More Photos from the Austin Round Up

No need to show the entire car

and give it all away -

 

Get up, get out and go to the

next car show that's in your area

and see cars like this for yourself! 

 

2011 Ford Mustang 5.0

Mustang Project

Hertz Mustang

Two Mustang II's

Looking forward to being at the next car show -

hope to see you there!

Austin Round Up 2011

Going to car shows is always fun and exciting,
especially when there are so many Ford Mustangs!

It's a chance to not only view classic cars, project cars and newer models,

but also to meet the people that restore and care for these cars.

So much effort goes into finding the vehicle itself, parts, tools

and then finding the time to put it all together.

There's almost always a back story to how the car or truck came to be...

whether it was passed down thru the generations or

bought from a friend of a friend who knew a guy.

It's great how some folks have restoration photos
going back to how they originally found their car, rusty, dented

and without an engine sometimes, all the way to showroom shine.
It shows the dedication and hard work involved in restoring a classic.

It was a bright, sunny and scorchin' hot day in Austin,
so a big "Thanks" goes out to all those who showed their cars,
and those who were there to appreciate them!

Here are just a few photos from today's

MOCA (Mustang Owners Club of Austin) car show in Austin, TX.

Click to find out more about MOCA



'67 Mustang Fastback



TX DPS '89 Ford Mustang driven in from Houston

Terlingua Racing Team Ford Mustang

Custom '58 Ford Thunderbird

More photos from the car show will be posted soon.

Clean Chrome Rims

Chrome Mustang Rims

Now that the clutch & shifter are complete, it was time

to give some attention to the exterior...mainly the dirty rims.

Over the last few months these rims had

accumulated a layer or two of grime - yuck!

Even after a thorough washing & drying,

there was still a haziness on them.

Looking around, I found the polish

and a microfiber towel.

Applying some elbow-grease 

sure does help, too.  

Make sure to use a cleaner and/or polish that

is safe for your rims...ie, read the label!

There was a major difference-

No haziness... just shine!

Oh, the reflection!

Now...watch it rain.

Just my luck.

Update: It misted a little bit in the morning!

Mustang Clutch

I've had this Mustang for the last 8 years or so and
it had finally lost its "get-up and go", which meant
that the clutch began slipping, so it was high
time for a new clutch to be installed.

If you have a weekend with good weather,
and all the tools and parts needed and a friend or
two willing to help, then this project could probably
be completed within a day or two...

Here's a look at a few photos
from our weekend project-

1987 Ford Mustang 5.0 clutch

After the transmission was removed, 

this was the view from underneath the dirty beast.

The tranny had a coating of grime 

that warranted a trip of its own to the car wash. 



1987 Ford Mustang 5.0

Don't let the beautiful weather fool you...

It was breezy, but HOT with 90º+ temps.

Removing the old clutch

Since the old clutch was toast,

and toasted, it was slightly difficult to remove.

A little elbow grease was applied

and it gave way...



Worn Pressure Plate

These two photos show how bad this clutch was...

with the grooves being worn in

from the heat generated. 

Old clutch

If you're starting off on a project like this,

be sure to have the little things that

matter on hand, like....
- penetrating spray, like PB Blaster

- soap, like Fast Orange (for yourself)

- shop towels

- flashlight

- brake cleaner

- engine degreaser

Keep in mind that even though you bought

all the parts, you still may need to

rent some tools from an auto-parts store.

It's a good idea to call ahead to make sure

they have the tools you'll need and to place it on hold.

Once you return the rented tools,

they'll credit you back -

so keep your receipts!

Having these items on hand will save you
the trouble of going back and forth
to the store when you could be
moving on to the next step of your project.

Let The Light Shine

As a birthday gift, I received new headlights...er,

OK my Mustang 5.0 received a new set of headlights!

I don't mind receiving car parts as gifts...

It's so much better than going to a spa

and/or getting a mani/pedi

wasting a day away.

