New arrival from Dearborn
02-29-2012, 05:10 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Michigan
Posts: 8
New arrival from Dearborn
Hello all! New to the forum, but not so new to Mustangs. I was first stricken with 'Pony Fever' back in 1982 while pouring over every detail of Ron Pruett's "Bad Attitude" 65 Mustang street machine in the February issue of HOT ROD magazine as a car-crazy kid in junior high school. It was everything I wanted in a car, and it lit the fuse on a long-lasting love for Mustangs.
Of course, going back even further, there was the fond memories of riding in my Mom's old 1969 Mustang Grande' coupe as a child. It was yellow with a black vinyl top and a black interior, and she picked it up used from a friend in the early 70s. By then, it had been fitted with a 351 Cleveland and a four speed, and though it was a tempermental, troublesome little beast, it always made my day whenever I could talk Mom into 'standing on it' and letting it roar through the gears!
Fast forward once more to the late 80s and I found myself trading a 70 Pontiac GTO for an off-white 69 notchback coupe of my own. Mine had a 390 swapped into it with a C6 automatic, but it evoked memories of days gone by on the streets of Detroit in Mom's old car, and I secretly imagined I was Ron Pruett in his bad-*** notchback as well!
Moving along to the Present Day, I now own a 2010 Mustang V6 coupe in Brilliant Silver metallic with a 4.0 V6 and 5-speed. Devoid of any goofy stripes or spoilers, I opted for the base model as a clean slate from which to work my own notions of retro styling into being with this car. I had originally wanted a dark metallic blue Mustang (like Ron Pruett's 65), but once I saw the gleaming silver flanks of this one, I couldn't pass it up!
Being that I've long regarded the Boss 429 models of 1969 and 1870 to be my favorite factory Mustangs, and the 2010 models have a none-too-subtle 69-70 vibe about them, I elected to go with a mild retro theme that would envoke a tributary nod towards the old Shotgun Stallions of the musclecar era.
The 4.0 engine specs out at 246 cubic inches (or 245 in some catalogs), so I bought a set of "BOSS 429" fender decals in black and did a little re-working to emblazen the "BOSS 246" markings on my car. Back in the day, only white BOSS 429 Mustangs used the black lettering, with the rest being lettered in white, but I thought the black contrasted nicely against the bright silver fenders on my car.
From there, I added the raised chrome block "M-U-S-T-A-N-G" lettering to the decklid for an additional throw-back to the car's musclecar herritage. Keeping with that ever-present 70's feel, I also added some vintage Gabriel "Hi-Jackers" decals to the rear quarter windows. Partly as a styling cue from the Disco Decade, and partly as a comical statement about the car's 'stinkbug' stance. (I've often been asked if it has air shocks on it, and although it looks like it...it doesn't, I assure you!).
Inside the cabin, things remain pretty much untouched for the time being, although I did replace the dorky stock shift **** with an old aluminum Hurst t-handle that used to reside in a couple of my past cars, including an old four speed Granada and an F150. It is far more comfortable than the factory ****, and looks at home in the semi-retro cockpit.
High on my list of planned upgrades is the rolling stock. Those HIDEOUS factory wheels have GOT to go, but I'll get my money's worth out of the original tires before relagating them and the wheels to the nearest convenient dumpster in search of something FAR more appropriate! Kind of sucks that Ford would drop the ball and slap mini-van wheels on a retro-styled sports car, but for under twenty grand, I guess you can't have everything!
One thing Ford gets right almost every time is comfort, and this car is no exception! I tend to travel about quite a bit and logging long hours behind the wheel in this car is a true pleasure. I've driven much of old Route 66 in this car, and am currently in Tulsa motoring around that lovely town and digging the fine 70 degree 'winter' weather!
There have been some reliability issues with the car, but being no stranger to Ford products, I wasn't too surprised. The worst incident was when a heater hose blew off on the freeway about a week after I bought the car, and it overheated a little in traffic while trying to get pulled over and out of the way to wait for a flatbed to haul it back to the dealership. Needless to say, as soon as I got it back, I resorted to my old off-road 4x4 days and equipped every coolant hose with two clamps under the hood to prevent that from ever happening again! I also strapped the floppy factory fuel/evap lines up under the car...having them hang down as the lowest point and wiggle around while rubbing on the panhard bar wasn't exactly my idea of engineering brilliance, so I made sure they stayed put and are safely tucked up out of harm's way.
