Gt D Block Wanted $7000 Reward!!

[judge bob]

Hey all,
Was just reading the Just Parts book and there is a guy in the looking for a D BLOCK for his GT and he is offering a $7000 reward! **** thats alot for a block! I would be checking the numbers on the D blocks if you have any sitting in your shed! Cheers Bob

[barnz_xr8]

i bet his car was stolen and parted out , and he wants the engine back and he is hoping some one might have purchased his block then he can trace it back to the original seller/thief???
or he has a expensive fettish for d block clevo's. !?

[2011G6E]

Two possibilities.
One, as you said, maybe his car was stolen and he's trying to find out who it was. A mate of mine owns a motorbike wreckers and kept a list of stolen bikes that people would notify him about to keep an eye out for. He used to recommend to them that they put an advert in the local paper and those little free trader magazines in the wanted section asking for either a bike or parts the same as the one stolen, and see if anyone rings up parting one out.

Second, I used to buy "Mopar Muscle" magazine from the states, and guys would go to absolutely ludicrous extremes to make thier Mopar a "matching numbers" car for "Year One" restorations. They ran through the list one issue, and I assumed "matching numbers" meant correct car with the correct engine block in it. Oh how mistaken I was...
They listed everything on the car that had a date code on it...carburettor, windows, gearbox, diff, wheels, you name it. They gave advice on making sure that your windscreen and rear window and side windows had the correct date code on them, and there were even services etching original factory-style codes on a new windscreen for you. They went into detail about what month a carby had to be to suit a particular build date car. Concourse judges would mark you down if, say, a window had the wrong date code or a carby was dated maybe one week after the build date of the car, stuff like that, and guys would offer stupid sums for a particular date code part.
The detail these guys went to was a little excessive, but I can understand trying to get a particular code engine block, as I recall reading that certain blocks were much better than others...much like the Holden guys with thier old Grey six cylinder motors trying to source an early "Canadian block", as you could bore them out much further than Aussie blocks, and Holden red motor guys chasing down "HP" engines as they had steel cranks and stronger rods.

[fakegt]

There was a XA? GT block that was talked about in the Classic forum around 6 months? back. A forum user was given what turned out to be a GT block, he posted up the numbers and it was traced back to a guy in Melbournre I think who had a big HP drag engine in the car now. It was most likely sold off when GTs were cheap as chips and replaced with the screamer.
Anyway, the member then requested 5k for the block, which the guy declined, so it went up on Fleabay and I dont think it sold there either.
It created a lot of Anger and abuse towards this guy as lots of people thought he should just hand it back for free or a very low price.
Would make a good topic for "Can of Worms"
Cheers, Dave

Just found the thread relating to what I said above.
http://ww.fordforums.com.au/showthre...11296869&pp=30

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

2011G6E, you obviously have never spoken to any serious GT enthusiast/ restorer, this is what they do, correct dated horns, window glass, carby, manifold and engine block casting, gearbox casting, diff housing, corret style of fasteners, such as bolts and screws in the correct place coated in the correct material etc etc etc, you can get your glass etched here as well with correct date codes.

I am guessing this guy is doing a big $$$ resto on a valuable car and he wants the original motor back, a lot of these engines were simply swapped for a rebuild exchange from Betta Build or Higginbottom for another rebuild engine, they used to offer a one day drive in drive out engine rebuild for about $1000-1500 depending on options back in the late 80's early 90's, thats where a lot of GT's and GS's were robbed of their genuine engine, no one cared, they were just another car, they were threated the same way people treat their FPV GT's today, as just another car.

He should just do what a lot of old GT owners do/have done, import a correct casting block from the US and re stamp it As there seem to be a LOT of people who just happen to find their orignal block from some where

Some people did think they were special and looked after their GT, they are the big $$$ ones now, just like some people are looking after their BF GT.

