I am still working towards getting my car built and titled by then. Unless Maryland MVA gets in my way, it looks promising right now.

It’s already higher than what I bought my unstarted kit for. Maybe I was lucky.

A nice half day project. A radiator overflow bottle by Kidde.

Which Fiberfab? Ford, Chevy or VW? Most wheels have much different offset now than were used back in the 70’s when these cars were designed.

I decided to use the CMC/Fiberfab chrome plate hanger.

The pipe was 1/2″ black water pipe, I think they call it schedule 40.
The cross piece is a section of 1X3 rectangular tube. The main tube is a
section of 2 1/2 exhaust. I used a 2 1/2 hole saw to cut all the way
through the 1X3, inserted the exhaust pipe and welded front and back.
The cross pieces were made from 1X2 tube, drilled an tapped for…[Read more]

Thanks for the feedback. At every step, I look at CMC’s solution and think about how I would do it instead. Of course my solutions might add labor, but I usually come up with something that’s not expensive. This rack, for example, has less than $20 of new parts and material in it. It’s fun not to have limits like when rebuilding an existing car.

Finally finished the spare tire rack. Had to wait until I have my wheels and tires so I would know how tall to make it. Still only have four wheels, so I am looking for a spare. Ended up using 16″ 2003-2006 Ford Focus wheels and 205/55 R16s. They were the only only ones with a modern offset that would clear the Mustang ball joints. I stayed with…[Read more]

Speedway Motors has E Brake handles.

I’m pushing to get done, but still don’t know for sure. Panels are within a day or two before final paint, wiring 90% done. Need to get all of the small stuff to pass inspection, like mirrors, wipers, seat belts, etc. Also the entire interior upholstery and carpet is not yet started. The Maryland process to get titled, including an initial safety…[Read more]

I’ve used Presta Compound after color sanding. Excellent results. Made to be used with a power buffer.

In my youth I had an air cooled Corvair (America’s VW) that would be noisy until I started adding STP. It made a noticeable difference in valve train noise. Nowadays I prefer Sea Foam to quiet an engine.

Ultraviolet breaks up the long polymers in all plastics. Then the shorter polymer chains start evaporating and flaking off. This is why gel coat, varnish, polyester, epoxy and even the clear plastic headlight covers on late model cars eventually all chalk. The only way to clear this up is to remove the outer layer of broken polymers. In really…[Read more]

Started on the internal wiring. I’m going to have a fold down fuse panel with all wiring in and out going through a set of terminal blocks. First I removed all tape and most of the connectors of the harness coming from the fuse panel. After laying it out on the board, I screwed the components in place and cut all the wires to about 12 inches. I…[Read more]

The whole car reminds me of the bobber phase motorcycles went through in the 50’s. Overall, a very nice effect.

I think they must have put the decimal point in the wrong place…..

My donor was a 75. I used the bottoms of the front seats and the back from the rear seat. The back looked like it was made for the car. I removed the cardboard backing for the back seat and replaced with plywood so that it is strong enough to take the hinges used to mount it to the body pan. The seat bottoms had to have the outside corners knocked…[Read more]

The seat on Fiberfab and CMC is mounted on top of a fiberglass box that is about 6 inches tall. In the MG TD, the seat is one inch off the floor. That would explain some of the head clearance problems in these cars. In my car, I used mustang seat bottoms that have the sliders mounted directly to the floor. No problem with head clearance or…[Read more]

A follow up to Ken’s comment of the Ranger V6. The Cologne V6 came in 2.6, 2.8, 2.9 and ended up as the Ranger 4.2. 2.9 and 4.2 were fuel injected. All were a narrow 60 degree, but the 4.2 had a raised deck to get the extra stroke. The Ranger 5 speed would fit the older 2.8 only with some custom machining.

I went through this decision and research a while ago. Points for Chevette: Narrow rear and front track is almost only donor matches MG TD, nearly bolt in front suspension. rack, etc. Front suspension parts shared by Fiero.Negative for Chevette: 1.6 liter engine not very popular, parts relatively scarce, low horsepower. Rear end is part torque…[Read more]