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I know of one '67 Shelby owner that broadsided in intersections (makes me doubt his decision making abilities) that said the roll bar saved his life twice.

Now this guy turns out to be a medical doctor so that contributes to my increasing distrust of the medical profession as a whole BUT this isn't about me.

Generally speaking the roll bar application like in the Shelby's is to keep the roof from collapsing on you but obviously has a side impact function as well.

If attached to key points, it also can stiffen the chassis as well.

It can't replace a complete "cage" but street cars aren't going 200 mph anywhere that I am aware of. That would be a cage's forte.

No one knew too much about the Cobras details then.

We just basically knew the small block and big block.

Many of us who visioned ourselves as buyers were largely College aged. Either just finished, still in or just starting.

I do remember scouring the classifieds around 1970 and there were more then a few 289's in the $2,500 vicinity. Lots of Comp cars coming up at around $5,000.


My tastes leaned towards 427's. It still wasn't understood how the power plant varied according to CSX series. 428's were seriously bad mouthed.

What I found concerning was that seemingly every 427 that was for sale, had less then 10,000 miles and not an original engine. 427's were in the $5,000 range.


I personally could only afford to own one car. I needed a car that could be locked up, with locking doors and windows. So Cobras were out of the question.


It was a long time ago both in years and in so many other ways. Sometimes now getting difficult to differentiate between memory and fantasy?

The results in that video look very encouraging but will likely kill any of the cast in markings such as the cylinder numbers if any still exist.

The best that I think you are going to get is a heavy frosted surface and that is obtainable by using 'Black beauty" blast media in a sand blaster.

This is what I use on headers and it will give you a texture that you can feel with your hands.

Other than that, as Bob says, find another manifold and sell this one. There is a market for them
with some street rodders. Many would love to have it.

How much it is worth is difficult to determine. Even the price variations on an original condition one will vary.

Ned you are presuming that the ownership of the "mystery car" does not pre-date both you and I.

I didn't think any Cobra has escaped Ned's little notepad he always carries around. His actual eyes on cars and the notes he's kept over the years have certainly added greatly to the history and provenance of these cars.

Well, not to disparage original Cobra owners alone. I suppose it applies to some other people as well, but they are some of the most "unique people" that I have ever encountered. In my case, that speaks volumes and is an understatement.

I had one Cobra owners father tell me, "I thought it was just a 'Healy' with bumps".


Who said the car has even been driven in 57 years? Most of those folks who would likely remember the car are dead.

There was an infamous baseball character, now known as a baseball legend, named Casey Stengle. On his 75thbirthday a reporter asked him how many friends he had. His reply, "most of the people my age are dead". I say Amen to that.

This car was a red street car. You never know what lurks in the woods of NH 

Absolutely true.

Ned you are presuming that the ownership of the "mystery car" does not pre-date both you and I.

Ordinarily I'd offer para mutuals in the 6-5 vicinity in favor but now that I'm older and more suspicious, I'd still go even money.

Strange in this case is normal. I don't know of any banjo playing recluses there but the woods get very deep in NH. Spooky in fact.

Actually the BF32 was obsoleted and replaced with the BF42.

The BF32's were recommended for the higher compression engines and the 42's for the lower compression engines.

Either will work but what you may find is that rpm's over about 5,000 rpm's are limited by the hotter 42 plug.


I know that there is a general dislike of the Champion plug. Not that they are inferior, but because that isn't what the "Kool people" run. However, that series offers a greater heat range then most others do, INCLUDING the Autolite's.

I have that using Champions to "tune" a brand new engine helpful.

The only other plug that comes close to that "tunability" is the NGK. If you look at the actual engineering heat ranges of their plugs, it will give you an indication why. The answer is, their design, gives a wider heat range for the same engine.


BF32's have NEVER been the exact right plug for the high performance Ford engines. They have ALWAYS been on the too cold range, noticibly fouling particularly with automatic transmissioned cars used in bumper to bumper traffic, whereas the 42 is too hot and causes detonation over 5,000 rpm.

The Champion can be dialed in better as is the NGK.

Was a J code 302 4V Mustang a 31 Spline 9" inch?

Yes.9 inch, 31 spline, Daytona yoke.

     Any and all "J-Code" examples, are you sure?   

     Scott.

I have not seen "Every '68 GT350". That is standard equipment of the GT Package in 1968 as we know it.

The variation from that is the car that should be questioned as far as legitimacy because IT would be out of line.

At this point, there have been so many Shelby cars that have been brought back from the dead by less knowledgeable people with junk yard parts, it would be disappointing to find an inaccurate restoration, but not necessarily surprising.

GT350 302 4V 31 Spline 9 inch   Was a J code 302 4V Mustang a 31 Spline 9" inch?

Yes.9 inch, 31 spline, Daytona yoke.

At this point you pronably need to actually measure the amount of pressure the calipers are.recieving from the master.

With no boost, they should be around 500psi. With vacuum boost, around 700psi.


Two things.can efect the pressure. Number one is going.to be the bore of the master cylinder.

Stock it should be 15/16". Smaller bore will give more pressure. Larger bore, less pressure.

66 Mustang is 3/4" and wrong for a 67.
I ll bet you the aftermarket lists them with the same part number.

The variation is going to be 3/4", 15/16" and.1".

