3,500 mile road trip and met a fabo member

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moparmat2000

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Hi Y'all,

Yesterday afternoon I just finished a 3,500 mile road trip with my 6 year old son in my 2007 Mustang GT to visit my folks in N.J. , then to N.C. to visit my brother. On the way from N J. to N.C. I met up with a fellow fabo member. Dan " IMFURYS " lives in Va. It was only a short 2 hour stop off so I could get to my brothers place in N.C. by 8:30pm, although I could have spent all day there visiting and talking cars. Dan had some 4x6 speaker enclosure kick panels and wasnt too happy with them, but had drilled holes in them so they weren't returnable. He was gonna pitch em, I told him I would take em. I have a set for my 67, and these would be nice for my son's 69.

Dan and I have been friends on here since about the time he joined up. We have been trading ideas, and parts, and keeping one another up to date on different sales going on about the internet. Anyhoo, awhile back I custom made him a nice dual 3.5" dash speaker bracket, and sent it and mounting hardware as a gift. He showed me the bracket I made, and the speakers fit perfectly on it even though I didnt have any to pattern it after to make it.

So my son and I get there, Dan was a gracious host. We had some ice cream, and talked cars. He showed me his fresh machined 340 block, all his NOS and repo parts, and custom Treblig exhaust manifold kit. The most awesome part was the pair of NOS 69 formula S grilles in MoPar boxes. Looking at those confirmed for me how the center egg crates needed the sides black and the front edge as bare metal.

Then Dan hands me the kick panels in a box, along with the 4x6 pioneer speakers that fit them. Said they were a gift since he is going w different kick panels that use the 4.5"round speakers and cant use em, also in the box was a pair 3.5" pioneer dash speakers. So I'm like, are you sure? He says, a gift. I am floored, then he hooks me up with a bunch of shirts 3 are Barracuda shirts. One is a small for my son, then a large for my son, and a 2xl for me, along with an Outer Banks OBX Tee shirt, and V neck from the naval shipyard. A coffee mug from where he works, some heated back patches, since I suffer from a bad back as well, and a cool mopar pen.

He hands my son Patrick a box and in it is a cool Wile E. Coyote picture frame, pen, stickers, and a M2 cuda barn find.

Dan, I think you over did it a bit LoL. However, thank you again for the gifts and visit. I hope I didn't leave anything out. I am going to put the kick panels and speakers on my sons parts shelf for his car since it will get done before mine will.

Heres pix. I have other pix of my trip I will post up later. Hopefully Dan will post up the gifts I gave him from our visit on this thread, though they probably pale by comparison.

Matt

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I was on a limited time. My brother was only taking sunday and Monday off. I stayed w my folks from Monday afternoon thru friday. Drove all day saturday. Dan was right on the way. I didnt know you were in Va but I barely had enough time to stop and visit with him. Got a 6 year old in the car, just needed to get to my brothers at a decent hour to get him to bed.
 
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I was on a limited time. My brother was only taking sunday and Monday off. I stayed w my folks from Monday afternoon thru friday. Drove all day saturday. Dan was right on the way. I didnt know you were in Va but I vary had enough time to stop and visit with him. Got a 6 year old in the car, just needed to get to my brothers at a decent hour to get him to bed.
I'm just picking at you. But now you know next time your down this way we will have to have a meet! I have been thinking about trying to start a east coast group for us fabo members out here we could meet up once or twice a year have steaks and talk cars. I think it would be cool. What part of va were you at?
 
I just picked up one of those m2 cars in a Plymouth barracuda too. I use to collect Johnny lightnings this is the first dicast I have bought in over 10 years it may reboot the addiction lol

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Heres a few other pix. First pic was at Summit Racing. A lot of driving, but I had an in car DVD player with a velcro strap around the headrest posts. He busied himself with a stack of his favs. I kept handing him food, and bottles of flavored water, and he kept handing me empty wrappers to put in a walmart sack for trash. Uncrustables PB&Js along with fig Newton's , and pringles kept him alive and happy, plus a few stops at McDonalds along the way lol. Helped my pops with his 1930 model A coupe when I was there.

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I am addicted to those M2s. I prob got a couple grand in them damn things. I have the haulers too. It's like eating potato chips. I cant stop. And Walmart makes it too easy.

M2s Es Muy Bueno
 
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I was on a limited time. My brother was only taking sunday and Monday off. I stayed w my folks from Monday afternoon thru friday. Drove all day saturday. Dan was right on the way. I didnt know you were in Va but I barely had enough time to stop and visit with him. Got a 6 year old in the car, just needed to get to my brothers at a decent hour to get him to bed.

blah blah blah excuse excuse excuse blah blah blah ......LOL Pretty cool man. Glad yall made the trip safe!
 
