Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Virginia Classic Mustang!

Merry Christmas!
www.VirginiaClassicMustang.com

I love this, so I've been posting it for the past several years.  I found it somewhere on the Internet and tweaked it a bit. I don't know the author (sorry), but it is pretty cool!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Virginia Classic Mustang!

'Twas the night before Christmas and in the garage,

There wasn't a trace of a Chevy or a Dodge.

The presents were wrapped and the lights were all lit,

So I figured I'd mess with the ‘Stang for a bit.

I popped out the hood pins and I lifted the hood,

When a deep voice behind me said "looks pretty good."

Well, as you can imagine, I turned mighty quick,

And there, by the workbench, stood good ol’ Saint Nick!

We stood there a bit, not too sure what to say,

Then he said "don't suppose that you'd trade for my sleigh?

I said "no way, Santa" and started to grin,

"But if you've got the time we could go for a spin!"

His round little mouth, all tied up like a bow,

Turned into a smile and he said "hey! Let's go!!"

So as not to disturb all the neighbors' retreat,

We pushed the Mustang quietly into the street,

Then, taking our places to drift down the hill,

I turned on the key and I let the clutch spill.

The sound that erupted took him by surprise,

But he liked it a lot, by the look in his eyes.

With Goodyears a' crying and side pipes aglow,

We headed on out where the hot rodders go.

And Santa's grin widened, approaching his ears,

With every up shift, as I went through the gears.

Then he yelled "can't recall when I've felt so alive!",

So I backed off the gas and said "you wanna drive?"

Ol’ Santa was stunned when I gave him the keys,

When he walked past the headlights he shook at the knees!

Then the HiPo exploded with side exhaust sound!

Santa let out the clutch and the tires shook the ground!

Power shift into second, again into third!

I sat there just watching, at loss for a word,

Then I heard him exclaim as we blasted from sight,

"Merry Christmas to all...........what a great night!!!"

Customer Car - Ryan Miller's 1967 Mustang Fastback

We love to see our customers' Mustangs and hear their stories. We have a great one here about a beautiful 1967 Mustang Fastback. Thank you, Ryan for sharing your story and the pictures! Your fastback is gorgeous.

Check out Ryan's story below:

My name is Ryan Miller and this is the condensed story of my restoration of a 1967 Mustang Fastback.

Around 1993 a friend of mine found the car in a south central Kansas rural pasture where the car had set for 15-20 years.  The engine was ruined so it was parked, then later used for target practice with rifles and shotguns.  The car had approximately 25 bullet holes with the windshield glass ruined by a shotgun.  At this time, 67 fastbacks were not nearly as desirable as today so he intended to use it as a parts car.  I bought it from him with the same intention of using some of the parts as it was rusted out in quite a few places due to water and leaves, etc. entering the car without the side windows and back glass.  He had taken parts off the car and so I had to gather up what was left, it was a true basket car.

Reproduction sheet metal was not available in the 90’s and I was going to college while the car sat at the back of my dad’s shed for almost 20 years as other projects progressed.

After my second tour in Afghanistan with the U.S Army, I realized that a lot of new sheet metal and other parts were now available.  I decided to try and restore the car in December 2012.  It was a daunting idea, but I found a U.S company that had just started making the full floor pan/frame assembly from the firewall back to the tail light panel.

I started with disassembling the car and then took it to a company that dipped the body in a non-acidic chemical tank to remove the rust and paint.  After that I started taking out and replacing the bad sheet metal – floor pans, rear quarters, lower cowl, tail light panel, fire wall and radiator support.  To do this I made a jig to put the car on and keep things stable while sheet metal panels were replaced.  I applied rust inhibitive primer in areas where I couldn’t before during the tear down such as inside the rocker panels.  The dipping process really cleaned the car inside and out of rust and paint.  After major panel removal, I refitting the doors, windshield, back glass, deck lid and hood to make sure everything was level and fit well.  Then took everything off and plug welded all the replacement panels.  

At this time I had the final body work and paint done by the restoration shop I used to work at when I was going to school because I didn’t have a good place to paint the car.   They applied the Vintage Burgundy paint and helped me get the larger body panels and glass back on the car.

The 390 engine was balanced and rebuilt with aluminum heads and intake to reduce weight.  I went with the reproduction cobra jet exhaust manifolds mostly because headers can be a real pain to install and wanted less hassle at this point.

 I rebuilt the A/C box adding a new condenser/evaporator with extra rows for cooling while still keeping the original box.  Electric steering assist kits (EPAS) to fit Mustangs had just come out so I added that to reduce hydraulic hose and pump issues – and add horse power.

