After Christmas or a birthday I like to build something to keep me occupied which has become a bit of tradition. This year was no different, this time I was lucky enough to have an expensive engine model kit to play with. This ‘Techning V8 Engine Kit (DM118)’ kit was something I had been looking at for quite a while, but just couldn’t bring myself to pay the considerable amount of £500 for a model kit. However, that is exactly what I got as a gift from my wife and my better half. Although I’m convinced that it was to keep me out of the way for a few days to be honest!
I have reviewed this Techning V8 Engine Kit with full step by step build and instruction guide here. Or you can just copy and paste this link below into your browser:
It’s a long step by step build guide and review, which has taken me a good number of hours to complete. During my research for a kit like this I was looking around for an accurate review from the average Joe on what the model was actually like. I didn’t want a sponsored review giving a one sided favourable response. For that amount of money I wanted an independent build and review, if you were wondering what such a review looks like – I have done it myself.
There were many steps to this build, but I wont go into them all here, otherwise I may just as well copy the review. What I will do is show the more interesting and technical parts of the build.
The kit itself came in metal tin which weighs in at over 4kg! Inside there was three layers of aluminium anodised parts, a manual and plastic building mat, totalling to a little over six hundred and fifty pieces in total.
For the number of parts supplied you need to take into account that each screw or bolt or Allen bolt is counted as a part. So for a valve set that consists of thirty two valves, each with four parts to make the valve – that’s one hundred and twenty eight parts right there. With a few hundred screws on top of that there is much to actually build with engine parts as such. The supplied tools were OK, which consisted of four Allen keys and small cheap cross headed screwdriver. But, I used a precision screwdriver with various bits to get a more accurate control and feel. As the tweezers and fine needle nosed pliers were metal to metal contact I used some heat shrink tubing on the tips to protect the kit parts.
The pistons needed con rods, piston heads and fitting to the crank at the bottom of the engine block. The supplied little pots of lube is a light grease and is needed where any metal to metal contact is made.
The valves needed to be assembled and inserted into the block, all with independent, valve seals, springs and tappets and their own up and down motion. All of them need to be free moving so that the overhead cams can open and close the valves a millimetre or two.
Once the valves are in place a cam seat is required to partially cover the valve stems and allow the mounting of the twin over head cams. There will be two timing chains, so to make them work their are pairs which need to staggered via spacers on each side of the engine block.
The exhausts are fitted to each side of the engine and then the heads are bolted to the top of the engine block.
The back of the kit holds a large flywheel and and starter motor which drives the kit. The front of the kit has a cover even has a proper timing mark.
The timing chains was a bit of a mission to get right, as the bottom crank sprocket and the cams all needed to be correctly aligned via their ‘dots’ before the tensioning guides are fitted and adjusted into place.
There are belt tensioning guides, alternator, water pump, belt guides and crank pullies, oil filter and intake manifold all need to be installed.
There is a nice touch of a couple of rubber belts that are located on the front pullies and need to be installed in the correction orientations and tensioned to enable the passive pullies be turned when the kit runs.
The electrics are controlled by a box which allows for on/off/on via the battery or a powered connection.
The kit takes around two hours to charge with a running time of one and half hours (allegedly). The finished kit looks amazing even when it’s not running.
I created a video of the model working which I will at some point upload to YouTube, hence it has my branding on it ready. With the kit running you can see the pistons moving through the side of the engine block, the valves operating, the water pump moving and the pullies rotating.
This is a seriously expensive model and I would seriously cast a luxury item. In fact that I have paid considerably less for a proper running full sized road legal car. Once they were due for an MOT I just took to them to a scrap yard then bought another. I fact one of my cars was nicknamed ‘Bellamy’ after the famous botanist ‘David Bellamy‘ He was a lovely bloke and spoke of the ‘undergrowth’ or ‘wildlife’. That car had plenty of mould and growths in places that there shouldn’t have things growing on it. It had a full length soft sun roof that leaked like a sieve. But, at that time of my life I was just grateful to have a car, and I use the term ‘car’ in the loosest of terms!
I enjoyed spending a good few hours building that kit across a few days, it took about ten hours in total and almost as long to write about it. I was a surprised to see the gift from my wife and surprised she got it for me as there are a few cheap plastic knock offs of this kit. She did confess that she had seen it pop up on a few feeds when she used my PC that I use here to create my blog. She did really well by getting the right one and especially not paying the full price for it, hence that’s why she got it.
Looking forward to more builds, although I have a the full sized Mustang that needs a couple of little bits that I need to do on it. I will be sharing that with you all before the car show gets underway.
Moving Your Prized Mustang: A Complete Guide to Auto Transport and Relocation
Wanting to travel with your prized Mustang everywhere is natural. Once you’ve driven one, it’s hard to go back to any other vehicle.
But what do you do in scenarios where you can’t take a week to travel across the USA and need your vehicle on the other coast?
Or what if you’re going to move internationally?
In today’s article, we’ll dive into how to relocate your prized Mustang so you not only get your vehicle to your new destination ASAP but you get it there safe and sound.
Read on below.
1. Plan Your Move Ahead of Time
Transport companies are like airlines: the closer you are to the shipping date, the higher the price is going to be. If possible, always plan far ahead of time so that you can get a better discount on transporting your Mustang.
You can also consider leaving your vehicle in storage until you’re prepared to arrive at your final destination. If you’re moving countries, then having it stay in storage can be a good idea so you can have your Mustang ready to roll. Remember, overseas vehicle transportation can take months depending on the time of year and type of shipping you decide on.
2. Find a Suitable Transport Company
Not all transport companies are the same, and not all vehicles are shipped in the same fashion. When it comes to shipping Mustangs, ideally you’d like to go with someone who has experience shipping classics, like A1 Auto Transport classic car transportation services.
What’s important is that you find a transport company that has a footprint online, so you know that you aren’t handing off your vehicle to some random company. You can get free quotes beforehand, so there is never any commitment until you find a price that you’re happy with.
Always ask for a total quote so that you can know ahead of time what it’s going to be. Shadier companies will often do bait-and-switch pricing, causing the price to be increased by 25% or even more on arrival. It’s important to verify the amount of insurance coverage you’ll have, as some Mustangs can cost quite a bit and you do NOT want to risk insurance that doesn’t fully cover the vehicle.
3. Decide on the Type of Shipping
When shipping your Mustang domestically, you have two options: open and closed trailers. An open trailer is one that you likely have seen many times driving up and down the interstates. They can haul up to 12 vehicles at once and are economical as they can load many vehicles simultaneously.
Closed or “enclosed” trailers are best for protecting your expensive Mustangs during longer journeys. No one will know what is inside, which will prevent any damage or theft from eager onlookers. If you’re shipping a vehicle that doesn’t work, then you’ll have to go with an enclosed trailer rather than an open trailer, as the vehicles have to be driven on and off the trailer.
4. Prepare the Mustang for Transport
Once you’ve decided on your transport company and the type of shipping, you’ll want to prepare your Mustang. The first step is to clean the outside and the inside. You may ask, “Why do I need to clean it before?” The reason is that you want to take photos of the vehicle before you hand it off.
Ideally, you’d like to have these photos signed by the transport company so that if a claim is needed later on, you’ll have definitive proof that the vehicle was in good shape. It protects you from receiving the vehicle damaged and dealing with an unwilling insurance company that claims the Mustang was damaged before transport.
Remove any loose objects from the inside, and if your Mustang is a convertible, put up the cover so the interior doesn’t get wet. Do NOT leave any valuable objects inside the vehicle as these items will not be covered by insurance.
Transport companies require you to have the gas tank lowered to a certain amount, typically around 1/4 of the capacity. If you don’t know how to remove the gas from the gas tank, you can ask your transport company for guidance.
5. Pick Up Your Mustang
Once you and the transport company have done a final check on the vehicle, all that’s left is to pick up your Mustang on arrival. You typically will have to meet the driver at a designated location, but you can have it delivered right to your door for an additional cost.
Before you sign off that everything is OK, do a walk-around and double- and triple-check all is OK before signing any documents. Once everything is signed off, all that’s left to do is enjoy your Mustang in all its glory.
Conclusion
Transporting a Mustang is like transporting any other vehicle, but considering how expensive some classics can be, it’s always best to have it transported as safely and securely as possible. Always go with vetted transport companies and ensure that you’re not handing off your vehicle to a random fly-by-night entity.
As long as you’re doing your homework beforehand, you’ll have your Mustang at your final destination, ready to go. Consider even leaving it in storage if necessary ahead of time, so it’ll be in your target location once you’re ready to go.
I have been asked a few times how do I tune my carb up. The simple answer is try not to. It’s a dark art that I have mentioned many times before in past posts. Over the course of last weekend I was looking for something that I have lost, last seen in the garage. It’s highly unusual for me to loose anything in the garage I must say. Through my rummaging and looking around I found a printed copy of the Holley ‘Classic’ series carb manual. This print out originally came from a PDF file that I had downloaded years ago and forgot all about when i got my Holley 600CFM carb. My first thought was this would make a good page for some official help with these carbs. Although I didn’t find what I was looking for, I did find something I wasn’t looking for. When I got back inside I scanned all my back up files on my PC and it wasn’t there. I delved deeper into archived drives and searched the back ups of my old mobile phones before they were wiped and traded in. There it was sitting in a download folder from about four devices ago with some other random stuff. I copied the file back to the blog storage and decided to convert the PDF into a page to be viewed on my blog here, or copy and paste this link below into your browser:
The page article is quite long with lots of pictures and a step by step process to follow. It covers the initial installation, removal, adjustments, fine tuning and repairs should you need it. Here are a few screen dumps of the page itself. The original is about sixteen pages of PDF and these few small clips gives you an insight.
