The Snake Pit

Tony Hall

The Old & The New

“The Old”

The following article is by Jeff Ford of Mustang Monthly. The pictures are by Ford Motor Company and the Mustang Monthly Staff.

“Mustang Mach 1 “

Thirty years ago Ford introduced a car that became a legend in the Ford ranks.

In 1969, it was the everyman answer to performance with style--big-inch engines and aggressive styling that was a universal departure from the more button-down, tweedy look of the '68 GT. Where the GT was about sophisticated power, the Mach 1 exuded brawn and machismo--and in base form, at least, a decent price tag. On the greenback scale, the Mach 1 was priced for the workingman and the Boss and Shelby tended to be slightly higher.

As collectors and admirers of Ford Mustangs, we all seem to have at least a passing weakness for performance cars. Shelby’s, Bosses, GT’s, and of course, Mach 1s. On any given show field there will be at least three Mach’s crouched on Styled Steel wheels and seemingly ready for a Camaro lunch. Usually, the Mach’s are the '69 428 Cobra Jets; arguably one of Ford's most prolific and best straight-line performers. Values are high in the market--though nowhere near the helicon days of the late '80s.

So what is it about these cars that makes us want to restore them to their former glory? Obviously, it has to be a number of reasons, not the least of which is style. Of course, that can't be the only and deciding factor; there are cars populating the salvage yards that had plenty of style. Our guess is the combination of style and power. Brute force applied in a straight line wrapped in the swoopiest body of that time. When optioned with the 428 or the '71 429 SCJ, the Mach became more than a peppy daily commuter. It became a car the Bow Tie and Pentastar boys would fear.

Powerful to Powerless

In 1969, the 428 Cobra Jet Mach 1 was stunning in its power delivery--when you could get it to hook up. It delivered the same loud thwack to the backsides of many Bow Tie bruisers as its GT predecessor. But instead of being sedate, it screamed at the opponent. The power wasn't hidden, it was advertised. Of course, if you wanted the 390 4V, it was still there too, hanging on by the barest thread.

At year's end, the 390 4V would be history--not enough power and stuck between the rock (428) and the hard place (351). In fact, the thread was so bare, that, to our knowledge, none of the magazines of the day bothered to test the 390 4V.

What about the 351? Very little is said about its performance potential when compared to the 428. However, the 351 were the meat-and-potatoes engine that bore the brunt of the commuter responsibility. When the new-for-'69 351 Windsor came out, it was a welcome "upgrade" from the 302 4V of the '68 GT. It also was largely in response to the 350 that was available with the Camaro. With a 1-inch-taller deck height, it was something more than the 302 it replaced, but shared many commonalities.

A year later, the Windsor took a back seat to the new '70 351 Cleveland. The canted valve engine was a departure from the small-block design that had debuted in 1962 as a 221-cid 2V. It boasted more power than the 351 Windsor and developed a well-deserved reputation for performance.

Nineteen seventy-one was the beginning of the end of big-inch power out of the Mach 1. It also was the year that Ford debuted the 385-series engines in the Mustang. The 385 was the replacement for the now corporately tired FE engines. The resemblance to the Cleveland is more than passing--as is its resemblance to the Chevy big-block.

Nineteen seventy-two and 1973 saw the 351 4V become the top option on the Mach 1. New SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) ratings, lower compression, insurance, and the coming of higher gas prices all conspired to whittle away at the image. Of course, there was one performance bright spot in 1972: the 351 H.O. This engine was nothing but a detuned 351 Boss that was standard in all the Mustang models.

But if the buyer thought 1972 and 1973 were bad, they only had to look to 1974 to know it was going to get worse. Ford struck the V-8 from the ponycar lineup for the first time. In place of the thundering 428 was a whopping 2.8L V-6--dark days indeed. By 1975, Ford realized the gaff and scrambled to reinstall the 302-2V V-8. This engine remained an option until the Mach's demise in 1978.

Don’t forget to catch Mustang Mach 1, Part 2 next month.

Be sure to check out Mustang Monthly at the newsstand or on line at www.mustangmonthly.com

A View From The Inside… SVT

By Dave Dempster SVT/Engineering

This Feature will return next month. So, be sure to get your questions in before April 15^th.

Notice !!!

This newsletter has been mailed to all paid members. You will notice that it has grown in size. To help keep the cost down, members who have Internet access are encouraged to get their newsletter from the CVMC website at www.centralvamustang.com . To help make it easier on the editor you are encouraged to e-mail: svt95cobrava@aol.com and let the editor know that you will get your copy of the newsletter from the website. Be sure to put “Newsletter” in the subject line. Members who participate will receive notification via e-mail that the newsletter has been posted.