 I rebuilt the power disc brakes using new reproduction parts and changed the rear axle from a 3.5 open ratio to a limited slip.  Next I added a TKO with a trimmed top so that I could get a 5 speed overdrive manual transmission without cutting the transmission tunnel.  I did some upgrades on the suspension to make it handle better.  

The car had originally come with styled steel wheels and it just happened that some excellent reproduction 15X7 cast aluminum styled steel wheels had come out.

I tried to maintain the original look, but upgraded/mildly modified where I could without cutting or chopping the car.  It was a 4 year process in my spare time and I ended up with about 2,900 man hours.  The majority of the parts came from Virginia Classic Mustang.  I really appreciated Robert and the staff who truly appreciate early Mustangs and know their parts.

Ryan Miller

Mustang Monthly Magazine

December 1986 Mustang Monthly Magazine

In today's environment, it really was not unexpected to hear the announcement that Mustang Monthly will no longer be offered as a print magazine along with 19 of 22 other automotive titles from TEN Publishing.

That said and being involved in this hobby for over 40 years, it was kind of sad for us to hear the formal announcement. 

Virginia Classic Mustang was one of the first advertisers in Mustang Monthly, even before it was called that. I believe when Larry Dobbs started the publication, it was named The Mustang Exchange Letter. Lots of changes happened with the magazine, particularly when bigger publishing companies became the owner of the title.

We have been so fortunate to "grow up" with this hobby. We have made lots of friends who share our passion for these great cars. Just from our involvement with Mustang Monthly, we can call Donald Farr, Jim Smart, Mark Houlahan, and others friends. If you are new to the hobby, you may not recognize these names, but if you are an "old timer," you most certainly will.

We've posted a few pictures here of the issues that my early '65 Mustang HiPo Convertible was featured in. The first was by Jim Smart way back in 1986. After its second restoration, it was featured again in 2012 by Donald Farr. I believe my '65 GT350 was featured by Jim in an issue many years ago also.

I still have both cars!

Virginia Classic Mustang continues to be more about a hobby and passion than a business. That's why we continue to have great (and repeat) customers like yourself!

December 1986 Mustang Monthly Magazine

February 2012 Mustang Monthly Magazine

February 2012 Mustang Monthly Magazine

February 2012 Mustang Monthly Magazine

The Cobra Experience 2020 Calendar

Consider supporting The Cobra Experience by purchasing their fantastic 2020 calendar.

The Cobra Experience is a non-profit museum committed to the promotion, conservation, education, and preservation of the cars produced by Shelby American.

Here is the link:  https://www.cobraexperience.org/2020-calendar-sale.html

The calendar contains lots of pictures of cool cars like this one of our very own 5S162!

10% Off on Mustang Parts!! Coupon Code is Here!!!

Save 10% on Mustang Parts!

10% Discount Coupon Code vcm2019 View this email in your browser It's BACK!!! 10% Discount   Go to our website at www.VirginiaClassicMustang.com Log into your account or create your account During checkout, enter coupon code "vcm2019" under "Select Payment Method" Click "Apply" to save 10% on your order!*   *Discount does not apply to Gift Certificates, Autolite Batteries, rear spoilers, special order seat upholstery, and non-stocking, special order items. Wiring Brakes Wheels Gas Tanks Under Hood Items ...and MORE! We've Got Your Parts Order EARLY. Discount is only available for parts in stock!!     Check out our FB Page Visit our Web Site for Thousands of more Mustang Parts! Copyright © 2019 Virginia Classic Mustang, Inc. All rights reserved. Give us a call at 540-896-2695 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Mustang and Shelby 289 High Performance HiPo Clutch Equalizer Bar

65-66 HiPo Clutch Equalizer Bar
©Virginia Classic Mustang Inc

A very common part needing replacement on 1965 and 1966 Mustangs and GT350's with the 289 High Performance engines is the clutch equalizer bar.  Sometimes this part is referred to as the "z bar".  At any rate, originals are often bent, twisted, reinforced, repaired, and modified over the years.  It is even interesting to note in the Shelby American Automobile Club's Registry that there are many notes of these bars having been replaced on '65 and '66 GT350 Shelbys when they had just a few thousand miles.

Obviously, it is nearly impossible to find a good original.  Even if you do find one that looks good, there is a very good chance that it is twisted.

We now have exact reproductions of these equalizer bars in stock. 

This is a  Virginia Classic Mustang exclusive part and not like any of the others on the market. These also unpainted like the originals.

We have used them on our own cars, and they work fantastic.

Click here to order. Part number is BK191.