There are diagrams and how to install the ‘Classic’ series 600CFM on different makes of cars and setup. There is a wealth of information within the manual regardless of make and model. The Holley 600CFM carb is not proprietary to Mustangs, it can be fitted many makes and models and the variations are covered within the manual itself.
There are clear and easy to use diagrams which help with trouble shooting as well.
To make things easier I have also uploaded the the original PDF file that have re-found and downloaded at the time I got my carb. This can also be downloaded from the button below.
Not all carbs are the same as they have different adjustments, chambers fittings and mountings. However the principle is the same, the fuel and air need to be mixed at idle, normal driving and heavy load or acceleration. The Holley manual gives a good overview of how they work. For basic carbs there are single, two barrel or twin valves and perform the mixing of the fuel and air for for the engine to work. Mostly this style of carbs either two or four barrels are common in standard older road cars, before the introduction of fuel injection processes that are considered to be more economical. What is the difference between the two and four barrels and do we really need another two barrels?
The primary differences between a Holley two barrel and a four barrel carburettor is their design, functionality and application, which will affect the air-fuel mixture delivery to the engine making it more efficient and delivering more fuel and air mix, in turn more power and or torque.
Holley Two Barrel Carburettor
Number of Barrels: As the name suggests, a two barrel carburettor has two venturi or barrels through which air and fuel are mixed and delivered to the engine.
Air-Fuel Flow: It has a simpler design with fewer moving parts and typically provides a lower volume of air and fuel mixture. This makes it suitable for engines that do not require high levels of fuel flow, like those in everyday street vehicles.
Fuel Efficiency: Generally, two barrel carburettors are more fuel-efficient, as they deliver a steady and controlled amount of fuel suitable for normal driving conditions without excessive fuel consumption.
Performance: They offer adequate performance for smaller or less powerful engines and are not designed for high-performance applications. They are often found in standard passenger vehicles, where fuel efficiency and drivability are prioritized.
Holley Four Barrel Carburettor
Number of Barrels: A four barrel carburettor has four venturi, essentially doubling the potential air and fuel flow compared to a two barrel carburettor. This configuration includes two primary and two secondary barrels.
Air-Fuel Flow: This type of carburettor can provide significantly more air and fuel to the engine, which is beneficial for high-performance applications where more power is required, such as in racing or muscle cars.
Fuel Efficiency and Performance: While they can deliver more fuel, four barrel carburettors can also be more fuel-efficient under normal driving conditions because the secondary barrels only open when additional power is needed. This allows the engine to run on the primary barrels during light load conditions, conserving fuel.
Application: Four barrel carburettors are designed for performance-oriented vehicles that require greater fuel flow to achieve higher power outputs. They are more complex, with additional components to manage the secondary barrels’ opening.
In summary, a single or two barrel carburettor is typically used in standard vehicles for everyday use, offering simplicity and fuel efficiency. In contrast, a four barrel carburettor is used in high-performance applications, providing the capability for greater power output and higher fuel flow when needed.
Drag racing cars use high CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) carbs by default as they deliver more power due to the higher amounts of fuel that can be produced and mixed with more air. Various configurations of carbs on spacers or types of opening in the manifold will produce more low down torque or higher top speed. Drag racing crews often state that carbs use less fuel than EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection). During drag racing the carb valves are held wide open to give the maximum intake of fuel and air for combustion to give power and torque, the racing crews are not particularly worried about idle or general driving. The carb can also be paired with super chargers to compress even more fuel air mix into the engine giving even more power. That is whole nother story for another day.
Carb manufacturers often use similar terminology such as these:
Primary Valves
Function: The primary valves are the main components for regular engine operation, handling most of the air-fuel mixture delivery during idle, cruising, and light acceleration.
Components: They include throttle plates (butterflies) that open as the driver presses the accelerator, allowing more air to enter the engine. The fuel is mixed with this air in the venturi, a narrow section that increases the velocity of the air and helps atomize the fuel.
Operation: These valves open gradually in response to the throttle position, providing a smooth and controlled fuel delivery for efficient engine performance.
When a carb fitted car starts up they are usually running a ‘choke’ to give even more fuel (rich) mixture while the car warms up. This process is normally a mechanical or electrical plate that closes or partially closes the air intake on the primary valves
Secondary Valves
Function: Secondary valves provide additional air-fuel mixture during heavy acceleration or when extra power is needed, such as during rapid acceleration or high-speed driving.
Components: Like the primary side, the secondary side also has throttle plates, but these are typically larger to allow a greater volume of air and fuel mixture when open. Some carburettors use mechanical linkage, while others use a vacuum mechanism to control the opening of the secondary valves.
Operation: The secondary valves open either mechanically (linked to the primary throttle plates via a cam) or via a vacuum system that senses engine load and demand for additional air and fuel. They remain closed during normal driving to conserve fuel.
Secondary cams can be custom adjusted to come on earlier or later as required for the type of power delivery required.
Differences of primary and secondary valves
Size and Flow: Secondary valves are usually larger than primary valves, allowing for increased air and fuel flow during high-demand situations.
Control Mechanism: The primary valves are directly controlled by the accelerator pedal, while the secondary valves may use a mechanical linkage or vacuum actuation to open. This setup allows for a more progressive and efficient increase in power.
Fuel Delivery: The primary circuit handles most of the fuel delivery, ensuring efficient operation under normal conditions, while the secondary circuit kicks in for performance situations, providing an extra boost of power.
Under snap or sharp acceleration there are additional jets that squirt the primary and secondary valves to boost the initial fuel mixture. If this wasn’t the case when the valves open, the initial suck in of air would run to lean and not give enough power to the cylinders.
Manufacturers of Carbs
Holley and Edelbrock are two of the most popular brands of carburettors, especially in the aftermarket performance market. While both companies produce high-quality carburettors, there are distinct differences in their design, tuning, and performance characteristics. I will concentrate on these two manufacturers for now. There are many other specialist manufacturers of carbs for specific types of applications out there as well, but they tend to be much more specialised.
Holley Carburettors
Design and Features:
Modular Design: Holley carburettors are known for their modular design, which allows for extensive customization. They typically feature replaceable jets, power valves, and accelerator pumps, making them highly tunable.
Mechanical or Vacuum Secondaries: Holley offers models with both mechanical secondaries, which are linked directly to the throttle, and vacuum secondaries, which open based on engine demand.
Double Pumper Options: Holley’s double pumper models use dual accelerator pumps, providing an extra fuel shot for aggressive throttle applications.
Pros:
Customization: Highly customizable due to the wide range of interchangeable parts, making them suitable for fine-tuning specific performance needs.
Performance Focused: Holley carburettors are often favoured in racing and high-performance applications due to their tunability and ability to support significant horsepower.
Availability of Parts: Extensive availability of aftermarket parts and tuning accessories.
Cons:
Complexity: The high level of tunability can make them more complex to set up and adjust, which can be daunting for beginners.
Maintenance: Requires more frequent maintenance and tuning to keep them running optimally, especially in high-performance environments.
Edelbrock Carburettors
Design and Features:
Simple Design: Edelbrock carburettors feature a simpler design with fewer parts compared to Holley, which can be advantageous for ease of use and reliability.
Mechanical Secondaries: Typically, Edelbrock carburettors use mechanical secondaries that are linked to the throttle position, providing a more straightforward operation.
Electric Choke: Many Edelbrock models come with an electric choke, which simplifies cold starts and improves drivability in various conditions.
Pros:
Ease of Use: Generally easier to install and tune, making them more user-friendly, especially for less experienced users.
Consistency: Known for their reliability and consistency in performance, with less frequent tuning needed.
Fuel Efficiency: Often more fuel-efficient than Holley carburettors, making them a good choice for street-driven vehicles.
Cons:
Limited Customization: Less tunable than Holley carburettors, which might limit their performance potential in highly customized or extreme performance applications.
Parts Availability: While parts are available, there is a less extensive aftermarket for tuning components compared to Holley.
Summary
Holley carburettors are ideal for those seeking maximum performance and customization. They are well-suited for racing and high-performance applications but require more knowledge and maintenance.
Edelbrock carburettors are user-friendly and reliable, making them a good choice for enthusiasts looking for a straightforward installation and consistent performance, especially in daily drivers and lightly modified vehicles.
There is are parameters to the carb sizing. A to big a CFM will cause ‘bore wash’ where fuel is unburnt in the cylinders and washes the oil lubrications for the cylinders walls. This will also be wasteful of fuel as it’s just being unburnt. This could also cause the engine to flood and some very poor running.
If the carb is to small not enough fuel air mix is provided and will cause poor running even running hot.
I have found some videos of a carb working under loads. These videos show, start up, revving, initial fuel shot under revving, and full throttle. The second video has a whining sound in the background, this is probably due to a super charger. Regardless of the make, the principles of how they work are exactly the same.
Sound On!
Carb Calculations
To fit a carb you can replace the like for like of course, but to get more power you don’t just slap the biggest carb on the engine you can. To big a carb will cause very poor running and give you the exact opposite you wanted and make the car worse. To small a carb will starve the engine of the full power potential. There are various online calculators to work out the optimal CFM carb size you need for a particular engine size, speed and efficiency.
That formula can seem complicated for calculating the correct CFM for carb on a particular engine. Broken down with an example looks like this:
CFM (optimal) = Cubic Inches x RPM x Volumetric Efficiency ÷ 3456.