Thanks for your support.

The Hampton Cruise

By Tony Hall

On March 9^th, CVMC had a cruise to “The Great Steak Place” in Hampton, Va. We met at the rest stop on I-64 in New Kent County.

We had some fine looking Mustangs and Ford’s, like Carroll Lipscombe’s Mustang GTA, Thomas & Gail Enroughty’s ASC McLaren Mustang, Ben & Cynthia Brown’s Bullitt GT, Linda & George Cosier’s SVT Cobra, Tony’s SVT Cobra, Don & Karen Lane’s SVT Lightning and Kenny Fischer’s Ford F-250. Kenny and his boys brought up the rear looking for stragglers. Other’s attending our Cruise were David Lythgoe, Carroll’s Lipscombe’s friend Kathy, Linda Cosier’s mom Grace, George & Denice Godsey, Richard & Brenda Jones and their friend Brenda Culver.

Now, for some reason our MUSTANG CLUB’S cruise attracted some strange participants. I haven’t got the foggiest idea how it happened but it happened. Some how we managed to attract not one but TWO bow tie cars and that Jeep Wagoneer that seems to follow us everywhere we go. Yes, that’s right I said TWO BOW TIE CAR’s!!! One was a late 80’s or early 90’s

“BOW TIE “ Caprice. The other was a 2002 “BOW TIE” Monty Carlo. At least the Monty Carlo looked good. Now, you would think that club member’s who could not drive the cars that brought them to our club in the first place would at the very least drive a Ford. But, Noooooooooo!!!!! Not this bunch! They had to drive their “BOW TIE CAR’S”.

What’s that you say? Who were these traitors? Well, in the spirit of club harmony I will not divulge their names here on the pages of our Hallowed Newsletter (but, they know who they are}.

Ok, that’s enough about the “BOW TIE CAR’S”. We left the Rest Area at 3:30pm and headed down I-64. The traffic was light to moderate when we started. Of course as we got closer to Hampton the heavier the traffic got. Everybody made it to The Great Steak Place safe and sound and hungry. We all had a great meal, I think Kenny got the biggest steak. Anyway we all left full and happy and had a great time. Thanks to all for participating in a fun cruise.

Disclaimer: To all who were a victim of some good-natured humor in the previous article please except the sincere apologies of this writer. (hehehehe)

(Tyler, March 9^th was Saturday)

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade

By Tony Hall

Well, folks it happened again. Yes, we are talking about rain. No, we are not talking about light showers. It rained buckets.

But, no fear nine hardy Mustangs made it to the show, seven from CVMC and two from Victory 7.

Now, the funny thing was that about half of the people in our club stood in the pouring rain while waiting for the parade to begin. You know, that brings to mind an old saying I once heard. “A chicken has a brain the size of your thumb, but at least the chicken knows when to get out of the rain.” Kind of makes you wonder about the intelligence level of that group doesn’t it?

Of course you can include me in with the “Chicken Brain Bunch”.

Those attending the “New Water Park at Reynolds Event” Darn! Sorry, I ment the “St. Patrick’s Day Parade” where the following: Don & Karen Lane, Billy & Kim McDaniel and Arika, Chris & Ned Byrne, Alan Brough, Llew Stakes, Tyler Owen and Tony Hall from CVMC and Kendell Turner & Scott Faulkner from Victory 7.

There wasn’t as many people participating in or watching the parade this year. Hmmmmm could it have been the pouring down rain? Nahhhhhhh couldn’t be.

Anyway we all had a good time. Thanks to everyone who participated.

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimer.

Chicken Brain Bunch

(PSSST! Oh by the way, Linda Cosier wouldn’t come out and play in the rain.)

18^th Annual CVMC Car Show Update

By Tony Hall

Folks it looks like we will have some discount hotel rates for our show. The hotels and rates are: The Courtyard at Marriott $79.00 a night; Holiday Inn Crossroads $69.00 a night. Also the Holiday Inn Crossroads may set up a “Happy Hour” for those who help the club to set up for the show and SVT Friday night. We will let you know more about the “Happy Hour” when we have more information.

UPCOMING CAR SHOWS AND TRACK EVENTS FOR APRIL & MAY

Regional MCA Shows

April 20^th     Newport News, VA
Styling Stangs of Hampton Roads Host the Annual Spring All Ford Show at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.  39 judged classes, cars and trucks welcome.  Info (757) 988-0989 or mfalin@nwairport.com.