Had a mishap 40 miles outside of Jackson Miss on tuesday evening on my way home though. I hit a tire tread carcass at 65 mph. Had nowhere to go. No shoulder, and another car in the left lane next to me. The good news is, only a small scuff in the black front spoiler, the lower bumper cover plastic bracket underneath was broken off, and left the screws behind threaded into the flange on the underside of the bumper cover, and the u shaped lower frame flanges on the radiator were bent back at 45°. No water leaks. Car tracks straight. Gonna bend the flanges straight when I change the oil and filter this week. Buy a new plastic bracket, and profusely thank God it didn't screw up the paint.

To date now the car has about 12,700 miles on it. Changed the oil and filter at 9,200 right before the trip. I got an average of 27.2 MPG throughout the trip running between 65, 70, 75 mph. 75 mpg in 5th its turning 2,200 rpm. Perfect sweet spot. Car has 3.55s and a traction lok diff.
 
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So I left my brothers house tuesday morning at 7:30am. I marveled at how I packed everything in the trunk and it seemed to fit much better with a bit more room than the drive out. A mustang trunk is quite small, so it's like playing tetris getting it packed. So 4 hours later I stop for gas, and to get a sandwich out of the cooler. That's when reality slaps me. I left the cooler with all the drinks, frozen to keep the cooler cold, and refrigerated to drink right away, as well as the sandwiches i just made sitting in my brothers kitchen !!!!

Well I wasnt going back, I just traversed 2.5 hours of 2 lane back roads thru a bunch of one traffic light, and no traffic light towns in N.C. just to get to I-95 south, and I wasnt going back. Besides nobody would be there, they were at work. We had some drinks and snacks in the cabin of the car, so we drove further. Walmart in Georga to the rescue. I input nearest walmart in my GPS, and 2.5 miles off the highway was one. So we got enough goodies to get us home.

BTW: pop tarts left in the sealed wrapper on the dash get nice and hot, almost like toasting, but not quite.

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I'm just picking at you. But now you know next time your down this way we will have to have a meet! I have been thinking about trying to start a east coast group for us fabo members out here we could meet up once or twice a year have steaks and talk cars. I think it would be cool. What part of va were you at?
It's all good brother.
 
Hi Y'all,

Yesterday afternoon I just finished a 3,500 mile road trip with my 6 year old son in my 2007 Mustang GT to visit my folks in N.J. , then to N.C. to visit my brother. On the way from N J. to N.C. I met up with a fellow fabo member. Dan " IMFURYS " lives in Va. It was only a short 2 hour stop off so I could get to my brothers place in N.C. by 8:30pm, although I could have spent all day there visiting and talking cars. Dan had some 4x6 speaker enclosure kick panels and wasnt too happy with them, but had drilled holes in them so they weren't returnable. He was gonna pitch em, I told him I would take em. I have a set for my 67, and these would be nice for my son's 69.

Dan and I have been friends on here since about the time he joined up. We have been trading ideas, and parts, and keeping one another up to date on different sales going on about the internet. Anyhoo, awhile back I custom made him a nice dual 3.5" dash speaker bracket, and sent it and mounting hardware as a gift. He showed me the bracket I made, and the speakers fit perfectly on it even though I didnt have any to pattern it after to make it.

So my son and I get there, Dan was a gracious host. We had some ice cream, and talked cars. He showed me his fresh machined 340 block, all his NOS and repo parts, and custom Treblig exhaust manifold kit. The most awesome part was the pair of NOS 69 formula S grilles in MoPar boxes. Looking at those confirmed for me how the center egg crates needed the sides black and the front edge as bare metal.

Then Dan hands me the kick panels in a box, along with the 4x6 pioneer speakers that fit them. Said they were a gift since he is going w different kick panels that use the 4.5"round speakers and cant use em, also in the box was a pair 3.5" pioneer dash speakers. So I'm like, are you sure? He says, a gift. I am floored, then he hooks me up with a bunch of shirts 3 are Barracuda shirts. One is a small for my son, then a large for my son, and a 2xl for me, along with an Outer Banks OBX Tee shirt, and V neck from the naval shipyard. A coffee mug from where he works, some heated back patches, since I suffer from a bad back as well, and a cool mopar pen.

He hands my son Patrick a box and in it is a cool Wile E. Coyote picture frame, pen, stickers, and a M2 cuda barn find.

Dan, I think you over did it a bit LoL. However, thank you again for the gifts and visit. I hope I didn't leave anything out. I am going to put the kick panels and speakers on my sons parts shelf for his car since it will get done before mine will.

Heres pix. I have other pix of my trip I will post up later. Hopefully Dan will post up the gifts I gave him from our visit on this thread, though they probably pale by comparison.

