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Got new tires.... BFG Radial T/A 295s and 245s

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1971 M-code Mach 1
Those look awesome! I can't wait to see them on your car! ::thumb::

But I'm still a little pissed (not at you, BTW) - I always wanted BFGs because they're SO cool... the perfect 'muscle car' tire if there ever was one. I ordered the exact tires from Summit in March 2014, received the 245s within a few days, but the 295s were back-ordered to BFG. I checked other vendors (including JEGS, Tire Rack, Discount Tire, Pep Boys, Sears, pretty much everybody - same story). After they kept pushing the 'estimated delivery date' out past Sept 2014, I canceled the order, sold the 245s, and bought a set of Cooper Cobras from Discount Tire - which I took home that day. I had even tried to find Mastercrafts and Mickey Thompsons... but nobody had any of those, either.

I feel like I'm 'stuck' with the Cobras, especially since everybody seems to have nothing but negativity for them. I guess the only solution is to burn 'em down as quickly as possible and get a set of BFGs on order to replace them, eh? rofl

Again though - Congrats!

 
Got new tires.... BFG Radial T/A 295s and 245s

2350b9d186dfba1d493fe7be3577948a.jpg


1971 M-code Mach 1
Those look awesome! I can't wait to see them on your car! ::thumb::

But I'm still a little pissed (not at you, BTW) - I always wanted BFGs because they're SO cool... the perfect 'muscle car' tire if there ever was one. I ordered the exact tires from Summit in March 2014, received the 245s within a few days, but the 295s were back-ordered to BFG. I checked other vendors (including JEGS, Tire Rack, Discount Tire, Pep Boys, Sears, pretty much everybody - same story). After they kept pushing the 'estimated delivery date' out past Sept 2014, I canceled the order, sold the 245s, and bought a set of Cooper Cobras from Discount Tire - which I took home that day. I had even tried to find Mastercrafts and Mickey Thompsons... but nobody had any of those, either.

I feel like I'm 'stuck' with the Cobras, especially since everybody seems to have nothing but negativity for them. I guess the only solution is to burn 'em down as quickly as possible and get a set of BFGs on order to replace them, eh? rofl

Again though - Congrats!
I understand that the 295s were phased out by BFG at some time, and then, they brought them back. I assume they are a relatively low demand tire, and if there are any issues in the supply chain they will be one of the first ones to get cut.

1971 M-code Mach 1

 
Well, hopefully with the resurgence of people restoring muscle cars, they'll still be plentiful enough by the time I wear out these Cobras. ;)

 
Tires installed!

I thought my wheels were 8", but they were 7.5". The 295s are recommended for 8"+, but I think I should be alright. While I research I did not find anyone using 295s in 7.5", but found that it is not abnormal for OEMs (including brands such as Porsche) to use tire and wheel combinations outside the tire manufacturers specs. So I hope my 0.5" off is okay. The tire shop did not complain either.

The tires look awesome. The rears look a bit bulgy but not as bad as I was expecting. The rear tires fit completely under the fender and there is still room in the inside for a bigger tire if you have the right wheel offset. If I get full suspension compression I may have a little bit of rubbing depending if the wheel gets pushed out, but nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of lip bending or grinding. We are talking 1/16" or a very small amount. If I ever get full compression I would know.

These are not the best pictures since I took them late in my garage. Once the endless rain goes away I will take some outdoor pictures.

Edit: tires are BFG Radial T/A 295/50R15 and 245/60R15, for rear and front, respectively.

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Hi Tony,

Congrats on the new tires. They look pretty good. Yeah 8 to 10 inch is the recommended rim width for the 295/50 x 15 tires. I'm no expert here, but you should be OK from what i know. You will get more side wall bulge though.

Enjoy.

Greg.:)

 
Removed the heater box....oh man!! If it ain't one thing is two others!!!



Box Broken - fixable?



Rust!!!!

Take a look:



Got the box out without taking the dash out....just the glove box.

