LMan

Well, found in someone else's garage, but hey....take it when you can get it....


Went to a church social the other night and found out that the fella who hosted the party has a '68 Shelby GT500 convertible. White/blue skunk stripes, 4-speed, single-carb 428. All of 66,000 miles...still on the original PolyGlas tires! I looked it over carefully and, while Im no expert, the only non-original things that jumped out at me were the battery and the heater hoses He bought in in 1985..from the original owner....for ~ 18k

Asked the owner how often he drives it.... "I was taking it around the block every nwo and then, but the carb is messed up now and I havent had it out in a year."
Anyone want to volunteer a carb rebuild?

Mike, how many 68 GT500 4-speed verts were made? What value are we looking at here?

Faber

I guess I gotta do this.

Faber

http://www.remarkablecars.com/ppads/...p/product/2120

they want over 120k for one that is restored...

most of the words I have for this can't be used on the forum.

mgreene

There used to be one just like that in my old neighborhood - owned by a Mr. Derosier. I heard it's still in Huntsville. Maybe the same car? According to my Shelby Registry (put out by SAAC, I might add), there were 402 '68 GT-500 converts made.

Puter

Well, I have been for about 25 years, but I am not gonna touch that one.
People have had good luck from Pony Carburetors.

http://www.ponycarburetors.com/

Dan Case

Carburetor. What is the car owner after? Run well? Factory correct? Pretty? Those are three different subjects. Consider this, for a "survivor" car you would not want to send the carburetor to any commercial company like the one mentioned in this thread. Despite catchy website and print advertisements I have yet to see an commercial opertion "restore" the visuals of a OEM carburetor to exact factory appearance. They make them look great but there is always something they change because it is just too expensive to do otherwise. This may not be apparent to most people unless they compare a NOS and "restored" pair. Side by side the differences show up well.
That was part one. Part two if let's say a real nice but dirty carburetor is "restored". For sure it will never be original again and if the car is used at all the carburetor will become just another dirty and stained used non original finishes one. I have sold bought and sold Shelby and Boss carburetors on and off since around 1976. The most valuable ones are NOS units with production period date codes. The next most valuable ones are real nice complete unmodified originals even if they are dirty and stained as long as they are not corroded. Then come the "restored" ones and everything else falls below this on the value order.

Clean and just functioning well I can find help for. 1976-83 I did repairs and tuning for cars and trucks; including for Shelbys, Bosses, and Cobras all over then world. I even did a few that I returned to just like NOS for Cobras/427 Cobras which were terribly expensive and time consuming at just a labor and cost plus $50 arrangement. I rebuilt the carburetor on my car in 1985 and the first time it needed anything at all, not even an idle speed adjustment, was early this year when the accelerator pump diaphragm split.

Perry H

I thought for a second that the thread was going to be about one that wasn't greedy, litigious, or prone to tall tales.

Faber

n8rfastback

no words can describe how well pony carbs will do if he sent them the carb.

they will understand the care needed to restore that carb. and they do a great job.

Mberglo

I think Dan is trying to explain the finer details involved in a Concours or Thoroughbred restoration. It takes more than getting the floatbowl set right. On a rare piece, you also have to be weary of sending out your date coded piece and receiving a "similar" item in return.

Dan Case

Most places do a great job if you want pretty and works well. If you want the exact part type and appearance of every part of the assembly as it left the factory sitting on an engine these places are not the shops to do the work. A friend of mine was interested in buying a carburetor for a 1963 HP289 Fairlane that was done by the company named above. He wanted me to look the images over before he spent the money. I have a NOS one on the shelf and a mint used one also. I also have a lot of Ford and Holley documentation for the 1960s and early 1970s, including parts bills of materials with OEM and service parts for most popular Ford performance carbuertors.

Just in a couple of clear images I could see that many of the small parts were incorrect ones for 1963 and or that model carburetor. There were also some parts just plain missing; parts that will be hard to find. A lot of the fasteners were newer replacement ones that differ from the originals. All the parts that would have been "leached clear dichromate" originally were deep yellow dichromate on the restored assembly that was offered. This carburetor could be "fixed" in terms of returning it to factory specifications but it would cost more and take longer than if he started off with just a complete dirty one. It takes longer and costs more to undo what other people have done than to service factory original every time. Think of 1965 Mustang #1 that has been completely dismantled and rebuilt with whatever parts can be found at the local parts store. Put back together with new fastners from the hardware store. Upholstered locally. Painted a different color. Maybe even get an engine or transmission from a 1969 Mustang. How about rack and pinion steering and disc brakes all around. The car is pretty and runs well. Think of 1965 Mustang #2 that started as a twin in features and conditions to #1. This car was just well cared for and any time a replacement part was required the owner found an exact OEM part or an excellent reproduction. This car has been completely apart and back togther but is and looks just like it was new. Car #1 would he terribly expensive to return to anything resembling its new car configuration. Car #2 would take relatively little. Car #1 and #2 have distintly different followings and values, historically and in dollars. Followers of both treatments will call both cars restored but that doesn't mean they are the same. Not clear enough? How about 1932 Ford Model B. Cut, channeled, customized, powered by something like a Chevy V-8 versus maintained the way it left Mr. Ford's company. The owner of the custom car goes to hot rod events. The owner of the stock one goes to antique car events. There is a place in the world for both styles but it using the term"restored" for both is just plain incorrect. If you are interested go to any of the forums that specialize in 1960s/1970s Fords. Search for comments on "restored" carburetors and you find dicussions on most of the common carburetor "restoration" shops and how far their offerings miss the originality mark. True restoration is an art and very few people have the skills, the tools, the place OR THE WILL go to the trouble.

The carburetor offered my friend was pretty and no doubt it will work well but it did not respresent what was original in 1963. His final cost will be lower and historical accuracy will be better if he finds a carburetor that has never been reworked by any commercial outfit.

In reagrds to the carburetor on the GT500 convertible than we know nothing about except the owner is having trouble with. If it is the original dated assembly for that car I would not advise sending it to any commercial mass restoration shop. (I forgot to mention. Three common things happen when you send a carburetor off. (a) The shop sends you an exchange unit. (b) They return your main body but all the small parts came out of common parts bins. So? Send a 1965 GT350 carburetor off and get a 1966 one back. OR Send a December 1964 made 1965 carburetor off and it comes back with all the small parts that a 1999 service carburetor got. (c) If they don't have access to new parts, you send of a December 1964 made 1965 GT350 carburetor and you get back a December 1964 made body and everything else is a reworked part from a mixture of every run made 1966-1967-1969-1989-etc. Yes there are differences. Just in 1965 alone many of the parts changed completely between the first two production runs in December 1964 and the third run in January 1965. (We have a photocopy of the original design specifications, release for manufacture, and production work order for the first run in December 1964.) During 1965 more than one main body was used, different castings with different part numbers. There were lots of changes in 1967 too. Just in case you wondered, not all changes were cosmetic. The more significant part revisions create functional problems if design levels are mixed.)

If you really know the carburetors used on the Ford performance cars back then their stories are almost as complicated as the cars themselves.

LMan

Sorry, not getting your point?


EDIT: got it now. Just needed a day to think about it *duh*

Perry H

Now who's the ...

n8rfastback

what the hell is that supposed to be?

sam woodson

Are you serious? It's upside down if that helps

n8rfastback

i get the ***** part, what is it sitting in? i dont get the significance

Perry H

It's a swing.

n8rfastback

ok, so a pair-o-nuts in a swing.....

interesting, very interesting

n8rfastback

or,

swingin nuts!