I remember phase 3 GT HO's in the trading post back in the 80's and no one cared.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

2011G6E, you obviously have never spoken to any serious GT enthusiast/ restorer, this is what they do, correct dated horns, window glass, carby, manifold and engine block casting, gearbox casting, diff housing, corret style of fasteners, such as bolts and screws in the correct place coated in the correct material etc etc etc, you can get your glass etched here as well with correct date codes.

I am guessing this guy is doing a big $$$ resto on a valuable car and he wants the original motor back, a lot of these engines were simply swapped for a rebuild exchange from Betta Build or Higginbottom for another rebuild engine, they used to offer a one day drive in drive out engine rebuild for about $1000-1500 depending on options back in the late 80's early 90's, thats where a lot of GT's and GS's were robbed of their genuine engine, no one cared, they were just another car, they were threated the same way people treat their FPV GT's today, as just another car.

He should just do what a lot of old GT owners do/have done, import a correct casting block from the US and re stamp it As there seem to be a LOT of people who just happen to find their orignal block from some where

Some people did think they were special and looked after their GT, they are the big $$$ ones now, just like some people are looking after their BF GT.

I remember phase 3 GT HO's in the trading post back in the 80's and no one cared.

I didn't know they quite went to that extent here...wow. Well, more power to them if they have the money to do it. My grooms car at my wedding back in 1983 (yes I know, you get less time for murder...) was a mates gold with black stripes XY-GT. He bought a set of replacement hubcaps, the little ones for the original five slotters, which were repro items. Perfect, beautifully made, and no one ever called him on them. When he mentioned it to one really over the top GT enthusiast who had a HO, he said he would rather try and get the originals cleaned up and remade or track down original Ford ones. "Why? No one knows the difference", and the predictable answer was "I don't care if it's absolutely identical, say a badge that you can only see the Ford name moulded on the back...I'd know it wasn't original..."

[Bad Bird]

You think the Mopar guys are bad. The Corvette guys are even worse!

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I didn't know they quite went to that extent here...wow. Well, more power to them if they have the money to do it. My grooms car at my wedding back in 1983 (yes I know, you get less time for murder...) was a mates gold with black stripes XY-GT. He bought a set of replacement hubcaps, the little ones for the original five slotters, which were repro items. Perfect, beautifully made, and no one ever called him on them. When he mentioned it to one really over the top GT enthusiast who had a HO, he said he would rather try and get the originals cleaned up and remade or track down original Ford ones. "Why? No one knows the difference", and the predictable answer was "I don't care if it's absolutely identical, say a badge that you can only see the Ford name moulded on the back...I'd know it wasn't original..."

Mate I did know either till recently, the expers can pick repo parts like the hub caps you memtioned from across the street, recently had some work done on my XB by a GT restorer/expert, he picked stuff I would never ever notice at a glance.

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by XB GS 351 Coupe

He should just do what a lot of old GT owners do/have done, import a correct casting block from the US and re stamp it As there seem to be a LOT of people who just happen to find their orignal block from some where

Yes I have noticed this amazing situation a couple of times...

"It was installed in a ski-boat, and I happened to buy the boat"
"It was put into a drag car, but the engine had to be pulled down - at my mates workshop"
"I found it at a swap meet"

And so it goes on....

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Originally Posted by loftie

Yes I have noticed this amazing situation a couple of times...

"It was installed in a ski-boat, and I happened to buy the boat"
"It was put into a drag car, but the engine had to be pulled down - at my mates workshop"
"I found it at a swap meet"

And so it goes on....

They are the ones, it's even funnier when the engine is known to have thrown a rod years ago, or has been scrapped by a previous owner, or worse is still sitting in the previous owners garage/shed

Then again I do know of the location of a D block or two, may be post the number required here and we can all have a look in our sheds.

[Revolver]

Originally Posted by Bad Bird

You think the Mopar guys are bad. The Corvette guys are even worse!

