Category: Car

Culford Classic Car Show 2025 (part 2)

Continuing on from part one I was now standing by the performance car stands of Porsche and Ferrari. The stands are always popular with some old school examples along with some newer models. One Porsche in particular that caught my eye was the camping version on top of the car. Knowing the Porsche engineering it would be well made, but if I paid that amount of money for a car I don’t think would want to sleep on it.

A little bit further up the line was an individual entry, perhaps my favourite Porsche of all time, the beast which was the 911 Turbo, a stunning example in black which makes it even more menacing.

Some more of the Porsches from the private entries.

As much as I love a Ferrari, seeing nothing but red ones can make the area look a little samey. The 308 which got plenty of my attention was the best looking model there in my humble opinion. I may see an F40 in real life, then I might change my mind, maybe!

The longest vehicle (in total) was this big Chevy and a boat hanging off the back of it, well over forty feet long.

I’m not a huge BMW fan, but they made a couple of iconic cars, the M1 again, which I have never seen in real life and there is this legend, the original M3.

Moving past the club stands onto more individual cars.

Mart’s Car Of The Show:

My favourite of the show wasn’t in fact a car, it was a van and a very famous van as it was part of much loved and ever popular comedy series Dad’s Army. This is that original van from that show.

A vintage 1935 Ford BB van painted in blue and yellow with the name 'J. Jones Family Butcher' displayed on its side, parked on grass with a historic building in the background.

A little history borrowed from Wikipedia:

Dad’s Army is a British television sitcom about the United Kingdom’s Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and originally broadcast on BBC1 from 31 July 1968 to 13 November 1977. It ran for nine series and 80 episodes in total; a feature film released in 1971, a stage show and a radio version based on the television scripts were also produced. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still shown internationally.

The Home Guard consisted of local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, either because of age (hence the title Dad’s Army), medical reasons, or by being in professions exempt from conscription. Most of the platoon members in Dad’s Army are over military age and the series stars several older British actors, including Arnold Ridley, John Laurie, Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier, many of whom had served in World War II in real life. Younger members of the cast included Ian Lavender, Clive Dunn (who, despite being one of the younger cast members, played the oldest guardsman, Lance Corporal Jones) and James Beck (who died suddenly during production of the sixth series in 1973). Other regular cast members included Frank Williams as the vicar, Edward Sinclair as the verger, and Bill Pertwee as the chief ARP warden. Following the death of Lavender in 2024, there are now no surviving principal cast members.

Corporal Jones driving the (his) van.

A Porsche and Ferrari display at a classic car show, showcasing both older models and newer versions, including a distinctive camping car on display.

The rest of the cast with the van:

The series has influenced British popular culture, with its catchphrases and characters being widely known. The Radio Times magazine listed Captain Mainwaring’s “You stupid boy!” among the 25 greatest put-downs on TV. A 2001 Channel 4 poll ranked Captain Mainwaring 21st on its list of the 100 Greatest TV Characters. In 2004, Dad’s Army came fourth in a BBC poll to find Britain’s Best Sitcom. It was placed 13th in a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, and voted for by industry professionals.

The series is set in the fictional seaside town of Walmington-on-Sea, located on the south coast of England, not far from Eastbourne. The exterior scenes were mostly filmed in and around the Stanford Training Area (STANTA), near Thetford, Norfolk. Walmington, and its Home Guard platoon, would be on the frontline in the event of a German invasion across the English Channel. The first series has a loose narrative thread, with Captain Mainwaring’s platoon being formed and equipped, initially with wooden guns and LDV armbands, later on with full army uniforms; the platoon is part of the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment.

The van is a 1935 two-ton Ford BB, one of the first commercial models produced at Ford’s Dagenham factory when it opened in 1931. It was discovered in a dilapidated condition in Streatham in London by Frank Holland, an assistant property master for the BBC. Such was its condition that the van was on the verge of being scrapped. Holland contacted Fred Wilmington, whose company supplied vehicles to the BBC; he purchased the van and restored it to full working order.

Later Paul Joel, a designer working on Dad’s Army, spotted the van among Wilmington’s stock of vehicles and obtained it for use in the series. The van was repainted and had “J. Jones Family Butcher” sign-painted on its side panels. The van still has its original engine from 1935.

I spent a fair while talking to the guys who look after the van at the Dad’s Army museum in Thetford. Ford took the van and handed it their apprentices to restore it, all for free! Hats off to Ford on that. As a kid I just loved this program, it was harmless and such a well written comedy.

I particularly remember the side of the van which had little port holes that swung open where the men could poke their rifles through. You can just about make out the swinging covers here just above the “Family Butchers” writing.

An image from the program where the port holes were used.

A variety of performance cars on display, including Porsche and Ferrari models, with attendees admiring the designs.

The van was used to carry all the items to the show so was pretty full up. You can see the port holes clearer on the right.

Interior of a vintage van filled with various items like wooden boards, bags, and tools, reflecting clutter and preparation.

Up front cab.

The fully rebuilt original engine:

An antique vehicle's engine is exposed with various mechanical components visible, set against a backdrop of a car show.

To round of the show I have saved a few Mustangs, although there wasn’t that many there.

Close-up of a blue 1966 Ford Mustang, showcasing the front grille and headlights, with a Michigan license plate.

It was a great show with lots of people there. The sky did cloud over a little early afternoon. I left about half an hour before the end of the show to miss the inevitable line of cars trying to getting out. Unfortunately quite a few had decided on the same idea, it took around fifteen minutes to get out of the grounds. The journey home was a pleasant cruise, although I sped up little due to a few spots of rain on the windscreen, I needn’t have worried as it came to nothing which made a nice change.

