Unique Convertible Shell Project

Here is the Unique SS converible Shell that i purchased last May from a guy in Ohio. I had two straps break on my way home from picking the car up, due to some very bad roads in Ohio and Kentucky, and i almost lost the shell on the interstate. It was a very stressful day to say the least. However, i made it home with the car and I have not touched it since. The car is currently in storage, but will be pulled out later this month. I am going to start by adding the figerglass, rear spoiler, end caps. taillamp panel, and side scoops and then I will start fabbing up the front end which will made out of the upper portion of an original style 67 shelby nose and a R model apron for a 67-68.
Once the fiberglass is on the car, it is going to Gordons Classics in Georgia for final body work and paint. Then i will bring it back home to finish the car.
Here is the car. It's a bit of a mess, but the metal work is finished. The wheel wells are tubbed all the way to the frame rails like the SS cars, so i assume that is what is was going to be. I am going to build the car as a Gt500SR, unless someone wants me to build the car as an eleanor for them. I plan on selling the car when finished, so if anybody is interested in purchasing the car, just let me know and we can discuss the price and details of the build. If not, then i will build the car as i would like it, drive it for a year or so, and then sell it at one of the major auctions. I work by myself and only sub out bodywork, paint, and machine work. It will take me about 9-12 months to fully complete the car. 3 months of that the car will be at paint. I build 1- 2 cars a year on the side and i take a lot of pride in my workmanship. I do this because i love restoring antique cars. Clearly, there is not a lot of money in this business with the condition of the current economy.

The Goal-except not yellow











The car came with a lot of parts that the previous owner had collected-nice set of NOS 68 fenders, convertible top, shark fin windows, door glass, etc etc.
Unfortunately, the fenders and NEW-taiwan doors do not fit so hot. The doors stick out at the bottom,are too far away from the quarters, and too close to the fenders. Hopefully this can be fixed with shims or minor adjustments. Other than that, everything appears to fit well. The trunk lid is perfect. I am not using a fiberglass trunk because they are a nightmare. Instead, i am using an original metal lid that i will bond a Mustangs to fear Spoiler to. I have been very impressed with the fitment of their fiberglass thus far. The sidescoops are from SW fabrication. They make side scoops that fit very tight to the body, unlike some of the other which force you to build up the doors to match.










Rear Roll Bar Area. I will not be using a rear seat due to the placement of the roll bar. Instead I plan on Building a custom aluminum shelf for this area that will be covered in matching 80/20 loop carpet. perhaps i will build a sound system in this open space.



Metal deck/trunk lid back from being acid dipped.





I'll start posting new updates soon.

 

FYI, if anybody would like the NOS 68 Front Fenders let me know. I am willing to trade for a quality set of 67 fenders that are bare metal. I would rather not weld up the lamp holes in a set of NOS fenders. There are a few spots that have surface rust, but that is it. I assure you they are very nice-part numbers are still on the inside. I will include the headlamp portions as well.

 

I am personally not a big fan of yellow, although it does look pretty good on the one GT500SR that Unique Performance managed to complete. I was thinking guardsman blue with white stripes. I will need to play around with photoshop a bit before i make my final decision.

 

Well, it looks like we are on for the 428 to 462 stroker build. I purchased a standard bore 428 out of a 66 falcon(EDIT-T BIRD) yesterday for 600 dollars. I got very lucky, or at least i think i did. The seller would not sell me just the block, so i will have the original crank, pistons, rods, heads, manifolds, etc if anybody is interested. If not, i will probably just slap them on ebay starting at 5 bucks per item.

 

You are correct. Sorry, i am just now becoming familiar with the FE engines.
Thanks
Chris

 

Well, it's official, the Convertible is in the works.

*Engine Details
-All forged 462 stroker kit with a nitrided crank.
-Hydraulic Roller Camshaft- 222/226 duration and .576/.607 lift on a 110 lobe sep. Should be nice and lumpy.
-Harland sharp roller rocker set up
-Edelbrock aluminum heads set up for the roller camshaft
-Shelby oil pan, waterpump, and timing cover.
-Mass-Flo EFI fuel Injection.
-TKO 600 Transmission


Paint
*The car will be dropped off at Gordons Classic Restoration next week so that they can get started on the rear of the car.

GT500SR Front Nose and Billet Grille
Mustangs to fear is making the front end for the car out of an Eleanor upper and a 67 R model lower. They are going to make a mold when finished and market the front end for sale on their website. I think it will be a popular front end, but i could be wrong.
Kind of scary investing 17 grand into a car that isnt even painted.

 

I finally got around to dropping the car off at the bodyshop.

They started last week and things are looking really good. the doors are fit-they had to add quite a bit to the rear or the dynacorn doors-same thing with the fastback.
BEFORE

 

Now that i have discovered that this car was intended to be another forum members car when it was at Unique Perfomance, i almost dont know if it is appropriate or not to post updates. However, i will continue to post for now. If i am told that it is inappropriate or that it bothers him, then i will delete all photos and the thread.









Rear flares bonded in place.* They are going to feather the edges down so they will not have to use a lot of filler.



Deck lid fit, spoiler, end caps, and taillamp panel fit. Praise Rich for the MTF spoiler.* I could not bare to watch over a thousand dollars go into fitting a fiberglass deck lid again.








I'm waiting on the fender brackets to come in so they can fit the 68 fenders-i had them weld the parking lamp holes shut.



Looks like this was supposed to be SuperSnake 48C-C for Convertible of course.

 

Front end has been blasted to remove the coating that Unique Performance applied to the engine bay and wheel wells.







There is only one little place in the passenger fender that will need to be patched. I recommend using original fenders whenever possible, even if they need work. I have seen some really bad fitment issues with the dynacorn aftermarket fenders.



The rocker/side exhaust panels will be made out of metal and will only run about half the length of the rocker. The front fenders will be split to make the flares.