Well, that's our story in a nutshell! Looking forward to many more miles and memories in this silver steed as we make our way around the country and through the streets of Henry Ford's hometown! I'll be doing some more modifications, mainly cosmetic...but a few mechanical over the next few years and hope to share some of the overall experience here!
Of course, going back even further, there was the fond memories of riding in my Mom's old 1969 Mustang Grande' coupe as a child. It was yellow with a black vinyl top and a black interior, and she picked it up used from a friend in the early 70s. By then, it had been fitted with a 351 Cleveland and a four speed, and though it was a tempermental, troublesome little beast, it always made my day whenever I could talk Mom into 'standing on it' and letting it roar through the gears!
Fast forward once more to the late 80s and I found myself trading a 70 Pontiac GTO for an off-white 69 notchback coupe of my own. Mine had a 390 swapped into it with a C6 automatic, but it evoked memories of days gone by on the streets of Detroit in Mom's old car, and I secretly imagined I was Ron Pruett in his bad-*** notchback as well!
Moving along to the Present Day, I now own a 2010 Mustang V6 coupe in Brilliant Silver metallic with a 4.0 V6 and 5-speed. Devoid of any goofy stripes or spoilers, I opted for the base model as a clean slate from which to work my own notions of retro styling into being with this car. I had originally wanted a dark metallic blue Mustang (like Ron Pruett's 65), but once I saw the gleaming silver flanks of this one, I couldn't pass it up!
Being that I've long regarded the Boss 429 models of 1969 and 1870 to be my favorite factory Mustangs, and the 2010 models have a none-too-subtle 69-70 vibe about them, I elected to go with a mild retro theme that would envoke a tributary nod towards the old Shotgun Stallions of the musclecar era.
The 4.0 engine specs out at 246 cubic inches (or 245 in some catalogs), so I bought a set of "BOSS 429" fender decals in black and did a little re-working to emblazen the "BOSS 246" markings on my car. Back in the day, only white BOSS 429 Mustangs used the black lettering, with the rest being lettered in white, but I thought the black contrasted nicely against the bright silver fenders on my car.
From there, I added the raised chrome block "M-U-S-T-A-N-G" lettering to the decklid for an additional throw-back to the car's musclecar herritage. Keeping with that ever-present 70's feel, I also added some vintage Gabriel "Hi-Jackers" decals to the rear quarter windows. Partly as a styling cue from the Disco Decade, and partly as a comical statement about the car's 'stinkbug' stance. (I've often been asked if it has air shocks on it, and although it looks like it...it doesn't, I assure you!).
Inside the cabin, things remain pretty much untouched for the time being, although I did replace the dorky stock shift **** with an old aluminum Hurst t-handle that used to reside in a couple of my past cars, including an old four speed Granada and an F150. It is far more comfortable than the factory ****, and looks at home in the semi-retro cockpit.
High on my list of planned upgrades is the rolling stock. Those HIDEOUS factory wheels have GOT to go, but I'll get my money's worth out of the original tires before relagating them and the wheels to the nearest convenient dumpster in search of something FAR more appropriate! Kind of sucks that Ford would drop the ball and slap mini-van wheels on a retro-styled sports car, but for under twenty grand, I guess you can't have everything!
One thing Ford gets right almost every time is comfort, and this car is no exception! I tend to travel about quite a bit and logging long hours behind the wheel in this car is a true pleasure. I've driven much of old Route 66 in this car, and am currently in Tulsa motoring around that lovely town and digging the fine 70 degree 'winter' weather!
There have been some reliability issues with the car, but being no stranger to Ford products, I wasn't too surprised. The worst incident was when a heater hose blew off on the freeway about a week after I bought the car, and it overheated a little in traffic while trying to get pulled over and out of the way to wait for a flatbed to haul it back to the dealership. Needless to say, as soon as I got it back, I resorted to my old off-road 4x4 days and equipped every coolant hose with two clamps under the hood to prevent that from ever happening again! I also strapped the floppy factory fuel/evap lines up under the car...having them hang down as the lowest point and wiggle around while rubbing on the panhard bar wasn't exactly my idea of engineering brilliance, so I made sure they stayed put and are safely tucked up out of harm's way.
Well, that's our story in a nutshell! Looking forward to many more miles and memories in this silver steed as we make our way around the country and through the streets of Henry Ford's hometown! I'll be doing some more modifications, mainly cosmetic...but a few mechanical over the next few years and hope to share some of the overall experience here!