A well organised show with some great cars.

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Feltwell Anglo American Car Show 2025

This post is about an absolute first for me around the circumstances that this post came to be. The Feltwell Anglo-American Car Show last weekend was in Norfolk near many of the air bases, including Lakenheath where my car was imported into the UK from the USA.

The weather was promising and I got up not feeling to great, but a car show is a car show and sacrifices have to be made. I packed my bag with lunch, some drinks not forgetting my wallet for fuel on the way home. I started out on my journey around thirty miles away which according to my mate Tom (the TomTom SatNav), I would get there some forty odd minutes later. I arrived without any problems which was a great drive through the wonderful Thetford Forest. Marshalls quickly directed into the field where I parked up under directions, all in a line. The trouble was the lines were two deep and they parked us all facing the same way hood to trunk. People wandering around would see the front of the cars one side and only the back of the cars behind them. Not impressed with that situation, I waited for my marshal to direct other cars into position. With him now busy a good few cars down from me I pulled out and backed into the same spot, this time trunk to trunk with a new Mustang behind me. I parked next to a 2.8i Capri, which seems to be the UK Mustang in many peoples eyes; two doors, long hood, fastback styled.

feeling please that I bucked the trend of parking, I had a drink and thought I would go and take some photos before it got to busy! Now I had a problem, I couldn’t find my phone. After a frantic panic of ten minutes or so emptying the trunk. I remembered that I put the on the tool chest in the garage while I loaded my trunk. It felt like I had lost the extension of my arm, of all the car shows since 2011, I have never been without my phone. In fact I can count on one hand, ever since I have owned cell phones from 1997 with the little pull out aerials, that I have gone out without my phone. How on earth was I going to take photos? Then it came to me, use the dash cam. I use an Akaso EK7000 which is plugged into the cigarette lighter and removed once I’m parked up. Luckily it had been used on the way to the show so was fully charged up. I formatted the SD card to make space for the photo’s.

I have modified the mount a bit with magnets and foam in order to attach to the metal grill on the dash, and not mark it. I took these photos of the dash cam once I got back home.

The dash cam’s photo function isn’t as good as my trusty old Samsung S24 Ultra. It felt funny walking around with a little tiny box to take the pictures. But, it has done the job admirably and you can see what was there. However, as this has a wide angle lens, some of the perspective is a little distorted. I would wander up and down the lines fairly quickly not knowing how long the battery would last.

As this is near the airbases there was a good showing of American muscle. The show was busy and a couple of hundred cars were expected, I think there was a little more than that.

There were a couple of buses that were great and the owners allowed people to get on them.

I have seen this A-Team van before which was signed by the cast.

Another movie car that needs no introduction, not an official licensed car, but still pretty good.

Walking back down line was mine and the rest of the cars.

My car of the show was this little ol’ thing, a Tempo Matador apparently. I don’t why I liked it – i just did.

There was a few motor bikes there.

The most stunning was this steam punk Dr. Watson bike. I heard him say it has taken him ten years so far. the attention to detail with polished copper was amazing.

To fish up there was a quite a few Mustangs, apart from the Eleanor above.

To finish up I have a comparison. Some cars can pull the colour pink off, some can’t do it as well!

The dash cam battery lasted very well to be honest and I needn’t of rushed around. It was a great show with plenty of cars and I spoke to lots of people. Back to the phone, I do make a point of having two phones with me, one just as a backup as using the camera all day can eat the battery. I have a choice of two trusty Nokia phones both from 1999, but both with very different characteristics. My 7110 Matrix and my tiny 8210, both have amazing battery life of days not just hours, and the standby time is weeks. Oh, the games on these were really cool too.

I swap them around now again in my cool bag, so I’m still able to make an emergency call if I need too. Does anybody else carry a spare phone or is it just me?

When i got back home I downloaded the photos to my PC to get a better idea of what they looked like. having to look at the pictures on the back of the camera was difficult to see if they were blurred or poor or not. I was pleasantly surprised to be fair.

Next time out I will make sure the smart phone is packed as well!

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Almost Made It

Last weekend was due to be my first car meet, my good mate Craig sent me a link earlier in the week which was for a show just thirteen or so miles away from me in Lavenham across country. The car was pushed out the garage on the Saturday to de-winterise the car and give it a bit of a clean up. I also did a oil and filter change change with some Millers 20W 50 Semi synthetic oil. I also had a new detailing product I wanted to try and mini project that had waited for the right time to get the car out in the nice weather.

The mini project was a real quick one to replace the headlight retaining rings around the headlights as I detected a little rattle at the end of last year’s shows and found it was from the drivers headlight. I knew exactly what it was, but wasn’t to worried about it at this point. I had made a trip over the winter to get a pair of headlight retaining rings from Mustang Maniac to make sure they matched, I couldn’t have one shiny and one not as shiny could I?

The headlight retaining rings were pretty simple to swap over and I have done a full walkthrough of the process here.

Basically the headlight door comes of after loosening four screws.

The exposed headlight retaining rings are held in place by three screws.

Loosen the three screws and twist the ring counter clockwise a little to release the ring and the headlight itself becomes free.

You can replace the headlight at this point as well for an LED upgrade, like I did here. Or just replace the the rings which was my intention this time. On the left picture below you can tell the difference between the new one at the top of the left hand pic and the old one below it.

While I was at it replacing shiny things I got my mini polisher out and decided to clean the headlight door screws, just because I could.

Will anybody notice, I very much doubt it, but I know they are shiny. Happy with the days quick bit of work I was ready for the car meet the next day.