Any ordinary stock engine will have a volumetric efficiency of about 80%. Most rebuilt street engines with the usual average bolt-ons have a volumetric efficiency of about 85%, while race engines can range from 95% up to 110% efficiency.
Example: Using a 355 CID engine x 5,500 max rpm = 1,952,500
Take 1,952,500 x .85 = 1,659,625
Then 1,659,625 ÷ 3456 = 480 CFM
Even with about a 10% cushion, a 500 CFM carburettor will handle this engine great. If you try this formula yourself, be honest with how much rpm the engine will see. You’d be better off with a carb smaller than needed rather than something oversized that can lead to poor drivability and performance.
Higher Tuning
There are various ways to improve, or fine tune a carb to the exact requirements. This will be changing of ‘jets’ or ‘cams’ as required.
Pilot Jet: Located in the float bowl, the pilot jet provides fuel for starting, idling, and the initial 20% of throttle range. It draws fuel through small holes as air flows through the carburetor.
Main Jet: Larger and usually screwed into the needle jet, the main jet controls the air/fuel mixture from around 75% throttle to full open throttle (100%).
Needle Jet: This critical component controls fuel flow between 20% and 75% throttle. It consists of the hollow needle jet and the jet needle, which adjusts fuel flow as you open or close the throttle.
Air Screw: A small brass adjustment screw near the carburettor inlet, the air screw works with the pilot jet for starting, idling, and initial power delivery (up to 20%). It allows slight adjustments based on atmospheric conditions.
Cams: are a mechanical parts that will determine when (usually) the secondary valves open and close. The cams can be made to bring on the deployment of valves earlier, later, wider or smaller openings.
Float bowls: will determine when the idle reserves of fuel or secondary valves reserves of fuel, again critical for smooth running.
Tip:
More often than not, when playing with carb settings do little bits at a time to see what happens. Ask your self why do i need to adjust the carb, is it running poorly because of poor fuel? Then adjusting the carb to sort it out will all need undoing again when you put good fuel back in.
Don’t change everything in one go as you will be in for a whole heap of hurt chasing your tail finding out what is wrong. Adjusting mixtures can have a similar effect of changing jets. Different cams or adding spacers and altering timings, you won’t know if one item has had a negative effect or a combination of things if the car runs badly.
I have gone into the depths of carbs and how they work, pro’s and cons of spacers, four hole or open hole, EFI controlled versions all in this page here, or copy and paste the link to your browser below.
There is just so much you can talk about and to be honest, and it’s a bit of a dying art to tune these carbs up, screwdrivers, spanners, vacuum gauges, experience, feel of the response in the car and probably most importantly – by ear. Take a look at the page above to see the intricacies of a carburettor.
There are numerous types of hub caps for wheels these days. My Magnum 500s are no exception, mine are 1969 15″ x 7″ version. They aren’t period correct for the car, as my car had steel wheels originally and full faced hub caps, the original wheel I still have in my trunk. I always wanted chrome wheels with a classic five spoke in each corner, for me the only option was the Magnum 500s. Not a cheap hobby, but for me they are worth every single penny.
The centre of the Magnums can be 2″ or 2 1/8″ centre hole. You would need to make sure what hole you have in order for the centre hub caps to fit properly. I happen to have the 2″ opening on my wheels.
The Scott Drake centres I have look great and haven’t been a problem, that is until a couple of weeks ago. I was driving to a show and I could hear a new metallic clattering from the left front of the car. It was driving me mad to thinking what and where it was coming from on the way there. I parked up at the show and spend a little while under the front to see if I could see anything out of place, I couldn’t see anything. I spent all day thinking about what it was, I checked under the car again before I left, nothing out of place. I drove home with my window fully open driving on the back roads even slower than I normally drive. My head was hanging out the car window like a dog sniffing the air, listening for the pesky noise. It was still there, but not getting worse. When I got home and pulled the car into the garage, got changed into some old garage clothes and had another look to see anything was wrong, nothing. I jacked the car up and banged the tyre – there it was, the noise. I tapped the centre hub cap and it was loose. It was the last thing I was expecting to be honest, but relieved.
I gave the cap a little pull to see just how loose it was, in case it would fly off driving along. I was not impressed, it had a lot of play and I suspected it would come off sooner or later. There is no way I could go to car show with a centre cap missing either. The wheel would need to come off to remove the cap and backing plate. It wouldn’t have looked that bad without the cap at a show as my wheel bearing cap is clean anyway, but my OCD just wouldn’t allow it. I was also worried about it flying up and damaging my car. These centre caps are fairly substantial in weight as they are metal and not plastic.
With the wheel off and I undone the very loose screws which confirmed that it wouldn’t have been long before it came off. I turned over the cap there are six studs that are lightly soldered to the backing plate, this is then in turn secured via four screw holes in the inner plate to the wheel.
I had a bright idea to try and resolder the plate back in place, being mindful of the plastic centre on the other side. I tried and failed miserably, the heat transferred around the backing plate quicker than I expected and the other solders popped open as well. I marked up with arrows the two studs I tried to repair. You can see the others now under the the distorted backing plate. It was worth a shot.
With the plate now completely loose (broken) the actual centre could be lifted out. The problem started with a broken post (circled below) which had weekend the fitting and thus worked it loose with the wheel’s vibrations from our pot hole riddled roads, or should I say circular road trenches? Not only had the heat travelled around the backing plate to pop the other solders, in bottom right pic below you can also see the plastic had started to melt, craze and discolour too. I messed it up good and proper.
So I couldn’t go to a car show like that. I went to Mustang Maniac instead to get a replacement one, link here for the hub cap if you want them.
Refitting the centre cap is literally a five minute job, but there is a little technique to it.
To fit or change them the wheel needs to be removed, I’m not going to tell how to do that, apart from, loosen the lug nuts on the ground before jacking up. Once jacked fully remove the lug nuts and wheel. The cap itself is in two main parts; the outer facing pretty bit, and the retaining inner plate held in place by four screws and locking washers.
Align the hub cap to the centre hole and put the retaining plate on the inside of the wheel. I aligned my ‘Pony’ to sit the right way up under the “B F Goodrich” white letters, Yes my OCD again rearing its ugly head again.
A magnetic screw driver is your best friend for this step. place the inner plate to the outer cap and lightly hold in place with two screws.
Once it held roughly in place add a drop of thread locker screw onto the two spare screws. Leave enough play to align the cap up properly, making the final adjustments before fully tightening up.
Once you have those two screws in place remove the first two and again add thread locker to the remaining two screws and replace.
Make any final adjustments and then tighten the screws firmly. Mount the wheel back onto the spindle or axle (depending where the wheel came from).
Replace the lug nuts by hand first and spin on with fingers to make sure they are not cross threaded. Tighten up to a snug fit on the studs with enough force to pull the wheel into place. Lower the car back down and tighten fully with a torque wrench in a star pattern. My lugs are tightened to 80ft/lb for these wheels and nuts combination.
Difference? None as it was a like for like swap out. It only took a total of half an hour to remove the wheel, replace the cap, align it (optional) and refit the wheel.
That’s it, dead simple. There are many designs out there for centres caps depending on your taste for colour or design. There are specific caps for Shelby, Cobra, or GT350 of course. My car is none of the later sort after models, so I wouldn’t try and pretend that it’s something it’s not.
As much as like the black Tri-Bar Mustang logo (above left), I just wanted something a bit more subtle that doesn’t distract the eyes from the chrome and the white letters on the tyres. The blue caps also looked nice, but it wasn’t the right shade of my car’s blue and may have looked a little out of place. The chrome and black theme just works for me. I also cleaned the white letters on that wheel after fitting it and realised that the wheel now made the other wheels look dirty. So I then spent another half hour on each wheel cleaning those white letters too, it’s all part of the joy of chrome and white letters or white wall tyres.
I could now go to the car show which was the Enfield Pageant of Motoring with Mustang Maniac. That was a large show and I will be splitting the write up over a couple of posts to save your scroll fatigue through all the photos I took on the day.
The first post of the new year and it regards a little project that kept me busy over the holidays which is detailed below. But first, over the last couple of weeks I am yet again having issues with Facebook – my Nemesis. I created a second business page which is a couple of years old now, as my original page was hacked. That page is still up, but I can’t access it because they have blocked ME from it. The replacement page has NOTHING on it that differs from the original, apart from the heading picture and email address. The one man and his mustang Facebook page is only there for an exposure on Social Media – that’s it.
I have challenged Facebook about their decision and I’m waiting to see what utter garbage they come back with.
If they decide to uphold their ‘decision’ then they can go and do one. I will remove myself from Facebook as an individual as well. When I actually think about it – what does the platform do for me? Honestly, nothing. I just shows me what other people are posting. I hardly get any referrals to this website as a result, so I don’t need to be on it. Besides, I’m not that interested in seeing what people are eating, where they just checked into or what they just liked by somebody else. It would be nice to keep it running, but I’m certainly not going to miss it.
Rant over and apologies, but Facebook really does wind me up.
Back to sensible stuff now, what I got up to wasn’t much so I decided to pad it out a little with some hopefully useful information.
The key to an engines performance is the air fuel mixture. To much fuel and the engine runs ‘rich’. Not enough fuel and the engine runs ‘lean’. There are various things that can cause these problems, so I will try to highlight the symptoms of each. There are many sensors on new cars that can become faulty all of which will give the same symptoms. I will focus on the classic car scenario of a carburettor, as you don’t need a degree in computer science to tune an engine with a laptop on these cars. Instead you need to understand the dark art of engine tuning with a carburettor, screw driver, a good ear and how the car feels when driving. Of the two scenarios a rich running engine better than a lean running engine.
A ‘Rich’ running engine.