Ah, no. There is a Mopar show in the states Carlisle Chrysler Nationals (& for the life of me cannot remember or the name of the contest) but what happens is, you restore your Mopar as it rolled out of the factory. I mean everything has to be correct (as mentioned above, correct dated glass, & components), engine number, even the EXACT width, length colour, of the paint markings on the diff, 'box, which way the tags are placed, which bolt they are attached to the component with, has to be correct, if there are two attachments for a vacuum hose, it has to be the correct one. Heres the tricky part. They have to be correct to the factory they came out of. So you need to know the factory the car was produced in, & the procedures of how EVERYTHING is marked, where, how much, colour size, etc. The car has to look brand new. & You get marked down on every little blemish/tag in the wrong spot/hose on the wrong connection (as one factory put it on the top connection, the other out it on the bottom)/the correct radio for that year model, (eg, you cant use a 68 charger radio in a 69).

It is considered the biggest prize to win the gold medal in this contest (god, I STILL cant remember what its name is! Its not very imaginative) however, silver & bronze are nothing to be sneezed at. Its also a springboard to sell the car virtually as a "certified" original car to a fastidious matching numbers collector, so you can command a higher price.

I remember reading it all the time in my dad's Mopar Muscle & Mopar Action mags. I used to love reading the stories how they used to find & build the cars & parts to complete these painstaking 5 year ++++ builds to get that gold................

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Ah, no. There is a Mopar show in the states Carlisle Chrysler Nationals (& for the life of me cannot remember or the name of the contest) but what happens is, you restore your Mopar as it rolled out of the factory. I mean everything has to be correct (as mentioned above, correct dated glass, & components), engine number, even the EXACT width, length colour, of the paint markings on the diff, 'box, which way the tags are placed, which bolt they are attached to the component with, has to be correct, if there are two attachments for a vacuum hose, it has to be the correct one. Heres the tricky part. They have to be correct to the factory they came out of. So you need to know the factory the car was produced in, & the procedures of how EVERYTHING is marked, where, how much, colour size, etc. The car has to look brand new. & You get marked down on every little blemish/tag in the wrong spot/hose on the wrong connection (as one factory put it on the top connection, the other out it on the bottom)/the correct radio for that year model, (eg, you cant use a 68 charger radio in a 69).

It is considered the biggest prize to win the gold medal in this contest (god, I STILL cant remember what its name is! Its not very imaginative) however, silver & bronze are nothing to be sneezed at. Its also a springboard to sell the car virtually as a "certified" original car to a fastidious matching numbers collector, so you can command a higher price.

I remember reading it all the time in my dad's Mopar Muscle & Mopar Action mags. I used to love reading the stories how they used to find & build the cars & parts to complete these painstaking 5 year ++++ builds to get that gold................

That's the one I was talking about!!!
Mopar Muscle had an article on the show, and then had an article on what they look for. They even measured the "correct" amount of overspray of car colour onto the underbody near the sills and under the guards.
The Carby one was the one that got me...the code not only had to be for the correct year (obvious) but more importantly it had to come from the correct date and month for what you would "expect" to find on the car. The carby couldn't be, for instance, made only a week or so before the car was assembled. There was a figure known for an average of how long it took for parts to get onto the assembly line for a given model from the parts makers.
I do remember the correct nuts, bolts, and they also concentrated on correct washers for different years...some had normal flat surface spring washers, some had spring washers with a faintly knurled surface on them. The powers that be at the judging would descend if you had the wrong one on the wrong part of the car!
A "typical mistake" they mentioned that newbies might do is to foolishly use nice secure screw-clamps in place of those rediculous wire clamps that have to be put on with a special pair of pliers...heaven forbid you want to actually have a bit of security on your mega-buck Hemi hoses instead of old wire clamps...

There's "trying to keep it original" and then there's just plain rediculous and what looks a little like obsessive compulsive disorder...

[disco]

Amercian concours judging hey...even here to a certain degree!

Lol, I have to laugh at all these so called experts at these concours judged events who tell you this is right, this is wrong, this much overspray, that bolt should be this, that paint daub should be there....and so on and so on!! What a bunch of tossers!!

These people are simply clueless!! Anyone who thinks that any two cars were built exactly the same, with the same finish down the production line, is simply a moron! Just dismiss them.

