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Road Tripping My FE Powered Mustang

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  • Road Tripping My FE Powered Mustang

    This is the end of the secound year I've been driving my project Mustang and I finally got the guts to extend it's leash more than 50 miles.
    First I'll tell you what it is. I got this car back in '06 as a garage find that was wrecked in 1988 and parked in the garage.I "walked around" the add in the paper for 2 weeks before the wife said go look at it or STFU about it. So it's her fault I bought it.What it was was a 68 Mustang coupe 289 3spd stick,no options nothing special.It was hit in the left front,fender appron,hood,grill,bumper.But it didn't get the frame rail. So over the next 2 years I repaired the damage,fixxed some rust,stripped and repainted it.Then I lost my mind thanks to Craigslist I put a stroked 390 in it!
    So it's now a "Restomod" that some BS'ers don't care for.It has big brakes,wide tires all around,it's low and an aluminum headed 433ci FE with a Tremec TKO,Traction Lok 9" with 3.70 gears.Interior looks stock with AutoMeter gauges in the stock dash. Oh and my new favorite mod A/C! I did all the work except machining the engine and holding the paint gun.
    So thats the car.
    Over last summer I worked the bugs out of the cooling system,the clutch,brakes etc... all minor stuff but takes time to shake down. When I was in my 20's I had no problem driving a big block Mustang around Arizona with no A/C but in my late 40's it sucks in San Antonio so the driving was limited in the summer to short shake down runs and some night cruises.
    This June I had enough and A/C went in and I've been racking up the miles.Last week I decided I was going to the NMRA/NMCA race in Houston and I was driving the Mustang!
    Right now I've become more of a car show/cruise in type of guy over the bracket racer I once was and being I like just hanging out anyway this is ok with me right now.
    So Saturday at 5:15am I set off east bound on IH10.I've done enough 70mph cruising that I know it just settles into a nice 2100-2150rpm rythem so I just worked on staying awake.I work nights and a 4:30am wake up is about 4 hours early. I stopped about 40 minutes latter at a "car"stop called Buckeys if you ever see a little beaver head sticker those are from Buckeys. I grabbed a $.99 20lb bag of ice moved my car away from the guy blowing the lot off with a leaf blower and filled my ice chest with ice.
    I set off again,.settled into my 2100 rpm song ,and just enjoyed the music.Oh I got no stereo just solid lifter FE Music.
    Well and an iPod,AC/DC,Eagles,Golden Earing..... as the sun came up I pushed the speed up to 75,passed the site I ran over a log and tore the oil pan off my Marauder and on to Katy. Now I admit I'm a Starbucks addick so I HAD to stop. In the lot I talked with 2 guys and thier kids from the UK,I don't know exactly,and they where amazed that somebody drives a car with 7 litres! So I popped the hood and out came the cell cameras,and one real one,LOL. A few minutes of car talk and I was off again.
    Katy and down town Houston came and went, the gas gauge was still above 1/2, and I was rolling to Baytown.Now the problem,where the hell is my exit! The last time I was there was 2005 in that time they redid the freeway and moved the exits my GPS is old and I'm stupid.The Huricane blowing all the landmarks away didn't help. So I spent about 30 minutes driving around finding my way and went ahead and put 10gals of gas in the car,found my way and headed for the track. I waited in line, paid my entry and staked out a spot for the day.
    The drive didn't add too many bugs so cleaning the car up went quick and I broke out the chair and popped a cold one.
    Spent the day at the edge of the track,walking around the pits and swapmeet hanging in the show area and catching up with some of my race buds.....In the meen time I missed our roaming BS Photoguy Charles.
    The day went on and I picked up a Top 20 award,so I got some plastic out of the day.
    About 5:30 I set out for home,no real traffic but in Houston I got 2 sets of lookie loo cars trying to take pictures and not,I think,run me into the cars next to me,agh GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!! I planned on stopping for a Starbucks fix but missed the exit and didn't want to circle back 5 miles,so I carried on. I stopped in Schulenburg for Gas and it only took about 8 gals to fill it. I did a mileage check and totaling the 10 from earlier and my miles driven I came up with 15.77 MPG that my friends aint bad for a 430hp FE. I was happy.
    Back on the road I picked up some ,well,lookie loo, that came up behind me and SAT in my blind spot....for miles.....then dropped back,HIGH BEAMS ON and dropped behind me.They then pulled up doing one of those cruise control passes,you know 1/4 mph faster than your going. 50 miles and this guy would not leave! I few cars came up and I was starting to think they might be together. I got a break and rolled up to about 100 to gap them and see what happened after about a minute at speed I dropped back to 70 and just rolled along again. Three cars now and I'm starting to set 911 on speed dial....I went ahead and just kept a gap on them,about 80mph now because I was only about 20 miles from my exit. I exited and they went on.So that event was over. I rolled on home and into the garage. It was only about 8:30 so I made good time.
    435 miles,car ran fine and it was a good day cruising(except for about 75 miles at the end) but I had fun anyway.
    Last edited by Cyclone03; November 15, 2011, 06:44 PM.