At least it's something that will be

used and appreciated for much longer

than one day.

Below, you'll see the transformation

from old, faded, yellow headlights to

new, updated and bright one-piece headlights!

Original 6 Piece Headlights

  

Removing One Piece at a Time - Signal Light Gone

 

No Headlamp

No Side-Marker....

Completed - One-Piece Headlights

Mean Lookin' Lights at Night

These have made quite the difference when driving at night!
The old headlights didn't allow the light to travel
very far since it was diffused by the fading, yellowing plastic.
Now, I can see much more, further ahead,
making night driving safer for me.

I must note that the gift was from my husband who

installed them pretty quickly - after cleaning up the wiring
(hey, it's an old car!)
And, he found them right here in Texas at

Late Model Restoration Supply.

**This is my own opinion/experience and was not compensated for this post**

Old Radiator

I'm thinking this was the original radiator

from the 1987 Ford Mustang GT....

you know, the one that was replaced last November,

because it had begun to leak

at one of the seams, causing

the car to overheat.

What to do with an old radiator?

Take photos, ha-

The photo was taken in January,

but much of the corrosion had

already taken place while in the car.

Next up for replacement... the clutch!
The fun never stops, huh?

Wintery Weather

On Feb 4, 2011 we had a snow day!

The first one in...well, too long, LOL

Covered in ice and snow, the

Ford Mustangs stayed put for the day.

No sense in putting them in danger

with all the other non-snow drivers out there.

Of course, once the sun hit the

snow and ice, it was all over.

Cold Temps

This photo was taken 2 days after Christmas.

It's a good reminder to check-out

a few things on your car when

there is a change of temperature.

Check the air pressure in the tires,

antifreeze (if you haven't done so already this winter),

windshield wipers and windshield wiper fluid.

Might as well check the brake fluid and the oil too,

while you're under the hood.

Radiator Replacement

It was time to replace the radiator in the

1987 Ford Mustang GT 5.0

since it began to overheat (again)

since the seam began to come apart

along the side.

The replacement radiator arrived quickly

from Late Model Restoration Supply .

New radiator hoses must be ordered separately,

but it did come with the radiator cap,

as seen in the photo below.

See the shiny, new radiator...

In the photo above, it's not installed yet -

the red cap where the upper hose connects

is still on there and the fan needs to be re-installed. 

Once everything was installed,

and antifreeze added, the Mustang was started

and idled for a bit, so that we could check

for any possible leaks from a loose clamp

or ill-fitting hose.

It's always a good idea to double check for those

types of things before driving off,

even from a mechanic's garage.



Intake Manifold for 2002 Mustang GT

A few days after ordering the intake manifold,

it arrived in a beautiful box.

We opened up the box to make sure it arrived in one piece

and to inspect it closely.

As a side-note:

An all metal intake would have been preferable,

however there was a great difference in cost.

The fun part was next.

Removing the current manifold.

Sounds easy, but there are many other

parts that must be removed too.

In the photo above, the upper intake, alternator, fuel rails,

fuel injectors along with hoses,

vacuum lines and other connections

(that all should be labeled) were removed.

 

The lower intake has been removed,

and now it's extremely evident that labeling

the connections is very important

before removing any part.

This is a close up of the intake ports to show

the grime that has built up over the years,

as well as the old gasket material.

Cleaning all the ports and removing the old

gasket material is the next step.

The shop-vac was also used to remove

anything that might have fallen into the ports.

It looks funny...seeing a vacuum being used

in the engine, but it's effective.

Before I knew it, the new intake was in place.

I had wanted to get a photo of the cleaned up ports,

but my mechanic (husband) was ready to get this

project finished ASAP, and with the Texas heat 

taking its toll, I didn't blame him.

Once everything was in place,

we started the car and let it idle to make

sure that there were no leaks, or odd noises.

A test drive was also done to ensure that

all was well, even under pressure.