Old muscle cars were sprayed by hand by different people on different shifts, the factory used what ever bolts, clips, parts they could get their hands on at the time. Suppliers changed at times, QC stamps were all over the place, some cars didn't get them! That's right....the factory didn't QC every single car (Shock Horror!). Yes you can get a general pattern and some common components, however nothing was 100% identical to the next.

Nothing irks me more than when you see an awesome day 1 original unrestored car, and some "expert" tries to point out that something is not right! Only because the other 100 or so 'restored' cars they've seen are different to this car, so of course it must be wrong huh!!!

What's common is that someone has restored their car and then another copies, and then another, and then another...and so on and so on - everyone tries to replicate the same markings. Then you get a whole row of resto'd cars where these foolish owners put the same markings in the same spot, when there's every chance their own car prob didn't even get that marking lol!

Puhleeze, the number of moron judges I've seen at shows, and these insecure fools that hang onto their every word - taking the judging sheet as gospel, it makes you wanna puke! All for the sake of a $10 trophy.

No two cars are the same....repeat after me you imbecile judges out there, the factory never had consistency on mass produced cars that were built by semi-skilled factory workers.

One day people will understand and actually try and restore their car to the original finish that the car was born with, not what the book and experts tell you it should be.

Cheers,
Dave.

[Gavin Thomas]

^^^ I take it you were only ever judged runner up on the car show scene.



( Joke mate - i actually agree with the context of several points that you have made )

[GTPete]

Summed up perfectly Dave.

[disco]

Originally Posted by Gavin Thomas

^^^ I take it you were only ever judged runner up on the car show scene.



( Joke mate - i actually agree with the context of several points that you have made )

Lol...yeah, I guess you could be forgiven for thinking I was one of those disgruntled guys who missed out with that rant lol haha. In actual fact I've never entered in any of those shows. I'm one of those guys who'd rather drive em than show em.

But I have to say, I've witnessed it many a time. It's actually sad to see some poor guy who's put so much effort into their ride get marked down on silly crap which is completely subjective.

So many good survivor cars get messed with and original patina removed only to satisfy some 'expert' who tells them it's wrong. You just have to shake your head.

cheers,
Dave.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by disco

What's common is that someone has restored their car and then another copies, and then another, and then another...and so on and so on - everyone tries to replicate the same markings. Then you get a whole row of resto'd cars where these foolish owners put the same markings in the same spot, when there's every chance their own car prob didn't even get that marking lol!

Very very good point...I had a factory workshop manual, the huge thick Ford one, for our old XC-Update GXL Fairmont, and it had measurements for all sorts of things in the back all over the body. You could, I suppose, use it as a reference to see if a certain badge or sticker was in the right place. What it didn't cover was underbonnet stickers and thier placement, paint overspray, and exactly what sort of washer was used where. Not to mention it had no mention of paint stripes on diffs or drivershafts, apart from saying what colour meant what.

One day people will understand and actually try and restore their car to the original finish that the car was born with, not what the book and experts tell you it should be.

Cheers,
Dave.

I recall many years ago in Street Machine magazine a beautiful dark green XYGT (can't remember if it was a HO), that the guy had restored, and said he had to search panel beaters until he found one willing to do a "factory paint job"...that's "factory" as in "early 1970's factory paint job", complete with a bit of orange peel and not absolutely glass-smooth finish like a full custom job would show today. He wanted it as they came from the factory.

I've even seen complaints that at prestigious events like the Pebble Beach Councourse, that a lot of cars are amazingly well restored and detailed, but are a little (or a lot) "too detailed" and "just too good". They no longer represent how the cars left the factory, and while beautiful, are no longer an exact indication of what the cars of the day looked like in reality.

[NudgE^SIKBRO]

Sadly although my XE only left the factory as an EFI 250 Auto Ghia, I have kept the original Engine, trans and alloys so, one day long into the future if ever I have the need to rebuild the car to its original specs, I can, completely matching numbers, date codes etc...