It is too commom for the 3/4" bore to be substitied and marked as a stock replacement, which it is not.


The sensativity you describe is related to the bore size of the master, not the booster which is obviously working correctly.

You can reduce boost.by lowering the vacuum to it.

Originally, they are intended to work with 20.to 22 inches of vacuum.

Under about 14, they stop working.


A stock.67.GT 500.uses a.very mild cam profile and really is mismatched to the booster as originally supplied.

You will find that if you change to virtually any aftermarket cam, the idle vacuum will drop to about 15, wbich will reduce the boost the system provides and help the brake sensativity.


Sorry for the long post but you.have run into an engineering issue and explanation is necessary.



Additionally, pedal travel changes with master bore. Originally that travel was "correct" if at full travel, you could put one foot under the pedal at.full lock.

The only way you can change that is with bore change. The.larger the bore, the less pedal travel.


Race cars typocally go up to 1-3/16" which makes the pedal travel very short, in fact just touching it, but they are manual with no boost.
That os.more that a race engine typically will idle with about 8 imches so there isnt enough vacuum supplied.

This is all.about the master bore. The rears do not care. They are just along for the ride.


There is a huge differece just between the 15/16" and 1" alone and the only way YOU can decide is to try the combinations.
There really is no simple answer to this.

Comander Scott once commented "you remind me of the man who demanded to be taught the wisdom of the world while standing on one foot".
Don't be that guy.

I'm glad that you worked things out.

In reality, I'm not an individual that is easy to depose but I like to think of it as "I like to take the long road home".  Sometimes I like to try to share that vision.

The way to quiet that tray down is to stuff foam underneath. The cotton insulation blankets used on dishwashers would be very effective.

By contrast, the design of the '66 tray includes some improvements like a front lip and reinforcing strips. It also eliminates the spare tire notch.
It still though had no consideration of sound insulation, just structural improvements.

Those were molded plastic and would warp in something like the Texas summer sun even though factory reinforced with wood 1x3's.


Ironically enough though that the current fiberglass reproductions correct that issue but still need sound deadening.

I suspect that since the tray wasn't a big sales feature, that the concept became more of a PITA then was worth?

Yes, for sure, I do remember the carpeted controversy discussed but it may have even been in the SOA days of before SAAC?
With maybe 6 cars involved it was kind of hard then to come to any conclusions but having it mentioned in the "moments of the meeting" is enough for me to accept that this was a factory modification. Why it wasn't done to the remaining cars in stock, at $4 each, shows how cheap they were being in making decisions IMHO.

I will say that the carpeting does make the '65 panel more useful but using simple pick-up truck bed coating/paint that didn't exist then, solves much of the problem of items sliding around but you best use a cargo net if you were serious about using it as a cargo area?


The original thought was saving the 85 pounds of rear seat that many had complained that it was not humanly inhabitable. The '66 GT350 actually had a curb weight of about 3,200 pound on the scale and far away from the stated 2,800 pounds in the owners manual.

Street use buyers didn't care that much about those details.

But the "reverse 105" castings weren't created until 1972.   

    Scott.

Just when you thought it was "safe to go back in the water", another FE enigma.

Why am I not shocked?

It's not a 1963 block. It has 3 bolt motor mounts, the extra inside web rib, the reverse 105 on front & back, & a 4.13 bore (it's an NOS block). I told him to check for the cast in "428" in the water jackets.

You are looking for a possible explanation. It is more likely that the casting date is incorrect then the ribs being wrong.

Not all 428's have a visible number from the water jackets. That's a 50/50 proposition. As many don't as many do.

Looked this one over today... the block is stamped with the car's serial number....

... it's Shelby serial number 

Now that's memorable 

My question is whether that Shelby number is in addition to the normally stamped Ford VIN or is the Ford VIN completely missing on that block. My engine also has the sfm number stamped on another part of the block from a prior owner prior to the gentleman I bought the car from, but the Ford VIN remains intact on the block in its customary location and matches the Ford VINs on the body of the car. Disappearing original hipo engines on the Hertz cars were apparently a real thing. Some wanted additional assurance perhaps by stamping the Shelby VIN on the block. I can assure you that the prior owner can competently testify that my block is original to my car despite having the extra number on the block, having owned the car before me all the way back to the early 70s. The Ford VIN is on the block. That creates a rebuttable presumption this is the original block unless overcome by other competent and admissible evidence. Speculation does not count.

At some point in the late '70s or early '80s, there were those recommending stamping ID numbers into significant components for theft identification reasons.

How many people did that is unknown.

Having the Shelby VIN stamped into the block is of debatable value or value loss but not necessarily a yellow caution flag.


Presuming that it was done for this purpose, it does raise question as to how someone would attempt to identify the parts since there would be no record of the Ford VIN anywhere.
Somewhat of a conundrum?

Considering the amount of labor necessary to switch out the engine and the limited amount of gain by doing so, I wouldn't think that was very common although a few have "confessed" to having done so.

I would say that the casting date is wrong OR it is a 1963 casting date. A '73 block would have ribs. The molds broke and when repaired wound up with ribs. The 427 blocks have them also with 72 casting dates.

I also think that it is a 390 block, not a 428.Personally I would not consider it without an A or C scratch but I'm not well informed on the truck versions. Plus, you would not want to use that block in anything special.

People have bored those out to 4.13.