So, for the past few days, the

Mustang GT has been driven

and no longer occupies the driveway 24/7,

all thanks to my husband for taking on this project :)

Things Gone Awry...

In case you were wondering if this

was a case of blog-neglect....

wonder no more!

We've had a series of misfortunate events

occur that have kept us busy....

One vehicle is out for the count.

Although the Mustang GT took the brunt of it,

he was able to walk away.

This sad event was followed by another

incident later that SAME day.

Seems that the 2002 Mustang GT wasn't too

thrilled that her SO was getting so much

attention that she threw a gasket!

Quite literally.

A new intake manifold is on the way

to replace the original, which is

manufactured with plastic

parts that tend to crack.

Then of course the 1987 Mustang 5.0

needed to get in on the action....twice.

One morning the car didn't want to start...

not even turn over. 

Turns out it was a simple fix -

the battery cable needed replacing.

Done.

A few days later, the serpentine belt

shredded to teeny-tiny bits

while I was on the highway.

I managed to limp the car home,

let it cool down and 

put the old belt back on.

Luckily, the engine didn't sustain

any damage....

that we know of.

Somewhere in between

all this craziness, the

Suburban was egged

in the middle of the night.

Sigh.

When it rains...it pours - Morton Salt

Live In It Winner

A few days ago, I was made aware the Live In It to Win It contest,
hosted by WYSP Radio in Philadelphia, where 4 people had to stay
in a 2011 Cherry Red Mustang, getting a 15 minute break every 3 hours....

Of the 4 people who began this contest, it was down to 2 people in the end,
and 12 days after the contest began, a winner was announced on July 2.

It came down to a vote, rather than who was able
to actually stay in the vehicle the longest.

Congratulations to the winner of the 2011 Mustang !

Hopefully the first stop was at a car wash to get
rid of all that trash that piled up over the last 12 days!
Can anyone say, Air Freshener?

Want to see more?.... All photos and videos are available here.

Mustang 1000 Lap Challenge

Did you miss it?!

Even though V8's are the preferred

engine around here, this news about the

2011 Mustang V6 1000 Lap Challenge is pretty awesome!

The challenge was to find out if the V6 powered Mustang

could last at least 1,000 laps around a race-track...

on ONE tank of gas.

There were many formulas out there

using what the known factors were -

16 gallon tank, about a half-mile track

against the unknowns -

the main one being MPH, cruise-control usage, weight, etc...

It's amazing that the 2011 V6 Mustang

went even further than the 1000 lap goal

by a whopping 45.7%

It made it 1,457 times around the Bristol Motor Speedway,

averaging 48.5 MPG at an average speed of 43.9 MPH.

A bit on the slow side for being on the race-track,

but this was a CHALLENGE.

So every measure was taken to ensure the

1,000 lap goal would be met.

I think it would be a greater challenge

for me to stay under 45 MPH

At that speed, I could relax a bit,

drink coffee and read the newspaper.

LOL Just kidding... heh-heh.

Congrats to the 22 contestants who

guessed the correct number of laps.

One of those contestants will

walk away with keys to their

very own 2011 Mustang.

Lucky

Thanks to the MustangBlog
and Muscular Mustang
on twitter where I found
the final numbers.

Live In It & Win It

I don't know if I would be able to

live in any car with 3 other people...

but there's this contest hosted by

WYSP Radio in Philadelphia

where 4 adults are living in a

2011 Cherry Red Mustang.

I don't have all the contest rules, but

it seems that the person who can live

in it the longest will drive away in it...

How long does this contest last?

Apparently, as long as it needs to.

Uh, we'll check back on this story....

Last year's contest lasted 11 days,

and you can read about here.

In the mean-time, check out the reasons why

each contestant wants to win this car here-

they're not what you'd think!

Black OPS Power Adders

Also at last weekend's car show in New Braunfels,

we got to bear witness to some clever, and decisively

clandestine  tech and power adders/upgrades.