Possible causes; a clogged air filter will not allow sufficient air to get through to the carb. this will result in poor engine performance and leaving extra unburnt fuel behind. As the air filter can become clogged over time, the subtle loss of power may not be noticeable at first. Mixture levels on the carburettor need adjusting. Quality of fuel not burning correctly. The carb jets becoming clogged due to debris in the fuel or maybe the choke not opening fully.
The symptoms of a rich engine:
Smell: One of the common symptoms of a rich engine is a strong smell of fuel as the unburn gas is left lingering in the exhaust pipe(s).
Poor engine performance:this could be a series of problems which could be lean vs rich spark plug, ineffective combustion chamber, or inappropriate air-fuel mixture. If the compression and spark plugs are fine, then the problem is surely an inadequate air-fuel mixture.
Engine rough idling: improper air-fuel mixture could be responsible for engine stalling and vibrations. Rough idling indicates the engine running rich.
Less mileage: if you keep getting less fuel mileage on your vehicle regularly, it shows your engine is running rich and burning a higher amount of fuel.
Fouled spark plugs: when your engine is running rich, there will be black carbon deposits on the lower edge of the spark plugs, leading to low engine performance. It is an indication of unburnt fuel in the exhaust pipe.
Dangers of a rich fuel mixture.
Running excessive fuel into the cylinders is ‘bore wash’. This is where the fuel washes the lubrication from the chambers. You will notice increase use of oil. This can cause excessive wear on the pistons and cylinder walls.
This is bore wash is more common where an oversized carb is pumping in two much fuel to burn efficiently. The calculation for the correct sized carburettor to be used is as follows:
The engine size is the displacement in cubic inches.
The max RPM is the maximum speed of the engine in revolutions per minute.
The efficiency is the volumetric efficiency of the motor. Most engines have a volumetric efficiency of about 85%, or .85. It’s common to see standard engine efficiency values of 70-80%. Race engines can be 95-110% efficient.
So for a good engine you can use this calculation for this example:
Heat: the engine will tend to run hotter as not much fuel in the chambers. An overheating engine can cause all sorts of problems.
Clogged Fuel filter: Your fuel filter handles all the dirty particles within the fuel. Over time, all the deposits and dirt start building up and preventing adequate fuel passage to the engine. This can be a real issue in classic cars and E10 fuel attacking parts of the fuel delivery system.
Inefficient fuel pump or clogged strainer: lean vs rich engine issues starts from the fuel pump. Not enough fuel is getting into the chambers to be burnt.
Leaking fuel lines: Obviously this cause the engine to run lean as the fuel pump, mechanical or electric can provide enough fuel. Highly dangerous as it could cause a fire that could result loss of vehicle or in the loss of lives.
Vacuum leak: One of the problems happens when unaccounted air enters the system, creating an unbalanced air-fuel mixture.
Trouble starting your car: Many factors can cause your engine not to start as a result of little or no fuel getting into the combustion chamber. That’s why one of the most common symptoms of a lean engine is hard starting.
Poor performance and low power out: If you manage to start your car, you will have low power output and poor performance. Less fuel in the chamber means poor detonation of the mixture which is unable to push the pistons down on the power stroke.
White or Clean spark plugs: when everything is working at the optimum operating level, things get dirty. If you pull out your spark plugs and notice it looks brand new or white, you probably have a problem. there should be an element of dirt on the spark plugs as they are burning a fuel.
Stalling Engine: One of the common symptoms of an engine running lean is keeping it running. In some cases, it’ll continuously cough and splutter until the engine stops. When you’re exporting more gas into the system by accelerating the car, it should keep running easily but with reduced power output.
Dangers of lean fuel mixture.
Heat: As I mentioned before the overheating can cause all sorts of issues like, fluid leaks, burning smells, unexpected engine sounds, cracked engine block, warped cylinder heads, blown head gasket, exhaust damage to name just a few.
Hard seizure: This is where the chambers and pistons have heated up more than the engine can cope with. The Pistons may typically grind against the cylinder walls if you fail to fix the cause. The connecting rod can bend, or the crankshaft arm can snap or bend. The effect is a catastrophic engine failure and will require you to either replace or rebuild the engine.
Soft seize: Similar to the hard seizure which causes a dry spot between the cylinder wall and piston and excessive wear. Even with a correct air-fuel mixture the cylinder and pistons will work fine, but the damages will still be there.
With this in mind I noticed that I was getting a little uneven idling, especially after a sudden stop, which I try and avoid at all costs. I have been noticing the air filter was dirty and decided that perhaps it was time for a new one. I has been on the car for a few years but only done six thousand odd miles, but it was time for new one regardless.
There are arguments that my style of air filter is a restriction to airflow. Many of the higher performance filters are the large round styles, often with a top opening as well. Having a clogged or dirty air filter will make fuel mixtures matters worse. I was speaking to Mustang Maniac and they said to try their ‘Tall’ filters made by S&B. The height is now 2 1/4″ compared to the 1 3/4″ that I previously had. These tall filters are just like the K&N brand which are reusable and washable filters. So the initial outlay is quite a bit more expensive, but in the long run it will be cheaper. Saying that you will need air filter cleaning kit which consists of a cleaner which is flushed out with water. Then once the air filter is fully dried, a spray of air filter oil which will give the filter its ‘redness’ back.
The ‘tall’ filter on the right side by side with the original doesn’t look a like a lot of difference, but the extra half an inch will increase air filters potential air intake.
The material of the S&B filter is a much better quality and again this improve the airflow through the filter itself. A double advantage of more air flow capacity and better air flow throughput. That in turn means a few more horses let out to play when I want them. I may need to slightly tweak the air fuel mixtures but i would need to run the car for a while to find out.
As this is a tall filter you will need to make sure there is room under the hood. If you don’t you will have an air filter knocking the paint and causing a racket. I measured the gap clearance and made sure all was clear. The filter was a tight fit in the air filter casing itself which was a good thing.
Once fitted I really like the look of the filter as a contrast to everything else under the hood.
I hope that helps explain in very simple terms what goes on with air fuel mixtures, and that’s why you need to change your air filters on a regular basis.
Do you ever worry about the safety of your classic cars? With car thefts on the rise, if not for the car then for the hard to get parts. Either way it’s more important than ever to take precautions to protect your vehicle. In this article, we will discuss the use of GPS trackers for car security, a modern solution to this growing problem. Through innovative technology and real-time tracking, you can have peace of mind knowing your classic car is safe and secure.
Using GPS trackers is a wise decision to protect your vehicle from theft. These devices use satellite technology to track the location of your car in real time. They can be discreetly installed and provide peace of mind knowing that you can monitor your car’s whereabouts at all times.
A pro tip for GPS tracker users is to choose a device with geofencing capabilities. This feature allows you to set virtual boundaries for your car, and if it crosses those boundaries, you will receive an immediate alert. This can help prevent unauthorized usage or theft of your vehicle. Stay one step ahead with GPS trackers for car security.
How GPS Trackers Can Improve Car Security
GPS trackers offer a variety of benefits for enhancing car security. To make the most of your GPS tracker, follow these steps:
Activate the tracker and ensure it is properly connected to a tracking service.
Monitor your vehicle’s location and receive real-time updates through a mobile app or web interface.
Set up geofencing alerts to receive notifications if your vehicle enters or exits specific areas.
Take advantage of additional features such as remote engine immobilization to prevent unauthorized use.
In addition to these steps, here are some suggestions to maximize car security:
Regularly check the tracker’s battery life and ensure it is functioning correctly.
Notify law enforcement immediately if your vehicle is stolen and provide them with the GPS tracking information.
Consider adding additional security measures like steering wheel locks or alarm systems.
Inform your insurance provider about the GPS tracker, as it may result in lower premiums.
Types of GPS Trackers for Cars
There are various types of GPS trackers available for cars, each with its unique features and benefits. Here is a table outlining some of the most common types:
Type
Features
Benefits
Examples
Plug-and-Play
Easy installation, portable
Convenient for temporary use, can be transferred between vehicles
OBD-II
Plugs into the vehicle’s OBD-II port
Provides real-time data, such as speed and engine diagnostics
Hardwired
Connected directly to the vehicle’s power source
Hidden installation, no need to worry about battery life
Covert
Discreet design, difficult to detect
Ideal for covert surveillance or anti-theft purposes
Pro-tip: When selecting a GPS tracker for your car, consider your specific needs, such as ease of installation, real-time tracking capabilities, and level of discretion required.
Choosing the Right GPS Tracker for your car
There are many various options out there for trackers, from the simple magnetic stick under the car, OBD or a hard wired options to choose from. Price point and ease of use is a consideration, some portable or covert options are similar costs to hard wired counterparts, but these portable iterations can be more versatile in multiple usage scenarios.
Choosing the right GPS tracker for your car is crucial for ensuring its security. Here are some steps to help you make an informed decision:
Assess your needs: Determine why you need a GPS tracker, whether it’s for theft prevention, monitoring teenage drivers, or for a commercial fleet management where various options are available.
Research different options: Look for GPS trackers with features that align with your needs, such as real-time tracking, geofencing, and compatibility with mobile apps.
Consider installation: Decide whether you want a wired or wireless tracker and if you’re comfortable with DIY installation or prefer professional assistance.
Check compatibility: Ensure the GPS tracker is compatible with your car’s make and model, and check for any additional requirements.
Compare pricing and subscription plans: Compare the cost of the tracker itself, along with any monthly or annual subscription fees, to find the most cost-effective option.
Read reviews: Look for user reviews and ratings to gain insights into the reliability, accuracy, and customer support of different GPS tracker brands.
