Back in the tail end of 2015 I bought Tim Musico’ 41 ford custom and had it shipped it to the UK, it arrived in December and I set about getting it ready for the Uk roads while waiting for registration etc. IMG_2814 by KFC posted Oct 29, 2017 at 1:55 PM This is how it sat on arrival, I had concerns about the chop from the pictures I’d seen but I was happy as a pig in shit when I saw it in the metal. We went through it top to tail rebuilt the front suspension, brakes, took the wiring loom out and reinstalled it. IMG_3108 by KFC posted Oct 29, 2017 at 1:55 PM Powder coated a lot of suspension, replaced Slaved cylinders, new drums, new ball joints. I pulled the steering box and stripped it, it wasn’t bad so reassembled and set up correctly. We also unreversd eye the front spring. The car had come with a rechromed front bumper which Tim chose not to fit, I felt it needed a bumper and sourced a accessory bumper guard while I was at it. IMG_3158 by KFC posted Oct 29, 2017 at 1:55 PM I also sourced a pair of Appleton’s, the car had run a set back when it was first customised in the late 70’s early 80’s While the column was out I restored the column drop and column. I also ordered up a lime works Crestliner wheel and 40 ford style column shifter in stainless steel, I’d also scored a period correct indicator switch which was restored rewired and installed. The car had very little in the way of switches or etc, so a set of appropriate switches where sourced I also installed electric wipers and a heater to add to the luxury. 638DCD02-AF30-4B40-A887-222C9C686521 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM 40DD0FB5-1340-4AAE-9184-2F9498C16E09 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM IMG_3192 by KFC posted Dec 19, 2017 at 2:58 PM I also made up some carpets to smarten things up. IMG_3201 by KFC posted Oct 29, 2017 at 1:55 PM To be continued..
Around this time, Miles Sherlock of jackhammer speed shop organised an indoor display of kustom cars at the Brighton tattoo convention (may 16) this gave me a target to aim for to get the car on the road. IMG_3281 by KFC posted Oct 29, 2017 at 1:55 PM We made it just, the first proper outing in the car was the 100+ miles down to Brighton for the show. IMG_3324 by KFC posted Oct 29, 2017 at 1:55 PM Angel hair and show boards the whole nine yards.
A few more from the show, D98C06E9-2472-4A0C-B8D3-4E88017C831F by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM 8C38FAFF-08A7-49BB-8AE0-07EF6BF5400C by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM E6770215-E872-4704-A21F-7CDCF4741FA0 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM D3E3C414-F48F-40E8-9007-9E1078FCB469 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM 19599A3E-3E32-46C4-BFD7-4E2BDC15F883 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM 0BEB49C2-46C5-4CB6-8F06-94B369792C5A by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM 07C4161A-9F13-48AC-9AE4-240E27584970 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM
The addition of the front bumper and the Appletons made a vast improvement on an already nice car. Mick
this is Long Beach! Great looking 41 and great thread title, you got my attention real quick! I follow you on IG and you do some great interior work! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Yep, wait it’ll get worse. So I used the car as it was that summer and started to make a plan of what I wanted to change I couldn’t live with the airbag setup so it was decided to make the car static height, the fuel tank and air tank were in the boot (trunk) and basically made it useless, the exhaust sounded a bit muscle car 2.5” system, tubular headers exits at the axle. 1830EB80-1584-42AE-A39E-E330D6E07E6F by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM Next to a stock height 40 ford in the workshop, it was 10 inches lower at the running board EF28BD44-8E90-49B8-90C5-081A06896CDA by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM Couple of local shows 9C24E71B-24AE-4F26-A5BD-91B89BE73091 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM Even made a honourable mention in custom car magazine Come September life changed for the worst and I decided life was to short for it not be the car I dreamt it would be so phase one started Dropping the car off at Buckland Automotive for the chassis to sorted. 3122B510-44B2-48C5-8148-3462F4BBBE37 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM
I have no gripe against money, or what it buys; nor do I need to complain that our cousins across the pond in England, or their kin in Australia maybe use their disposable income more wisely. But, judging from their appreciation for our hobby, and their eye for some of the best specimens, is it me, or do other fellow HAMBers worry when we want to see what our hot rod/ custom past was like, we're going to need airfare to do so? And, evermore embarrassing is they have a better idea of what is era correct. KFC, don't think I am being xenophobic, but you are the perfect custodian of this beautiful custom. I'm just trying to make point about the difference between someone who sees these cars for what they are, and others who think they exist in great numbers. Each one that still exists is a one-of-a-kind work of art. When they find permanent homes (as far as permanent can be), there won't be any more of them. And, even though I have never been much on the speculative side of these cars as investments, finite numbers of anything of value fluctuates upwards in the passage of time. At some future point most of us, who scrape by and hide parts under our beds and in closets until we have enough to build our dreams, will be so far from owning something built back when magic was in the air, as we will be from laying down a wad for a fresh Ferrari. Just saying.