Sunday morning arrived and where I checked the weather which was sunny, today was going to be great. I started the car and rolled out the garage with over an hour before the start. I realised that I had more fuel than I remembered, just over a quarter of a tank, which would be more than enough to get to the show and back again about twelve miles each way in fact. I could fill up on the way home in my own leisurely time. The usual turn off for me is more of a main road route than the back roads, which can be dirty and you often get idiots in the middle of the roads going much to fast. As I turned into the road barriers stopped me with the dreaded “Road Closed” sign. Somebody was being paid to stand there and watch all the cars turning around. He eventually wondered over to me as I wasn’t turning round, it was obviously too much for him to walk over. We had a very brief exchange of words where I tried to bluff my way through. Unfortunately he was having none of it and walked away mid way through his sentence mumbling under his breath. Now I’m in a bad mood as it meant that I was going to have to reverse back up because I didn’t want to do a ten point turn in the car. The down side was me about to reverse onto a fairly busy roundabout. I think he said ‘follow the diversion signs’ in some sort of half strung together sentence, which would ‘only be a few miles or so’. The irony was the ‘Road Works’ which wasn’t happening with him or the other half a dozen who were also standing around and certainly not working on the road. They could have let me through, but no – Mr. Jobsworth was on the case.

The signs sent me back round to the far side of the town along the way my SatNav was having a mental, with “turn around where possible”. I turned my trusty navigation co-pilot off in order to concentrate on following the road diversion signs, or should I say more like a ‘wild goose chase’? Twenty minutes later I’m still following signs to who knows where. I started to realise something was wrong when I glanced a sign giving directions to Cambridge which was the exact opposite direction I needed to be going. Now I’m literally in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal. I started to sweat as my fuel gauge was running down. I may have mentioned in a few post before, the air was turning blue just like my car and the sky above me. It would be a glorious day to be at a car meet, if I could get there. But no, the diversion muppets who put the signs up were having a laugh at my expense or they got lost themselves.

I reckoned that I had a couple of gallons left and decided to abort the trip as I’m now in a previously undetected black hole that exists in darkest depth of Suffolk. I eventually found some signal and called my mate Craig to say I was lost. He said he would do a fuel run for me if needed, which was very kind of him, if I knew where I was of course to get the fuel in the first place. I opened my Shell app which showed me the location of petrol stations near me. My usual, regular Shell fuel station in Bury St Edmunds was shown to be ‘only’ 15 miles away. My featherweight foot was just resting on the gas pedal and some twenty minutes later I pulled into the gas station. The fuel gauge before on the left, then almost £70 later I was full up again.

I reckon that I had another gallon or so in the tank, but you can’t trust these old gauges. I certainly don’t and tend to fill up when near the 1/4 tank mark which is my ’empty’ guide during the car show season.

The drive home was relaxed, but feeling disappointed. I stopped at a junction to turn right, when pulling away out of nowhere a rather annoying screech on quick throttle. One of belts for the fan/alternator or the power steering belt was slipping. Pulling up back on my drive the belt screech was becoming more pronounced. My day was now getting worse by the minute, I popped the hood, but couldn’t tell which belt it was. The first belt to come of was the power steering and then re-started the car, screech was still there. I then removed the alternator belt and started the car, the screech was gone. Laying the belt on the floor it looked more like an egg where it had sat around the pullies and had stretched over the winter just enough to cause the issue. I cleaned the belt and the pulley V grooves with degreaser, along with a fair amount of isopropanol alcohol to dry the grooves and belt, once cleaned it was refitted back on. The screech had almost gone, only happened on sudden revs, but still there a little. The tension couldn’t be adjusted anymore as the alternator was now on the max adjustment on the bracket. I spoke to Adam at Mustang Maniac who told me that he would send the direct replacement belt and another one which was 1/2″ shorter belt to give me more adjustment on the bracket.

I put the car away after a clean and went inside the house decided to relay my dissatisfaction of the day so far to my ever understanding wife. I plonked myself on the sofa with the hump and felling very sorry for myself.

About an hour or so later Craig pulled up and asked if everything was OK. I had even forgotten to let him know that I had filled up and gotten home safely. Sorry again Craig.

We decided to have a couple of hours of detailing tyres and comparing products, all of which I will be reviewing. The first was the Meguiar’s Ultimate Insane Tire Spray, the full review can be found here. The product we used on the daily car was CarPro DarkSide Tyre And Rubber Sealant, the full review can be found here. Craig loaned me his new product that he had recently bought and liked. He asked me if I wanted to try it on my cars. So we opened a can of chilled soda each, sitting in the warm sun we took some pictures so that I could review the product, which is a nice change as I tend to do them on my own.

Once the tyres were cleaned we tried the CarPro product on the Smart car.

I was very pleased with the results and I will buying some of this product when I get round to ordering it. Time started run away with us as we cleared up and Craig made a move to go back home. It was a good day in the end, catching up with a mate, shame it wasn’t at a car meet itself. That means my first show was a DNF is normally defined as ‘Did Not Finish’, but in my case ‘Did Not Find’ it, so near yet so far.

Hopefully the next proper show is this weekend at Kersey Mill, but the weather forecast doesn’t look that good, maybe I could be forced to miss that one as well.

