Category Archives: Overhaulit

Come along for the ride in this 100-part series as we take three class cars – a 1965 Ford Mustang, a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette and a 1970 Plymouth – and overhaul them into dream rides!

Overhaulit Part 71
When everything is new in a completely
untried engine combination, you get . . .

Overview

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Description

Systems overload!
Bolting on the Procharger supercharger and keeping the carburetor, we made 830 horsepower with relatively low boost pressure. With a good-running engine and baseline, we could then get our tuner guy to fly in for our fuel-injection conversion.

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Overhaulit Part 72
First base

Overview

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Description

This is it. The moment where months and months of work and thousands and thousands of dollars all come together: it’s time to put the silver on the ’63 Corvette.
In the last installment, we learned the importance of patience and, as it turns out, that I don’t really have any to speak of. Could you blame me, though?

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Overhaulit Part 73
Re-chrome, or repro-chrome?

Overview

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Description

Oh, the things we put ourselves through for shiny cars.
Of the three project vehicles in this ongoing series, our 1965 Mustang is the only one that began, for us, as a finished car. The previous owner had done a decent job of restoring it, despite the inevitable fit-and-finish nitpicks. All that to say that as nice as it was, it wasn’t perfect. With a goal of modernizing the car so it could actually be driven on public roads, many of the little issues started bugging us.

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Overhaulit Part 74
Do it your way

Overview

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Description

Everyone will have an opinion about what you’re doing, but whose car is it, anyway? It never fails that when we post pictures of the car’s progress on our facebook page (Auto Shift Weekly), even if the subject is completely unrelated, someone hijacks the post to comment on the wheels. Even though the engine, suspension, transmission and interior are completely custom and non-original, they don’t attract nearly the attention that the wheels do.

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Overhaulit Part 75
Finally, a clear day

Overview

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Description

It’s crazy tense in this paint booth. Why? I’m not supposed to be in here, which is agitating the painter . . . a lot. But, I really do need pictures of this.
“You’re gonna wreck the whole thing,” he yells over the rubble of the air exchanger.

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Overhaulit Part 76
Taking stock

Overview

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Description

We can pretty much all agree on one thing: that none of us will agree on style. This is where things get a little gray and fuzzy. Taste is a very personal thing and how you choose to accessorize your vehicle can make or break its image. Adding the right styling touches doesn’t necessarily mean adding more parts.

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Overhaulit Part 77
To stop a 43-year-old car with 1,000 horsepower,
we’re not messing around. We need a . . .

Overview

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Description

Big ‘Brake’
Compared to the horrible 40-year-old drum brakes that were on the 1970 Plymouth, even throwing a boat anchor out the window would have been a huge improvement in stopping power.
There are actually a number of disk-brake conversion packages available from top brands out there, so I selected Wilwood 12.2-inch rotors on all four corners and a matching master cylinder.

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Overhaulit Part 78
The finish

Overview

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Description

Imagine how much you would hate sanding if you had been doing it for six months.
But it’s a fact of life in the world of perfect finishes, right from stripping off the old paint, to wet sanding the final coat of clear finish in preparation for final polishing. Getting a glass-like shine means getting rid of any and all of it first.

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Overhaulit Part 79
RADical plan

Overview

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Description

I’m not going to give in to any overused cliches about “keeping your cool.” I’m just not built that way. But when “more” power is added to a vehicle, that’s just the beginning. You need to decide if you should make it stop and turn better, of course, and you also need to figure out if the old electrical system is up to the task of your modifications. Lots of things to consider, really.

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Overhaulit Part 80
“Fabrication” is just a fancy way of saying. . .

Overview

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Description

We make stuff.
Today, when nothing that’s on the car actually came with the car in the first place, then it stands to reason that everything is fabricated, at least to some degree. But I discovered a long time ago that making stuff for the car was not really my forte.