There are two other holes in the heater box - both are at the locations where the bolts go though the fire wall. Over tightened and snapped...maybe. Fixable? Not sure...maybe Lord Fuce or duro-glass.

 
Well, today it's raining... but yesterday, actually... no kidding... drove my car - on a real road, at 55 mph, and everything... and it was Freaken AWESOME!!! ::thumb::

Yesterday was the 'Ruckus at the Rec Camp,' which has replaced the annual Goodfellow AFB Rec Camp Car Show. They decided to combine the annual car show with the Armed Forces Chili Cook-Off, and had a concert immediately following. To sweeten the pot, Horny Mike and Ryan from Count's Kustoms/Counting Cars were invited. About 60 cars showed up, not a slouch in the crowd, and it was a pretty good turn-out considering the event wasn't as well-publicized as it should've been (which I was actually asked to help the cause for next year's event).

Horny Mike and Ryan are absolutely awesome! They're friendly, they goof on each other, they really love cars (all cars), and talking with their fans, car guys or not. Class acts, both of them... they represented Danny Koker, Count's Kustoms, Counting Cars, and themselves extremely well. I hope we can get them and/or some of the other guys at Count's Kustoms to come out again next year!

My pal Jim and I started out the day meeting up at my house to drive to the show together... I was actually afraid of not making it to the closest gas station, since my gas gauge was only slightly above "E." This turned out to be another "Jim & Eric Adventure." We're driving along, Jim behind me in his awesome '75 CJ-5, and as I pull into the gas station, my phone rings (through the Retrosound stereo... which freaked me right the Hell out, since I don't have 'hands-free' in any of my other cars). It was Jim - he's out of gas. WTF? I look around, and notice he's nowhere around. Crap. So, I gassed up with about 10 gallons, any my fuel gauge is now reading slightly below "F." OK... so the gauge or the sender is having issues... hmmmm. Whatever. I drove back to where Jim was and grabbed one of his 5-gallon Jerry cans and went back to the gas station, filled it up, went back to Jim and poured it into his new 21-gallon tank - which he had just put 5-gallons in the day before. WTF? So, after getting his heat-soaked carb to cooperate, we fired up and went back to the gas station. We added another 10 gallons, and now he's only showing 1/2 tank. OK - so he's got sender issues, too. Whatever - we have a car show to go to.

Grabbed some cold drinks and took off down Knickerbocker road (4-lane w/turning lane, 55 mph) and the whole time I'm praying, "please don't drop the drive shaft... please don't drop the drive shaft... please don't drop the drive shaft..." (since the last time I drove it around the back streets at 30 mph, I dropped the drive shaft...). I fell into 'formation' with a Honda Pilot and kept pace (since I still don't have my speedometer cable installed) and next thing I know - we're there! The Mach 1 did GREAT!! Temp was good (1/3-ish), oil pressure stayed good, brakes stopped me just fine, but the transmission shifted a little hard and a little bit late for my liking... more adjustment on the TV needed.

Got our car show tickets at the gate, and we rolled down the main drag of the Rec Camp and headed toward our slots, which my other friend Harry had reserved for us. I barely made it to my slot, because everybody was crowding me out, trying to get a look while I'm making my way to the other end of the car show area. I finally get there and try to back it in... almost missed... and tried to re-park it to be a little more centered, but it was too late - about 30 people had already gathered around the car. Holy Cow! I was blown away by how many people were checking it out. I had intended on running the duster over the car again, shaking the floor mats one last time, and even hitting the chrome one last time just in case I'd gotten some fingerprints anywhere. Nope - not gonna happen. I barely got a chance to sit down maybe 3 times during the whole show, everybody wanted to talk about the car and tell me their stories of how much they loved the '71-'73 Mustangs that had been in their lives 'back in the day.'

