Welcome to the 'Car Files' page..!
This is a page where we throw interesting car's and story's that we come across, know of, or thought you'd like to see..!
Chris Brooke, that we've now become good buddy's with, owns the GT350 that his Dad purchased many moons ago - 5s109. Chris and his Brother used to street race this car back in the day and his Dad parked the car in 1978, with what he reported to both of the boys, as a major engine issue. As such, it sat there from '78 till now. Chris' dad is now no longer with us, but Chris has been able to hold on to his Dad through the car, which is a great story in itself.
Chris dragged the GT350 down to SAAC-38 in California in July 2013, to display it for the first time, in a very long time and it naturally drew a great deal of interest. It sports a Boss 302 power plant, which is what Chris and his Brother used to give curry back in the '60's and '70's. He does however, still have the correct, numbers matching 289 HIPO for it - thankfully..!
Since Chris didn't get to drive his Shelby (and hasn't since 1978!), we offered for him to join us in 5s259 during the track time that we were allotted, which gave Chris a major injection of motivation, with 5s109. Later that day, we shot off from the host Hotel in 5s259 to grab a coffee and Chris was thrown the keys. That was the clincher for him! We then organised to pop up to Chris' home after SAAC-38, to polish up the original paint up on 5s109. We contacted Jim Smart to come along and make an article out of it, so Jim being the great bloke that he is, he joined us for the fun.
The paint cleaned up beautifully on the side that we worked on, leaving the other 50% of the car as found. Chris likes to call it the 50/50 car, now. Later that evening, over a few quiet brews, I asked Chris a bit more detail about why the car didn't run and he really couldn't elaborate as to why it didn't run; just saying that his Dad parked it and said something was wrong with it. So, with that puzzling mystery on our minds, we went about working out if it would run. With the relevant checks done, we found the timing had been moved to a location where it wouldn't fire. With that all rectified and a bit of fuel down the carb, it roared into life, to an astonished look on Chris' face. He jumped on the cell phone immediately and called a buddy of his, who used to ride in the Shelby with him and said, "My Dad pulled a swifty on us! It runs! That's the best swifty ever, fooled us for 40 years!" It would seem that Chris' Dad, decided to render the GT350 undrivable to keep his boys out of it and had managed to do so for nearly 40 years! That'd be one of the best pranks that I have ever heard of!
Check out the video below of it firing up for the first time..! We didn't have many tools available, or the keys to the Shelby (Chris' hadn't yet found them, but since has!), so we had to improvise a little.
He hauled the car to the Santa Monica display of Shelby's on the Pier in September, 2013 and drew a huge interest in the car. Chris plans to bring the Shelby to the 50th in Vegas in 2014 and may join the tour that Bosskraft have put together for the Mustang Club, driving the GT350 for a few weeks prior to the show, right next to 5s259. What an epic journey!
Chris dragged the GT350 down to SAAC-38 in California in July 2013, to display it for the first time, in a very long time and it naturally drew a great deal of interest. It sports a Boss 302 power plant, which is what Chris and his Brother used to give curry back in the '60's and '70's. He does however, still have the correct, numbers matching 289 HIPO for it - thankfully..!
Since Chris didn't get to drive his Shelby (and hasn't since 1978!), we offered for him to join us in 5s259 during the track time that we were allotted, which gave Chris a major injection of motivation, with 5s109. Later that day, we shot off from the host Hotel in 5s259 to grab a coffee and Chris was thrown the keys. That was the clincher for him! We then organised to pop up to Chris' home after SAAC-38, to polish up the original paint up on 5s109. We contacted Jim Smart to come along and make an article out of it, so Jim being the great bloke that he is, he joined us for the fun.
The paint cleaned up beautifully on the side that we worked on, leaving the other 50% of the car as found. Chris likes to call it the 50/50 car, now. Later that evening, over a few quiet brews, I asked Chris a bit more detail about why the car didn't run and he really couldn't elaborate as to why it didn't run; just saying that his Dad parked it and said something was wrong with it. So, with that puzzling mystery on our minds, we went about working out if it would run. With the relevant checks done, we found the timing had been moved to a location where it wouldn't fire. With that all rectified and a bit of fuel down the carb, it roared into life, to an astonished look on Chris' face. He jumped on the cell phone immediately and called a buddy of his, who used to ride in the Shelby with him and said, "My Dad pulled a swifty on us! It runs! That's the best swifty ever, fooled us for 40 years!" It would seem that Chris' Dad, decided to render the GT350 undrivable to keep his boys out of it and had managed to do so for nearly 40 years! That'd be one of the best pranks that I have ever heard of!