  • #2
    would love a long trip like that.

    restomods are good.
    I guess I am not in the few bangshifters that disagree.

    a 390 in a fixed up mustang. heck yeah.

    I write about as much as your post almost daily, car related.

    I stopped talking about my own on the net recently, in detail..the weekend chores, all the chores..I realized it is going beyond the average. Time to hide. One stare down or unusual event..even if it is an old ricer...yeah. I get nervous too in my neck of the woods. It happened recently, and that is the end of my friendly build thread.


    if you live in a good place.. I could guess that is where the build threads keep going...or a random post.
    Previously boxer3main
    the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.

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    • #3
      Im gunna be in San Antonio the 27th of this month to drop off my cousin at the A.F.B. so I might have a couple hours to kill, or if youre coming to town for Autorama, lemmie know
      Charles W - BS Photographer at large

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      • #4
        Originally posted by BOOOGHAR View Post
        Im gunna be in San Antonio the 27th of this month to drop off my cousin at the A.F.B. so I might have a couple hours to kill, or if youre coming to town for Autorama, lemmie know
        Which base. Lackland/Kelly or Randolph?

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        • #5
          Thanks for letting us share in your adventure. I hope to put the '65 to the test on a long distance run next summer. It is close to being done mechanically but the cosmetics will have to wait. Still the closer it gets to being road worthy, the more excited I get. The summer's trip is something I work on frequently. What cold be better than three Studebaker guys in three Studebakers going to South Bend and using as few miles of interstate as possible. When it happens I hope my long distance adventure is as good as the one you shared here.

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          • #6
            I built this thing with the goal to drive it to So.Cal and take my dad for a ride,after his stroke 10 years ago he is unable to sit more than an hour,and flying sets something off balance wise for him so thats a no go. He was the one that set me on the road trip path,jumping in the car and setting off to Vegas,Reno,Grand Canyon,Kings Canyon,etc on a 3 day weekend was just what we did.If anything was planned I never knew about it....But somehow the car was always ready and troublefree. I can't remember even a flat or burnout bulb.
            So next spring I hope to head west about 1500 miles.......

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Cyclone03 View Post
              Which base. Lackland/Kelly or Randolph?

              Randolph I think, but literly after i made that post my mom called telling me that they restricted her to the San Antonio area and my parents are going to see here so I'll be in Houston all weekend
              Charles W - BS Photographer at large

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              • #8
                Sounds like she is in Basic Training,so that would be Lackland.
                I work at Randolph on the flightline so if you do make it I can get you the nickle tour...

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                • #9
                  Excellent, good to hear about people truly enjoying their project cars!


                  cheers
                  Ed N.
                  Ed Nicholson - Caledon Ontario - a bit NW of Toronto
                  07 Mustang GT with some stuff
                  88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe 5-speed

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                  • #10
                    shes in tech school, she graduated from basic this past october
                    Charles W - BS Photographer at large

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