Messages

  When I first bought my GT500 it had been sitting for over 10 years, I was planning on trailering it, but my brother talked me out of it, he said "When will you ever get a chance to drive a Shelby across country like that and not have to worry about the paint"? I explained to him that with it sitting so long, who knows what part might give out. He said, "I thought you could fix anything"? So my Ego and I took a very humbling and long trip from Arlington Wa to Tucson Az., but thats a story in itself!

 I don't know about most people, but I buy my cars strictly for an investment!.............an investment in my Soul! not for monetary purpose. I love the way they make me feel when I drive them. Fun, excitement and nostalgia!

  Here's the original carpet out of my Shelby #1141. Even though it was a molded carpet it was cut and spliced in the corner for better fit. Don't know what they use for glue but you couldn't pull the reinforcement piece off if you tried.

 After over 40+ years in the auto repair/restoration business, specializing in the upholstery/trimmer. It is my observation that I would have to agree with what Coralsnake said. My Shelby sat for 40 years with 72,000 original miles with only a repaint. The car is Gulfstream Aqua, white interior, with only red inserts in the carpet. The carpet had never been out of the car before, as when i pulled it out all the underlayment was still in place and undisturbed, all  the correct seatbelt washers and sealer was there and in the correct order, plus the seat bolts under the car only left one semi circle mark left by the nut/washer. the only time I have seen white seats with Red inserts or Black carpet with four black inserts was when they were made by an aftermarket company. Just my observation.

 Just for conversations sake imagine, removing your hood from your car, now you will have two hood hinges in the up position with the spring in normal resting position. Now push the hood hinge down (the position it would be in if you had a closed hood) the spring would be stretched, but would stay down on it own, since its designed to rest in this position causing NO LOAD?or Pressure on the hood what so ever! So can you explain to me how the springs put pressure on the hood when its in the closed positions? My thought is that since the hood is fastened at the front by the hood latch and fastened at the rear with the hood hinges, the upward pressure of the air cleaner seal is the only thing pushing up on the hood and with the heat maybe the real issue? plus possibly that pressure of closing the hood too, when the springs are being stretched!

 They were built to be driven!..........enjoy the drive!!!

 The Day after I bought it, roadtrip to take it home to Tucson from Arlington, Wa.

 
I bought my Shelby decades ago, it came with a brand new trunk lace kit. It looked good, but only at about 100ft.! I decided it wouldn't do, so I bought a new kit from Jim@Shelbyparts.com, It was absolutely perfect! And I'm a picky SOB. Just another happy customer!

just my Two cents, since I've bought and sold material to SMS since they began. SMS usually only carries two types of comfortweave material, OEM or pressed pattern material. If its actually woven vinyl then its probably OEM as no one that I know of is reproducing this material as it was originally made! As far as the pattern being more define, it should! Its new, place it in your oven at about 100 degrees F. for a day and see how it looks then! ......maybe I should state that I'm not advocating that you do that, but that it would give you an idea on why the defination on the orignal interior is not as sharp!

  Hi, I just want to throw my two cents in! Over 40 years experience in the automotive field, just to give you a little background. When it comes to dying vinyl, SEMs has always worked best for me, VHT in the past had problems with adhering, They may be better now? Silicon is not your friend, it must be cleaned off thoroughly. Simple Green works great for this, but you must make sure all the cleaner (dried soap film) is washed off too, I usually final rinse with plain water and a dry off with air, terry towels and fiber towels will work but leave lint behide, so be sure to blow it off and let the item dry completely. Most vinyl dyes will wear off in high wear areas, like seats, non wear surfaces surfaces like dash, kick panels, package trays, etc. are great canidates for dying, on plastics I've found that "Sand Free" applied to a clean surface promotes better adhesion for the dye. Seat belts on the other hand should be rewebbed if they are faded, because they are compromised
in stregth. Plus if you do dye them, you take the chance of color transfer to clothes and possible other interior pieces. Hope this helps!

 I think if you don't have a welder or know how to weld, you are not going to be able to make the correct repair, it might be prudent to take it to an upholstery shop and have the work done, if you feel confident to do the repairs then you can take the Backrest off the seat while its in the car, remove the cover and foam, then you should be able to see where the welds are cracked by flexing the frame!

 The front seat backrest only has two support spots for it. One is where the seat is latched and the other is the support bumpers on the opposite side, the bumpers sometimes get compressed or are missing! Which sometimes causes, especially the drivers seat to twist the backrest back on the right side, which breaks the welds. People tend to reach into their pocket for the keys, while you are reaching into your pocket, you will push against the floor with your right foot and subsequently push on the backrest on the right side, causing damage to the backrest. Hope this helps!