Posts by Murf_old

  • Axle paper tag ID for 65 - 66

    Does anyone have a good image of the paper tag that was wrapped around the rear axle and used for selection of the axle during the assembly process? A rather obscure item to be sure, probably only a few have seen them. If someone has a picture perhaps there is enough talent here to reproduct those. I would love to have one! Can anyone HELP!?

  • Radiator ID number (stamped on left upright)

    Thanks you very much, Otto. The search will begin today! Anyone else still have their original radiator and would care to share the information stamped on the side? Very few original radiators still exist it seems and the information on those that have survived can help all of us in our quest for just the "right" stuff.

  • Radiator ID number (stamped on left upright)

    This question pertains to a 1965 "K" built in spring of 65.(Dearborn) What is the number stamped on the left upright of the radiator. It can be seen near the voltage regulator area, on the radiator mount facing the engine. I hope? to locate one that is correct for a car but am uncertain if the hipo had a unique engineering number stamped on it or were all radiators for 65 V8 standard shift Mustangs the same. Also looking for a bottom tank for a standard shift Mustang if anyone has one laying around. If you still have your original rad from a hipo would you please check it out for this info or share with us anything you know about the ID of a hipo radiator from a Dearborn built 65 Mustang. Thanks for any help in this quest.

  • TRUNK LID AND REAR VALANCE

    I would guess that you would have had the "66 type lid. There is a date stamped on the inside shell. near the edge close to the rear window. passenger side ormally. you can always tell if the lid belongs with the car by that date stamp. Look over some cars built at that time and your question will be answered. the two lids are quite different once you see them side by side. the "66 type was made for years and was the replacement crash part serviced by Ford. The "66 is far more common then the "65 style.

  • Stock radio conversion to FM

    I have one installed in my 65 K fastback. It looks like the real thing, was not difficult to install, and has at least as good sound as the original. I have no amp or external speakers, but did use a ken harrison deluxe speakers in the dash. I am happy with the looks and it does play so how much better can it be. Time only will tell about the quality. I have always wanted the real thing but have never been able to locate one that was in my price range. I have one in another Mustang and the reproduction sounds as good or getter than the real thing. It is NOT high end stuff so do not expect it to equal the late model auto quality!

  • Replacement carpet fit and quality

    Quote from CharlesTurner

    So basically we need to ask for the Mass Back version if we want a good fitting carpet? I had heard about a higher quality carpet that was available but had to be special-ordered.

    I guess that is the best way. I am not sure that many/most of the vendors are equipped to deal with that kind of an order, but the carpet with the extra backing was sure a good fit. It stood up and looked just like the floor of the car as woon as it was taken out of the box. The "form" of the floor was a good fit, there was more than enough material to trim which was an issue on the regular issue, and the box of carpet weighed 41 pounds as opposed to the 20 pounds that the regular boses weighed. The Mass back was only used on the floor sections - the kick panels and the fold down sections were the normal stuff and I doubt that one could get the backed carpet to fit on the fold-down area. It about 3 mm thicker than the non backed, and it just fits under the chrome molding around the fold down area. All of the issues of skimpy cutting in the right front area, the gearshift hole being misplaced and the poor forming were solved with this last box of carpet. I am sure that ACC is glad to not have me howling at their "door" but you can bet your bottom dollar that I am just as happy to at last have some carpet that is acceptable. I have no idea about the wear-ability, but the texture and fit and "screen door" thickness that showed the backing when installed in the car have all been dealt with. Maybe the normal carpet has improved enough to use it, I hope that it is a while before I have to monkey with carpet again.

