#21 Mustang resurrection thread

[steveespo]

Guys
As many know my car was damaged while on the trailer on the way home from VIR Memorial Day Sunday.
I am going to post progress of the repairs and mods to get it back to glory and on the track again.
It was a very tough night as my brand new F150 and brand new aluminum tilt trailer were both totaled.
Fortunately there were no injuries and the car suffered mostly cosmetic damage. Here are the first set of pics;

On the trailer ready to go

At the Superfest Banquet Saturday night, best dressed girl at the show




On the lift at my friends body shop. :'(

Saturday June 1 I began work, removed all the splitter and front lower fascia parts and the rear bumper cover.
Sunday June 2 Ordered the 2013 primered rocker sill, replacement door numbers and miscellaneous sponsor decals.
Monday June 3 Ordered replacement 302R stripes from Competition Motorsport who does the graphics for the factory S and R cars as well as many Ford racing teams.
Plan is to continue this Saturday with the removal of the front bumper cover, Air con condenser, and front fenders. Will also take the heat gun and adhesive remover to all the body side stripes and decals.

Steve

 

[VoodooBoss]

Steve good luck with the resurrection and I hope your insurance company is being very generous with their reimbursement.

 

[steveespo]

Thanks Rick, they have been fair. Just glad the Tiger hood and carbon decklid were un damaged.
Steve

 

[Fat Boss]

Sorry to see you have to go through that Steve. VERY HAPPY you are ok! I know how you feel having your car all banged up. I rank it right there between getting fired and taking your dog to be put to sleep. Glad you're putting yours back together. In hindsight I think I'd prefer keeping my old car rather than building a new one, even though the old one was wrinked up. There's just something about a fun car. I get sentimentally attached! The tow rig and trailer? Just think of them as one big shock absorber that saved your life. They did what they had to do.

 

[steveespo]

Thanks Andy
Was very upset when you crashed your car, brought the risk home.
The truck did its job very well, side curtain airbag saved me from a really bad headache. Did you keep your car? If so post up the repair story.
Steve

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Steve good luck with the resurrection and I hope your insurance company is being very generous with their reimbursement.

Amen!

Car looks like won't be a huge deal to get repaired. Sounds like the rest of your gear is another story. At least you weren't injured--it's a lot more difficult to repair the human body.

 

[Grant 302]

Good luck with the rebuild. Glad you aren't seriously injured.

 

[steveespo]

Did alot of work today on the car. Stripped the graphics off, fixed lower radiator mount and splitter rod bracket, removed front bumper cover and both fenders. After that I drove down to Levittown Ford to pick up my new fenders, splash shields and front under tray.






Steve

 

[Darth Boss]

Man, triple whammy...new truck, new trailer and your pride and joy. I feel for you. I still get depressed thinking about when I just graduated from college and was two weeks from moving out of state for my first job and I got rear ended in my 65 GTO, totaling her out.

That was 15 years ago and I still haven't gotten another classic. At least I have my Boss now, a modern classic.

Good luck with the repairs.

You should check with your insurance about performance parts. I have an add on coverage that covers damage to any add on part like hoods, spoilers, etc. and it s not that much more than normal coverage.

 

[NewBossowner]

Good luck with the restoration Steve, we all look forward to seeing the resurrection of #21. It is a fixture around here, it would be missed if it wasn't repairable.
Glad your OK.

 

[cloud9]

Glad to see your quick progress Steve. I really envy your skills and while this completely sucks, it couldn't have happened to a more capable owner. Any progress on getting the tow rig setup?

I have a feeling at the end of this thread it's going to look a little bit like "Steve" Austin. "we can rebuild him, and it will be faster and stronger"

 

[Jza1736]

Glad to see repairs are under way! I can't wait to se her back at the track

 

[steveespo]

After graduation and parties for my daughter I finally got back to the shop Saturday morning. Got the GT500 fan assembly And condenser for the AC swapped in. Car is off the frame rack with no chassis issues. Body work begins this week. Aiming to return to the track on August 19 at Watkins Glen with the NE Audi club.
Steve

 

[cloud9]

Most excellent 8)

 

[VTBoss302]

We can rebuild...better...stronger...faster...

 

[blacksheep-1]

As a friend of mine once said..."Merely a flesh wound"

Sorry to here that, glad you weren't hurt, and good luck with the rebuild, that is one of my favorite mustangs (being an old Wood Brother's fan).

A quick (and pointless story)
Back around 1969 my parents went looking for a new car, I zeroed in a a Cale Yarborough edition Cyclone spoiler , Wood Bros stripe and all, unfortunately it had the plain jane interior. No matter how much I wheeled and dealed (at 12 years old) I couldn't keep my parents from buying a PITA 69 Plymouth Sport Fury. In the end, it was the car I learned to drive in(..and fix on a daily basis). I always thought if they had bought that Wood Bros Cyclone, I would still own it today.
Now back to the regularly scheduled program.

 

[steveespo]

From 1989-91 I owned a Dan Gurney Cyclone Spoiler II (NASCAR nose). Also had a Boss 429 to install in it.
Stripped, modified the shock towers and seam welded the whole body. Lost interest and sold it all for $5k.
Really regret that one.
Steve

 

[bigh3410]

Glad all is working out! You will be in the seat in no time!

Henry

 

[mardis]

Steve,

I know we have never met, nor do I know you, but it looks like you have everything well in hand. And I am glad you nor anyone else was hurt.

Do keep going off subject, I picked up a very nice book at Carlisle this year on the Holman/Moody race teams. A truly great read even though I am not the biggest NASCAR fan. I knew of the Holman/Moody involvement with the Ford GT40 program and their assault at LeMans from 1966 to 1969. What was very cool to learn was that Ford had hired the Wood Brothers to pit the 1967 Mk. IV's of Holman/Moody during that years LeMans. The book even states that the Wood Brothers where so afraid they would not like French food that they packed cases of their own food to bring to LeMans. Funny and very cool.

You learn something new everyday.

Anxious to see the finished Hot Rod again Steve.

 

[steveespo]

Thanks Mark,
The story of Ford's Total Performance effort in the 1960s is a great one. Henry II (Edsel II's father) made sure the teams had the best of everything in every division of racing. NASCAR, Indy, Sports Cars, F1, Even off road and rallying.
And the roster of drivers was unbelievable; Mario, AJ, Gurney, Jim Clark, Parnelli, Pearson, Jackie Ickx, Bob Bondurant, Phil Hill, Cale Yarborough, Al Unser Sr, Lloyd Ruby, Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, Ken Miles all drove factory backed cars in multiple divisions in Shelby and Holman Moody prepped cars. The Boss 302 was a cool but small part of the overall Ford Racing effort from 1962-1970. My family always had Fords and Lincoln's so that is how I got hooked. Mom had 64 1/2, 67, 68 convertible, 73, 84 GT and 85 1/2 SVO Mustangs. My first car was her 73 hardtop that my buddy and I did 2 engine swaps on, the second on my prom night (went over big with the girlfriend when the limo pulled up and I was covered in grease) ;D so Ford racing is in my blood for 47 years.

Read up on it and you'll see how the current Ford Racing and street car programs are in the spirit of the 60s and how lucky we are to have the performance cars and parts support we have today.
Steve