windows. That’s all. Maybe about 10 man-hours....

Well... The two bodymen (and my brother) who were supposed to help this weekend couldn't because they had to work on customer cars. I hate it when actual paying customers get top priority. Also, I did not get much accomplished because I had to help another paying customer with his 66 coup restoration.

I spent all day yesterday fitting and welding the cowl. That along with reviewing the corporate tax returns of 2 companies took up my entire day.

I did not finish all I needed to before media blasting. The blaster called yesterday to schedule the pick up (they were scheduled to blast the car today) and I had to reschedule because I was not ready. !@$_(*&!!!! Now they will not be able to get to it before the end of the week if I am lucky. Most likely they will be by next Monday to pick it up for blasting on Tuesday.

I am so depressed. :-(

Anyway... Here is a photo of the finished cowl area. Note the open areas around the hood hinge brackets. These areas will be covered by a small plate.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2114

Now I have to get to work. HydroFlo is having project review meetings today and I need to attend. Another day shot to hell due to real work interfering with this project. When will the madness end?

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Work pays to play, it sucks, but its a fact of life.

Keep at it :)

Hi All,

Well, I have a few days to kill before the media blaster can fit me into his schedule. They are currently blasting and coating Garbage trucks, cement mixing trucks and construction trucks as well as misc. heavy metal fabrications.

The coating systems they use are a bit different than those used on a typical production vehicle. They use a number of different self priming high build epoxy. All surfaces are blasted to an SSPC-SP10 near white metal blast and then coated with 12 to 16 mills of self priming epoxy. The coating is VERY durable and has high chemical resistance. If the surface is prepped properly and the coating applied properly, the system is suitable for indefinite submersion in wastewater with a pH of 2.5 to 13 (normal is 7).

Anyway...

Until I get the car back from media blasting we are going to be working on brackets, misc. detail work, etc.... That is when the real fun begins. :-)

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Work pays to play, it sucks, but its a fact of life.

Keep at it :)
Hi S,

I understand the dynamics of work, pay, bills, wife, work, wife, bills, car...

It still sucks big time. :-)

Maybe I can apply for a government grant. It would be nice to actally get some money FROM the government as opposed to always giving it to them. :-)

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Entries for the graphics contest are rolling in. You only have 14 days left. A lot of good ideas are coming in.

I am looking forward to seeing yours.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

I just realized that I did not show you any of the pictures of the finished cowl areas (the areas under the fenders). I am pretty happy with the way they came out. There was a lot of custom forming and fabrication to get the different years to fit together. It seems a shame to cover all this up with the fenders. :-)

Also, you can see the WW setup. The system had better last a while because it is now hermetically sealed.

So without further adieu.....

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2116

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2117

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

This weekend, we installed the Apten aux cooling kit for the blown 4.7. And while the kit looks like it will perform as advertised (improve cooling on the #7 & #8 cylinders) there are a couple of items that could stand a bit of improvement.

When installed, the kit adds another path for the hot water trapped at the back of the driver’s side cylinder head. The kit is comprised of a length of hose, 4 hose clamps, a PVC barbed "T" fitting, a set of instructions and the fitting (the same Ford item located at the back of the passenger side cylinder head) which connects the drivers side head to the passenger side head (see the photo).

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2129

Before I get into the specific areas of improvement, I just though I would state the following. I was told by Apten that this kit could be installed while the engine was in the car, but the trans would have to be removed. I guess it could be done, but I would not want to fight with the installation of this kit while the engine was in the car. If you doubt me on this one, just look at your engine and imagine attempting to remove the freeze plug at the back of the driver’s side head while the engine is in the car. It can be done, but I imagine it would be quite an ordeal. Also, the aluminum heads are quite soft and nicking the inner race while removing the plug is a real possibility.

As far as the actual kit, the first area of improvement would be the assembly instructions. They are very "sparse" giving you the minimum amount of info necessary to complete the job. For example, the molded fitting you have to cut for the insertion of the barbed “T” has a small flow restrictor crimped inside. There is no mention of this item in the instructions and we just disposed of it when we made our cuts. This is just one minor item, but the instructions leave a lot of room for interpretation in many areas. I know that most who will attempt the installation of this kit will have the skills to install it, even if no instructions were included. After all, who reads the instructions anyway?

The second area of improvement would be replacing the PVC barbed "T" fitting with one more suitable for the job. THIS IS BY FAR MY GREATEST CONCERN WITH THE KIT. Schedule 80 PVC is only recommended for service up to 140 degrees F and the engine will reach temps of at least 180 or more. This does not mean that the fitting will fail at 140 degrees, but its life expectancy will be greatly reduced. The material will soften over time and suffer from stress fractures, etc... Also, a single barb instead of the multiple barb fitting supplied will be less prone to leaking in this type of application. We replaced the PVC fitting (about $1.00) with a 316 SS fitting. There were other options. CPVC is good up to 180 (about $2.00). PVDF is good above 200 (about $12.00). Aluminum is available (about $18.00). But we went the indestructible route with the 316SS at $27.00. The 316SS is a bit pricy, but we thought it was money well spent. Especially when considering what you would have to go through if you ever needed to replace this item.