Matt

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Matt,
Thank you for the gracious write up, I do appreciate it. The honor was mine, of course. It's rare to meet my mentor here on FABO. I don't know if you meant to apply for the job, or what you were in for with all of my questions, but you got stuck with it, lol. I am constantly amazed in your innovations and knowledge you've been passing along to me (and I'm not even at the ""build" part yet). I think one day you were ready to strangle me as I was trying to keep up with all the cars, years and parts needed to do the front disc brake upgrade. Add to the fact that around here, there are no "junkyards" anymore, there are only a couple of "auto-recyclers" for me to even find these parts. They're lucky if they have a car that is from the mid 90's-all new stuff in them. So then you introduced me to a couple other of FABO's finest for some used parts and pretty much stocked my Rock Auto cart and got the shipping down to the lowest possible. After you still communicated with me after that (sorry about the temporary hair loss, lol), I knew I had a FABO 'bro for life. (Oh, still wanna get those bolts from you next time we trade parts).

What Matt modestly didn't say, is besides his teaching me, hooking me up with the cool gifts like the .40 Caliber shell casings valve stem caps that you custom made and gave me during your visit, that speaker mount is awesome and the speakers fit perfectly, is that he takes time from his busy life to just talk and be a friend. I hope everybody on this kick-@$$ site makes friendships or at least people you know to make deals with, ask or give advice, etc. If you have already worked deals or talked with Matt, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't had the chance, hopefully something will come up and you can. BTW, Matt's work, whether it's a restore on parts or some of the custom things he builds, is professional quality or if selling used, he accurately describes it's condition.

Anyway, as Matt said, I think we could have talked for hours or days, but I knew you had a schedule. This visit, you got to see my full 1:1 scale "model kit" parts, hopefully next visit, we'll actually get to see the elusive 69 340 S FB and my 48,500 original mile 72 Fury III. I did spend quite a bit of time Sunday, combining some boxes, labeling and putting them back up until I pull the "let's get is started trigger", lol. If things go well, I'll have my garage built to make things a little easier.

Can't wrap up without a shout-out to Matt's son, Patrick. Some of you may have seen pics Matt has posted in his build thread of Patrick working on his 69 notch, and I do mean working. He's already a chip off the old block. So it was cool to meet him as well. He's a great kid and hopefully will continue to carry the Mopar flag down the road.

With great respect to "Sensai Matt"

"Grasshopper" Dan.
 
I never realized or even thought about how profound all the info I gave you was. I was just being a fellow Fabo member helping out another Fabo member. Or maybe it's just in my nature to be that way, helping others out. You should post up pix of the valve stem caps, other goodies, and the speaker mount. That is the part I am really stoked about. How well the speakers fit in that thing. I did it all sight unseen from basic speaker measurements I got online.
 
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Very cool guys! Great stories from both of you, nice read. That's what it's all about. I did a couple serious road trip scrambles with my son Connor, I know the great feeling Matt.
:thumbsup:
 
That sounds like an awesome trip! Nothing like a trip like that.

When my son was 6 years old I became a single parent. When he was 9 years old he and I drove from Idaho to Pennsylvania, then to Arkansas. He's 31 years old now. I replay that trip often in my mind.

Nothing like a trip like that!!
 
You should post up pix of the valve stem caps, other goodies, and the speaker mount. That is the part I am really stoked about. How well the speakers fit in that thing. I did it all sight unseen from basic speaker measurements I got online.

I will tomorrow, you know me and my latest technology flip phone. I mean it's only 4 years old and is cutting edge, even has a flashlight. I just haven't figured out how to take pics with the flashlight, but like I said, it's only been 4 years. I'll wait another 2 or 3 years before I read it as it might be a "keeper" lol.
 
I never realized or even thought about how profound all the info I gave you was. I was just being a fellow Fabo member helping out another Fabo member. Or maybe it's just in my nature to be that way, helping others out. You should post up pix of the valve stem caps, other goodies, and the speaker mount. That is the part I am really stoked about. How well the speakers fit in that thing. I did it all sight unseen from basic speaker measurements I got online.

Yeah, I can't wait to restore the dash and put that speaker set up in it. Then like you said, I have the kick panels with the 4X6's (WITH grille covers, lol) and I have my 6X9's in the sail panels. All Pioneer speakers, and yes, it does look like I'm building the car backwards, lol.
 
Yeah, I can't wait to restore the dash and put that speaker set up in it. Then like you said, I have the kick panels with the 4X6's (WITH grille covers, lol) and I have my 6X9's in the sail panels. All Pioneer speakers, and yes, it does look like I'm building the car backwards, lol.


I didn`t read all the posts , but noticed u said u had 2 fords , and u call urself moparmat ??
 
