Messages

As some of you read the history of 5s444, it warms my heart that the compassion from the forum members comes to the surface. After all, this hobby is as much about the people that are the caretakers of these vehicles, as the vehicles themselves.  I appreciate all the input, and look forward to the day when # 444 is on the road again.  Mark

Just a follow up on the headliner issue.  The car has had all the glass removed prior to bodywork and paint some time ago, and never reinstalled.  I knew that the headliner install was done with the glass out, so that's how I have left it so far.  Mark

The process continues, and it's on to the wiring for # 444.  I am still waiting for the upholstery shop schedule to get the headliner installed, so instead of installing all the interior trim pieces after the headliner install, I am pivoting to the wiring.  Whew...  I bought the complete harness from Pete Disher several years ago, and have laid out all the harness and sub-harnesses on the shop floor next to the original harnesses for comparison.  It's all pretty darn good.  Not exact as far as wire colors everywhere, but very close so far.  I am detailing and installing everything I can find onto the new harnesses while on the bench to make sure it all goes together before having to do it under the dash when my mature body is folded up like a contortionist.  Here's a few photos of what it looks like so far.  Mark

Thanks Bob,  Jeff Speegle and I discussed that detail when he saw the car prior to paint.  We did buff the hood to a somewhat smoother glossy finish.  Thanks for bringing that info to not only my attention, but the forum in general for the few that may not be up to speed on that detail.  Mark

Congratulations are well deserved for all your tireless efforts.  Giving back to any organization that serves the greater group is a very satisfying feeling.   Please know that the vast majority of us around the world have noticed and appreciated your efforts, even if we are not in the beautiful state of Florida.   Bravo.            Mark Miller

Hi John, thanks for the kind words on my efforts to reproduce the day one process as closely as possible.  I had seriously considered sending the car to a shop in Phoenix AZ for the acrylic lacquer to be more accurate ( No shop that I could find in SoCal would spray the lacquer ) , but since my goal is to restore this car back to day one condition and value, and then drive it down in value with cruise nights, shows, and dinner runs, mileage and rock chips,  I felt that waterborne base coat / clear coat would be an easier touch up in the event of a mishap. When you see the car in person, you will notice that we worked hard to reproduce the factory looking orange peel finish in the Wimbledon White, and then clear coat the car.  After the clear cured for 90 days, we added the Guardsman Blue stripes over the cleared white, and then cleared only the Blue.  The goal was to have the crisp edge of the blue stripes stand out from the white.  It worked out great.  Mark

Thanks for all the help ( and sense of humor ) Vern.   I love the fact that the members like me can learn from the experts on this forum, and have fun with this hobby and not take it too seriously.   Mark

Many thanks to Brant and Jeff for their own research and expert guidance on the forum once again.  I agree that since the metal coat hook brackets presented with no evidence of coat hooks ever being installed, I will leave the coat hooks off the car.  The fact that the driver side screw hole was unthreaded, and the passenger side bracket had the screw hole mostly blocked by a second layer of sheetmetal behind it that needed drilling to accept a mounting screw is definitive evidence that the car did not come with coat hooks when new.  If Jeff comes up with a survey in the future showing enough non-Shelby mustang fastbacks that had coat hooks over the vents, I would certainly consider re-installing my coat hooks.  Until then, I think this mystery has been solved.  Thanks all,  Mark

Funny you should ask, as my afternoon crawling around the interior of # 444 has determined that neither hole has been used in the past. In fact, there's a second sheet metal edge behind and below the welded on plates, and my attempt to pre-mount the hooks found that the driver side trim screw created new threads in order to mount the hook, and the passenger side hole was 3/4 blocked by the sheet metal edge behind the coat hook bracket and required drilling of the second layer to get the hook screw installed.  See photo of the screw and my masking tape with measurements to find the hole once the headliner is installed.  I'm wondering if the transition from No coat hooks to Yes coat hooks in mid May 1965 created some variances of where the line worker put the hooks ? Could it be that # 444 being built in Mid May got the hooks above the vents ?  Mark

This forum is truly a blessing.  Thanks to all the wisemen, and the link to the old post on Fastback Coat Hooks.  It looks like I have the extra sheetmetal for the coat hooks, as # 444 was a mid May build.  The hooks were found above the vents when I got the car, and although that seemed like an odd location, I didn't know any better.  Now I do.  I will put the coat hooks on the correct sheetmetal tab as shown in the pictures below during final interior assembly.
Mark

Good Morning, I have a question about the front brake caliper bolts on 5s444.  In the photo it shows ( from Left to Right ) the drilled head bolts, old notch head bolts, and new notch head bolts.  Since I don't remember that SAI did any safety wiring on the street model GT 350s, I think the notch head bolts are correct for assembly line builds.  Does anyone have any info on the correct bolts ?  Thanks, Mark

Hi Brant,  It's great to hear from you since the sale of VCM to Kentucky Mustang.  I miss you and your VCM business, and I won't ask you to come out of retirement, as it is well earned, and you should enjoy every second.  Thanks for the encouragement and advice over the years, and yes, the momentum is picking up.  When I acquired the car in late 2010, the coat hooks were on each side of the rear window, as shown in the one photo.  None of the prior owners were businessmen with dry cleaning needs, so I always assumed they were a factory installed hook.  Weird huh ?  I am reinstalling them since that's the way I found the car, and might have a need to hang something on them in the future.
  Thanks again for keeping in touch, and we'll talk soon, Mark

Merry Christmas to all of you in Shelby ForumLand...  I have been busy with family, grandkids, and a few Christmas parties.  I'll get back on the resto shortly, but here's a few photos of the painted pinchweld you haven't seen yet.  Mark

Finally, the last couple of photos showing what we did a couple of days ago, installing the firewall pad, and even a flashback to where I started 15 years ago.     More to come later in the build.  Mark

Another 4 photos of 5S444 posted 12/24/25.  Mark