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1968 Bonnie and Clyde lives!!

lnevill

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
64
After nearly 25 years in a serious coma, lots of surgeries and a few transplants, Bonnie and Clyde came back to life with a vengeance!!

The original 390 fired up and ran like one would hope after a complete rebuild. After about 6 minutes the temp continued to rise and never stopped. I had an old radiator cap on the tank and I saw it start to boil over just as my buddy did and as he pulled away the cap blew off and scalded his left arm pretty good. Blew all 3.5 gallons of coolant all over herself and my shop (ceiling and all). Got her shut down and Bill taken to the ER to dress his wounds (mainly 2nd degree with a small 3rd degree burn under his watch). He is much better now.

Figured out the fan clutch was bad and not engaging. Spent the rest of the day cleaning up, replaced the clutch with a new unit the next day, started her up and ran her in for 20 minutes w/o any additional issues: major sigh of relief!!! The 390 rumbles at an idle and spools up pretty good! Can't wait to get her on the street and do a little "seat of the pants" tuning!

My wife figures Bonnie and Clyde came back to life remembering how she left this world, and was looking for vengeance. Once she figured out we were the good guys, she mellowed right out! I sure hope the guy who did the shooting back in 1991 does not cross her path!!

Fan clutches are hard to test without being on a running car! I spun the new one and the old one at ambient temp and they feel the same. I should have heated it up with my heat gun, because as soon as the new one started to get warm it became harder and harder to spin, as it should!

A few items to finish up and some shake down time and she will be ready for the auction block! I will, of course, offer her to anyone on this site at 4% below my reserve (what I pay the broker who sells my cars). I'll post in the classified when she's ready, but if any one is looking for an extremely rare S code 4 speed GT/CS (111 of these built, this is the ONLY ONE of them in Brittany Blue), with a very unique story, drop me a pm. NOT A CONCOURS car, but a very, very nice driver! No surprises here, I'll tell you everything I know about the car, including which panels were replaced, etc.

Lee
 

rvrtrash

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
3,649
Glad you got it working. As a personal observation, for anyone else starting a new engine, I recommend starting it with the radiator cap off. When you add coolant to a new engine, it tends to trap air in pockets at the top of the engine. The trapped air can keep the water from circulating properly and as the air and water get hot and expands, it creates a lot of pressure, with results like described above. I've found starting the engine with the cap off, watching for the water to start moving, and then adding when the level drops (air is pushed out) works best.

Steve
 
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lnevill

lnevill

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
64
I also start a new engine with the cap off, but it MUST be on and tight before after the thermostat opens and before the water/coolant starts to get hot. The boiling point of the system will increase by about 5 degrees for every pound of pressure it us under. A 13# rad cap will increase the boiling point by almost 60 deg F. That takes the boiling point of pure water from 212 degrees to close to 275, so running w/o a cap on a 20 minute break in run on a new engine is not recommended!

In fact, that was part of my problem. The old radiator cap would not hold any pressure, so the system boiled over before it could reach equilibrium.

Lee
 
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whodat

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
635
What were the options on this car? And do you have anymore photos of it?
 
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lnevill

lnevill

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
64
8R01S57550
Door codes:
65A
Q
2B
16D
74
7
5

Options:
Black Vinyl top
CS
GT
4 spd
Wide oval tires
White sidewall Nylon tires
Power brakes
Power steering
AM
Chrome styled steel wheels

Too many pictures to post here. Send me a PM please.
 

TheBlkPearl

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
153
Location
Boise
Boise Motorfest

Lee,

I met you at the recent Boise Motorfest (I had the black GT/CS) and you told me a good story about this car and why it is called Bonnie & Clyde. Hope you can post some pictures - inside and out :)
390 4 speed = fun

Randy
 
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lnevill

lnevill

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
64
Hi Randy,

Your black and red GT/CS is a real beauty!

I'll wait until it is finished and detailed to post most of the pictures, but here it is today going back to the body shop for final fit/finish and stripes.

Yes, those are 67 Shelby scoops!

Lee
 

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