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Fill Her Up

Many classic cars of the bygone era of the ’60s & ’70s, not just Mustangs were fitted with a fuel filler pipe that was quite big diameter. The fuel back then was Leaded or Four Star fuels to be pumped through a larger nozzle which filled more of the filler pipe, which makes perfect sense. When pumping was complete, the pump would click off and it was job done. However, with the move to the dreaded ethanol based fuels the filler pipe holes were made smaller along with the pump heads themselves. Fuel pumps from today have the much smaller hole which ensure a snug fit and allow the pump to shut off as you would expect. The problem with classic cars owners now have since this change is that the the large diameter filler pipes still take the smaller pumps which fill at similar rates, but at higher pressure. In turn that when the filling is complete, the fuel should stop the nozzle to avoid over filling, but it more often than not doesn’t. The reason is that pumped gas under pressure can splash back around the smaller nozzles, down sides of the filler pipes and out the top. This invariably results with some splash back out of the filler pipe over the paint job, bumper and if I’m unlucky, me if I happened to be standing in the wrong place. With this in mind I tend to go through some performance of getting a microfibre cloth, laying it over the bumper ready to clean up quickly when I top the tank up. I sometimes get strange looks as to what I’m doing before filling up.

This waste of fuel, smell on your clothes and potential damage to the paint work over time has always been an annoyance to me, but it’s part of the ‘joys’ of owning a classic car. I know many other Mustang owners as well as other manufacturers in fact that suffer from this issue. I just happened to be browsing through a Mustang forum where I spotted a link where somebody had modified the 64 – 70 Mustang filler pipes, a totally random link lead me to a discussion. The filler pipe size was exactly the same as the original, but inside is a simple fitted anti splashback valve. The valve is designed for the unleaded fuel pump nozzles sizes of today 13/16″ and should stop the splashback problem.

After a bit more research I got in touch with the guy and ordered one. A couple of weeks later it arrived and got round to fitting it as the sun came out over the weekend. Below shows the inside of the filler pipe with the anti splash back valve.

I have created a full step by step fitting guide for the filler neck here, but I have shown the basics steps of fitting it below.

This is an exact replacement for the standard filler pipe. The only minor difference is the bottom of the filler pipe has a slightly ribbed bottom which should aid in sealing of the hose to the pipe.

The only difference as i mentioned is the internal fuel valve. The definition of fuel ‘valve’ is a piece of sprung metal behind the reduced filler neck size opening. There are a couple of breather holes as well, two at the top and one where the bottom of the flap finishes almost at the bottom of the filler opening. The inner valve is held in place with a few dimples and a bit of JB Weld.

Roll the trunk mat out of the way to expose the top of the fuel tank. I have a a sound deadening mat on top of my polished tank which is semi stuck down. Remove the fuel cap, if you have the security version like mine there is a threaded bolt that goes through the filler panel and held in place by a nylon nut. Undo the nut and remove the security wire and the cap.

There will be four bolts around the outside of the flange which will need to be removed.

Inside the trunk there is a rubber hose clamped in place by two wire fittings. It’s easier to undo both the top and bottom clamps. Either the fuel pipe needs to come out of the rubber hose. Or pull the rubber hose up of the neck of the fuel tank itself. Either way is fine, you just need to remove the pipe from the hose.

In my case the hose came off the tank first. With the fuel pipe now free, remove the hose from the pipe otherwise the filler will not go through the panel as the opening is fairly snug.

Fully remove the pipe along with the cork gasket from the rear panel. Be careful not to let anything full into the open top of the fuel tank, I placed my fuel cap over the opening to prevent anything falling in it.

With the pipe removed I cleaned and applied a long lasting wax to the paint before i added the cork gaskets back on. You only need one gasket, but I like two, as it helps with the alignment of the filler pipe and also gives a little more protection of metal filler pipe flange to the paint.

Add the gasket(s) on the pipe before before feeding the pipe through the rear panel.

With the pipe through the panel it’s easier to fit the hose to the pipe by turning it ninety degrees. Then turn the pipe back round to the correct position and then you can simply press down the hose to the fuel tank opening neck.

With the hose now in place we can add the screws to hold the pipe’s flange to the panel. I started by adding the anti theft bolt through the gaskets and the panel. Add the washer to the front side of the flange, then the second washer inside and finally the nylon lock nut on the inside. Don’t tighten anything up just yet.

Next arrange the clamps how they should be on the rubber hose. When I first fitted the filler pipe and the hose I had the clamps on the inside of the trunk, this mean that things like cloths would catch the bolts. See below right hand photo. I never changed their position until now. The clamps should be between filler pipe and the rear panel so they are out of the way. Left and middle photos below. Lightly tighten the clamps just to hold them in place for now.

Align the gasket(s) up to the holes and add the rest of the screws to the flange and gently tighten up to allow for final adjustments.

With the screws in place start to tighten them up and the bolt for the security wire. Ensure the security wire is aligned with the outer part of the flange, or you won’t be able to fit the cap back back on. Tightening of the bolts or screws will pull the pipe into position on the panel. Now go back to the hose clamps and fully tighten them both up as the rubber will take the difference of alignment up. Recheck all bolts are tight.

The filler pipe was a like for like swap, but now I have little more bling under the trunk with the nickel plating looking great.

From the outside there is no difference to see. But, on the inside there is something (in theory) to stop me getting my regular splashback on fill up. Once I have taken the car for the next fill up I will give the results if the splashback is cured with this little project. It can’t be any worse no matter what happens.

I’m now intrigued to know if any other classic car owners have the same problem, or have hacks that they can share with us.

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Avoid Relocation Woes

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.

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Classics At Glemham 2024

As I write this post I didn’t realise that this going to be my last show of the year. There were a couple of others that I was scheduled to go to after this one, but the weather was predicted to be raining, as my car doesn’t get wet (if I can help it), I didn’t attend sadly. The weather app was correct and the rains did arrive on those days, shame as this year was a really good year for lots of shows. Glemham Hall, or ‘Classics at Glemham’ as its called, is another well supported car show with a huge variety of cars. Many of which are not that old, so I didn’t take to many of those, just the cars that grabbed my attention.