Consider additional features: Some GPS trackers offer extras like SOS buttons, battery life indicators, or tamper alerts. Consider these features if they’re important to you.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Car GPS Tracker
To ensure the optimal performance of your car GPS tracker, follow these steps:
Select a reputable GPS tracker brand such as Family1st, Vyncs, or Bouncie.
Conceal the tracker in a secure location within your vehicle.
Ensure the tracker is properly connected to a reliable power source.
Activate the tracker and adjust any necessary settings.
Regularly update the tracker’s firmware and software for the best results.
Set up geofencing to receive alerts if your vehicle enters or exits a designated area.
Monitor the tracker’s location and activity through a secure online platform or mobile app.
Keep the tracker hidden and secure to prevent tampering or theft.
Regularly review and analyse tracking data to identify any suspicious or unauthorized activity.
Contact the relevant authorities if your vehicle is stolen or if you suspect any foul play.
Conclusion
It’s worth considering that some trackers can be fitted by yourself as mini project, where as others may need professional installation. If you have just a plug in or battery powered attached module, then they could be easily disabled and removed once found, but they will provide a level of protection. The key to these devices is to hide them well and make sure they are secured from falling from the vehicle. Keep a regular check on their battery levels. Most hard wired trackers have a built in battery back up which is should be a strong consideration when buying an installation style tracker. If the main battery power supply for the vehicle is disconnected, then this style of tracker will still send location updates which can be crucial if the vehicle is moved even after power any power disconnection. Older vehicles don’t use OBD sockets so that is a limitation to consider. Some owners do not want to make a permanent change to the vehicles wiring, so a simple plug in or hidden portable device is the answer.
Using GPS trackers for car security has become increasingly popular due to their effectiveness in preventing theft and providing real-time tracking. However, it is important to choose a reliable tracker and ensure proper installation. Some top-rated GPS trackers include Family1st and Optimus 2.0.
Additionally, it is recommended to regularly update the tracker’s software and secure it with a strong password. Lastly, always remember to inform your insurance company about the installation of a GPS tracker, as it may qualify you for insurance discounts. Stay vigilant and protect your vehicle with a reliable GPS tracker.
Some trackers only need a live feed and an earth to function, these can be hidden without having to worry about charging the portable device styles.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How does a GPS tracker work for car security?
– GPS trackers use satellite technology to pinpoint the real-time location of your vehicle. Once installed, they communicate with satellites to provide accurate and up-to-date tracking information through a secure online platform or mobile app.
2. Can GPS trackers be easily detected and disabled by thieves?
– Modern GPS trackers, especially covert models, are designed to be discreet and challenging to detect. Additionally, many trackers have anti-tamper features to prevent easy removal. However, it’s essential to choose a high-quality, well-reviewed tracker and keep its location confidential.
3. Do GPS trackers drain my car’s battery?
– Most GPS trackers have minimal power consumption and are designed to operate efficiently without significantly draining your car’s battery. It’s advisable to choose a tracker with low power consumption and monitor its battery life regularly.
4. Can I use a GPS tracker for multiple vehicles?
– Some GPS trackers, especially plug-and-play models, are portable and can be transferred between vehicles. However, it’s crucial to check the specific features and compatibility of the tracker to ensure it meets your requirements for multiple vehicles.
5. Will using a GPS tracker affect my car’s warranty?
– In most cases, using a GPS tracker will not void your car’s warranty. GPS trackers are typically non-intrusive and do not interfere with the vehicle’s essential systems. However, it’s recommended to check your car’s warranty terms or consult with the manufacturer for confirmation.
6. How can geofencing enhance car security?
– Geofencing allows you to set virtual boundaries for your vehicle. If your car enters or exits these predefined areas, you receive immediate alerts. This feature is valuable for preventing unauthorized use or theft, providing an extra layer of security.
7. Are GPS trackers visible to potential thieves?
– Many GPS trackers are designed to be discreet and hidden within the vehicle. Covert models, in particular, are challenging to detect. However, it’s essential to follow the installation instructions carefully to ensure effective concealment.
8. Will a GPS tracker lower my insurance premiums?
– Informing your insurance provider about the installation of a GPS tracker may qualify you for lower premiums. Many insurance companies view GPS trackers as a proactive measure for theft prevention, reducing the risk of vehicle loss.
9. Can I track my vehicle in real-time using a mobile app?
– Yes, most GPS trackers offer real-time tracking through mobile apps or web interfaces. This allows you to monitor your vehicle’s location, receive instant alerts, and access historical tracking data for added security and peace of mind.
10. What should I do if my GPS tracker indicates suspicious activity or my car is stolen?
– In the event of suspicious activity or theft, contact law enforcement immediately and provide them with the GPS tracking information. Prompt action increases the chances of recovering your vehicle.
Hope that helps a little over the winter months a mini project of a simple Christmas gift could be peace of mind!
I have been known to collect many things Mustang related, but I try to keep the collection to the tasteful items. I draw the line at such things like Mustang trainers, soft cushions, bedding sets, teddy bears, aftershave, Zippo lighters etc. as they are all just seem to be cashing in on the Mustang name. I like to collect things that are an of historical importance from the first generation of Mustangs, 1964 – 1966. Some of those items have been historical documents for the 1964 World Trade Fair Mustang launch, Newsweek, Time and Life, along with various other popular car magazines that covered the Mustang launch, test drives or articles at the time. I also managed to grab some items like original sales brochures, promotional literature and such like, which ended up in my collection. As many of the items I have are paper they tend not to stand the test of time unless looked after. Most magazines like Newsweek were just thrown away, making survivors of the time in good condition had to find. I collect these sort of items for their importance and not the monitory resale value trying to make a quick buck. I don’t keep them for a while and then sell the items on as an investment. I won’t part with anything I have, or sell it on for a profit. I have been given many rare items over the years which started my collection off – a special thanks to Gary W. who is also a big collector. It was Gary that started me on this slippery slope of emptying my wallet on a regular occasion.
I have added just added a couple of more items to my collection, which I have been looking at for a while now and wanted good condition ones. There isn’t much known about these items in descriptive detail so I wanted to put that right. I have spent a fair bit of time researching and also created a page dedicated to them here which I hope to add to as time goes along.
As I will add more posts to this website, then this article will be gradually pushed down the order. So having a permalink in the menu will help keep the information to hand and hopefully help out others.
So, what am I talking about? The answer is; ‘dealership model’ cars.
These models are something that were official promotional items made for Ford for their various in production and future production line cars as they changed the real car designs. These models therefore served an important purpose. I suspect many of these models were thrown away after a couple of years or given to children as toys to take part in some fantasy destruction derby with other toys, many of which ended up in the great (plastic) scrap yard in the sky.
The background to these models is that various forms of these promotional models started to appear at motoring dealership around the 1950s from various suppliers. These ‘dealership’ models as they became to be known are certainly not to be confused with the component model kits which were built and stuck together, like Airfix, Tamiya or Revell. These dealership models were prefabricated and distributed to the motor company dealerships. They were to promote and give a three dimensional representation of the new models that were being introduced by the various manufacturers. This gave the potential customer a much better experience of what they are going to buy, rather than just flicking through a printed catalogue. With these dealership models you got to appreciate the dimensions of the car from any angle.
I will try to sum up the information that is out there from the likes of Wikipedia and other collectable model based sites, concentrating on the dealership cars side of the AMT business.
What we do know is that these quite fragile models are highly collectable as memorabilia especially for important cars from the manufacturers, not just Ford. As for the numbers actually produced I haven’t been able to quantify, but they limited in number and not a mass produced item. The actual numbers produced will obviously vary from various motor manufacturers, and the number of dealers actually selling the cars of course. These models were not for commercial retail, they were just a promotional item that was going to binned when that model is no longer produced. Many of these model cars that appear for sale now days are pretty battered. However over time they have become recognised to be for what they are now, collectable items from a bygone era.
The costs for these models production has been reported at the time as anything between $50,000 ($650,000 in todays money), to $250,000 ($3,000,000 in todays money). Either way that is not an insignificant amount of money for a launch of a car with no idea of how it will actually sell, thus recoup some of the promotional money back at the time. A big advantage that Ford had was on 17th April 1964 at the New York World’s Trade Fair, the Mustang was launched to the public to critical acclaim. This was backed up by selling over 680,000 Mustangs in the first year, which is still a record. With that type of response Ford felt the investment would be worthwhile as they couldn’t make the cars quick enough for the public to buy them, with some dealers having lengthy waiting lists. Having an accurate model of the car that could be seen by the customer was a huge bonus at the time.
The History of AMT
In 1948 a company called ‘AMT’ was started up by West Gallogly Sr. in Troy, Michigan USA. ‘Aluminium Model Toys’ was created as a secondary business by Mr. Gallogly. Other manufacturers were already creating dealer models which were mostly zinc based. Gallogly also wanted to make the models out of aluminium, hence the name ‘Aluminium Model Toys’ was given to the company. However, very shortly after the name was chosen, the use of plastics materials rocketed around the world and the name Aluminium Model Toys deemed to be confusing for their plastic models, thus the name was rebranded to a shortened version of the name, ‘AMT’. In 1978 AMT was bought out by Lesney better know for ‘Matchbox Toys’. In 1983 Lesney relocated to Baltimore and sold the AMT company to ERTL, which was then to be known as AMT-ERTL. Later in 2007 the AMT name was no more and the company name was now just ERTL.
In 1958 AMT were producing ‘3 in 1’ kits which allowed three different version of model which could be made; ‘Stock’, ‘Custom’ or ‘Racing’ with numbered decals.
