13 December 2008 - The 1969 triple-hump resonators are finished and have been delivered. These resonators are correct for 1969 CJ/SCJ Mustang (including Mach 1), 1969/1970 Shelby GT-500 (CJ/SCJ), 1969 Boss 302, and 1969 Boss 429. The next step is to complete the pipe fabrication and have the pipes welded to the resonators. I hope to have full intermediate/resonator pipes available by 18 January 2009. Pipes will be available in 2.125-inch O.D. bare steel (like the originals) or aluminized pipe.
16 November 2008 - The resonator/intermediate pipe check fixture and weld fixtures are finished (weld fixture shown above). The check fixture is used to check the pipe bend accuracy and geometry. The weld fixture is used to "set" the pipes and resonators prior to welding in order to guarantee the pipes are exactly the same as the originals. The resonators are in transit but I have not received them yet. The pipes are being bent and I should have them in a couple of weeks.
5 November 2008 - The resonators are finished and ready to ship (click here to see pictures). I should have them in-hand by the end of November. The fixtures for welding the pipes to the resonators are in process and should be done in early December. I'm still hopeful that I will have completed pipes available by the end of the year.
17 October 2008 - OK, so these parts aren't all that exciting by themselves, but without them you can't fabricate concours-perfect resonator pipes. So, it's an important part of the puzzle. Click here to see photos of the hanging brackets and the alignment tabs. The resonators are in fabrication at the time of this post and are estimated to be completed in late November. I hope to have the completed pipes ready to ship towards the end of the year.
At the time of this post I have 2-mufflers left with a 1/69 date code. Better buy one now if you need that date.
12 September 2008 - The tie rod end boots are finished and ready to ship. The are available for the following applications:
1967 Mustang & Shelby
1968 Mustang & Shelby
1969 Mustang & Shelby
1969 Boss 302
1969 Boss 429
1970 Shelby
These are Concours Correct tie rod end boots with the steel ring...just like they came off of the assembly line. Made from original Ford Engineering drawings. The 40-year old boots are almost always split, cracked, dry-rotted, or have been replaced with an incorrect generic replacement boot.
This is the ONLY correct boot on the market for your original Ford tie rods.
Price is $19.95/each for 1967-1969 Mustang and Shelby
Price is $24.95/each for 1969 Boss 429/302, 1969 Shelby (after April 1st, 1969 build date), and 1970 Shelby
Go to the "Items for Sale" section for more information on the boots.
26 August 2008 - The 1969 428 CJ/SCJ Mustang/Shelby and 1969 Boss 429/Boss 302 mufflers are finished. Four different date coded mufflers are available. You can choose from 8/68, 11/68, 1/69, and 3/69. Click here for more information.
19 August 2008 - The 1969 428 CJ/SCJ Mustang mufflers have been fabricated and are on a truck to California. I will pick them up on Friday August 22nd and should have them ready to sell on Monday August 25th.
I hope to have 1968 Mustang Styled Steel Wheel hold down plates available in about a week (see picture above). These plates have all but disapeared and are rarely seen even on low mileage Mustangs. We found an original plate, confirmed it's existence by comparing it to original Ford engineering drawings, and had it copied to exactly match the original. The blank tooling and form tooling are completed and the plates should be in fabrication this week. I will hopefully have them for sale next week. Click here for more information.
The concours correct tie rod end boots for 1967-1969 Mustangs and Shelbys are nearly complete. These are the boots with the metal ring and are exactly like the assembly line boots. They are being fabricated using original boots as samples and original Ford engineering drawings. I'm hoping to have them available for sale in 2-weeks.
3 August 2008 - The embossing of the Ford logo, part number, and date has been completed for the 1969 CJ/SCJ Mustang mufflers and the stamped sheets have been shipped back to the muffler manufacturer. The mufflers will be fabricated on August 11th and should be available for sale by the end of August.
26 July 2008 - I am in the final stages of finishing up 100% correct tie rod end boots for 1967-1969 Mustangs and Shelbys. These are the boots with the metal ring and are exactly like the assembly line boots. They are being fabricated using original boots as samples and original Ford engineering drawings. The tooling for forming the metal ring is complete and the mold tooling for the rubber boot is complete. There are two different boots being made. One fits 1967/1968/1969 Mustangs and Shelbys (excluding Boss 302/429 and 1969 Shelbys after April 1st 1969), and the second boot variant fits 1969 Boss 302, 1969 Boss 429, and 1969/1970 Shelbys after April 1st 1969).
