Mustang Project: July 2017
My 1967 Mustang has been going through the fairly slow process of being pieced back together and several changes to the old equipment are happening. The old, tired 289 motor has been replaced by a custom 302 built by Twister Engines in Alpharetta, GA. Gary Grimes did a masterful job building a motor that will provide around 350 horse power, all the power this 1967 Shelby clone should ever need. Gary and Phil O’Brien, the shop owner at OFI Classic Cars, are great older gentlemen who have a life-long passion for building, restoring and simply being around older cars.
Gary connected with my story of this old Mustang so well that he actually sold me the motor for several thousand less than he spent building it. When I asked him why, he said he appreciated the effort I was putting into bringing this beauty back to life and wanted to provide a motor that would not give me any trouble. Gary actually picked better parts for just about every component of the motor. He also topped it off with an electronic controlled fuel system with a dedicated computer. This computer will change settings depending on how I’m driving the car (maybe I’m feeling a little heavy footed that day) and the driving conditions.
I would like to thank Gary Grimes and his great staff. If you are ever in need of a solid, high performance motor I would strongly urge you to look them up. The finalized motor was placed on a Dyno after construction and sure enough it topped out at just over 350 horse power!
The months of body work were fun to watch but a car is just a shell until you drop the motor in; now I’m getting excited. When I asked Phil how much longer until she is ready to hit the road, I figured it wouldn’t be long now, he quickly reset my expectations when he told me we still have a few months to go. The next phase includes seats, interior, air conditioning, and a number of motor related items like the cooling system and exhaust.
One thing about restoring old cars, it is a process that cannot be rushed. This project is approaching one year of off and on work. Considering several local and regional shops that specialize in rebuilding old cars said they could not even start my project for a year or two, I guess I am ahead of schedule and appreciate the quality work being done by a caring staff.
Until next time, Ken
