Out of hibernation...

[7173Vert]

What a challenge for me to post video's.... Thank god my son is home from school and i can bore him by having him help me upload my video from my iPhone to the computer..... i did take her for a four mile drive, first since the restoration to blow out all the crap and start burning off the older fuel... ran quite well, had her up to an amazing 60 mph... keep in mind, that I am still a little tentative as the car has never been driven since completing the restoration and have yet to work out any of the kinks... 4 miles for this year, an improvement over last year No hater's please  

https://youtu.be/ty6ULY0d1TE

https://youtu.be/agPvzLWUOyY

 

[TommyK]

What a challenge for me to post video's.... Thank god my son is home from school and i can bore him by having him help me upload my video from my iPhone to the computer..... i did take her for a four mile drive, first since the restoration to blow out all the crap and start burning off the older fuel... ran quite well, had her up to an amazing 60 mph... keep in mind, that I am still a little tentative as the car has never been driven since completing the restoration and have yet to work out any of the kinks... 4 miles for this year, an improvement over last year No hater's please  

https://youtu.be/ty6ULY0d1TE

https://youtu.be/agPvzLWUOyY

Who could hate on such an accomplishment?  Frankly I am jealous!

Beautiful car!

 

[donkost]

I don't blame you one bit. I have a very nice driver quality '71 Mach 1 429 CJ-R 4 speed car, which I'd estimate is between Hagerty 2 and 3 condition. I am very paranoid about taking the car out these days with people texting and driving, and other distractions. Even if people are chatting away on their phone hands-free, they are still not concentrating on driving. And if you spent around $100K Canadian or USD on that restoration, if it were me the car would never touch the pavement. lol You must cringe each time you hear a small pebble bounce off the rockers. I debated sinking money into my Mach 1 to get it closer to a solid Hagerty condition 2, but then I would probably drive it even less. Instead I picked up a mid-engined Italian car, and now I'm also looking at a early 1950's Pontiac Chieftain with a Straight 8. I was going to ask if you went with the Firestone Wide Oval bias-ply tires or the more recent ones which are radial construction. I am considering having these installed onto my original Magnum 500 wheels. It sounds like you said bias-ply in the video. I haven't ridden on bias-ply tires since 1980 but I remember how they were (a bit "squirrely"?). Still, you could consider it part of the classic driving experience, just like it would have been in 1971. Oh and the car looks and sounds awesome. I turned up my pc speakers which have a sub-woofer for the full 429 effect.

 

[7173Vert]

What a challenge for me to post video's.... Thank god my son is home from school and i can bore him by having him help me upload my video from my iPhone to the computer..... i did take her for a four mile drive, first since the restoration to blow out all the crap and start burning off the older fuel... ran quite well, had her up to an amazing 60 mph... keep in mind, that I am still a little tentative as the car has never been driven since completing the restoration and have yet to work out any of the kinks... 4 miles for this year, an improvement over last year No hater's please  

https://youtu.be/ty6ULY0d1TE

https://youtu.be/agPvzLWUOyY

Who could hate on such an accomplishment?  Frankly I am jealous!

Beautiful car!

Thanks! Some people choose to give a hard time to those that choose not to drive their car... If they truly understood the effort, time and money invested, they might see the light in relation to how some owner’s chhose to look after “their” car. I made the decision from the get go on this restoration that the car was going to be restored to a very high level. This costs mega $$$. As the restoration progressed I realized the car had become more then just that..., I knew it would not be a driver when completed. The four miles I put it on her today served two purposes: First, to realize the completion of my dream when I first acquired the car; to drive it down the same road upon completion of the restoration that I first drove it when it was delivered to my home, barely running... Secondly, you have to be sure the car will actually drive when required... it passed this test with flying colour’s. It will now become solely my show car, and I am in the process of purchasing an enclosed trailer to transport it. I bought a ‘73 vert that I use as my summer cruiser, it is a nice car also. Cheers

 

[7173Vert]

I don't blame you one bit.  I have a very nice driver quality '71 Mach 1 429 CJ-R 4 speed car, which I'd estimate is between Hagerty 2 and 3 condition.  I am very paranoid about taking the car out these days with people texting and driving, and other distractions.  Even if people are chatting away on their phone hands-free, they are still not concentrating on driving.  And if you spent around $100K Canadian or USD on that restoration, if it were me the car would never touch the pavement.  lol  You must cringe each time you hear a small pebble bounce off the rockers.  I debated sinking money into my Mach 1 to get it closer to a solid Hagerty condition 2, but then I would probably drive it even less.  Instead I picked up a mid-engined Italian car, and now I'm also looking at a early 1950's Pontiac Chieftain with a Straight 8.  I was going to ask if you went with the Firestone Wide Oval bias-ply tires or the more recent ones which are radial construction.  I am considering having these installed onto my original Magnum 500 wheels.  It sounds like you said bias-ply in the video.  I haven't ridden on bias-ply tires since 1980 but I remember how they were (a bit "squirrely"?).  Still, you could consider it part of the classic driving experience, just like it would have been in 1971.  Oh and the car looks and sounds awesome.  I turned up my pc speakers which have a sub-woofer for the full 429 effect.

Thanks for your thoughts. You get it  I chose to stick with the bias ply version, similar to factory for the over all authentic look. I knew it was not going to be driven on a regular basis or I would have definitely bought the radial version. See my comments above, that addresses my general thought process on this restoration. The sub woofer makes it worth while  ::thumb:: Yes, I’m done driving the car for any distance for the foreseeable future. Thanks for your comments.