The weather was looking a bit grey to start with, and a few spots of fine rain. I stood in the garage door way to asses the situation, do I or don’t I? the other side of the village I could see clearer skies and the direction I would have to travel looked better. The car was loaded up, I got in and backed out promising myself that if it rained on the way, I would turn back. I had a thirty one mile drive across country, or stick to the main roads for a forty four mile journey. The backroads aren’t bad, but they can be busy if you get stuck behind some farm equipment with nowhere to really overtake. The main roads were quiet and not much traffic. There was a few spits of rain on the screen, but nothing more than that and the roads remained dry.

The sat nave was being a bit of pain and needed resetting a could of times, but luckily the roads were fairly straight forward. There wasn’t much of a queue and drove in fairly slowly to the field. The first thing to cross my mind was that they could of cut the grass. The cars were arranged by year and club stands. Parking up was regimented and left a little bit of room to the car next to me. The sun was now starting to shine as I grabbed some refreshments, and opened the hood.

I spent a few minutes with the car before taking to the rows of cars for a few pictures. The plan of action was to work counter clockwise and end up back at the car. The far end of the field I spotted a few friends and had a quick chat with them.

The Lotus stand was interesting with a few different engines on stands to have a good look at.

The paint job on this E-Type was just spectacular, the photos don’t do it justice. On the inside it wasn’t as pristine, but still a nice place to be.

I don’t know if I’m being a car snob or not, but why put a Chevy in a Ford Cobra kit car? I appreciate it will go very well, but…..

This Corvette got my vote for best car, it was just immaculate.

I have said in the past this Countach was my poster car (in white) as a teenager, it’s not often you see one opened up all over like this. I actually got to see the trunk which was just about big enough for a book of matches, with that terrible lack of luggage space in mind, I still want one!!!

Eventually I got back to the car for a well earned rest and refreshments.

I think that the threat of rain on the day kept a few people away, it nearly kept me away. That could well be the main reason that it wasn’t as busy as other years. Still a great show with lots to see.

I left a little early to miss the rush, as it’s always a bit of a nightmare to get out from here with the narrow roads. The trip home was relaxing and enjoyable taking the long way round again. Well, there was one teenager in a Vauxhall Corsa, windows down, an aftermarket loud exhaust the size of my filler cap, over took me coming of a round about onto a dual carriageway. He was making loads of noise and not getting very far, all show and no go! I’m not sure what came over me when I decided to give mine some gas and pull up along side him with a rumbling V8. He glanced over and dropped a gear (I think), to try and pull away, he didn’t. I just laughed and let him go with a point proven; a fifty eight year old car still kept up with that hunk of junk.

Once I got home the car got a quick wipe over to get the field dust of the car before I put it back in the garage and covered it up.

That’s it, car show season 2024 is over me and my Mustang and a bit gutted to say the least. I have made new friends, meet old friends and been to new venues. I shall look forward to meeting more friends next year.

Don’t worry, (not that you were), as there will be more updates on my little ol’ blog. There will be a special post for something amazing in a couple of weeks time. There will be more car detailing reviews with a requested review and things that I wanted to try. A couple of little things I want to do on the car which I will post about when I get round to them over the winter and the weather is kind, there’s no rush at this time of year.

Like all classic cars – they are never finished!

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Unexpected Find

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:

Holley Carb Classic Series Manual (onemanandhismustang.com)

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.

Holley Carb 2Download

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Operation: These valves open gradually in response to the throttle position, providing a smooth and controlled fuel delivery for efficient engine performance.
  4. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

  1. Size and Flow: Secondary valves are usually larger than primary valves, allowing for increased air and fuel flow during high-demand situations.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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:

  1. Customization: Highly customizable due to the wide range of interchangeable parts, making them suitable for fine-tuning specific performance needs.
  2. Performance Focused: Holley carburettors are often favoured in racing and high-performance applications due to their tunability and ability to support significant horsepower.
  3. Availability of Parts: Extensive availability of aftermarket parts and tuning accessories.

Cons:

  1. Complexity: The high level of tunability can make them more complex to set up and adjust, which can be daunting for beginners.
  2. 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:

  1. Ease of Use: Generally easier to install and tune, making them more user-friendly, especially for less experienced users.
  2. Consistency: Known for their reliability and consistency in performance, with less frequent tuning needed.
  3. Fuel Efficiency: Often more fuel-efficient than Holley carburettors, making them a good choice for street-driven vehicles.

Cons:

  1. Limited Customization: Less tunable than Holley carburettors, which might limit their performance potential in highly customized or extreme performance applications.
  2. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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%).
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

How A Carburettor Works

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.

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Ringshall Car Show ’24

Last weekend was going to be a new show for me that I had seen on a few fliers at a previous show. The weather apps all said there would be no rain but there would be one hundred percent cloud coverage. I had no reason to doubt the apps as they had been correct for the last few shows. The show was due to start at nine thirty and finish at one in the afternoon.

I walked out the house and the air was damp, but not raining. I waited a while whilst I uncovered the car and put the cool bag in the trunk. I backed the car out and started my thirty minute journey to the show. As I got onto the main road the air thickened and a few misty drops of rain hit the care. Do I turn round or go back home? I had a couple of miles to travel before I reached a round about to make the decision. The dampness stopped and I decided to carry on.