One specific example was a black 2007 Mustang GT, owned by Josh.

He had recently acquired the car from Mississippi

after flying out there and test driving it. At first glance,

Josh's 2007 seems like an everyday, generic Black Mustang,

commonly seen cruisin' the highway during the week.

Nothing unusual about it....or so I thought.

Taking a look inside revealed a Triple gauge A-Pillar pod,
with AIR/FUEL ratio gauge, OIL PRESSURE gauge, and BOOST gauge.

In the photo above, we can see the intercooler for
the turbo tucked neatly behind the front valance.

Josh's GT has a line lock for his beefed up

automatic transmission, which has a manual valve body.

The gauge for the TRANS temp is centered on the

 console beside the E-brake. Although this setup lacks the additional

space for cup holders, in this case it's probably best not have one in the car,

unless you really don't like that shirt that your mom gave you.

The covered safety switches are for the NOX bottle.

Josh has a hidden camera that replaced the lock on the trunk deck lid,

when activated by one of the smaller switches,

it displays on the DVD/AUX/CD player.

This way he can keep track of

 the competition, and record any unworthy

trendsetters getting punished.

This custom enlarged GT badge adorned the inside of the trunk lid,

and concealed the camera wiring. Josh also noted that it adds a little flair

considering that his 2007 was pushing a dynoed 450rwhp off the bottle,

 and almost 700rwhp with the juice.

We were excitedly appreciative that Josh took

the time to go over his GT, and elaborate on the tech he had.

If you've got some stealth tech on board,

send us some pics, and tell us what you've got going on.

Car Show, Pt 2

The South Texas ’Stangs Club invited all makes of vehicles to the 2nd annual Benefit Car Show on Jun 5, and it was held in Gruene, TX, to support the Iraq Star Foundation. A majority of the vehicles in attendance were Mustangs of all years and in various states of progress, along with many other makes and models.

I had the chance to drool over see this 1966 Mustang

a few days after the car show at over at Tri-County Collision,

where most of the work has been done.

While I was there, I got to sit in the passenger seat

and listen to the engine run (and wish I was taking it home).

Back at the show, walking down "Mustang Alley" we saw

a 2002 Roush convertible...that really stood out -

but not because of the doors....

It was the color of the paint -

Colorado Red.

This blog won't discriminate against other car models...

As you can see, I've included a Corvette photo, but you have

to look past the massive Ford Fairlane to see it.

That is...

If you could take your eyes off the Cobra engine.

The owner of this 1986 SVO has taken

care to keep this car as close to original as possible...

And, paid attention to details, such as adding Dyna-mat,

adding new weather stripping and so much more.

I think that this SVO looks as good now as it did then.

This Cobra II was looking good under the sun.

Now...I may be a bit partial to red with black stripes,

but you gotta admit, it looks good on just about any

Mustang, no matter the year or model.

The inside was just as clean,

with a bit of a friendly warning for any passengers

who would be thinking of going along for the ride.

All in all, we had a great time at the show,

and got a chance to meet really nice people

who shared ideas and swapped stories with us.

We are on the look out for other car shows to attend -

So, if you know of any meets, shows or swaps

or if you have photos of cars you'd like to share

leave a link in the comments.

Car Show

Even though it was blistering hot outside,

we made it down to the Harley Davidson in Gruene, TX

for the 2nd annual Benefit Car Show,

which the South Texas ’Stangs Club started in order to

raise money to donate to the Iraq Star Foundation.

We met up with other Mustang owners who were

eager to talk about their cars,

and modifications that have

been completed or are in progress.

Walking into an actual Mustang Alley was just awesome.

This was just the first row of Mustangs.

All in all there were about 80+ vehicles there

from all years including some trucks and 'vettes,

which will be seen in the next few posts....

Until then,

Even though there's a mutual respect between competing vehicles,

a friendly reminder doesn't hurt either.