April 28^th     Atlanta, GA
Georgia Regional Mustang Club's 8th Annual Allan Vigil Ford Mustang and Ford Spring Show and Shine to benefit the Children's Hospice of Atlanta. Popular vote with typical classes and awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  Located at Tara Stadium, Jonesboro.  Gates open 8 a.m.  Registration 8:30 a.m. - 12:00; awards at 4 p.m.  Registration $20; early registration postmarked before April 14, $15.  Hot dogs and soft drinks furnished by Allan Vigil Ford.  For information, contact Joe Krumpelman at (770) 578-1354 or her96stng@aol.com.

April 28^th Rockville, MD
Sponsored by National Capital Region Mustang Club at Rt 355 & N Campus Dr, Rockville MD. 9 am-3 pm. Open to Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury products, Mustang classes for concours stock, street, modified and daily driven. Popular vote classes for other FOMOCO cars/trucks. Display class ($5), swap meet spaces (call for prices) & car corral for sale area ($5), $15 non-member pre-registration, $20 day of show, spectator free admission, For more info call Rex Turner @ 703-319-3338, rex.turner@wcom.com or see www.mcrmc.org

April 28^th     Sumter, SC
The Central South Carolina Mustang Club invites you to participate in the Annual Mustang and Ford Show to be held at McLaughlin Ford. Open to all Mustangs, Shelby’s, Cobra’s and Special Interest Ford cars and trucks. Dash plaques, door prizes, trophies and more. Modified MCA Street Driven rules, except concours. Proceeds benefit the Ronald McDonald House, Columbia, SC. For more information contact Dave Phillips (803) 258-3839 www.davandlib@att.net OR Deborah Brown (803) 788-6117 www.brktrcr2@aol.com.

May 4^th Augusta, GA
Spring Fever 2002 Mustang & Ford Show presented by the Central Savannah River Area Mustang Club at National Hills Shopping Center, Augusta, Georgia, I-20 at Exit 199 (Washington Road), one mile east to show. Door prizes, 50/50 drawing and live DJ. Dash plaques to first 100 entries. Awards for first through third places in 25 judged classes plus sponsor's choice for Best of Show.  Registration 8 a.m. - noon; show hours 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.  Pony corral, $10; vendor spaces, $20.  Registration fees before April 19, $15; after April 19, $20.  For more information call Keith Hazelrigs at (705) 556-3755 or James Aldridge at (706) 854-9597 or visit Hometown.aol.com/csramc.

May 4^th   Virginia Beach, VA
SouthEastern Virginia Mustang Club and Beach Ford are hosting the second annual Ford and Ford Powered Spring Car Show at Beach Ford. Classes for all Fords. Trophies will be presented for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in all classes. Dash plaques for all entrants. All proceeds will go to Big Brothers/Big Sisters. For more information, contact Ed Lewis, 757-427-5360.

May 5^th      Chesapeake, VA
Children's Miracle Network Car Show. At Sam's Club On Battlefield Blvd. Hosted by the Mustang Club of Tidewater. All makes and models welcome 1st, 2nd and 3rd places awarded in each class. Judges choice, Best in Show, and Club Participation also awarded. Entry fee $20.00 and 2 cans of food for the Oasis Food Bank. Portion of proceeds go to the Children's Miracle Network. For more Information contact Jim Ray at 757-468-6719 or jraykl@aol.com

May 5^th      Roanoke, VA
The Roanoke Valley Regional Mustang Club presents the 14th Annual Round-Up of 1964 1/2 - 2002 Mustangs and ALL Ford Powered Vehicles at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Rain or shine. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and closes at 12 noon. Early registration by April 26th is $15, after April 26th is $20. Awards will be given. Raffle prizes, swap meet and more! A portion of show¹s proceeds will benefit local charities. For registration and information call Dave at 540-563-4660. Fax requests at 540-389-9564. Register online at www.virtualroanoke.com/rvmc or e-mail at rvmc@virtualroanoke.com.

May 11^th      N. Wilkesboro, NC
Yadkin Valley Motor Company, North Carolina's oldest Ford dealership is proud to host the 6th annual Mustang show. All classes and modified judging, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Contact John Kilby at (336) 838-4155, fax (336) 838-4286, e-mail yvford@abts.net, or P.O. Box 398, 1422 Second St., N. Wilkesboro, NC 28659. Free live music from the '60s featuring Harry Deal and the Galaxies. Sponsored by Gate City Triad Mustang Club.

May 18^th      Rocky Mount, NC.
The Tarheel Mustang Club presents its Annual Mustang and Ford-powered vehicles show. Judging will be done using modified MCA guidelines. For more information contact Bill Weaver (252) 977-6889.

