I wrote an article for the Shelby American following SAAC 41. We had a really fun time celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Shelby Hertz Mustang! Read it here:
http://www.saac.com/shelby_american_issues/2016_summer/#67/z
LCA failure?
I’ve been told that my car is in need of new Lower Control Arm ball joints and outer tie rod ends. I attempted to get it aligned, but the alignment shop told me it would be futile to attempt an alignment until these issues were resolved. My research has informed me that this is a common early failure item on the early Mustangs including the SGT and GT-H. Ford even issued a TSB about it. Apparently it isn’t all to uncommon for these ball joints to fail at around 30K miles, so some people were able to have the repair done while still under warranty. The suggested fix is to replace the entire LCA since the ball joint is an unserviceable part. The recommendation is to use the beefier GT500 LCA as a direct replacement. The part number is M-3075-E and is also in the Ford Racing Catalog.
M-3075-E
I’ve also noticed some squeaking in the rear going over bumps and have been told the polyurethane bushings installed by Shelby on the rear sway bars need to be re-lubricated. Since this is a wear item, and my car has nearly 50K miles, I went ahead and ordered new Ford Racing replacement bushings as well. I guess it turns out that #229 will be getting more than a simple cosmetic restoration after-all. The entire brake system has been replaced including new BOSS 302 brake lines, 4 new rotors, pads and fluid. A new Ford M/C and reservoir is also awaiting installation shortly. When I’m completed with all this, I will have no doubt that my car will be better than those lower mileage examples on the market commanding premium $$.
UPDATE
My buddy and I replaced the control arms with the GT500 versions along with new MOOG outer tie rods, camber bolts and full alignment. The install was a bit tricky as we couldn’t figure out how to drop the rack as the nuts were welded onto the support, requiring you to loosen the bolts from the TOP of the support. A bit tricky to wrench in this tight space, so now you know! The old ball joints were very loose and very tired….definitely needing replacement for some time now. These cars definitely would benefit from the the beefier GT500 versions upon replacement. I didn’t replace the rear sway bar bushings yet (I do have new ones on hand), and I also plan to install the adjustable panhard bar that I purchased as well. I’m not in a hurry on these items and may simply wait until it’s time for tire replacement and do the CS69 wheel upgrade all together at once.
SAAC 39
I had a great time driving #229 to the SAAC convention at Road America this past weekend. I was able to participate in the Concours d’Cool on Thursday night in downtown which was very fun! I also did some laps around the track on Friday afternoon and the car show on Saturday. The weekend went by very fast. Below are some photos I took….
https://picasaweb.google.com/113489028940278772931/SAAC39?authkey=Gv1sRgCKWB7d6PhciGcA
229 with me at the track
1st Place!
Very cool Shelby GT video featuring the GT-H
I have not seen this one before, but it was share on Facebook and I had to grab it for the blog. Enjoy!!
Video
Ford Racing FR3 Suspension installation
This is the suspension upgrade Shelby did on the GT-H. This video shows how to accomplish it on your own! Great 20 minute video. Of course, there is no mention of an adustable panhard bar for the rear or camber bolts/alignment up front. Shelby didn’t do this either, and it results in some excessive negative camber up front which is great for handling, but BAD for your tires as you will get excessive inside wear up front. The rear tends to drift off to the driver’s side when lowering, too. The adjustable panhard bar allows you to easily get it all centered back up.
I’ve read that these camber bolts are helpful in getting the camber closer to proper spec, and are not an expensive upgrade. Some will also install camber/caster plates, and they are the ultimate in adjust-ability. However, some have reported that noise is increased with the camber/caster plate installations.
I’m looking at replacing my sway bar bushings soon (squeaks in the rear over speed bumps), so this video should come in handy! I’m posting it here for future reference
Window Tinting
The previous owner had the windows on #229 professionally tinted and the dark tint looks pretty nice on these black cars and they also help a ton to keep the interior cool. The insides of the front windows had many vertical “scratches” all over the place, and I was able to determine that this was due to a factory flaw in the early S197 Mustangs. The inside window channel did not originally come with any type of felt to glide over the windows. Some Mustang windows were damaged (even without tint) due to the dirt that could get lodged in there and have no way of cleaning out. Ford later modified this design in the 2008 and newer Mustangs by adding a layer of premium felt in the window channel. I ordered and installed this 2008 improved part for both doors and had the tint replaced by Bravo Protection in Wayzata, MN. I told them to replace the tint with the same that was on there (no darker), and they did excellent work. I’m told that my tint is at 30% – still not legal in MN, but I have a doctor’s note from my Optometrist should I ever get pulled over.
New part numbers for reference:
Part #: 8R3Z6321457A
Part #: 8R3Z6321456A
First Spring Drive
Finally got the car out of winter hibernation last evening. Sure was fun to pound the pavement a little! Grabbed my phone for a quick video as the sun was setting.
Shelby GT-H Jackets
I’ve never seen one, but apparently 100 of these “Varsity” style jackets were made. How they were distributed is a bit confusing and I’ve heard conflicting stories. I’ve heard they were given to the first 100 Hertz executives who placed an order for the cars, and I’ve heard they were given to the Shelby American employees that worked on the cars.
I believe these jackets were designed/contract by 3 Random Guys, LLc in Riverside, CA. Below are some detailed photos of the jacket and the rear artwork, which is a combination of chenille and embroidery.
Photo work
Really getting anxious for the weather to improve as I need to drive my Shelby! In the meantime, here are a couple looks at my weekend’s photoshop work. This work features actual pictures I took of #229 and #2059
Custom Tuning
Prior to my ownership of #229 the first post-fleet owner added an HO Whipple Supercharging kit. The car used the standard Ford/Whipple tune but was eventually brought into Full Throttle Kustomz in southern California for a custom tune in January, 2011. I was able to figure this all out by plugging in my SCT tuner that was included with the purchase of my car and the loaded tune indicated “FTK Street”. That information combined with a quick search on the internet located the owner of the shop and we connected using FTK’s Facebook page.
Although the actual tuning and dyno data had been lost due to computer failure, Ray was able to recall my car and even produced a photo of it for me when it was on his dyno. Ray recalls changing out the spark plugs and spending several hours dialing the car in just right for optimal street performance. Similar cars he’s done typically get over 450 rear wheel horsepower when tuned for street performance and long term reliability.
2006 Shelby GT-H 229 