Check out the video below of it firing up for the first time..! We didn't have many tools available, or the keys to the Shelby (Chris' hadn't yet found them, but since has!), so we had to improvise a little.
He hauled the car to the Santa Monica display of Shelby's on the Pier in September, 2013 and drew a huge interest in the car. Chris plans to bring the Shelby to the 50th in Vegas in 2014 and may join the tour that Bosskraft have put together for the Mustang Club, driving the GT350 for a few weeks prior to the show, right next to 5s259. What an epic journey!
Australian XW GT Falcon comes to the end of its life!
This is an XW GT Falcon that a mate of mine bought new here in Australia. He used to do a bit of racing in it, as was the done thing back in the day, but as you can see, it came unstuck at some point, 8 months old and with 14k miles on it. Rolled 6-7 times apparently and even without a seat belt on, he walked away without a worry. Lucky boy! Love the note he left on the back of the picture for me!
'56 F100
Good friend and customer of us, has this beaut looking '56 F100. We assisted in the build, from picking the originally left hand drive US import up for him, to providing the engine/trans and rebuilding. This truck drives nicer than a brand new car. It's absolutely stunning. Jag front and rear suspension, Mustang fuel tank under the bed, linked to the pop open gas filler cap which blends in beautifully with the step-side fenders on this pickup. Powered by a 302 Windsor roller cam motor with mods to boost the power nicely, backed up by a C4 transmission that we also supplied, this truck pulls like a freight train. Normally, I'd say that vehicles look better in pictures than in person, but this truck is just as nice in person!
'64 XM Falcon sedan
Tony has a beautiful old XM Falcon sedan that we've helped out on a bit. Such a beautiful car to drive and these old 170 six cylinders ran on the smell of an oily rag! Great old cars. We're happy to display his pride and joy on the website.
Lee & Bec's beautiful '69 Q code Mach-1
Couldn't help myself in snapping some pics of their beaut Mach-1 as the sun set over the Indian Ocean, in Perth, Australia. The silver jade colour certainly looked the part with that lighting and background. The car has won some concours awards and now Lee is off to enjoy driving it, which I absolutely agree with. These beasts were built to drive and enjoy!
Original paint '65 GT coupe
Here is a car from my mate's collection. An original paint, '65 GT coupe, that he bought from a mutual friend of ours in the USA, who'd had it for years and bought it directly from the original owner. Beaut little California car that we imported for him and spent some time detailing. Still have some interior clean up work to do, but the original paint shines like new. Has a few dents from 45+ years of use and a few rubs through areas that we like to call 'patina', but for its age, it is absolutely gorgeous and not a spec of rust to be seen. The little 289 A code 4bbl runs like a top, too. Look forward to seeing this back on the road and cruisin' the streets of Sydney.
George Follmer, picks up his 2013 Boss 302
George Follmer to the immediate left of his Boss 302
Pictured is George Follmer, the super Mr nice guy and a seriously famous and acclaimed race car driver, who we're so very lucky to know on a personal level, picking up his new 2013 Boss 302 Mustang from the Ford dealer. We were so proud to be part of the process of George being given this vehicle by Ford Motor Company, for all that he has done for the Ford and Boss 302 name.
We wrote & spoke to Ford and their marketing department and suggested that they consider using him in commercials with Parnelli Jones to advertise the new Boss 302, considering George & Parnelli clearly provided Ford with a significant number of sales with their on track rivalry! We met with Nth American Ford's Marketing Manager, regarding George being given a Boss 302 Mustang and they have clearly come through with the ultimate prize, which was a really amazing thing for George. Whether we were the clinching factor in George being given this vehicle, we'll never know, but suffice to say, he is very excited and commended Ford for building such an amazing car. Now he's out there tearing up the streets in this beautiful looking vehicle! Congratulations, George - you deserve it.
We wrote & spoke to Ford and their marketing department and suggested that they consider using him in commercials with Parnelli Jones to advertise the new Boss 302, considering George & Parnelli clearly provided Ford with a significant number of sales with their on track rivalry! We met with Nth American Ford's Marketing Manager, regarding George being given a Boss 302 Mustang and they have clearly come through with the ultimate prize, which was a really amazing thing for George. Whether we were the clinching factor in George being given this vehicle, we'll never know, but suffice to say, he is very excited and commended Ford for building such an amazing car. Now he's out there tearing up the streets in this beautiful looking vehicle! Congratulations, George - you deserve it.
