Rutledge Wood and the crew rolled into Carlisle, Penn. this past weekend for the 2017 Carlisle Ford Nationals. The small town of Carlisle was the perfect first stop for the “On The Road With eBay Motors” tour. (Learn more about the tour.)
More than 50,000 blue-oval devotees converged on Carlisle (population 19,000) to check out thousands of Ford vehicles on display. This year’s Ford Nationals celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Mercury Cougar (seen in the photo above) and Shelby GT500. The crowd was buzzing when the ’67 Mustang Fastback that is being transformed by Rut and eBay rolled off its hauler and into the show’s big top.
This video captures some of the action:
A Solid Start on the Rebuild
A sweet set of Race Ramps provided an ideal perch in the front of the eBay pop-up garage, allowing the Mustang community to see the work that’s been completed so far.
The Race Ramps provide plenty of work space underneath the Mustang.
The Ridetech Street Grip suspension kit includes composite rear leaf springs and MonoTube adjustable shocks.
“When we got this car, it had already lived several lives,” said Rut. The fastback left the factory a half-century ago as a 289 cubic-inch two-barrel automatic. A previous owner used a Pro Street style to modify the Mustang—so it wasn’t a candidate for a concours. “The first thing we did was strip the car,” said Rut. “We soda-blasted it and put one solid coat of primer on it to give everyone a solid vision of what it will become.”
Rut’s crew rebuilt the suspension using a Ridetech Street Grip kit, with adjustable MonoTube shocks all around. There are new composite leaf springs out back and new shock towers/inner fender aprons up front. The new shock towers are two inches lower than the original, which raises the front end of the car. A complete set of Delrin bushings and a front sway bar tighten things up.
Randy Allgood, the owner of Kenwood Rod Shop, finishes the installation of Wilwood front brakes. The setup hauls it down with six-piston calipers and massive two-piece drilled and slotted rotors.
The car had no rear brakes when it was purchased on eBay. Randy Allgood, co-star of Lost in Transmission and owner of Kenwood Rod Shop (where much of the work will be done) buttoned up an impressive Wilwood brake install in Carlisle. The Wilwood kit includes drilled and slotted rotors, with six-piston calipers on the front and four-piston calipers in the rear.
All of the parts were purchased on eBay. The team is focused on American-made components. The Ridetech suspension is made in Jasper, Ind. and the Wilwood brakes come from Camarillo, Calif.
The replacement floor pans and doors are in place. Bungee cords will do until all the hardware is finished.
The soda-blasting process brought a number of issues to light. The doors, hood, and deck lid were replaced with reproduction pieces, but a significant amount of bodywork remains to be done. The rear quarter panels are not as solid as hoped, and the front fenders are from a ’68 Mustang, so they’re due to be replaced. The front floor pans were replaced, and a new trunk floor is on the to-do list.
The “On The Road With eBay Motors” tour gives enthusiasts a chance to meet Rutledge Wood.
Rutledge held his cards close to the chest on the team’s overall vision for the build. (His only clues are that it will be “red, white, and rowdy” and that he wants it to be capable of “leaving the Earth’s atmosphere” for a few seconds.) That vision, as developed by Rut and his collaborators, will be unveiled in the coming weeks on the eBay Motors Blog—and will become clearer on July 7 to 9, when it’s shown off at the GoodGuys PPG Nationals, in Columbus, Ohio. See you there?
