Old News and Updates

21 December 2007 - I picked-up the 1968½ Mustang Cobra Jet transverse mufflers today. They look AMAZING! I still need to cut the inlet and outlet pipes to the correct length, add the alignment notches to the inlet pipes, and add the spot welds to the inlet and outlet pipes. When the mufflers are finished they will be virtually indistinguishable from the originals.

The floor pan plugs for 1967 & 1968 Mustang and Shelby convertibles are at the platers. Unfortunately they are closed for Christmas and New Years after today and they did not get them plated. They promised to have them waiting for me to pick them up on January 8th, 2008.

6 December 2007 - The floor pan plugs for 1967 & 1968 Mustang and Shelby convertibles have been formed from the blanks. The above pictures show a comparison between the new reproductions and an original floor pan plug removed from a Shelby GT500KR convertible. Both pan plugs in the pictures above have had the plating removed. The new reproductions are absolutely perfect and indistinguishable from the originals. Even the back side of the plug has been fabricated and formed to exactly match the original pan plug...even though you can't see it when installed. Final plating still needs to be done, but they should be available by the end of the year.

1 December 2007 - The muffler sheets have been stamped and are ready to send to the muffler manufacturer. The stamping of the Ford logo, part number, and date were "toned-down" slightly from the previous sample stampings to closer match the look of the original mufflers. Click here to see the final "toned-down" stamping.

25 November 2007 - The floor pan plug blanks for 1967 & 1968 Mustang and Shelby convertibles are completed. They have been sent out for final forming. Once the forming is completed, they will go out for plating. I expect to have them available for sale around the end of December.

22 November 2007 - I have added a few pictures of my original paint 1968½ High Country Special Cobra Jet Mustang coupe. Go to the blue "My Cars" button on the left to see pictures of my 1968 Mustangs.

20 November 2007 - I decided to add a button with some pictures of my cars. Go to the blue "My Cars" button on the left to see pictures of my 7,156-original mile 1968½ Yellow GT500KR Shelby convertible. I'll be adding additional pictures of other cars as I have a chance to get them out and cleaned up a little.

6 November 2007 - One of the features of an original Ford transverse muffler is the "hump" or "bump" (see picture above) that is preformed into the outer sheet of the muffler prior to the muffler being "wrapped". The purpose of the "hump" is to accommodate the seam on the inner sheet that is under the outer-most sheet. One concern I had when I started this project was whether the "hump" could be accommodated by the wrapping machine used to fabricate the muffler. If not, it would be very easy to identify one of my reproduction mufflers from an original muffler. As you can see from the pictures above, the "hump" can be accommodated by the wrapping machine and is exactly like the original transverse muffler shown in the picture. So, with the "hump" problem solved, and the embossing die in-hand for stamping the logo, part-number, and date, I am ready to begin fabrication of the 1968½ Mustang Cobra Jet mufflers. The tooling is currently being fabricated to punch the notches in the inlet pipes and will be completed soon. Please note that in the pictures above the inlet and outlet pipes are different on the two mufflers (orig and reproduction) shown. The reproduction muffler inlet and outlet pipes are correct for 1968½ Mustang Cobra Jet mufflers, but not for 1969 or small-block Ford mufflers.

1 November 2007 - Ever wonder what goes in those big holes on the bottom of your 1967 or 1968 convertible Mustang or Shelby (see above). Well, they should be covered with steel floor pan plugs, but they frequently fall out or get lost when removed. Original ones, if you can find them, are usually rusty and can't be replated. So I'm having a limited number of new ones made. Absolutely perfect copy of the originals. Indistinguishable from the ones that came on your car from the factory. I expect to have them in about a month (see the prototype above). All tooling is complete...just waiting for fabrication and plating. Click here for pictures.

31 October 2007 - The 1969 split-tip Mustang tailpipes are done. Click here for photos of the newly-completed tailpipes.

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16 October 2007 - Sample stamping of the Ford logo, part number, and date (1968½ Cobra Jet Mustangs muffler) using the actual muffler outer wrapper material was done today. Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page to see pictures of the latest embossing.

10 October 2007 - The embossing die for stamping the Ford logo, part number, and date in the muffler for the 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustangs has been completed and I picked it up today. Click here to see pictures of the embossing die and a sample stamping using the new die. The next prototype muffler was supposed to be finished this week, but has been delayed until next week.

5 October 2007 - The 1969 split-tip Mustang tailpipes have been stamped and are ready for pick-up. I will pick them up early next week and send them off to have the tips welded. The embossing die for stamping the Ford logo, part number, and date in the muffler for the 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustangs will be completed today and go into heat-treat this weekend. It should be ready early next week. I hope to have samples of the muffler outer sheet material stamped next week. I'm still hoping to have mufflers done by Thanksgiving.

18 September 2007 - The 1969 Boss 429, 1969 Boss 302, and 1969 non-GT SCJ/CJ Mustang tailpipes are being stamped and I should have them available early next week. The stamping of the Ford logo and part number are a perfect match to the original stamping. Click here to see a comparison of the original stamping on an original tailpipe and my stamping on a reproduction tailpipe.