Non-MCA Events

April 4^th to the 7th

Charlotte Auto Fair

Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Info: 704-841-1990

April 6^th

3rd Annual Harrowgate Eagles Athletic Assoc. Car Show Harrowgate Park off Harrowgate Rd, Chesterfield, VA 10am - 5pm Info: 804-520-8006

April 7^th

Charlottesville Car Show Community College, Routes 64 & 20 Info: Phil Griffin 804-589-2207

April 18^th to the 21^st

Spring Carlisle, Carlisle, Pa.

Info: call (717) 243-7855

April 20^th

Sixth Annual Open Car Show Sponsored by Virginia Classic Cruisers at Sears of Chesterfield Towne Center, Midlothian Turnpike & Huguenot Rd, 9 am-4 pm, $10 pre-registration, $15 day of show, $25 vendors, pre-register by April 1 and be eligible to win $100 cash, auction proceeds will be donated to purchase toys for children with cancer through ASK, the Association for the Support of Children with Cancer, trophies, food, door prizes, free admission, info: Pat Payne, 73 Oak Forest Rd, Cumberland, VA 23040, PH: 804-492-4840; e-mail: ppayne@longwood.lwc.edu or www.envy.nu/vcc/

April 27^th

Poquoson Auto Show

Sponsored by Classic Cruisers Car Club at Poquoson City/Municipal Park, 10 am-4 pm, (gates open 7 am), open show, trophies, entertainment, food, door prizes, a family oriented event with arts & crafts, free admission, info: Hal Hartel, PO Box 2172, Poquoson, VA 23662, PH: 757-867-6336; e-mail: hardhar123@aol.com; http://communities.msn.com/classiccarclubofvirginia; or Bob Insley, 757-868-6207.

May 5^th

Crewe Car Show and Swap Meet

Hooper Park, Crewe, VA

May 17^th to the 18^th

Thirtieth Annual Colonial Williamsburg Rod Run

Sponsored by the Tidewater Street Rod Assn at the Best Western Hotel, Rt 60 & 199, this is one of the oldest rod runs and one of the first events of the year that offers car owners a chance to get their street rods out and enjoy our beautiful Williamsburg area, door prizes are presented to car show participants throughout the day on Sat and at 5 pm we present several large door prizes and awards during the closing program, goodie bags are given to all participants, info: Tidewater Street Rod Assn, PO Box 9181, Hampton, VA 23670, PH: 757-851-1782.

May 25^th

Gloucester Car and Craft Show at Ware Academy

Track Events

April 14^th

Autocross – Virginia Motorsports Park

April 28^th

Autocross – Virginia Motorsports Park

May 12^th

Autocross – Virginia Motorsports Park

Central Virginia Mustang Club

Minutes of Meeting,

March 6, 2002

By Brenda Jones

President Tony Hall called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm. We had two visitors. Karen gave the Treasurer's report. It was as follows: Beginning balance: $1576.28. Income / deposits Membership $346.00, Expenses, St. Patrick's Day Parade $90.00, Phone $25.51, Web Site $45.00, SCC $35.00, Total expenses $195.51. We have an ending balance of $1726.77. As of this meeting we have 56 paid members.

Parades, Llew Stakes gave his report. The St. Patrick's Day parade people have cashed our check but Llew hasn't heard from them yet. We will meet at the Kmart on Broad (Broad & Glenside) and drive over to the old Reynolds Metals building. The parade will start at Betty Lane and Horsepen Road.

The Azalea parade has been cancelled for this year due to Sept. 11, events. On April 27th there is a parade in King William County. The Mechanicsville parade people sent ribbons for the participants in the Christmas parade.

Car Shows - Kenny gave his report.

April 6, Harrowgate Park,

Rain date April 13th

April 18-21, AC Delco

National, Virginia Motorsports Park

April 18-21, Spring Carlisle

April 20^th, Styling Stangs Newport News/Williamsburg Airport

April 20^th, Classic Cruisers

May 25^th, Gloucester Car and Craft Show at Ware Academy

March 22-24^th, Pensacola Florida

March 22-24, Performance driving school.

Tony talked about the Cruise In's. We will start April 6^th, at the Target in Midlothian. Meet at Willow Lawn parking lot and we will caravan over to the site. If you live near the site of a Cruise In, just meet at the Cruise In. The next one will be at Bill's Barbeque at the Shell station in Centerville (Broad Street) on April 13th. April 25^th will be at Garden Ridge. May 4^th, will be at Zero's in Hopewell. We will rotate the Cruise In each week so that there will be a Cruise in near you.