The show concluded as it was starting into dusk, with a looming thunderstorm helping it get darker quicker. Horny Mike and Ryan helped hand out the awards, took pictures with everybody, and just made the whole thing so much better, considering it seemed like everything was falling apart (new car show management rookie mistakes... no biggie). I was SO happy when the Mustang won Best In Class - '70-'79 Modified - Ryan shook my hand and handed me the plaque! But then, I was blown away when I got called up again for the "People's Choice Award." OMG!!! No Way!! Horny Mike and Ryan presented and posed for a pic (which I need to get a copy of from Wing Public Affairs).

We had to get out of there since it was getting dark and my headlights are currently aimed worse than Marty Feldman's eyes, and they were getting ready to kick off the concert. Grabbed a couple of quick pics on the cell phone and took off again. Jim took the lead, and once again, the Mach 1 drove at around 55-60 mph with no issues. I paid a little closer attention this time and it ran like a Champ - drove nice and everything!

Wow! What a day!

Here's one of the rare moments there wasn't anybody checking it out.

GAFBcarshow2016-1.jpg

And here are a couple more as the show finished up just before we left the show area.

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GAFBcarshow2016-3.jpg

Sorry for the novel - I just wanted to share how cool my day went. It finally sunk in for me a bit of just how far my Mustang's come along since I've owned it... literally a rust pile in the shape of a '71 Mach 1 with a seized engine, Fred Flintstone floors, and a chain holding the gas tank in-place. Now, it's legal to drive, quite the eye-catcher, and total blast as well... not to mention I did pretty much everything myself with all y'all's help, excellent advice, and unfailing encouragement. Thank you all SO much for being part of this experience with me!

EDIT: Almost forgot - here's the hardware. :whistling:

GAFBcarshow2016-4.jpg

 
Well done Eric!

Wow!, what a blast of a day you had, and bringing in those awards as well. You must be a very happy and proud man, and going through what you have with your resto, you deserve every bit of it.

Sounds like you have some fine tuning to do on the old girl though - which will come, but she looks really great in the pics. It's also great to get all that attention on your car as well. I can relate to that as i get very good public feedback whenever i'm out and about as well. It's a buzz.

Congrats mate, and well done!::thumb::

Greg.:)

 
Tires installed!

I thought my wheels were 8", but they were 7.5". The 295s are recommended for 8"+, but I think I should be alright. While I research I did not find anyone using 295s in 7.5", but found that it is not abnormal for OEMs (including brands such as Porsche) to use tire and wheel combinations outside the tire manufacturers specs. So I hope my 0.5" off is okay. The tire shop did not complain either.

The tires look awesome. The rears look a bit bulgy but not as bad as I was expecting. The rear tires fit completely under the fender and there is still room in the inside for a bigger tire if you have the right wheel offset. If I get full suspension compression I may have a little bit of rubbing depending if the wheel gets pushed out, but nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of lip bending or grinding. We are talking 1/16" or a very small amount. If I ever get full compression I would know.

These are not the best pictures since I took them late in my garage. Once the endless rain goes away I will take some outdoor pictures.

Edit: tires are BFG Radial T/A 295/50R15 and 245/60R15, for rear and front, respectively.
SWEET! ::thumb::

I have a set of 33x15.50 Swampers on my Jeep, and the tire shop originally tried to get me to order 15x14 rims. I insisted on 15x10s, and mentioned that I'd read somewhere that the wider tires would actually seat the beads better... which, they actually agreed and said I was being smart to do so.

Granted, 33" tall tires have a lot more sidewall, but I can't help thinking that if there was such a problem that the tire shop would've simply elected to not mount them up.

Nothing wrong with some extra sidewall bulge - looks tough! :bravo:

 
I thought, what a great day to take the 'stang out and get rear ended while stopped about a dozen cars back from a traffic light. :mad: :banghead:

I wonder what the twenty one year old could have been doing that would distract her enough to not see a long line of cars not moving?

WP_20160928_002.jpg


 
I thought, what a great day to take the 'stang out and get rear ended while stopped about a dozen cars back from a traffic light. :mad: :banghead:

I wonder what the twenty one year old could have been doing that would distract her enough to not see a long line of cars not moving?

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That sucks - glad your OK

 
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