 

[clevelandcoupe]

Absolutely stunning restoration.....

Ken you should be very proud of your accomplishments, a beautiful car for sure.

Are you are going to show it at Carlisle in June ? I would love to see it.....

Thanks, Jay

 

[jpaz]

Your car is sweet! Doesn’t matter how much you drive it as long as it puts a smile on your face. Agree with others that I would be very hesitant to drive it much either. With all that you put into it, and I don’t mean just the cash, you did a ton of work on that car. It turned out beautiful!

 

[7173Vert]

Absolutely stunning restoration.....

Ken you should be very proud of your accomplishments, a beautiful car for sure.

Are you are going to show it at Carlisle in June ? I would love to see it.....

Thanks, Jay

Jay, cheque is in the mail  :angel: Seriously, yes, I am pleased with the end result, a couple things I could re-do if I could go back... But, in the end, the car came a long way from when I received it. Shows this year are questionable as I am in the midst of moving... I will get the car down to the USA a few times in the next few years. I’ll let you know...

 

[7173Vert]

Your car is sweet! Doesn’t matter how much you drive it as long as it puts a smile on your face. Agree with others that I would be very hesitant to drive it much either. With all that you put into it, and I don’t mean just the cash, you did a ton of work on that car. It turned out beautiful!

Thanks. The money is always an issue... but, I had put aside a fair amount initially. I just went $50K over budget  :shootself: ... But as most here know, it is all of the time, effort, desire, the head aches, the surprises, the let downs... that in the end once it is completed; make it all worthwhile. Don’t regret it at all. Cheers

 

[secluff]

A sleeping giant awakens!  I know for the past couple of years it's been a lot of heartache, money, paint problems (hood), money, endless period correct part searches, did I mention $$Money$$....?  I know  there were times when you probably  wondered if you would ever get to the finish line. Plus you have been such a good sport when  I've mentioned  (a couple of times)  about the four Q/Jet and intakes I pitched.  :whistling:

Understand thoroughly about not wanting to drive a car of that caliber very often. With all the inattentive drivers checking E-Mails, texting, dressing, eating Big Macs etc, they don't really have time to see who they are fixing to nail at a traffic light while still running 60 MPH!    

Friend of mine owns a 68 GT500KR Shelby with approx 26K miles. Too many close calls while driving has caused him to park it and only take to Shelby meets. I know he misses driving it daily, but doesnt want to risk it in today's type of traffic. 

As far as the video while driving....enjoyed the ride but someone would have to put a shock collar on me to keep from pressing the pedal down at least just once. Those 385's do make a wonderful sound at WOT!!

Great job Ken. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[7173Vert]

A sleeping giant awakens!  I know for the past couple of years it's been a lot of heartache, money, paint problems (hood), money, endless period correct part searches, did I mention $$Money$$....?  I know  there were times when you probably  wondered if you would ever get to the finish line. Plus you have been such a good sport when  I've mentioned  (a couple of times)  about the four Q/Jet and intakes I pitched.  :whistling:

Understand thoroughly about not wanting to drive a car of that caliber very often. With all the inattentive drivers checking E-Mails, texting, dressing, eating Big Macs etc, they don't really have time to see who they are fixing to nail at a traffic light while still running 60 MPH!    

Friend of mine owns a 68 GT500KR Shelby with approx 26K miles. Too many close calls while driving has caused him to park it and only take to Shelby meets. I know he misses driving it daily, but doesnt want to risk it in today's type of traffic. 

As far as the video while driving....enjoyed the ride but someone would have to put a shock collar on me to keep from pressing the pedal down at least just once. Those 385's do make a wonderful sound at WOT!!

Great job Ken. Thanks for sharing with us.

Steve, you were a great help at times with my restoration with your Ford parts search knowledge... Much appreciated. Sometimes you have to laugh or you might cry... As for stomping on her... The engine really does have very low hours and I want to break it in more before any fun stuff. Cheers

 

[Fabrice]

Water mouthing.

One day I might experience that feeling too! One day...

 

[Kellogg]

Very well done. Hope to see your car at one of the shows around Ontario this summer

 

[7173Vert]

Water mouthing.

One day I might experience that feeling too! One day...

I follow your restoration with interest. As you go from component to component, smallest item to the largest, it brings back fond memories of my day’s and nights working on mine. I wish I had your plating skills at the time, very hard to find these day’s. But, before you know, all the hard work will payoff and you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour. You’ll get there.

 

[7173Vert]

Very well done. Hope to see your car at one of the shows around Ontario this summer

I’m considering my options... It has yet to be seen in any manner by the public. Burlington? Close. My parents live in Oakville. I grew up in New Toronto on the Lakeshore...

 

[mach71351c]

That car is just so nice!  ::thumb::

 

[Pegleg]

Its great you got to enjoy your first drive after the resto

 

[Stillakid54]

Stunning Ken. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

Fantastic video showing the phenomenal job you did on the restoration. Love the sound and seeing the car with some of the details.

I have yet to get mine out of the garage -- let's face it the good days have been few and far between - but also in the middle of moving 90 yr mother into Senior living apt and cleaning out / getting realtor listing of home she's been in since 1954. I'm looking forward to seeing the real thing sometime over the summer after your move.