George Bobrovsky talked about the Motorcross that will be at Virginia Motorsports Park on March 24th. Richmond Dragway will be having a Ford Day on August 23rd. George also mentioned about doing a Winery Tour, but we will have to pick a different date than April 6th.

April 6^th will be our Adopt a Highway day where we pick up trash on our section of Otterdale Road. We meet at the Kmart parking lot and then ride up to the site. We meet at 9:00 and after we finish with the trash pick up we go to the Pizza Hut on Midlothian.

This Saturday, March 9th, we will be cruising down to the Great Steak in Hampton. We will corral the ponies at the New Kent rest stop at 3:00 and pull out at 3:30. We will eat and then caravan back to Richmond.

Tony talked about the website. He has several links on the site that we can go to and receive information from. Ford is making the GT40. The concept Mach I will be a production car next year.

Paul Oliver told us that the Blood Services are locked in for the show. Our show will be right after the anniversary date of September 11th. We need ideas to honor the date. MCA is interested in getting the regional clubs to come up in membership. We had several people come in late and one was a visitor. His name was Steve Murphy, and he has a 65 fastback. Denise Godsey told the club that she does trophies, dash plaques, tee shirts etc., if we need her to do these for the club and the show. Tony had a tape on how a Ford is made but we ran out of time for tonight. We drew for door prizes. We also had a 50/50 and Tony won it. Meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.

Officers
President: Tony Hall 285-0759 E-mail: svt95cobrava@aol.com	Vice President: George Bobrovski 355-4180
Secretary: Brenda Jones 740-2096	Treasurer: Karen Lane 748-6889
MCA National Director: Paul Oliver 744-8016
Directors
Carroll Lipscombe 329-5901	George Cosier 271-2139
Don Lane 748-6889	David Lythgoe 781-0105
Bob Overbey 272-3598	Mike Rowe 559-2681
Volunteers
Newsletter Editor: J.T. Wells	Assistant Newsletter Editor: Tony Hall 285-0759 svt95cobrava@aol.com
Awards & Trophies: Mike Young 730-3993	Car Shows: Kenny Fischer 743-1490
Club Merchandise: Nellie Fischer 743-1490	Door Prizes: Brenda Jones 740-2096
Membership: Karen Lane 748-6889	Parades: Llew Stakes 262-5789
Cruises: Tony Hall 285-0759	Track Events: George Bobrovski 355-4180
Judging: Don Lane 748-6889	Refreshments: Brenda Jones 740-2096
Technical Advisors
Sonny Coble 282-4932	Kenny Fischer 743-1490
Bill Jarvis 262-2137	Carroll Lipscombe 329-5901
Rick Nochta 321-5383	Richard Jones 740-2096

Club Sponsors
Present your club membership card at the following business to receive valuable discounts.
Harold Sales Kar Kraft & Mirror Glaze Products 358-4995	First Class Towing Lloyd Liggan 746-1771
NAPA Genuine Auto Parts Reference Cash Account #1918	Ray Broyhill Ford, Hopewell, Va. 804-743-4405
Richmond Motor Company 4600 W. Broad St. 254-9254	Rick’s Restorations 1400 Valley Rd. 321-5383
Seredni Tire & Auto Northside 266-4955 Southside 232-4515 Mechanicsville 730-1440	Lay Oak Don Lane 748-6889
Advance Mobile Glass 236-1296	Weaver Transmission 2406 Mechanicsville Pike 746-7879
Dave’s Upholstery Shop 5702 Mechanicville Pike 746-7879	Midas Muffler & Brake Shop 3700 Hull Street Road
Dockside Mobile Marine Hanover Industrial Air Park 752-2054	C.P.’s Mufflers 3320 Mechanicsville Pike 321-7397
Air Conditioning Services All types Mike O’Conner 743-8339 Kevin Kean 271-0771	Capital Windshield Repair Richmond Steve Fine 750-2864
W.B. & Son Auto Care & Detail 278-5223 Detail Shop Gary Sager 354-0980	Jeffe Locke Professional Appraiser of Antique, Classic and Special Interest Vehicles. $50 a car when in a group of four. 757-421-9028
Carroll’s Tree Service 10% discount to club members Carroll McCauley 275-6658	Beach Construction Roof Contractor Jimmy Beach 271-5225
Batteries Plus 10% discount to club members 10070 Midlothian Turnpike 560-4600	Truck Outfitters 10% discount to club members 2025 Boulevard Colonial Heights, Va. 526-0453