Just before the village I came round a corner, there it was; PC plod with a camera at a quarter to nine on Sunday morning. The car was hidden down the side out of the way and he was standing by a tree. Honestly there are murderers, terrorists, muggers and weirdos out there which get away scot-free, but a motorist is easy pickings to raise money easily, every time. Nothing better to do than stand in a sleepy village looking for somebody doing the terrible crime of 31mph in a 30mph. It just annoys me, when you get yobs speeding around the towns and doing donuts causing a disturbance, they do nothing. Anyway, ten minutes later I arrived at a village hall and was directed onto a field.

The field itself was a couple of football pitches side by side, yet they parked as on the very left hand side and right at the back of the field. I couldn’t see any reason to park us around the edges to be honest. It would have been better to have us lined up nearer the village hall to save walking across a desolate field.

I parked up and got out spoke to the guys next to me and we had a good chat about the rain forecast, there wasn’t going to be any according to our apps. Yeah right, almost on que the dampness turned into a very light misty light dampness more so than rain. Instead of breaking out the factor fifty, I got the fleece from the trunk. Throughout the next few hours it was the same, the misty rain and then a dry spell. I found a couple of friends and we caught up for a chat. I told them I needed counselling as I was stressing over the rain or potential rain about to come. The sky showed some brighter clouds were moving our way. I decided to stay as the dry spells were warm and the light breeze was drying the rain of the car. The down side was that the rain was leaving little spots on the chrome. The Woolly Mammoth was out and used for drying a couple of times.

There was about fifty or so cars that turned up and left over the morning’s few hours. There were some nice cars and a few three of four year old Jaguars or Mercedes as well, I ignored those as they can be seen at every supermarket car park.

There was an old Gypsy caravan this was the first time I had seen inside one. I don’t know if it was original or not, but it was quite cool.

There was a nice Trans Am in gold, which wasn’t the common black and ‘Smokey & The Bandit’ livery. This for me was my favourite car of the day.

After a wander around I sat down at the rear of the car and got to speaking with a number of nice people.

There was a young guy who’s twelfth birthday was on the show day. His family asked him what he wanted to do for the day and he chose to go to the car show. As a treat I let him sit in the car for a few pictures. A couple of stalls on the field and a few inside the village hall were aimed at the general public and not car people of petrol heads. The turn out would have been better I’m sure with a better weather for sure. I had to finish up with this picture of an adoring dog waiting for its owner to move on and explore more of the hedgerows.

I left the show just before twelve thirty as the rain had stopped, which gave me a window to drive home in the dry. Once I got back to the house the quick detailer was out and I removed the rain spots from the car before I put her away in the garage. The dehumidifier was checked and on to remove any hidden moisture on the car.

Potential for a good show, and I would attend again next year, as long as it don’t rain.

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Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain National Show 2024

This year is the sixtieth year celebration for the launch of the Mustang at the New York Trade Fair in ninteen sixty-four. There have been numerous events around the country to celebrate such an achievement for the iconic Mustang. The Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain (MOCGB) are no exception. The biggest show of the year for many Mustangs owners is the MOCGB National Show, this year it was held at Meldreth, Cambridgeshire on sixteenth June twenty twenty four, on Fathers Day in the UK.

This year, I was determined to go to my first MOCGB national show, even though it’s a little bit of a drive for me, about fifty miles away from my door to the event. For the last ten days I had been watching the weather forecast with interest. Rain forecast on the day and all the way up to the days before. My village was expecting rain on the Sunday morning for a couple of hours, seven till ten. But, the event was due a light shower in the morning and no more rain after nine. I was going to go for it with even with the chance of rain, I hatched a plan.

I had set my alarm for six thirty, aiming to leave at seven, with an ultimate plan of getting to the event early before the gates opened at ten missing the rain. I can’t lie, I was worried as the apps were conflicting each other, if it was raining when I woke up I wouldn’t be going. I woke up at four thirty and opened the blinds a little bit so that I could see out the window from the bed what the weather was doing, or more importantly, what it was going to do. I wasn’t sleeping, do I or don’t I go? Constantly refreshing the weather forecast apps (yes more than one) hoping they would show me what I wanted to see, compared to the real time visual outside. It was getting darker as the minutes passed by, so I got up and got ready as quickly as I could, skipping any breakfast to save time. I filled the cool bag up with the drinks and lunch, grabbed the car keys and stepped, or should I say, staggered out the house a little before five thirty. I needed fuel and so did the car. The usual stop of the Shell garage when travelling in this direction opened at six, with only a slight detour to get to it of the main dual carriageway. I pulled into the garage as it was opening up and lights going on, perfect timing. I filled up and grabbed a can of Red Bull on my way to counter to pay. I drank up on the way to the car and would wait for the rush to kick in shortly. I threw the empty can in the trash before I got back into the car and buckled up.

I was back on the main A14 again within a couple of minutes of leaving the garage and could see in my mirrors the dark clouds following in behind me. The journey was a little tense as a few little pockets of rain hit the car, not enough to put the wipers on, just enough to give me the hump a bit, but I was keeping in front of the rain just. What is even worse than rain? A cyclist hogging the road for no reason. A cycling event was taking place early on a Sunday morning, To be fair to them it wasn’t at a peak time during the day. Some of the these dayglow ‘lycra louts’ were riding two or even three abreast on the left lane of a triple lane carriage way. This A14 is perhaps one of the busiest roads within this and the adjoining county. The only good thing was the roads were fairly quiet at the moment, but cars were swapping lanes avoiding them.

Around half seven, I was just a mile away from the event when the rain started, not heavy enough for the roads to start filling up with puddles as these were now minor back roads. Then a few minutes later the rain stopped just as I pulled into the area main concrete car park, more perfect timing. The master plan had worked, I pretty much beat the rain to the event leaving before the rain hit my village and arriving as the rain was leaving the event. The weather apps both now promised no more rain for the rest of the day. We shall see!