15 September 2007 - The tooling that stamps the channel/hump in the outer muffler casing has been completed and 3-sample sheets have been stamped with the channel (this is the hump in the outer muffler casing that is opposite the outer casing seam). These sheets will be sent to the muffler manufacturer to determine if their muffler wrapping machines will accept the non-flat sheets. They expect to get me an answer the first week in October. I have another meeting at the embossing die manufacturer on Monday (this is the die that stamps the Ford logo, part number, and date in the muffler outer sheet). I expect to finalize the male and female dies this week. I'm picking up the last run of 1968½ Shelby GT500KR and 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustang tailpipes that have been stamped with logo and part number on Monday. I will drop off the 1969 Boss 429, 1969 Boss 302, and 1969 non-GT SCJ/CJ Mustang tailpipes for stamping of part number and logo on Monday. Several other projects are in the works...nothing final yet...but when it is, I'll report it here.

29 August 2007 - I have just returned from meeting with the muffler manufacturer to go over incorporating all the details and features of the original 1968/1969 big-block transverse mufflers into the new reproduction mufflers. It appears that all the features (embossed part number, date, correct inlet and outlet tubing size, inlet pipe notching, etc) can be incorporated, but it will be costly. I'm waiting on final pricing, but I'm concerned that the sales price may scare people away and that I could get stuck with a bunch of mufflers that I cannot sell. If the individual muffler price (sales price) is too high, I will abandon the project. More to come...

23 August 2007 - New dynamite sticks have been available since 6 August. I am already running low on pairs dated July 1968. If you need that date, order soon. A meeting is set for next Tuesday (28 August) with the muffler manufacturer to go over production of the 1968/1969 big-block mufflers. Several details still need to be worked-out, but I hope to have mufflers by Thanksgiving.

6 August 2007 - The new dynamite sticks are finished. There are 4-dates available; December 1967, March 1968, June 1968, and July 1968. QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED. If you need a specific date you should order it soon. Price is $295 + $10 S&H. Click here to see pictures of the newly fabricated dynamite sticks.

3 August 2007 - The new dynamite sticks are finished and I have received them. Monday I go to the printers to have the part number and dates stamped on them. They will be availalbe for shipment on Tuesday.

26 July 2007 - The passenger side 1968½ Shelby GT500KR and 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustang tailpipes have been stamped with the part number and FoMoCo logo (driver side pipe was stamped last week). Click here to see pictures of the newly stamped passenger side pipes.

18 July 2007 - The 1968½ Shelby GT500KR and 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustang tailpipes have been stamped with the part number and FoMoCo logo (driver side pipe only). The passenger side pipes should be stamped with the appropriate part number and FoMoCo logo early next week. Click here to see pictures of the tailpipes being stamped.

14 July 2007

Muffler: I have received several sample sheets of material that will be used to wrap the reproduction mufflers. These are the outer-most sheets that will have the muffler part number stamped in them along with the date and Ford logo. I had a meeting this week with the company that will make the embossing die for the muffler stamp, and committed to having the first die made. They expect to have it done in 3-weeks. Once I have the die, I will stamp some of the sample material and determine if modifications/ adjustments will need to be made to the die. Click here to see pictures of the muffler progress. Click here to see pictures of original 1968½ mufflers.

Tailpipes: The tooling that is used to support the tailpipes during the part number stamping process is being modified slightly. Trial stamping this week showed that very slight flattening of the pipe was occuring when the pipe was stamped. This needs to be eliminated before the stamping can move forward. I do not have a date for when the modified tolling will be completed. Click here to see pictures of recent tailpipe trial stamping.

29 June 2007 - Click here to see comparison pictures of the new 1969 Boss 429, 1969 Boss 302, and 1969 non-GT SCJ/CJ Mustang tailpipes. Click here to see more pictures.

27 June 2007 - I approved the first run of 1969 Boss 429, 1969 Boss 302, and 1969 non-GT SCJ/CJ Mustang tailpipes on Monday. It took a couple of iterations to get them perfect, but now they are exactly like the originals. Look for pictures of the new pipes at the end of this week. Once I receive the pipes they will still need to be stamped with the Ford logo and part numbers. A prototype transverse muffler has been fabricated. I viewed it for the first time on Tuesday. There will be a few minor modifications, but overall it was very, very good.

22 June 2007 - Pictures of original and Ford service dynamite sticks have been added. Click here to see the pictures.

17 June 2007 - The new run of 1968 Shelby Dynamite Sticks should be available mid-July. Three dates will be available. Click here for more information on the dynamite sticks.

12 June 2007 - The part number and logo stamps for the 1968½ Shelby GT500KR and 1968½ Cobra Jet Mustang tailpipes are finished. Click here for a comparison of the original Ford stamping and the new stamping.

7 June 2007 - More new pictures of original starter delays added. Click here.

6 June 2007 - New pictures of original starter delays added. Click here.