30 model A is my dads. I only have 1 ford. We restored a 79 lil red Express for him back in 99. After 10 years and countless show trophies he got tired of it, wanted something a bit older. I always loved the 67-68 mustang fast backs. I feel like Steve McQueen when I slide behind the wheel. Shoulda waited for the 2009 Bullitt edition in highland green with spoiler delete.

BTW I have a nerve problem with my left leg and lower back, and spent on average 12 hours in that car per day driving to get from TX. to N.J. and got out of that car without any leg issues or lower back pain. Seats are fantastic. May need to get a pair out of my local wrecking yard and get them reupholstered to match a 67 seat pattern. 05-09 LX V6 coupe are waaay more common , and are the same padding and frame as the GT. Dark charcoal color is a dead ringer for black.

Heres a roster of what I own, decide for yourself.

67 Plymouth Barracuda coupe
69 Plymouth Barracuda coupe (father n son project)
88 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z turbo ll T top
87 Chrysler Lebaron turbo coupe
12 Dodge journey (wifes)
94 Chevy silverado pickup (parts chaser)
08 Chevy HHR (my commuter)
07 Ford mustang GT

My previous vehicles are as follows
66 Dodge coronet 440 hardtop
68 Dodge charger 383
69 Dodge charger R/T 440 4 speed
68 Plymouth barracuda fastback 318
77 Dodge charger SE 440 (originally 400)
75 Dodge charger 360
88 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z turbo ll T top
71 Chevy C/10 350 4 speed
73 Ford ranchero GT 351
94 Harley Sportster 1200
 
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Yep Dan, that 69 trunk trim panel you have is super awesome. I have a real nice used one to restore, but may end up just picking up a repop instead. I have time to find a good deal on one. Like 10 years or so before he is able to drive. Got the repop taillight inner trims. No black paint on them. If I get the blacked out formula S trunk trim panel, I will have to tape and paint these. Not a big deal. May just get the trunk trim without the black paint, and just tape and spray it myself. This way it matches the taillight trims since I have to paint them too. Plus it's about $100 cheaper.
 
30 model A is my dads. I only have 1 ford. We restored a 79 lil red Express for him back in 99. After 10 years and countless show trophies he got tired of it, wanted something a bit older. I always loved the 67-68 mustang fast backs. I feel like Steve McQueen when I slide behind the wheel. Shoulda waited for the 2009 Bullitt edition in highland green with spoiler delete.

BTW I have a nerve problem with my left leg and lower back, and spent on average 12 hours in that car per day driving to get from TX. to N.J. and got out of that car without any leg issues or lower back pain. Seats are fantastic. May need to get a pair out of my local wrecking yard and get them reupholstered to match a 67 seat pattern. 05-09 LX V6 coupe are waaay more common , and are the same padding and frame as the GT. Dark charcoal color is a dead ringer for black.

Heres a roster of what I own, decide for yourself.

67 Plymouth Barracuda coupe
69 Plymouth Barracuda coupe (father n son project)
88 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z turbo ll T top
87 Chrysler Lebaron turbo coupe
12 Dodge journey (wifes)
94 Chevy silverado pickup (parts chaser)
08 Chevy HHR (my commuter)
07 Ford mustang GT

If it wasn't for the fact that I want to try and keep the original look of the Barracuda (including the seats), I might have gone the pony saddles route, although I really wanted to put in Chrysler/Dodge mini van seats, including power and seat warmers (which helps with my back issues a little). Were your headrests waiting for you when you got back home? Mine came in Wed. I think they were a pretty good deal and yes, the box has already been checked, contents written on the outside of the box and put into my NOS/New repops "storage area", lol.
 
Yes mine came yesterday. I opened it up and looked em over. Very nice repops. Already in storage. You can add seat warmers. Heck my 07 GT has seat warmers in it from the factory. 2 settings high, low. Not sure how its integrated into the car, or where the controller is located. Prob integral to the cars BCM. You can buy add on seat warmers to fit almost any car seat.
 
Yep Dan, that 69 trunk trim panel you have is super awesome. I have a real nice used one to restore, but may end up just picking up a repop instead. I have time to find a good deal on one. Like 10 years or so before he is able to drive. Got the repop taillight inner trims. No black paint on them. If I get the blacked out formula S trunk trim panel, I will have to tape and paint these. Not a big deal. May just get the trunk trim without the black paint, and just tape and spray it myself. This way it matches the taillight trims since I have to paint them too. Plus it's about $100 cheaper.

Thanks Matt on the tail panel and you got to see a repop and NOS Formula S emblem and how they look. I think the NOS grilles are my favorite, followed by the tail panel/emblem and the quartz dash clock (which I think looks kind of bad @$$).
Yep, I knew I was gonna have to prep the inside of the inner tail light trim and paint them black. I'll pick up a couple of black variations and spray something else and compare it against the panel before actually painting them. Don't you have to paint the inside argent silver or aluminum on the non-S tail panels?
 
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