On Tuesday we will form the metal rings around the sample rubber boots to make sure that all the form tooling works as designed. Some minor work still needs to be done to the rubber parts mold (polishing to get the correct surface finish on the rubber) and then the boots can be fabricated. Once the form tooling for the metal rings is approved, the rings will be stamped, half-formed, and plated. I hope to have finished tie rod end boots in early August.
14 July 2008 - Several projects are in-the-works and progress in being made. I hope to have all of the below new items available later this summer or early fall.
1969 CJ/SCJ Mufflers - A fabrication date of 11 August has been set. I hope to have completed mufflers ready to sell by the end of August. Muffler dates of 8/68, 11/68, 1/69, and 3/69 will be available.
1969 Resonators and Pipes - I hope to make the first buy of production resonators this week. The first run will be 1969 CJ/SCJ triple-hump resonators. The manufacturer is quoting 8-weeks from order date to delivery for the resonators. Once the resonators are delivered they still need to have the pipes welded.
1967/1968/1969 Tie Rod End Boots - I am in the final stages of finishing up 100% correct tie rod end boots for 1967-1969 Mustangs and Shelbys. These are the boots with the metal ring and are exactly like the assembly line boots. They are being fabricated using original boots as samples and original Ford engineering drawings. The tooling for forming the metal ring is complete and the mold tooling for the rubber boot is complete. There are two different boots being made. One fits 1967/1968/1969 Mustangs and Shelbys (excluding Boss 302/429 and 1969 Shelbys after April 1st 1969), and the second boot variant fits 1969 Boss 302, 1969 Boss 429, and 1969/1970 Shelbys after April 1st 1969).
1968 Mustang Spare Wheel Hold Down Plate - A 100% accurate reproduction of the seldom seen spare wheel hold down plate for Mustangs with slotted wheels (sometimes called styled steel wheels in 1968 literature) is being made. Money has been committed to the tooling and I expect to have completed items in 5-weeks.
12 June 2008 - Progress is being made on resonators and pipes for 1968-1970 Mustangs and Shelbys. A third set of prototype resonators is finished and minor changes are being identified for another iteration. The new resonators are being fabricated exactly like the originals using the same aluminized material and overall dimensions and contours as the originals.
Resonator pipes in progress are:
1967 Mustang 289 GT, Mustang 390 GT, Shelby G.T.350, and Shelby G.T.500
1968 Mustang 302 GT, Mustang 390 GT, Shelby G.T.350, and Shelby G.T.500
1968.5 Mustang 428 CJ and Shelby GT500KR
1969 Mustang 428 CJ/SCJ, Boss 429, Boss 302, Shelby GT500, and Shelby GT350
1970 Shelby GT500 and Shelby GT350
23 May 2008 - I made the final changes to the 1969 CJ muffler embossing dies today. The embossing dies are used to stamp the Ford logo, part number (C9ZA-5230-L) and date into the outer wrapper of the mufflers prior to assembly. I am making 4-dies with 4-muffler dates. The dates available will be 8/68, 11/68, 1/69 and 3/69 (see artwork above). The size of the font, style of font, spacing of characters, and Ford logo are exactly duplicated on the reproduction mufflers. The outer muffler sheets have arrived in California and are ready for pick-up and stamping. After stamping is complete they are returned to the muffler manufacturer for final muffler assembly. I hope to have completed 1968 CJ mufflers in two - three months. Click here to see the embossing dies used in fabricating the 1968 mufflers.
29 April 2008 - Tom Nichols of Illinois was nice enough to send me a picture of the underside of his AWSOME 1968 GT500KR convertible after installing our new tailpipes and muffler. Tom said he picked up 9-points at the latest MCA event in Florida with the new exhaust. See a picture of Tom's incredible car by clicking here.
13 April 2008 - I finally got my 1968 Mustang GT convertible out and took some pictures of it. You can see more pictures of this beautiful unrestored Mustang by clicking on the "My Cars" button.