For a long time the exchange rate was in majorly in our favour and a lot of people took advantage of it. That said this car hung around along time before I bought it, I don’t think the pictures did it justice but equally the finish looks better in pics than reality. To illustrate the point I sold my 32 glass roadster over here for £20k and this landed cost me £17k landed from memory
So the car was now in the capable hands of Adrian smith and his team at buckland, who cut it into small bits. First job was to in C notch the frame about 6”, remove the airbag set up and fit coil overs, all floors rear of the rear window where removed and re made, petrol tank moved under the floor and fuel filler flap reinstated, in the process it was found the rear roll pan was mainly fibreglass and filler so the rear roll pan and boot shut panel where remade from scratch, the boot latch was remade to be a bit more user friendly and the number plate aperture and mount were reconfigured. 5FED142B-D5CA-4B88-8066-B13B43E36A61 by KFC posted Aug 28, 2018 at 6:49 AM 9345B85C-1B50-482D-BE59-ECF94C1F75C9 by KFC posted Aug 28, 2018 at 6:49 AM BFF52159-B441-445E-9020-7E01CAC25AE6 by KFC posted Aug 28, 2018 at 6:49 AM C3AB4E84-6BC8-4D44-AD34-05BBFC6F0523 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM The exhausts where remade in 2” stainless exiting all the way at the back and ramshorn corvette headers fitted. At the same time I got them to fit an Ali rad with trans cooler I’d bought and a properly mounted electric fan The car was transformed both in drive ride and sound
Beautiful looking Custom! Seems odd that the builder focused work on the chop, paint work, etc. but left a rusty, unrebuilt front suspension under it.
To be fair most of it was probably fine but the car had been on the road 5 years and some of the lowering and mods where a bit crude. I like to know it’s all good and the plan for this car is to drive it so it needs to be good.
So December 2016 I got the car back from Ade and at this point decided that after the car doing two winters in the Uk plus correctional works and touch ups, the door jambs needed painting, the front wings had micro blistered (prep that is fine in California isn’t upto Uk damp and temperature change) = repaint So the car was booked in for February time, in the meantime I planned the upholstery, stripped back all the floors and painted them, cleaned the underside and stone chipped it then sound deadened the car ( literally everywhere) I’m not Eblackdesign but you get the gist 9E22C225-6761-4618-A60A-616C5B9BB4D2 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:56 PM Rear shelf area AFD8A6DC-FF04-424F-B766-C5B271272DE3 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 3:47 PM Door panel and seat A9489FA2-5EDD-4D03-91AD-E6A0E3CEA797 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM FF294358-E24E-4061-BB2A-62A1A811B398 by KFC posted Aug 27, 2018 at 4:28 PM Somewhere in here I fitted a new 3rd member I thought the car was Erving a bit much at motorway speeds so fitted a 3.00 only to find what was in it was 2.76 anyway least I knew it was new. Any way 1st of January rolled round and a customer of mine that was booked in before me at the paint shop cancelled last minute so mine got moved up, I stripped it to the minimum required to drive it and dropped it off for paint. F9BD6FC6-2C7A-46C4-A3FD-3CCCC053953A by KFC posted Aug 28, 2018 at 11:59 AM The Autoshop a local Aston martin franchised body shop (the only Uk no main dealer) took on the work, we’d worked together on some customer projects and got to know each other well. Plus rich and Chris the body man and painter are both old school talented guys. Guess what happened next
Looks like you are doing it up right. I'm wondering if possibly part of the difference for car guys in the UK and the US is that US folks in general get hit harder with the It has to be the latest flashiest trick of the week thing rather than appreciating things the way they always were as part of life. Here there seems to be too much emphasis placed on things having to be the newest, flashiest and grandest of all be it buildings cars or other things.
hi, i'm the guy who owned your car back in the 80's & 90's. [stock drive train then]. it just keeps getting better! by the way,in what part of the u.k. do you live? i ask because i was born in birmingham [war baby] , but have lived in so cal since then.
That’s brilliant, I’ve come across other owners on Instagram (the chap who fitted the sbc and trans) I’m in Gloucestershire about 60 miles south of Birmingham
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