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Little Red project nearing completion

DAR1

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Dec 1, 2003
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53
Location
Stockholm
I thought you guys might like to see how my 'Little Red' project is coming along. All of the fiberglass has been mounted and the car is now Candy Apple red with Arget rear panel and a brand new black vinyl top. For the engine, I decided not to put in a supercharged 428 CJ which for accuracy I should have...
Instead it will have a 408 stroker. It is much lighter than the 428 with about 500 hp.

Dan
 

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Perkchiro

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May 1, 2004
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Nixa, MO
DAN: Very nice indeed. One question, didn't the original little red project have a Shelby front end? Looks like you retained a stock front end. Looks great, but I was just curious.
Steve
 

Mustanger

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Mar 17, 2005
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So Cal
Perkchiro said:
DAN: Very nice indeed. One question, didn't the original little red project have a Shelby front end? Looks like you retained a stock front end. Looks great, but I was just curious.
Steve

Steve,

Isn't the '67 front end the same? I think they are, ... it was in '68 that Shelby changed the front end compared to a Mustang's front end ...
 

Mosesatm

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I'll be darned, it does have the standard '67 front end but with the round lights in the grille. I always just assumed it had a Shelby nose on it.
 

Perkchiro

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I'll be darned likewise. So the Green Hornet had a Shelby nose and the Little Red didn't? Learn something new every day!
 
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PNewitt

Guest
Little Red DID use a '67 Shelby Nose.

NO!!!!

Wait. Little Red DID have a '67 Shelby nose! Look at the side view of the car in my first book. It is most definately a Shelby nosepiece.

What throws you off is the use of chrome trim around the grille. This was a custom trim piece--not used on the '67 Shelby.

The outboard headlights also make for the illusion of a stock Mustang nose. the angle of the photo in the Mustang Times does mislead, too.

Look at the diameter of the headlights--they are smaller, single beam type, not the '68 dual beam type, which are larger.

As for the "non-supercharged" version...don't worry. Little Red was a test bed vehicle, and it didn't always have the blower on it. It had many variations, like no roll bar, then one added, a 427, then a 428; a C-6 that broke under too much horsepower; then a Lincoln tailhousing was installed to keep it from breaking, etc...etc..

Paul Newitt
 
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case12

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Joined
Oct 8, 2004
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1,450
Location
Crystal Lake, IL
Thanks Paul. Now that you cleared it up - It does make sense that Little Red had a Shelby hood because as posted in another thread, the SAAC interview with Fred Goodell regarding the connection of the GT/CS to Little Red did mention that Fred recalled there being discussion about possibly using the Shelby hood on the GT/CS - but, alas, that never happened. Thanks, Casey
 
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PNewitt

Guest
When Fred commented about using a Shelby hood, he meant the '68 version, which would have included the '68 Shelby headlight buckets, center piece, and lower valance--as well as the longer bumper brackets. By that time, it was too late to use the '67 Shelby parts, and... A.O. Smith was making only the '68 parts.

All those pieces would have cost too much per unit--for the GT/CS.

Little Red was built "late" in 1967, and it was a combination of styling experiments and high performance parts. Little Red was a test bed for everything they could throw at it.

When the kept the (Shelbyized) C-6 from breaking from the high torque of the CJ blower, the car would "just sit there and spin the tires" when the throttle was hit.

not just a fast car, but...SCARY FAST!

Paul N.
 

68gt390

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Feb 22, 2004
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2,021
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Dan;
Very nice looking car regardless of frontend used. Keep up the good work. Plus, using the stroker motor - very nice touch. She's still gonna have that put your butt in the seat power. You can't beat that. :grin:

Don
 
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DAR1

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Dec 1, 2003
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53
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Stockholm
Guys - Sorry it took so long to respond, I went down with the stomach flu, I may have lost about 7 pounds the hard way.......
Paul (as always) is absolutly right about the front end. In the picture I posted it is hard to see the '67 fiberglass nose. Especially since the trim is not yet installed. The car has the correct nose with outboard high beams and the louvered GT500 hood. Thanks for all of the positive comments. I will post better pictures when the car is done.
Dan
 

p51

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Aug 2, 2005
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NorCal
PNewitt said:
NO!!!!

Wait. Little Red DID have a '67 Shelby nose! Look at the side view of the car in my first book. It is most definately a Shelby nosepiece....
Whereas the Green Hornet had the '68 Shelby hood and nose, correct?

So, here's a question for the crowd....
....which do you prefer in terms of styling: Little Red, Green Hornet, or GT/CS? In order, I favor the Green Hornet, then Little Red, then the standard GT/CS (although all are very good looking)?
 

68gt390

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Myself, I prefer the Green Hornet, GT/CS and then Little Red. To me the Green Hornet styling on the front end really stands out compared to Little Red and I definitely like the color. For some reason to me to many sports cars and muscle cars always use some form of red as an exterior color. They tend to blend in to much with the rest of the crowd. I have nothing against red cars but, to me I just prefer the darker colors. Even though I have a Royal Maroon CS, and many refer to it as being red, there is definitely a difference when you compare it side by side with a candy apple red car.

Don
 

Mosesatm

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Jan 18, 2005
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IMHO the Green Hornet is the best looking Mustang ever built, with the '69 Boss 302 a close second.
 

p51

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Aug 2, 2005
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Location
NorCal
Mosesatm said:
IMHO the Green Hornet is the best looking Mustang ever built, ...
Amen to that... albeit, I'm a sucker for red classic mustangs so my perfect car is a "Red Hornet" :wink:

The other thing that I like is the black vinyl top on GH (or on any GT/CS). Couldnt figure exactly why that was until the other day when it dawned on me that a coupe with a vinyl top (esp black) reminds me of a convertible but without the flimsy top - sorta a weird psychological paradox that works for me :undecided
 
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DAR1

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Dec 1, 2003
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Location
Stockholm
For me I really like 'Little Red' - That is why I chose to build one. The idea of such a potent car existing for a while and then destroyed creates kind of a reverence. From the beginning I appreciated the cleanliness of the '67 glass over the '68. But I must say the Green Hornet's '68 glass has really grown on me. I like the way they created kind of a 'Cobra mouth' by continuing the grill below the bumper and adding the swept mean-looking 'eyebrow' over the top of the headlamps. The fact that the Green Hornet started out as a GT/CS only makes it cooler.
I really like the idea of adding a shorter '68 Shelby style hood (set back a little to compensate for the shorter stock nose as Paul mentioned on another thread) to the GT/CS - it really could have added a lot to the package.
Dan
 

p51

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Just thought it would be interesting to post vintage pics of both cars...
 

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