The third area of improvement is in the "Ford" fitting supplied with the kit. It is designed for the passenger side of the car. While it is true that you could install the item just as described in the kit, we made two minor modifications that just seemed to make sense to us. We drilled a hole in the fitting to allow the re-installation of a bracket and also to positively seat the fitting and keep it from possibly working its way free in the future. We then ground off some of the unnecessary area of the tab just because it looked like a more professional installation.

Also, you are going to have to make a modification to your EGR connection. The SS line runs right over the new fitting and is also extremely close to the rubber hose connected at the top. The instructions state to "bend" this line for clearance. We have not "bent" ours yet, because there is a lot of debate as to the best way to do this. I will be posting photos when we complete this section of the installation.

If you make these (or similar) modifications, I am sure you will be happy with the installation. While I think that a company like Apten would supply a more thoroughly engineered product. The peace of mind I now have knowing that I have improved one of my engines problem areas is priceless.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Well, until I get the car back from the media blaster, I figure I will post some info on areas I have not covered in the past.

I am sure I told you that we had to eliminate the drip rails. I am also sure that I did not fill you in on what we had planned.

I have seen cars with the drip rails removed and, to be totally honest, I really did not like the flat, smoothed, non-descript approach that most people take. What we are doing is a bit different. When the drip rails are removed, there is a formed bead in the surrounding roof and pillar areas. Instead of eliminating this bead, we have actually added material to it in an attempt to simulate the bead that is found around the "C" pillar vents. The bead is just under 1/2" wide and just over 1/8" high. Hopefully, when complete, these details will mirror each other, giving the appearance of an original factory detail.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2130

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2131

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Just 7 more days till the end of the design contest. Hope you have your ideas ready to go. Some really great ideas have been rolling in.

Also, the date for the get together / open house is fast approaching. Look forward to seeing you there Sat April 2nd.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Here is a photo I forgot I took. This was taken as we were getting ready to load the car on the trailer to send off to media blasting.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2132

That is my brother Wayne standing next to the car. The car dosen't look to low, does it? Maybe we went a bit to far. :-)

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

not feelin the rims but the stance looks great

Hi All,

Just talked to the media blaster and we can pick the car up Monday.

Woo Hoo!!!

We will blow the media out, and mount the beast on the rotisserie. We should have the car in primer in time for the Saturday open house / get-2-gether. If we are lucky, we may have the chassis and the interior painted ready for assembly to begin.

I am excited about the open house / get-2-gether. We are looking forward to finally meeting a lot of the people we have made friends with over the past 6 months.

Hope to see you there.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

I love the stance, and rims. Don't change a thing.

You guys do awesome work, real craftsmen!

damn i cant see the picture. i want 2 see it.

damn i cant see the picture. i want 2 see it.

If you can't see the photos here, try this link.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=91389#post91389

You should be able to see the photos there.

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Just got back fron the media blaster. I could go on and on, but as they say, a picture's worth a thousand words....

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2135

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2136

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

That looks awsome. Seems everyone is doing a great job on this car. Keep up the good work and good luck.

That looks awsome. Seems everyone is doing a great job on this car. Keep up the good work and good luck.
Hi 351,

Thanks for the kind words.

Everyone has been working very hard, giving it the best of their ability. The closer we get to the finish the more I have to remind people not to rush things. We have come too far to take any short cuts just to get it on the road a little faster.

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

PS: See you at the open house this Saturday. Open at 8... Close ??? Food and drink will be supplied. We will have some other cars on display. There may even be a “concourse gold” 69 GT350.

Hi All,

The graphic design contest ends tomorrow, so if you have any ideas, get them to me ASAP.

Thanks

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

PS: See you at the open house this Saturday. Open at 8... Close??? Food and drink will be supplied. We will have some other cars on display. There may even be a “concourse gold” 69 GT350.

Hi All,

This afternoon I will be posting photos of the car on the rotisserie. We should be able to get some really good shots of the chassis at that point.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

PS: See you at the open house this Saturday. Open at 8... Close??? Food and drink will be supplied. We will have some other cars on display. There may even be a “concourse gold” 69 GT350.

Who won :D

Hi All,

Sorry I couldn't post these images yesterday, but the computer tech here at work had the network down for upgrading the server.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2138

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2139

Anyway...

Yesterday, we mounted the car on the rotisserie and got our first real good look at the chassis. I have a bit of clean-up work on some of the upside down welds we laid, but all in all, everything looks pretty good. The painter’s staid late last night and "E" coated the entire chassis / body assembly. I will post photos later today showing the days progress.

Also, TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE DESIGN CONTEST. I know I said that it was ending yesterday, but I forgot that March had 31 days. So, get your ideas in to me by midnight.

