Somethingclever's operation 65 Mustang DD - built and bought

[Ares]

LOL, that itty bitty little chip. I've had half a tooth missing and never knew it. Bearings, ya they needed replaced.

[somethingclever]

LOL, that itty bitty little chip. I've had half a tooth missing and never knew it. Bearings, ya they needed replaced.

Ya the gears were a bummer....I didn't think about it but I suppose you are right and that mark is pretty superficial considering where it is on the tooth.

Too late now though...grabbed another set off ebay for $90.

So for the rear axle I am around $800...the only thing not being replaced is the housing itself...which was also chopped up obviously.

I think this is still quite a bit cheaper than buying an original 8", a rear disc kit, and complete rebuild with track-lok.

[Ares]

Oh I'm not against replacing something damaged. Plus I'd rather build a 8.8 vs a 8" for that car.

[somethingclever]

Now that the car was back to roller status and wetsanding/buffing was mostly complete on the body, it was sent out for a headliner to a local old-timer.

Sagging headliners are the worst so I was happy to pay a professional to do it.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics of just it, but it came out very nice...

Previously i showed a swatch of seat material to match wimbledon white, and I also planned to offset that white with 1965 Mustang "red".

The headliner is that red.

One thing I did not realize is that the headliner head and tail tuck into the F/R glass channel...so to replace a headliner in these cars is a big job as the glass also needs removed. It may be possible to do it without, but I didn't want to take a chance and the glass was out anyway. So after the headliner install, the F/R glass also went back in.

Then more body part wet sanding/buffing and fitting onto the car for permanent installation....

[2000GT]

That is looking really good John!

Keep the updates coming!

[Dan B.]

It's no ranger but looks pretty good.....

[somethingclever]

Couple more shine pictures from sanding/buffing.....


This car was in CA most of it's life, then NC, then PA....former owner was military....this sticker was on the windshield. Would have preferred to keep it on there but I forgot to let my friend know.


Also he tried to polish up the vent windows but the chrome was too pitted for me to stomach putting back on.....so new ones were ordered.

[somethingclever]

Since I am a wheel and tire snob I couldn't wait any longer to get the credit card out again....

Wheels and tires for these cars seem to be all over the map and the front fenders weren't on the car nor was the proper weight/ride height on it for me to get any real measurements from WMS to fender.

It seemed like the safest bet was 15x7 with 3.75" BS and a 215 tire would not rub the front...I forgot to mention the front and rear lips were rolled prior to primer/paint so I opted for some 225/60/15's on all four corners.


People put more rubber especially on the back but I wanted the ability to rotate the tires for this 8-10k miles/yr DD....and because I'm cheap.


Period correct is the idea....

[Ares]

Wow that is looking really good. Also you can't go wrong with that wheel choice for that generation

[Dickbag 5.h0]

Awesome, it's coming together nicely! Great choice on the wheels, have them on my Nova....

[TooFast98Cobra]

Those rear fender lips are razor sharp. I cant tell you how many times I've sliced my hand washing the 65.

[somethingclever]

While the body was shaping up I was putting together a Christmas list of interior bits...

I purchased everything from CJ Pony Parts.

A note on that - they are good for in-stock parts....if something is back-ordered or there is an issue with a part...shop elsewhere. Getting someone on the phone is ridiculous.

I did get to speak with a pretty knowledgeable sales person who helped put together a complete interior package.

I will say where CJ seems to stand apart is the discounted packages they put together....and then they gave me a discount on top of that.

I wanted a stock appearing seat but with a little bolstering...opted for TMI Sport II seat covers and foam kit with the swatch matching wimbledon surrounded by 1965 mustang "red" in pony interior trim. These covers were custom and took 12 weeks to get with no returns!

I went back and forth on converting the car to Pony interior (never knew what that was until this project) as I do like it more than the std interior...however in the name of KISS I kept it stock type but plan for a few Pony Int. upgrades.

Alot of stuff was in stock thankfully at this time with the steering wheel and trim kit being on back-order for quite some time.

I could not find at the time a wood wheel specific for generator cars so I went with a matching white one....I may change that out in the future since I like wood trim on my 65 mustangs just the same as I like it on my 1990's Dodge Caravans'....LE trim of course.

I believe CJ Pony now offers a 64.5 specific hub to work with 64.5 specific (generator car specific) turn signal switch.


After the order a huge box showed up in OHIO with new parts....I used TMI products as much as possible to keep the "reds" all the same on the interior.

