Saturday was a big day for me that I have been waiting a long time for to be honest. The day the car was going to Mustang Maniac for the heavy restoration parts. The rear quarter needs to go on, a few bits on the chassis need to be welded up, the engine and gearbox will come out and be prepared for the paint, all of which I can’t do myself. My car was to be picked up by John from Mustang Maniac in a LAR Recovery services lorry. Eight o’clock I was ready, the car was pushed out of the garage, all the rubbish inside had been removed. The additional parts of the painted valance and stone guard I done were inside the car laid out lovingly on old towels and the hood was resting by the car. Then I waited for what seemed like hours, every car was “the lorry”. I was pacing like an expectant father outside a delivery suite, what on earth was wrong with me? I went inside for a cold drink as the weather was warming up nicely and turning into a gorgeous day. Typically no sooner had I poured a glass of fruit juice and the lorry turned up. I ran outside and greeted John and the kettle was ready for the mandatory cup of tea. John had a wonder round my car with his tea and looked her over as I was waiting nervously for the sharp intake of breath, there was none I am glad to say, although he had spotted the bits I knew about straight away.
The lorry curtains were mechanically wound back to expose the bed. The bed was slid rearwards and eventually lowered down to form the ramp. We pushed the car into the road and lined her up to the bottom of the ramp. John latched the straps to the front chassis which was in turn attached to the winch at the front of the bed.
Slack was taken up and gently pulled up to the bed. I was making a few small turns to the steering wheel to make sure she was on square. little by little she was moved up until the weight was over the lorry axle on the bed. John lashed down the rear wheels securely to stop any movement during transit.
The bed was then lifted horizontally again and slid back towards the front into place on the lorry. Within seconds the curtains were rolling back to encase her like the curtains closing at the end of a play. There she was in her own little world, all we had to do was load the hood onto her old carpet and shut the rear curtains.
Ladies and Gentlemen the Mustang has left the building!
- Special Thanks to Adam at Mustang Maniac for allowing me to use their photos on my blog as well, all the pictures are on their blog here.
After the trip to the Mustang Maniac the process was reversed and lowered into the main yard, the car was pushed onto some ramps for the initial look for anything major to report.
After the inspection she was lowered down again and pushed into her new home for a while – Mustang Maniacs panel shop!
Emotions running high, I know she has gone to a better place. In time she will look like new and be back home. I still have a few parts here and there that will be cleaned and ready to go back on when she is ready.
- Special Thanks to John for taking such good care of my car.
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I must say pretty “prof” the guy with the lorry, John right? It seems that you have some worries thus I’m confident they will do a great job on her. Try to relax and do not give them pain everyday :), let the guys work on her. All the best!
I have no worries about them what so ever. Their work is absolutely top notch. Im just sad I can’t do anything on her for a little while. But I will be down there a fair bit to see her. I know John and he is great, a nice bloke all round. I cant wait to see what happens soon.
Exciting times.
Very exciting times also sad cause I can’t do some of the work myself.
Glad that its got there!! Will be summer time before you know it bud 🙂
Hi mate, yeah it will be summer soon and I can’t wait. Wanna get my teeth into it and get going on it again.
I love the shape of the first generation Mustangs, even needing a lot of work to be done it looks great, can’t wait to see the finished article.
The shape is pretty iconic and has stood the test of time well. There is just something about them, no matter what you do to a modern car they just don’t have the character. I wouldn’t swap my car for anything, and yes she does need a bit of work, but it will be on the road again.
In response to mud4fun…does the wife have some projects to fill that empty space for a time…sssshhh. 🙂
She does yes, but there are lots of small cleaning up jobs that need to be done at the weekends. So it wont be the end of Mustang time as we know it.
So glad to hear this wonderful news! Can’t wait to see the next phase on your fabulous Mustang.
Hi, a big day and a slightly sad day. Every weekend I have had her I have worked on her, except when I have been away of course. So the empty space is like big empty space in my life at the moment. But its step closer to being drivable now. 🙂
Exciting time but it must be a little sad to see the empty space in the garage? Are they going to be painting her too?
Yep, the welding and bodywork I can’t do will be done and then painted. Then it will be put back together again. It was sad to see her go, but exciting too. The mix of emotions I just can’t explain. I suppose it’s a bit like watching your kids go through the school gates for the first time.
The tow truck has a cover. Is that a nice service or is it required by law in your area? I’ve never seen a tow truck with a cover out here. It looks like you are making some major advances on the restoration.
No not a requirement, just a nice touch. Also they use it for bad accidents when the car may not be pleasant to look at. They treated her real nice as well.
Sorry I hit send before I had finished. The restoration needs the heavier side now like welding and replacing a panel or two. The guys spotted some issue I knew about and a couple I didnt. So yeah it was a big day all in all.