Acapulco blue paint, parchment decor bucket seats, 302-4V engine, GT equipment group, 3.25 standard axle ratio, C-4 automatic transmission, built 1 January 1968 in San Jose, California. Original and unrestored. Original paint, original untouched interior, original spare never used, original glass, original white top and folding back glass. Original front & rear shocks, original exhaust including muffler. Original top boot, boot bag, and trunk mat. Originally delivered to Rudolph Ford in Daly City California.
23 March 2008 - The 1969 Cobra Jet Mustang muffler project is underway. The C9ZA-5230-L mufflers will have 4-different production dates to choose from. I don't have a clear idea of the timeline for when they will be available, but I should have them this summer (June or July).
The resonator pipe project is progressing, but very slowly. A second iteration of samples is being fabricated now. If these samples meet specifications, then fabrication will begin. It will be fall of 2008 before they are available (if everything goes smoothly).
6 March 2008 -
The1968.5 GT500KR and 1968.5 Cobra Jet Mustang Mufflers are Finished
They are perfect reproductions of the originals. Email me at sfreproductions@aol.com or call to order. Click here for more pictures of the reproduction muffler and comparisons to the original Ford muffler.
5 March 2008 - The notch tooling for the 1968.5 GT500KR and 1968.5 Cobra Jet Mustang mufflers is finished. Each muffler has two different size notches punched into the inlet pipes. The notches are used to align the muffler and resonator pipes (just like the originals). The notch tooling is exactly like the original Ford mufflers. Not hand cut, not laser cut, not routered or machined, but punched...just like the originals.
Check back tomorrow for pictures of the completed muffler.
27 February 2008 - All 1968.5 GT500KR and 1968.5 Cobra Jet Mustang mufflers have 6-spot welds in each inlet and outlet pipe. The spot welder (which was back-ordered for weeks) has finally arrived and is assembled and operational. Modifications to the spot welder are complete and it now produces perfect spot welds...just like on the original mufflers. The tooling for punching the notches into the inlet pipes should be complete by the end of this week, and I should have mufflers available for sale next week.
8 February, 2008 - Jim Cowles (Shelby Parts and Restoration) and I are colaborating on making perfect reproduction resonator pipes for 1967-1969 Mustangs. Above is a picture of a prototype set of 2.25-inch/3-hump resonator pipes I picked up today. They still need a lot of work, but look promising. If all goes well we hope to make pipes for:
- 1967 Mustang with 302 GT, 390 GT, Shelby G.T. 350, and Shelby G.T. 500
- 1968 Mustang with 302 GT, 390 GT, Shelby G.T. 350, Shelby G.T. 500, and GT500KR
- 1969 Mustang with 428 CJ/SCJ, Shelby G.T. 500, Boss 429, and Boss 302
7 February, 2008 - I picked up the stamped (FoMoCo logo and part number) 1968.5 Shelby GT500KR & 1968.5 428 Cobra Jet Mustang Tailpipes. Tomorrow they will be sent out to have the tips welded to the pipes. Click here for pictures.
3 February, 2008 - I have made another run of 1968.5 Shelby GT500KR & 1968.5 428 Cobra Jet Mustang Tailpipes. The tailpipes have been formed and will be stamped with the part numbers on Tuesday 5 February 2008. Then they will go out to have the tips welded to the pipes. Click here to see pictures of the completed pipes. If you would like to be on the list for a set of the new tailpipes pipes please e-mail me at sfreproductions@aol.com I expect to have the tailpipes completed and ready for sale at the end of February.
19 January, 2008 - The tooling for punching the notches in the muffler inlet pipes is nearly finished. There are two different size notches (one 0.40-in wide and one 0.60-in wide) that are needed. Some minor "fine-tuning" of the tooling is needed including adding the angle-cut at the opening of the notches, changing the radius of the corners, and changing the female tool to minimize the rolling of the tube in the corner areas. But the overall tool works and the modifications should be done in about a week.
11 January, 2008 - The floor pan plugs for the 1967 & 1968 Mustang and Shelby convertibles are done and available for sale. They are exactly like the originals in every detail. Price is $195/pair (includes shipping). Click here to see more pictures and to order.
3 January, 2008 - Well, it's been pretty darn hard to get anything done since the week of Christmas. However, I did post some pictures of my Highland Green GT500KR convertible in the "My Cars" section. Look for pictures of my all-original Acapulco Blue/Parchment 1968 Mustang GT convertible soon.