I parked up to dry the the car off and went over to speak to the guys who were still setting up the stand with their merchandise.

I was asked if I was going to enter my car for the judging, I said ‘OK’, thinking it was like most other car shows, if they like it, you get a trophy. They told me to move the car round into the judging area just in front of the main parking area which was separated by barriers. As I was so early, I had the choice where to park, so I parked right in front of the main stand, something I didn’t think through at the time.

However, this judging was going to be a whole new level up for me. The sun was making more frequent little appearances as I was giving the car a better wipe over to make it look more presentable. During this once over stage I was handed a form to fill in; the usual stuff, name, Mustang model, reg number etc. Under those main details were categories with sub categories. Exterior; workmanship, body, paint, bumpers, trim, chrome, gaps, door shuts etc, Underside; exhaust, suspension, fuel tank etc. Interior; seats, trunk, mats, carpets, dash, steering wheel, Wheels & Tyres; cleanliness, condition, wear, so on and so on. I can’t remember all the various categories to be honest. Then there was a last column for the judges to put their comments and scores. This was a pretty serious Mustang version for their style concours judging. However, they do allow for some sensible mods for the older cars. That means you start with one hundred points and then judges knock marks off for things that were wrong or dirty etc. The higher the final score the better. The judging was due to start at eleven(ish) where they started at the far end, working left to right as you look out over to the field. I had to work fast and clean the car for a third time but properly all over again. My trunk looked like I had slept in it on the way down there and needed a good tidy up. I cleaned the spare wheel, wiped over the inside of the paintwork with quick detailer. I took out the chair and show board and arranged everything still left in the trunk as neatly as my OCD would allow. I carry everything I need for detailing, such a quick detailer, hard wax, spray wax, tyre finish, glass cleaner, degreaser, engine dressing, rubber treatment, you name it it’s in the trunk. I don’t carry the full bottles as I decant the products into smaller bottles, they last a couple of shows before they need a top up. That way I save space and it’s easier to store more products.

I got to talking to some others who had now now pulled up and started cleaning their cars too, they were cleaning door hinges to remove excess grease, cleaning their exhausts, even inside the exhausts tips too. I was now cleaning everything with a full on hot flush going on and looking like I had literally just got out of that messy trunk. I managed to ruin a couple of good microfibre cloths while multi step cleaning of various areas. I only take good cloths with me to shows and not the more general ‘work’ cloths, that will now change going forward – just in case. Time was running out, but I did as much as I could for a couple of short hours. The judges eventually got to my car.

There was nothing more I could do except now go for a wander around the field to look at all the other amazing Mustangs; classic, modern, resto mod and everything in between. With these first few pics I was trying to take in the scale of the show. This first pic I took was earlier in the morning, before the majority of the other cars arrived. I think as the sun came out and stayed out, those that were in two minds to come or not, then decided to go to the show a little later on in the morning.

Due to the now accurate weather forecast a few promised cars didn’t make it to the show unfortunately. However there was some stunning cars here, something for everybody.

There is no particular order to these cars I just wandered up and down the lines. The sun was becoming more prominent and longer lasting spells as the day wore on. I spoke to my wife who informed me that it poured down in our village about half an hour after I left.

There was a few non Mustangs that gate crashed the show but still Fords such as Falcons and the odd truck.

Amongst the Mustangs there was some other really nice non Ford American muscle arrive and a lonely VW;

Adam and Lance from Mustang Maniac attended with their 1973 Convertible and GT350 respectively.

There was some stalls around the outside, selling their wares, food, a bar with a break out area with support for the East Anglian Air Ambulance charity too.

After I got back to the car it was time to check out some more of the other cars that had be judged and then a well earned sit down, something to eat and chat to lots of nice people.

At around three in the afternoon the winning trophies were to announced and given out.

There were different categories Concours 1964.5 – 1968, Concours 1969 – 1993, Concours 1994 – 2016, Triple Six motorcycles Choice of Show, Father’s Day award (chosen by the kids), Best modified and Mustang Maniac’s Choice of Show.

The proceedings started with the the 1964.5 to 1968 category reading out in reverse order the points awarded; 3rd was announced, 2nd was announced then with 96 points my name was called out, I had won! There were pictures taken at the time of all the winners, but to be honest – I looked a mess from the morning’s charging around, I never really recovered from it, so I look a bit rough and have seen thge photo’s. 🤦‍♂️ I was asked a few questions and I answered, the MC got my first name wrong as well, “Matt” instead of “Mart”! I didn’t care to be honest, I was trying to take it all in.

I took the trophy back to the car which was only a few paces away and put it pride of place on the air intake.

The rest of the trophies were given out to the other very deserving winners. Shortly after that there was the raffle which went on for ages as some people had already left meaning that their unclaimed winning ticket were redrawn.

As I was in the middle of the main area I couldn’t leave until the area had cleared and it was safe for me to drive out. That oversight was my own fault for parking where I did. The area cleared eventually and I left just after four. Although I left at the end of the show, I maintained a silly grin on my face all the way home which must have looked strange if you saw me in the car.

To win this type of trophy on an important anniversary for the Mustang means so much to me. Thanks to the Mustang Owners Club of Great Britain for putting on a great show and for being very well organised.

When I got home I cleaned the car before covering it up in the garage and took a last photo.