The biggest different in color ended up being the seat belts but I will have to live with it or try 1966 mustang "red" which is like a burgandy color and likely too dark. (TMI doesn't make belt webbing)

The TMI door panels matched basically perfect to the Ford Tooling Dash. (I forget who makes the dash pad)

New parts

[PaxtonShelby]

Great build John - you’re gonna love it! ��

[somethingclever]

Prior to the interior actually showing up the body continued to come together.....I made another trip out to OH early this spring to help run the wire harness and deliver more goodies....snapped this pic of the fenders sitting loosely on the car for photo op and motivation purposes...

His neighbor helped him hang the doors prior to my arrival....glad he did because the drivers side door body lines weren't quite acceptable considering how nice the car was otherwise turning out.

So he ended up reworking that door and then respraying it.

1 step forward...2 steps back.

[somethingclever]

I wasn't looking to reinvent the wheel for anything with this car....drivetrain included.

While the body was coming together I had started looking for an engine/trans....ideally a H/C/I 302/T5 dropout in good working order with decent miles.

My normal go-to online resources were coming up empty consistently and i don't have bookface.....almost seemed like SBF's are becoming "rare"?

[Dan B.]

...almost seemed like SBF's are becoming "rare"?

I'll 100% agree with that. When looking for another motor for Colt's truck I had all kinds of folks trying to sell junk for way too much money. It wasn't long ago (5-6yrs) when I paid $250 each for several running/complete HO motors. Now they are $1k and up with unknown history. A box of parts to make a stock HO are $500. I paid $1,500 for a 306 (Edelbrock Performer heads/intake, F cam, and a bunch of other goodies (24# inj, TF SN95 elbow, BBK TB, headers, Edelbrock FPR, etc, etc) but it's going to need new rings at some point.

[somethingclever]

I wasn't having much luck with a complete package but I did run across a brand new T5z that was in MD. Fortunately he was heading to Harrisburg for an autocross event (he builds and races miata's) so I met him there which saved me a little travel time and of course I stuck around for a bit to watch some runs before getting back on the turnpike.

Fortunately he not only had the trans but also a spare bellhousing and starter locating plate so I bought both of those.

At the time new T5z's were like $2300...not sure what they are now almost 1 yr later and lots of inflation.

I scored the bell, plate, and trans for $1400...seems like a good buy.

[PaxtonShelby]

Nice deal! Now...get that bell cleaned up and spray some clearcoat on everything to keep it shiny.

[somethingclever]

I'll 100% agree with that. When looking for another motor for Colt's truck I had all kinds of folks trying to sell junk for way too much money. It wasn't long ago (5-6yrs) when I paid $250 each for several running/complete HO motors. Now they are $1k and up with unknown history. A box of parts to make a stock HO are $500. I paid $1,500 for a 306 (Edelbrock Performer heads/intake, F cam, and a bunch of other goodies (24# inj, TF SN95 elbow, BBK TB, headers, Edelbrock FPR, etc, etc) but it's going to need new rings at some point.

I don't mind paying for it....the market is the market and I needed it. I was surprised at the lack of options anymore.


I didn't think I needed a completely new engine (well, didn't really want to pay for one either) and figured I could wade through a sea of HCI stock shortblock 302's for sale and select the perfect candidate.

It took me a bit to realize that the stock roller cam shortblocks I was seeking could very well be 35 yrs old now......and people don't seem to be playing with them as was the case 10 yrs ago before the Coyote came out.

But after a couple months of looking, I was pointed to one on FB Marketplace that should have been around the Columbus area. Was given the number and called the guy only to find out he was in New Hampshire?

It was a stock 90' vintage shortblock with E cam, AFR 165's, and an aftermarket port EFI intake...and the guy was willing to drive to Harrisburg (about 10hrs each way I think) to meet me....for the sum of $2600. Seemed like a fair deal for a running and ready to go engine. Was thinking all I needed to do swap intakes and install.

The intake that came on it was designed specifically for cobra kit cars to have EFI utlizing factory sensors, wiring harness, ECU and injectors and is under the name "Mass-Flo". The PO kept the harness and ECU but gave me the rest of the stuff with the engine...which I probably will not use in the future.

The engine was in his FF Cobra kit car and he said he removed it for a stroker 385 series BBF.


So sure enough about 1/2 mile from where I picked up the transmission a couple weeks prior, I picked up the longblock.

[2000GT]

Nice score! It bums me out that SBFs are becoming a relic of the past. You can't find cheap Ford V8s anymore like you can with the LS motors