In 1962 AMT were also involved with ‘Slot Car’ industry which started in 1912 which is still hugely popular today. They manufactured various sizes of car such as 1:24, 1:25 and 1:32. The 1:32 scale was adopted as the standard by Scalextric for fun racing at home or the more serious competitive racing scene.
In the mid 60’s Mr. Gallogly went on to use his good connections with the Ford Motor Company to manufacture some highly detailed promotional models for them. What was said, who agreed it and what the actual deals that were struck at the time during those meetings is unclear. But, it must have been pretty good for the Ford Motor Company executives agreeing to the Dealership Promotional Models.
It was recognised during that golden era for the motor manufacturing industry, it was deemed the norm for a new model to be produced every year or two years max. To make people aware of the new vehicle designs which were in coming and in production, these promotional models were distributed to the dealers, often well before the actual cars arrived for demonstration cars or actual stock of cars for sale.
Sadly towards the late 1960’s and certainly before 1970s the dealer models were not a thing anymore and all but faded out from being produced and no longer sat proudly on a salesman’s desk.
The Mustang Models
Focusing on the first generation 1965 models as those are the ones I have. These models are extremely well detailed, and they were supposed to have been made with the colours that the manufacturers were painting their cars at the time. The colours I have appear to be ‘Rangoon Red’ and ‘Wimbledon White’.
Dimensions
The models are manufactured to the scale of 1:25, that converts to a measurement on model of 1cm will convert to 25cm on the real thing.
Photographing the dimensions against a tape measure is a little distorted perspective by the camera, so I have taken a few variations. But, the stated measurements are correct with the photo taken directly above the line of sight to the tape measure.
The length of the models are 183mm long or 7.20 inches or 7 3/16″
The Width of the models are 70mm or 2.75 inches or 2 3/4″
The Height of the models are 50mm or 1.96 inches or 1 31/32″
The whole model weighs in at just 105grams or 3.7oz
Construction
The construction is very fragile and light weight brittle plastic which is easily marked or dented especially on the leading edge of the hood which narrows to almost nothing.
The single piece floor pan forms details of the underside of the car, suspension, engine, gearbox, all the jig points, grommets, bolts, fuel tank, brake lines for the emergency brake cable, and a single exhaust system which comes from a V8 (I will elaborate on this below under The Details heading), as there are two exhaust manifold pipes, going to a single pipe, and on to a single muffler box. There are four screws in total two at each end that hold the model together. The exhaust tip is missing on the right side (passenger) as the one of the screw points cuts it off.
The other side (inside) of the floor pan forms the seats, dash area and centre console (which would have been an optional extra at the time).
The steering wheel and column looks to be a separate moulding attached to the dash. The interior detailing shows the heater controls, radio, lateral dash instruments, glove box, steering horn and even the markings for the automatic gearbox box selector, but there is no T Handle for the shifter or indicator stalk. Both of which I suspect would have been so delicate they would have broken being removed from the moulds or from just being handled. Looking in the footwell there is a third pedal for the clutch, this would be a contradiction for the automatic gearbox markings. The door cards look to be the ‘Pony’ interior or deluxe option, but there is no running horse embossed on the back of the seats, which are part of the ‘Pony’ interior package. The front seats are the bucket style and not the rarer bench seat option (around 2.5% of total Mustangs made) which was available at the time.
The four wheels are attached to a bar rested in locators on the floor pan mould (unseen) and spin freely. The wheels are shown with the hub caps and white wall tyres which also show some details as radial grooved. The hub caps will cover the wheels bolts, which would have been four lugs for the inline six cylinder or five lugs for the v8s.
The ‘glass’ or windscreen is a single moulded part which covers the front screen, the two small door quarter lights and the rear screen. It’s not uncommon to see one or both of the door quarter lights broken as they are quite fragile. The clear plastic is susceptible to easy scratches and marking. If you look on the inside (below) where the headliner would have been, you can see where the clear plastic has been attached to the top part of the model. You can’t quite see it on the picture, but the centre of the ‘glass’ is missing, obviously to save some costs on the clear plastic used.
The Details
The chromed parts of the models such as the bumpers, bumper overriders (front and rear), headlights, rear light bezels and grill are high quality with a good reflection, not just cheaper silver paint. These look to be separate components attached after the assembled model. On my models the red car has a little wear and tear on the hood leading edge. I suspect that picking them up and putting them back on the salesman’s desk a few times would contribute to that, or being raced around the furniture at home.
Starting at the front there are the headlights and the cross bar coral grill, the grill itself shows a honeycombed effect. The Coral and Pony logo are crisp mouldings. The licence plate just shows the Mustang brand. The hood leading edge shows the ‘F O R D’ lettering but not in chrome.
The side of the car shows the Mustang ‘Tribar’ emblems and ‘Mustang’ font wording behind the front wheels near the bottom. On the actual cars there is an engine option emblem that sits above the front bumper and below the waist line of the car, a few inches back from the headlight. These models don’t have those emblems, even though the underside of the model shows a v8 engine in place. The options would show, 289 (v8 option), 200 sprint (inline 6 cylinder) or HiPo for the GT model etc. Not having individual models made just for a i6 or v8 and more generic would keep the costs down for the models.
The rear quarter panel ornaments are shown as well as the side rocker cover strips, added as an optional extra at the time. The back of the car shows the rear light bezels with red plastic for the lenses. There are also back up lamps which were also an optional extra. The bumper has the overriders shown, but on my red model they are broken off, a common casualty on these models. This is the only part of the red model that has something broken or missing. The rear licence plate shows the Mustang branding.
The top down view of the models shows the cowl grill and the wipers. There are no door rear view mirrors on these models, as they were an optional extra at the time fitted by the dealers.
Other Dealer Models
Other colours were made such as Tropical Turquoise (top), Vintage Burgundy Red (middle), and American Blue (bottom). There may have been other colours, but as yet I haven’t seen them, which doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
There were some Fastback models made a little later on in the ’65, other colours are unknown.
The holy grail for many collectors would be the boxes that these models came in, they weren’t any special to look at. I haven’t seen any boxed versions up for sale yet, but I did find this image of one. With the box the models are worth a little more, but as with all things collectable, condition is everything.
SomeLater YearModels
1966
There was the trim changes notably to the front grill with the Coral bars removed, the grill now having brushed leading edge horizontal lines. The rear quarter panel ornaments updated to the three pronged style. This model looks to have been in Calypso Coral colour.
1967 – 1968
There was a major body redesign, with the models being Fastback, and not the Coupe style. The minor difference between the ’67 and ’68 were the side markers, which were not shown on these models.
(This image I found of a ’67 shows a broken front bumper.)
1969
This model is showing the performance end of the range. These models didn’t show any emblems on the front fenders that would have been there.
There was another face lift for the 1970 models. But, as I mentioned earlier, by then these plastic dealership models were no longer being made.
On Display
I purchased a display case (more details on that on the main page), for the models to be stored safely and away from dust.
I’m not sure I have covered everything or missed some important facts out. So if you have any additional information or maybe correct me, then please drop me an email, or add a comment and let me know. I will then update with additional information.
I’m always on the look out for any similar memorabilia with a certain online auction site being my main source. If you have anything interesting you may wish to pass on, then please also let me know and I will obviously pay for it along shipping costs.
Now we are at the end of the car show season it’s time to put my pride and joy away and tuck her up for the winter. This is more important than the hotter climates like the USA or Europe. The point is that when you pull the car back out again the car has been as protected as it possibly could have been. I have been asked a few times what my process is over the winter.
One of the most important things I do is to make sure the car is running on fumes. This is due to the fact that the ethanol fuels will ‘go off’ after a few months as it absorbs the moisture from the air. My car tends to run like a bag of nails when the car starts if it has fuel that has been standing. It seems that my carb settings and timings are sensitive to bad fuel, as a result I only use Shell V-Power premium fuel. It’s more expensive but the car does run so much better for it. I do have a five gallon jerry can that I fill up with fresh fuel when I need to move the car again for the first time in the new year.
The classic Mustangs have a lot of chrome and unless protected that chrome could start to pit, usually down to moisture and humidity. I have in my garage a dehumidifier and a radiator with an independent thermostat which keeps the chill away from the garage. The theory is that the car never goes below freezing. I have written an article about humidity and car storage here.
The thing to consider is the environment where the car is to be stored. A decent amount of dry air circulation around the car, and in an ideal situation not standing on a cold concrete floor as this will cause damp issues rising up to the car. I have laid some heavy plastic tiles which insulates the cold floor and the car which I also wrote about here.
First and most obvious is to wash the car, but make sure it’s thoroughly dry, especially if you don’t have a dehumidifier before you put the car away. Use a dedicated car blower if you can rather than a drying towel.
I then wax the car with a longevity wax rather than a show car wax. This will form a micro barrier to the elements, not that it should be needed in a climate controlled environment. It doesn’t matter what wax you use just something to protect it. I used Chemical Guys Quick Detailer P40 this year as the car had a wax a couple of weeks ago. So this was a top up more than anything as this product has a level of carnauba wax as well.
The big piece of work is the wheels. These wheels are chrome and need proper protection. I always clean them and apply a wheel wax during the car show season. But over the winter there is a little process I follow. I clean the tyres and the chrome as normal then I apply a squirt of Gibbs directly into the join of the wheel at the top and allow it run down to the bottom where it will puddle. WD40 or similar will do the same thing. You want enough to penetrate into the gap all the way round but not wate it so it runs out. Don’t wipe it away, just soak up the excess as it pools at the bottom. You won’t be able to get the wax right where you want it, so a penetrating product will get where you cant.