  • Replacement carpet fit and quality

    This saga began in October of 2005, 15 months ago and it may be one of the longest lasting discussions on this forum. I mentioned last yeat that I would continue this battle or die - well, the old ticker is still beating and am happy to sit here and type what I think will be the last report on this issue of carpet and ACC. I could not stand to look any longer at the carpet in my car, even though I said that i was done and that ACC had beaten me up on this deal. So with fresh attitude I once again stripped the interior out of the old car and decided to keep trying since it made me half sick to see the mess that I had been left with. First was to purchase a new set of carpet from a different suplier. Ordered a set of ACS - which is now sold by a number of reputable vendors (Branda, Va mustang to name a couple) and after talking to the salespeople on the phone was convinced that all would be good. Well, the ACS arrived and it was certainly not what any of us would want. The color (MOSS GREEN) was so far removed from the original that NOBODY would have accepted it. In addition, the new carpet had been made with the most awful color heel and toe pad that anyone could imagine. In addition, the heel pad sewed to the carpet was one for a convertrible (they are smaller and very obviously incorrect) and the area where the back seat inner quarter panel meets the carpet was a "square" cut as opposed to the scalloped shape that is correct, leaving once again the bald spot where the floor shows when the carpet is installed. I discussed this with both the vendor and the manufacturer with little interest on either part. "No one else has that problem" was pretty much their attitude. BS! That set was never installed since the only part that could have possibly fit and been correct was the fold down area, and it was so far off from the original moss green that anyone could notice it looked strange with the rest of the interior. So, back to ACC to see if they really had inproved their product in the past year. I talked directly to Keith Howell again and he said he would help out with all of the old problems. He suggested that I use their product called MASS BACK and sent a set. I can tell all of you that it is so far superior to anything else they have sent that it was almost like dealing with a different company. The mass back was great, it fit well, had none of the other issues we have discussed, and the color was not an exact match but much better than anything so far and I can live with it. It is CLOSE to the original that was provided to me by a member of this forum, Jim Woods. The rear carpet in the new set once again was cut wrong, and after some photos of the problem and a photo of an original rear carpet showing the correct scallop (provided by Jim Woods) the second set of rear floor area fit well and was much improved in the corner areas. I have all of the lastest mass backed carpet installed now, and wanted to publicly thank Keith Howell at ACC for being the hardest working guy in the customer service industry. We had our "moments" during the past 15 months, but he never quit trying to satisfy a cranky old guy with an obsession for Mustangs. So a public THANK YOU to Keith Howell at ACC for stepping up to the problems ( and there were many) and doing what ever it took to make things right. Thanks also to all of the folks at NPD for their help. Without them going the extra mile this story would never have had a happy ending. If YOU are still having problems with ACC carpet I feel it can be resolved. If you are considering the ACS brand, I hope your experience is better than mine. So thanks to all of you on this forum for all of the help, suggestions and confort during this rather drawn out affair. You can get a decent set of carpet, so take heart.

  • am/fm radio

    Just wanted to let all of you know that the AM/FM repro from Custom Auto Sound made it to my house. Have it installed, along with a set of Ken Harrison dash replacement speakers. The fit is nice, little skill is required to install it other than bending an included length of strap to serve as a rear mount much as the original radio had (the original will not work since the repro is a little bit shorter). Ran wires to the rear for a set of removeable speakers (this is a 65 fastback), and to the kick panel area if I ever want to incorporate the newer kick panels with the built in speakers. I have yet to try the input feature for the CD, the Ipod, or the XM but have no reason to think that feature would not work. The sound is not the greatest but not the worst either. there are jacks for an amp and a serious listener would want to invest in that and some higher quality speakers than I used. When installed it looks very much like the real thing. An informed and experienced judge or mustang nut would be hard pressed to tell this is a reproduction once it is installed! The reproduction radio does not have any pushbutton presets since the pushbuttons are used for CD functions if you add that feature. This is a disadvantage but I can live with it. So far I am happy with the looks and can live with the sound. Let it play all day today in the shop just to make sure that all was OK. It has been a year since I ordered this, may be a record for a back order? The AM original radio I had was very pretty but had only played for a total of about three minutes in the last 20 years, each time coming on loudly when I least expected it, causing me to nearly jump out of the window and than going back to sleep for five or six more years. I can finally listen to the oldies when I use this car.

  • '66 HiPo engine detail info.

    Mark: I an convinced that the harmonic balancers on early 289s were indeed attatched to the crankshaft when the engine was painted and are therefore corporate blue. There has been much discussion about this over the years but I worked on these when they were new cars, and do not remember EVER seeing one that was not painted engine color. I was employed by a large fleet and worked on many of these engines in sedans, I remember that we purchased over 600 in 1966 and kept them for several years. We tore many apart to replace timing chains at about 80,00 or 90,00 miles, so I got to see first hand what these harmonic balancers looked like up close.

  • Yes, Virginia there is a Fuel Pump Santa Claus…

    Yes, I am reading. Have talked to Claude off and on since this topic began. Have been working on a plan where they MIGHT remove bottom part, we have it replated zink dichromate, and they reassemble. He is not too jazzed about all of this extra motion, and this may or may not happen. He told me to come down and talk to him sometime, but I have not been able to get there so far. Still on the listof things to do. I knew he had the machine to crimp the old type pumps but he told me that he stayed pretty busy with rebuilding those pumps that were "normal" and would try to work in some crimp type when he could. Also, I think that in many instances a crimped pump that has previously been rebuilt has a different type of bottom which is much stronger and resists the bottom being twisted to the point of leaking when the line is tightened. The original bottoms are very fragile. He seemed to have no interest in mailing back the bottom half while the customer had it plated. Maybe we can work something out with him now that he has caught up from the summer.