I took the trophy in and placed it on the mantlepiece for the wife to admire with me. She liked it for a while, then I got the “OK, that can go in the garage with the others now”. It’s still there (for now), as I think my wife has given me one week’s grace as I’m so proud of it! I deliberately don’t post when I have won any of my other trophies or prizes as it can sound conceited, but on this occasion I hope you will forgive me.

What a great day and a memory to last a lifetime.

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No Going Back

There has always been a little bit of niggle with my car but never really an issue, but nice to sort out. The issue was that my car has always needed a few cranks to turn over before it fires up after standing for a while (weeks). I have spoken to the guys at Mustang Maniac who suggested a non return valve to stop the fuel draining away could be a quick fix. The long term would be a fuel pump and return line, a little bit of overkill what I was describing as an issue. They don’t actively sell the valves, but they gave me one of theirs that they sometimes fit for certain cars with my ‘issue’. This particular design is subtle and and not a big hulking beast in the middle of a fuel line which can look rather cumbersome and out of place. In fact the outside of the valve is just about the same size as the outside diameter of the fuel pipe. I now had a mini project to complete and was looking forward to this one, even though it was fuel related.

While I was at it fitting the valve I decided to clean out the inline fuel filter which was looking a bit grubby after sitting in the garage over the winter months. Where the hard line fuel pipe comes through the inner fender apron there is a rubber pipe that goes to the inlet of the mechanical fuel pump. My fuel filter sits on that line. Most filters are plastic, or more factory correct would be the large metal cylinder design. Mine is a glass (quite thick) and unscrews at each end to allow easy access for removing the filter itself.

I removed the jubilee clips at each end and removed the whole fuel line, to be safe I also capped of the hard fuel line as it comes through the inner apron (circled below right).

Important: When removing the fuel line, if you suspected that there is fuel in the pipe, be well prepared to catch it and temporarily block it off. You don’t want a gravity spewing the fuel all over the floor leaving you in a dangerous situation.

With the complete length removed, the old clips on the pipe and fuel filter were removed in order to start the cleaning and refit. The old pipe had lemon clips holding the filter in place and needed to be cut off. These clips would be replaced with new reusable low profile clips.

I had also gotten a new length of E10 fuel resistant hose, just for the sake of replacing it with a fresh piece of pipe. I only ever used E10 fuel once very early on in by restoration, and I won’t ever use it again. The reason was that the E10 fuel caused me issues, 1) the car ran like an asthmatic 7 cylinder with very rough running and idle, 2) it’s nasty and has a devastating toll for all the fuel components which the devils blood itself comes into contact with, nothing is spared; plastic, rubber or metal.

Fuel filters are of a single flow direction, make sure you get it right when fitting back to the car.

With the filter in bits I cleaned the filter itself with 99% isopropanol alcohol. The filter wasn’t that dirty to be fair, but there was a fuel particles which were removed with a small soft nylon brush. Once the filter was cleaned it dried very quickly and was ready for reassembly and fitting.

The glass case and end fittings were also cleaned with an isopropanol soaked non lint cloth. I also took the time to polish the metal end fittings as they clean up nicely. (Notice the big bold ‘IN’ and ‘OUT’ on each end.)

The total length of the original fuel line was measured, (the rubber either side of the filter, to the fuel pump and the apron). I made a the calculations to incorporate the non return valve, there now needed to be three lengths cut to the correct lengths instead of the two previous lengths. (Fuel pump to filter, filter to valve, valve to apron hard line.)

The picture here below, shows the filter ‘IN’ (notice the ‘N’ is back to front), and the direction flow of the non-return valve. This flow direction is critical to get the fuel filtered correctly and allow the fuel to flow to the carb.

The hose fasteners are of a new design being trialled from Mustang Maniac which are simply clipped into place. The clips just slip over the pipe and are pinched closed over a raised retaining ridge in the centre. Once they have been pinched closed enough the clip will just click and lock into place. To remove the clips you can use an awl or small screw driver to lever the clip back up from under the larger of the two raised ridges. The fastener will then just spring open again allowing removal.

You will need a very good pair of pliers to hold and grip the clip in order to close it enough without slipping. These fittings are a very, very tight fitting. They look the part, but I’m not sure I would use them again in a confined space. They are fine for connecting fittings like this fuel line when you have plenty of space to work and accessibility. Cut the lengths of hose allowing enough flexibility between each of the component parts.

I started measuring from the fuel pump and worked backwards towards the apron. The non return valve should be placed before the fuel filter, this would keep a reservoir of fuel within the filter.

The completed fuel line is completed. For each end of the new fuel line configuration I will used standard jubilee clips. This then allows for an easier fitting with a screw driver and easier access. More importantly it will allow me to loosen the the complete line without disturbing the clips. Once the line is loosened at each end I will be able to unscrew the filter and clean with the rest of the fuel line configuration in place.

With the new fuel line configuration in place it looks neat and now serves a dual purpose for filtering and non return.

The fuel flows and retains the fuel up to the carb allowing easier starting. The actual design of the non return valve is slightly irrelevant, but its functionality is the important thing. This slimline design is subtle and neat and doesn’t look to out of place for a stock looking engine bay. The whole thing took around an hour or so to complete. The hardest part was to cut the lemon clips off with damaging the fuel filter. The upgrade has been in place for a couple of months now and it has made a significant difference to the starting of the car in scenarios both cold and hot. This was well worth the effort in my opinion. However, with my naturally suspicious nature it determines that I always carry a spare length of new E10 fuel line just in case of emergencies, or maybe if the valve decides to play up. That way it’s a very simple quick and easy temporary fix for a replacement on the roadside if you need to, then sort it out properly when you get home.

I’m really pleased with the look of the part and the improved functionality that I now have.

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