With the excess spray wiped away it was time to protect the chrome. I use Angel Wax Bilberry, it smells wonderful and gives great results. This wax is much softer than normal paint wax and is just like spreading a room temperature butter.
Ideally you will allow the product to cure and then buff it away. I apply it liberally but I don’t buff it completely away. This will leave a thicker barrier than you really need, but I just like a thick layer. This will make the chrome dull, but just make sure the wheel is fully coated.
The rubber tyres can be susceptible to cracking and I over apply an amount of Meguiar’s Endurance tyre gel. This product protects the tyres and keeps the rubber nourished. Applying this much will usually give rise sling as the car rotates. But as the car is now stationary it won’t be a problem. While you are at the wheels check the tyre pressure to make sure they are correct so they don’t deform.
If you have metal dust caps like I do, before putting them back on, squirt a tiny amount of WD40 or similar product that will make sure the cap doesn’t corrode metal to metal.
Glass is given a good clean, to make sure nothing is stuck and will be difficult to remove after a time of being laid up.
Where the rain or water car wash water can get into the car I make sure there is some water repellent applied. This is especially at the end of the rain drip rails that goes into the rear quarters. I squirted an amount onto the drip rails so it follows the same path as the water.
As the doors will be shut you don’t want the weather seal to stick and possibly tear when you go to open the door again. I use a Chemical Guys Tyre + Trim Gel which is dry to the touch almost straight away. I could have used this on the tyres obviously, but I prefer the Endurance.
It’s applied around the door frame and also to the rubbers under the door. Around the screen glass both front and rear there is a layer of black mastic, not how they came from the factory, but it seals the windows properly. The top right photo below shows an arrow where the before and after on the sealant.
The two images above is the trunk area where the before and after can be clearly seen as it’s applied. For the chrome trim and the wipers these are given a a layer of wax, again not buffed to a shine. Before shutting the car up, open the windows a little so that the car doesn’t sweat and go mouldy. Allowing a change of air will help prevent this as well. Having an open ventilation into the garage can have a minor advantage for fresh air, but it doesn’t allow for the dehumidifier to control the moisture in the garage environment.
The battery trickle charger CTEK MXs 5.0 is connected as I always do when the car is in the garage.
I removed the screen washer bottle and rinsed it out and hung it up to allow it to dry. Previously I have left water in the bag and it had gone bad and stank with things trying to grow in it. I had a bit of a job to get it clean again, I won’t be making that mistake again.
Inside the car is a quick vacuum out. I tend to keep a couple of old air fresheners for the winter, give them a quick spritz them with Mitchell & King Leather scent. I hang the air fresheners back in the car being sure to make sure they are free hanging and not touching anything. Inside the car I tend not to pull the parking brake on as this may seize in place. If you’re worried about the theft you could use a T Park Handle lock here for a bit more peace of mind.
Finally the car cover goes on and the humidity gauge goes on top of the car in the middle to get the average reading of the garage. the sweet spot is 50%, with a couple of percent either side.
Last thing is to turn the dehumidifier on which I have already got set up from the previous years which sits around the fifty percent mark all year round now. On the back of the unit there is a filter which is removed, cleaned and replaced. It doesn’t hurt to squirt a little air freshener towards the back of the unit in order to give it a little freshen up.
I do have a little tip regarding the dehumidifier, hang an air freshener near the unit, this will fill the garage with your scent of choice. The downside is that the freshener tends to get dried out fairly quickly due to the functionality of the dehumidifier.
With the car now laid up for the winter I still tend to open the garage up in the nicer weather once or twice a month to let some fresh air in and make sure there are no leaks and that the dehumidifier and the the battery trickle charger are still working ok.
When the new season starts I have to remove all the waxes, and the over application of trim on the paint. this isn’t much of an issue as I give the car a service, grease, check the brakes, full valet and good once over before the first show anyway.
I hope that helps a little and gives you some tips to store the car short term.
I was told about a ‘scratch hack’ many years ago that removes light scratches from car paintwork, within seconds and cost virtually nothing. Sounds to good to be true right? I’m talking about the trade (not so) secret of the commonly used product WD40. I often wondered if it was true but never had a reason to find out. If I had a problem with paint, I would correct and protect it properly.
A little about WD40 first.
I was first developed around the early 1950s by Rocket Chemicals based in California who later changed their name on the basis of their product. The name WD40 stands for Water Displacement 40(th formula). The actual formula is a trade secret and only been held in secure vault in San Diego California since 2018. The product has not been patented to this day, to do so the ingredients would have to be disclosed. So if you want to copy it you could, if you try and reverse engineered like many others have and call it a different name.
The actual product hasn’t been changed for many, many years. The product was initially developed for a company to protect the outer skins of a super delicate skin of a ballistic missile from rust and corrosion. It later went on to find a host of household uses such as lubrication, protection and cleaning when it became commercially available in the very late 1950s. I won’t go into that side of it, you only have to look at YouTube or TikTok for various household hacks, from removing sticky labels, worktops, hinges, freeing up bolts etc.
I just want to look at this product from a car detailing point of view. It can be sprayed under the car to freshen things up, stop squeaks, apply a coating prior to winter to stop door rubbers sticking, short term storage or just polish up a bit. There are other products out there can do these dedicated tasks better than WD40, but not all of them together like this versatile ‘Jack of all trades’ product can.
Now of course there will be pros and cons for this ‘hack’;
Pros
Cheap, cost of a cup of coffee
Quick to use
Instant results
Looks OK
Disguises light scratches
Forms a protection barrier
Can prevent rusting
Long shelf life
Cons
Temporary fix
Only light scratches disguised
Body shops hate it
Often used to make cars look better than they actually are
Can be messy
Oil based
It can mess detailing pads up
The fact is that if you are spraying WD40 on anything, you are spraying an oil based type of product. Like I said in the cons, it’s only a quick fix and the old scenario of the car lot salesman showing you a gleaming car gives this hack a bad name.
The opportunity I had to try this hack out was that I had to remove a couple or stuck on hard plastic sill protectors on a car. Once they were removed it had left a couple of light scratches on the paint, even with my gentle panel removal tools. They are difficult to see but they are there.
So the tip so simple; spray a little on the paint and wipe over. Nothing could be easier, you don’t even have to rub it in just spread it about a bit.
The result is a miraculous cover up so the exposed paint could be seen again without the scratches.
So, does it work then? Yes – sort of
On the deeper scratches it improves it, but it doesn’t wipe them out. On lighter scratches does.
How? It’s all down the way light is reflected from the paint. The oil settles into the scratch and makes the light ray dispersion more uniform thus it disguises the scratch or swirl. This is a similar principle to car paint glaze which is a more durable option which needs a wax to protect it. I explain this paint defect principle in much more detail here. or cut and past this to your browser: htts://onemanandhismustang.com/difference-between-waxing-polishing-and-your-paint-job/
The general rule of thumb is if you can feel the scratch with your finger nail, you have a problem. If you can’t feel the scratch then it can be buffed, glazed or hidden in one way or another.
As the WD40 is oil it will eventually disappear due to the elements if on an exposed area. If the product is rained on a lot, it will need regular applications. So, if you want to mask or ‘hide’ a light paint surface imperfection, then you could use this product on a temporary basis. If you are going to buy a car, gently feel the paint to see if there is a oily film to the surface.
Another down side is that dust can settle in the WD40 spray and stick to it, so wiping it away could introduce more problems. The reason body shops don’t like it is the fact it’s oil based and once on your hands can be transferred all over the workshop. To clean it up properly in order to spray paint anything properly, this makes it all the more time consuming.
I tend to carry a small ‘sample’ sized can for a couple of reasons;
If you get a stone chip and can’t get to fix it for a while, spray the area with the WD40 and it will form a temporary barrier until you can fully remove it later to fix the chip.
If you are suffering from damp in your distributor cap (back to old school cars now) or HT leads etc, you can spray this to disperse the water. After all that was it’s sole purpose for development.
Did you know?
To get those super smoky burnouts in Hollywood films easily, they used an application of WD40 on the tyres! Not that you should ever do that of course, as it could be frowned upon by the local law enforcement agencies. 😉
There has been mumblings of this ‘new’ type of camera being trialed on the UK’s streets since June 2019 when it was first published by the Department Of Transport’s website. So what is it exactly and how will affect the glorious engine note of a classic v8? First we need to look at the reasons behind the noise cameras.
A note on the information that I have found from many different sources. Depending on where you look and what you read the noise level limits are all over the place. Some say 80db others say 72 to 80, one even says 68db. So the lack of documented consistency is worrying.
Why are they being introduced?
The reason it seems is for anti-social behaviour of the typical stereo typical boy (or girl) racers who enjoy the loud exhaust note or the much sort after pop and bang of revving, and if you’re unlucky a flame to cremate your front bumper if you are behind them.
From what I have found out, the actual legal noise limit for road cars is 74 decibels – the equivalent noise of a vacuum cleaner at full pelt or a chain saw.
For non-compliance, it can lead to a £50 on-the-spot fine or as much as £1000, that’s worrying differences. Persistent offenders in ‘extreme cases’ could have their vehicle seized.
Where are they?
Postcode lottery for the initial trials by the looks of it. The scheme is backed by a £300,000 government investment towards efforts to tackle the “social cost” of noise pollution which is estimated to be £10bn annually. (Where do they get these figures from?) Great Yarmouth was chosen to be included in the scheme as ‘Boy racers’ have congregated at Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile for decades with drivers showing off their souped-up engines into the early hours.