Catch you later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

PS: See you at the open house this Saturday. Open at 8... Close ??? Food and drink will be supplied. We will have some other cars on display. There may even be a “concourse gold” 69 GT350.

Hi All,

PS: See you at the open house this Saturday. Open at 8... Close ??? Food and drink will be supplied. We will have some other cars on display. There may even be a “concourse gold” 69 GT350.

Wow, this car has really came a long way and I really like it. I have only seen one other project car somewhat like this and it was a '65 custom. I didnt think this could be done until i saw it. Good work guys!

Hi All,

I look forward to meeting those of you who are coming to tomorrows get together. I just detailed my 65 fastback and others have said they are bringing their Stangs. I will be in the shop at about 7AM and opening the doors at 8AM. Feel free to show up as your schedule allows.

See you tomorrow.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

I am currently reviewing all the entries in the design contest. I have to say that there are some really good ideas. I wish I could use them all. In fact, they are all so good that I am considering building a car for each of them. :-)

I am working up a few sketches of some of the "verbal" entries. It will take me about a week to review all the entries and come to a decision.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

I would like to thank all those who made it to our little get together this weekend. I enjoyed meeting each and every one of you. It is nice to put a face to those I have been corresponding with over the past 6 months or so. I really enjoyed discussing the project with you.

On another note, I was also impressed with the really fine Stangs you drive. I would be proud to own any one of them.

I look forward to the "big" unveiling when the car is finally done. We will have a great time taking the car out for quick spins around the block. I will be interested in everyone’s impression during the "test" drives.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

This weekend we worked on detailing the chassis. Lots of sanding, grinding, skim coat, sand, repeat...

Here are some photos of the WIP. We should be done with this (and have it all in primer again) by the middle of the week.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2142

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2143

It is funny. We were looking at the car this morning and Earl said "You know… if I had not seen first hand all the work that went into this car, I never would have believed that it took 6 months to get it to this point. It looks as if all we did was sandblast the car and spray on a coat of primer." I said, “That is exactly why it took us 6 months to do it.” That is exactly the response we are trying to generate. We want people to look at this car and not see all the work that went into it. And, except for the two braces that come from the firewall to the top of the shock towers, I think we have hidden all the modifications quite well.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All.

Today has been a tough one. I started sanding the engine bay this morning. Wayne said that I had to do the entire bay inside and out. About 1/2 hour ago, I finished, at least I thought I was finished. Now I have to go over everything I just sanded with a scotch bright pad.

My hands were cramping up about an hour ago. Now I have about another 2 hours of scotch bright buffing in front of me.

Will it ever end??? :-)

Oh... And this is just the engine bay. Tomorrow I get to start on the underside of the chassis. I can hardly wait.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

man i hate sanding... i feel you there

Hi All,

Today, I sanded and scoured the bottom of the chassis. I also welded in the final wheel well trim pieces. As well as a few other details.

Woo Hoo :-)

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2144

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2145

Next we prime all the Bondo. Sand some more. Prime it again, etc... until we are ready to apply the final coat of primer. Just before applying the final primer coat, we will caulk all the seams, fill all the cavities with expandable foam and undercoat the wheel wells. After the final coat of primer we can then apply color to the chassis and engine bay.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Its really comming along!!! Good job.

Hi All,

Yesterday we started sealing all the interior seams with the urethane seam sealer/adhesive. It is a lord product called "Fusor #800". It is fast curing and permanently flexible. I sealed all the lap joint seams and also some of the interior stitch welds. The material is applied with a standard caulk gun. We then go over the caulk with an acid brush to smooth it out and work it into the tight nooks and crannies.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2146

You will probably notice that I did not do the neatest job. I was more concerned with coverage than I was with appearance. We will do a much neater job when we caulk the exposed areas of the chassis and engine bay.

We also primed the engine bay and the areas of the chassis we detailed. Looks quite a bit different from the early "fit up" stage of the shock towers, doesn’t it?

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2147

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2148

Well... It's time to get back to work.

Catch you all later.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Here is a little note to let you all know that I am going away for a little vacation. My wife Teri and I are going on a Mexican Riviera cruise for our 25th anniversary. We leave tomorrow and return the 16th, so... you will not be hearing from me for a while.

Wayne may look in every so often and make a comment or two, but he is going to be real busy the next week getting the chassis painted.

Talk to you all when we return on the 16th.

So for now, hola seniors and senioritis.

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

I am back from vacation. I had a great time, but now it is time to get back to work. I will be posting some updated photos ASAP (we have the chassis and engine bay painted). Also, we will be posting the results of the design competition by the end of the week.

Catch you all later

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/

Hi All,

Here are some quick picks for ya.

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2154

http://www.horsepowered.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2155

I am having a real hectic day, so this will have to do until tomorrow.

Catch you all later

SN65
Come see this WIP at
Julian's Collision Center
http://www.julianscollisioncenter.com/