'69 Shelby de Mexico
I'm certainly no expert on these Mexican built vehicles, but they're a really interesting car to have on this page..! Check out the pics above and note the significant varied production differences between regular Nth American built Mustangs. It's really an interesting car to check out.
This website has some interesting info on them http://www.darkhorseracing.net/south_of_the_boarder.htm
This website has some interesting info on them http://www.darkhorseracing.net/south_of_the_boarder.htm
'69 Mach-1
This beautiful looking '69 Mach-1 is owned by some of our closest friends and has been a lengthy nut and bolt restoration for them. It's painted Laser red, which I believe to be a '94 Mustang colour and really suits the car. It's equipped with its correct 351 Windsor engine, FMX auto and 9" diff and runs great. It also has B45 Simmons wheels with the rare optional centre cap.
It's a real credit to them and we're happy to feature the car on our 'car files' page for everybody to see.
It's a real credit to them and we're happy to feature the car on our 'car files' page for everybody to see.
'48 COE (Cab Over Engine) Ford F6 truck
'48 COE Ford truck with Cali stepside tray
Check out this awesome truck that my good mate in the USA built years ago. Unfortunately, he passed a short time ago and is no longer physically with us, but he lives on with friends and family with memories such as this truck.
It sports a 302 windsor with 5 speed transmission, black with tan leather trim and I recall the first time I got to drive this truck, I was expecting it to be like a 'truck' to drive, but this is literally like driving a car. Comfortable, light clutch, steering is awesome and it cruises beautifully. Loved it. Since then, I've been extremely fortunate to do some work on the truck to keep it running, as it doesn't get out much and attend some cruises in it here and there. It was an honour to know Byron, that built this COE, and just as neat to be trusted to drive and enjoy it and stay close with his great family.
It sports a 302 windsor with 5 speed transmission, black with tan leather trim and I recall the first time I got to drive this truck, I was expecting it to be like a 'truck' to drive, but this is literally like driving a car. Comfortable, light clutch, steering is awesome and it cruises beautifully. Loved it. Since then, I've been extremely fortunate to do some work on the truck to keep it running, as it doesn't get out much and attend some cruises in it here and there. It was an honour to know Byron, that built this COE, and just as neat to be trusted to drive and enjoy it and stay close with his great family.
Sister car to 5S259
5S258
I arrive at the Shelby Cobra 50th event with George Follmer driving 5S259, me driving 6S1750. We park the cars, jump out and take that first look around to see what other vehicles are at the show. Next to 1750 is another '65 GT350. I get to talking to the owner of the car and he asks me what number mine is, so I reply, "259". He says, "wow, mine is 258!" How neat is that, that we parked next to each other at a car show and way back in '65, these cars were built together, shipped together and sent to the same dealership to be sold together! Great story!
'70 1/2 Falcon
This is one rare bird. 1 of 1, Super Cobra Jet 429 big block, C6 auto, 4.30:1 locking rear axle, bench seat, drum brakes alround - so don't tell me that this baby wasn't build for the 1/4 mile! This is a beautiful car to drive, straight as a laser and sounds tough!
This is the sound of a 'real car'! '71 Boss 351
This video above is of me driving a brand new Laguna Seca Boss 302 (which was AMAZING and belongs to the guy in the passenger seat of the Boss 351 in this video, Eric) and a buddy of mine in So Cal, Ken Maisano, that has literally just finished this amazing Boss 351. He built an amazing engine for it, which pumps some serious HP. It has paint like glass, an amazing restoration and this is how he drives it! I love it! That's what these cars were build for back in the day - a hard time!
Above are the pictures of the beautifully restored Boss 351 that Ken was driving in the video. Magnificent job on the resto.
Below, we have Ken showing us how a Boss 351 performs when the engine is built right, dialed in correctly and with him behind the wheel..!
Below, we have Ken showing us how a Boss 351 performs when the engine is built right, dialed in correctly and with him behind the wheel..!
The beautiful sound of the 2012 'Laguna Seca' Boss 302
Friend of mine in Los Angeles has recently bought this 2012 Boss 302 'Laguna Seca' and gave me a drive of it. WOW, what an amazing vehicle. Very impressive in all aspects. I was thrilled and thankful for the drive in the car. Cheers, Eric.