Other locations are Bradford (from October this year), Bristol and Birmingham following along after a competition launched in April. The locations for the new cameras was decided based upon the impact to locals from illegal noisy vehicles, after MPs across the country applied for the cameras to be set up in their area.
I suspect that they will start popping up all over the place soon, maybe portable versions ones for car cruises and car shows?
How do noise cameras work?
The new technology uses a video camera and several microphones which can accurately pinpoint excessively noisy vehicles as they pass by. When the camera hears a vehicle making a noise of 80db, it takes a picture and records the noise level to create a digital package of evidence.
This will then be used to issue a fine — much like a regular traffic camera would for a speeding ticket. An earlier trial in Chelsea in London – a magnet for supercars – saw more than 130 drivers fall foul of the limits in the first 11 days.
What do they look like?
There are varying designs that are getting more sophisticated as time goes on. Some virtually hidden and other more traditional looking. However, unlike the speeding cameras that need to show warning signs and the speed cameras themselves have to be visible usually being marked in yellow, these sound cameras by the looks of it don’t need to follow those rules.
Or you could get something like this that could be slapped on the side of a road in minutes and looks super safe – NOT! Now I’m pretty sure a friendly lorry driver on a narrow road like this one, could cause enough draft to knock it over if they got close to it, and that would be a real shame I’m sure.
I have done a few searches for some ‘official’ signs and there aren’t any I could find, the only pics I did find are these below and I suspect they aren’t official either.
CurrentUK MOT Rules
In the UK vehicles older than three years must pass an annual MOT test in order to inspect the roadworthiness of a car or motorcycle. When a vehicle fails an MOT, it is prohibited from being driven on the public highway, other than to or from the test center if appropriate, until the defect is corrected. The testing consists of the following:
The exhaust system is examined visually for any defects during the MOT test, such as holes in the pipes. Although this is an inspection that is undertaken mainly for safety reasons, it does identify exhaust systems that may be producing excessive noise due to poor maintenance or simply an old exhaust.
A subjective assessment is also made as to the effectiveness of the silencer in reducing exhaust noise to a level considered to be average for the vehicle.
I personally want to know who decides this ‘average’ limit and what experience do they have to determine that!
Powers
Police Reform Act 2002 and Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 gives the police powers to stop, seize and remove a vehicle if they have reasonable ground for believing that the motor vehicle is being used on any occasion in a manner which constitutes careless and inconsiderate driving (as defined by the Road Traffic Act 1988 [18]) or which is causing, or likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. Section 60 allows the relevant Secretary of State to make regulations relating to the removal, retention, release or disposal of motor vehicles seized in accordance with Section 59. Following the amendment in Part 1 of Schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 (powers of community support officers), Schedule 10 “Powers of Community Support Officers” outlined in Chapter 12 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 has been modified to provide authorised officers with additional powers to issue a fixed penalty notice under Section 42 of that Act of contravening or failing to comply with a construction or use requirement about the use on a road of a motor vehicle in a way that causes excessive noise.
What are the limits?
There are two parts to this ‘report’ the first being 103 pages from 2019 and part two 70 pages from 2020. A lot of this documentation is technobabble and technicalities. I have better things to do than read all of it thoroughly, so I tried to pick out a couple of relevant parts. But, as the DfT hasn’t updated their pages, all I can do is show what they have. The final report looks to be two years old already with more ‘trials’ taking place from April this year. I haven’t seen any ‘trials’ being removed when it comes to motorists, have you? these are the full documents if you are having trouble sleeping;
Regulation (EU) 540/2014 The noise levels accepted for vehicle type approval are set out in Regulation (EU) 540/2014 [2] for motor vehicles and Regulation (EU) 168/2013 [3] for motorcycles. Regulation (EU) 540/2014 which repeals European Directive 70/157/EEC [4], outlines limits on the sound levels from road vehicle and gives more representative procedures for measuring sound levels from exhaust systems and silencers. These limits have been tightened through several amendments. Limit values for eight types of passenger and goods vehicles range from 72 dB(A) to 80 dB(A). These limits are expected to be again tightened over 10 years. By 2026 the limit for most new passenger cars is expected to be 68 dB(A) [5].
Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 [9], also made under the Road Traffic Act 1972 (as amended) [8], aim to ensure that vehicles used in the UK are built to a high standard. These Regulations are also used to implement EU Directives. The following regulations address noise emission controls on road vehicles:
Regulation 54 requires equipment such as silencers not to be altered in such way that the noise is greater than when it was first manufactured. Replacement silencers for mopeds and motorcycles
must comply with certain noise requirements which effectively imply there is no increase in noise
emissions compared with the original silencer. In addition, no increase in noise must be caused by
poor maintenance.
Regulation 55 (for cars) and Regulation 57 (for motorcycles) require new vehicles to be controlled by type approval limits.
Regulation 97 requires avoidance of excessive noise which includes the behaviour of the driver in operating the vehicle including the use of audible warning systems.
There are certain tests that can be performed, stationary or accelerating.
Category M vehicles are ‘Passenger vehicles’, category N vehicles are ‘goods vehicles’.
ISO 362-1:2015 – Measurement of noise emitted by accelerating road vehicles – engineering method. Part 1: M and N categories ISO 362-1:2015 [11] specifies a method for measuring the noise emitted by road vehicles under typical urban traffic conditions. The test aims to approximate real world part throttle vehicle operation with a weighted average of a wide open throttle test at a target acceleration with a constant speed test. To achieve stable and repeatable test conditions, the procedure requires a Wide Open Throttle (WOT) test and a constant speed test. The WOT test specifies that a target acceleration be achieved. The gear selection for this test is determined by the target acceleration. The constant speed test is undertaken at 50 km/h. These tests are then combined in a weighted average which is a function of the actual acceleration achieved in the WOT test and the Power-to-Mass Ratio. The test track construction and road surface are required to meet the requirements of ISO 10844:2014 [17].
ISO 5130:2007+A1:2012 – Acoustics – Measurements of sound pressure level emitted by stationary road vehicles ISO 5130:2007+A1:2012 [13] specifies a test procedure for measuring the noise level from road vehicles under stationary conditions. The test method essentially involves holding the vehicle at a set engine speed and measuring the noise level when the throttle is released. The microphone is positioned 0.5m from the exhaust outlet. As specifically stated by the Standard, this procedure is not intended as either a method to check the exhaust sound pressure level when the engine is operated at realistic loads nor a method to check the exhaust sound pressure levels against a general noise limit for categories of road vehicles. ISO 10844.
75% of the rated engine speed, where the rated engine speed is ≤ 5,000 RPM
3,750 RPM for a rated engine speed 5,000 – 7,500 RPM
50% of the rated engine speed, where the rated engine speed is ≥ 7,500 RPM
It all gets very technical, but to break it down; somebody sets up a sound meter to listen to the noise of the exhaust. At some points these guides even go on to mention the use of “mobile phone apps”, I kid you not. Can you imagine some jobs worth police saying “according to my iPhone 11, your car is loud”. Yeah like that’s gonna hold up in court. Even the report goes on to say that the apps are inaccurate!
Simple Answer For Our Classics….
Most vehicles, including imports and classics aged over 10 years, will not need vehicle approval. Therefore, however loud your classic car or motorcycle is when idling or driving sensibly, it shouldn’t be a cause for concern in areas that feature noise cameras.
A ‘Classic Car’ definition according to Wikipedia;
A classic car is anolder car, typically 25 years or older, though definitions vary. The common theme is of an older car of historical interest to be collectible and tend to be restored rather than scrapped.
So from what I can make out, a 10 year old Honda civic worth £2000 with a frying pan sized exhaust bolted on it is not a classic, sorry.
My Opinion (for what it’s worth)
All this as far as I can see is pointless, the types of people (boy or girl racers) who have these types of exhausts are mostly over ten years old. So somebody in a beautiful Skyline R32 with an exhaust you climb into doesn’t have to worry either.
If you have a hotrod with straight pipes – that seems to be OK as well.
The point is where these police “powers” come into play could be subjective. On one hand stop the noise, but a car over ten years old is fine, as it’s a ‘classic’. So if you have a nicely tuned, Charger, Plymouth, Chevy, Mustang, a blown v8, turbo Porsche or some other classic American muscle, is the police going to know what the car should sound like or not? Cars over forty years old don’t even need an MOT, so they wouldn’t be pulled up on it then either. There are very strong chances that the car in question is older than the person trying to gauge how noisy it is. The contradiction of it’s over ten years old verses it’s ‘too loud’ is a joke.
The only people this legislation will effect will be the new Super or Hyper car owners like a Ferrari, Pagani, Lambo, Aston Martin etc. These cars come from the factory with loud ‘performance’ exhausts as standard because that is what the car needs. Perhaps restricting the noise from the factory in that case would be the answer? Good luck with that at the manufacturers. The owners buy the cars like that and then you fine them for buying that car often without any modifications being made. Besides, if they did get pulled over and given a £50 fine, will they be bothered? Of course not, that would just be the tip for the valet to park the car for them outside the casino. If they drive like an idiot, then they should get their just rewards, you need to be sensible.
The worst type of culprits are the cheaper boy racer cars made to sound loud and intentionally make noise as if to prove something. This type of ‘upgrade’ is done for no other reason than noise. Then yes – these are the idiots that need the fines, for being stupid. Just because it has a very big exhaust, it does NOT improve performance. Formula 1 cars rarely have an exhaust bigger than 3″.
This post was intended to be a quick one stating that sound cameras are being introduced and to beware of them. But, the more I looked into it, the deeper the rabbit hole went. After hours of reading and research, I came up with this; at the end of the day, people should be considerate with their cars, revving up at two in the morning is unacceptable.
