RPM Exclusive Featured Member's Ride "Brumbie"  GT-350
David Rule, "Brumbie" GT-350 Driver & Owner
Photography - Kyle Eads



Well, this is the story of my Brumbie.  What is a Brumbie you ask? Well:

According to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia a brumbie is a wild horse of Australia. Spelled brumbie, brumby and brumbee, "It is similar to the American mustang."

"Its Australian for Mustang!!"

It all started in 2001 in when I saw Gone in 60 seconds for the first time. Seeing Eleanor for the first time was like seeing a spectacular girl walk into a bar. I was smitten, my jaw dropped, I lost my breath, my heart started beating faster - I was speechless. What the hell is that? I had never seen a 67 mustang before or anything close to Eleanor. Mustangs are very rare in Australia and the most common ones are the 69's and 70's.

Fast forward to 2004. I am now working in the USA and a friend of mine mentioned he has a 67 fastback, his father who restoring it had just passed away and he was thinking of finishing the project and didn't want to sell it. Disappointed I went home to Australia for a visit and talked to my brother about the car, and he was adamant I go back to him to see if he still had it and convince him to sell it to me. Sure enough, he had decided to part it out and sell the parts, but I sensed I could talk him to selling me the whole thing. There was over $17,000 worth of new parts including a worked K-code (originally the car was an A code). I looked at the car, a Brittany blue car in gorgeous condition, with one exception - the car was completely in pieces. But he was asking $8000 when empty shells were going for $10k in the height of the Eleanor craze, it was a deal! So in October 2004, I handed over the $8000 and it was mine.

Now what? I had a car, sitting under a temporary tarp garage and no idea what I was going to do with it. Do I fix it myself? Do I send off to a shop? The car was at my friends uncles (Ed) place, his fathers brother and a long time mustang restorer and fan. He understood I didn't really have a garage to fix my car and offered to keep the car where it was and we worked on the car together. What a dream, to have a  mentor to help me fix the car. Well away we went, every Saturday down to Ed's. First order of business was to get the engine ready, get all the pulleys painted and ready to bolt on. The first of many problems started to rear its head. In order to drive the A/C compressor, we needed a 3 channel pulley that bolts onto the crank and fits the huge K-code balancer. I searched high and low, and I could not find the part!! No one was able to find a K-code fitting pulley that would drive the A/C. Do they exist? I still don't know.



At this point we had a mechanic helping me at Ed's to get everything together. Then we ran into issues with new motor mounts. 67's have unique mounts and they are hard to find. I went through 3 sets trying to find ones that would fit. Other issues started to arise and it was heading towards winter, it was cold and wet and my car was under a tarp and temporary garage. Something I didn't want. My wife was also complaining that she never saw me anymore and didn't want me working on the car and ignoring the family. I was stuck. I was making good but not great money at Boeing at the time so I decided to hand her over to a shop to work on. The car had gotten way out of my comfort zone and at the time it seemed the only way for me to finish the car. So of it went to my mechanics shop, in a run down little place beside Tacoma harbor. He wasn't a Ford mechanic but definitely old school and Ed trusted him so why not? I was getting a cheap rate but that also made me last on his list.



I was subscribing to Mustang Monthly and Mustangs & Fords and started getting mustang modification  envy. Originally, I just wanted to reassemble the car and get it running. But then I needed a serpentine belt accessory system to get the factory air system running on the K-Code. Then I needed to replace the damaged hood so got the Shelby fiberglass one, then order wheels and got the Eleanor ones. I was out of control. It had to be the best. Then I ordered the Eleanor scoops and I knew, I was no longer re-assembling the car, I was building a custom restomod before I even knew it. I had made the classic mistake of not defining what I wanted at the start and sticking with it. The car was evolving into something that I envisioned but not originally planned!
I had no idea what I was getting myself into. 



I remembered my initial lust for an Eleanor Mustang but my tastes had changed, grown up even. Partially because Eleanor body kits were SOO expensive and partly because I wanted something not as outlandish and plastic looking as Eleanor. In my mind I wanted to combine all the best things of all the Mustangs. I wanted the Eleanor look in the wheels and scoops but the Shelby looking GT-350 hood and the GT-350R front valance that also kept the front bumper. Of course, the Shelby rear end with the cougar lights and tail had to be on there. I decided that the Eleanor was just an infatuation, my tastes had grown a little more sophisticated. I was just hoping once it was all done it would like great.



Then, all the fittings had to be stainless steel with anodized fittings and the costs started going up. Meanwhile work was going VERY slowly, frustratingly. We couldn't get the March accessory system working on the k-code. It wouldn't work, the alternator bracket just would not fit. And then when we jury rigged it, the waterpump pulley was hitting the electric fan. No!!! Nothing was working. We tried starting it, and it would not fire no matter what we did. What the hell? We look in the oil filter and there is metal in there, hmmmm, not a good sign. So much for a $5000 blueprint job on the motor. I was later to discover that the shop that had worked on it had completely ripped them the previous owners off. 2 rings were broken on the motor, it still had shavings in the block, the cam they replaced was used and the Rhoads lifters were not really the real deal. Well, we decided to fix the issues after paint.



At this point, I started looking around for painters. I had decided to change the colour from Brittany Blue to Indigo Blue with white super snake stripes. I even put "GT-350E" on the side, to represent the two mustangs, the GT-350 and Eleanor mustangs that had been its inspiration. My mechanic friend had someone to do the whole paint job for 14k. And then I went to The Mustang Shop and got a quote for $10k. Sweet, save some money. So off it went to TMS's recommended body shop. By this stage I was out of money and credit cards maxed so I took out a loan to cover the paint job and the rest of the restoration.



So after forking out most of the paint budget I went down to the body shop to see how it was going. They were not even close, the car wasn't even in primer yet. With TMS there, we discovered the whole budget was not even agreed to between the shops!! Wow, I was floored. The car immediately left that body shop and I went looking for someone to finish the job who could stick to a budget.  Off to another shop, again we ran over budget. Everyone has really wanted the car to look its best, but at my expense! She looked great though, but I was depressed. I was now broke and had no idea how I was going to finish her off.



Paint was finally done and about to head back to my mechanic friend when TMS came to me with an offer. Knowing how badly the paint job had gone and my budget for completing the job had vanished they offered to do the all mechanical work for free. Wow, I might get this done after all. They really came to my rescue.

As always free work is slow work but we moved along slowly.

The car became a custom beauty with almost everything changed on the car.

My fortunes started to look and I managed to get a job that paid extremely well and the project finally took off as I could finally afford to build the car of my dreams. Electric everything  - windows, locks, alarm, trunk release. Custom Heidt's suspension, nitrous, custom interior to match the paintwork and car. It is now challenging to find something on the car that is stock or original!

By the time you read this the Brumbie should be completed. I will have taken the car to the dyno which we are hoping to dial to 450 rear wheel HP, fixed the little defects in my paint and finally have her on the road.

It has been a long hard and expensive road but my dream car is finally here. Like a true Brumbie, this car has been hard to break in and complete, with years and years of time, hard work and yes even tears, but she is worth it.



"BRUMBIE" GT-350 BUILD SHEET

Engine:
-   K Code short block
-   Forged Pistons, 10.5 Compression Ratio
-   Aluminum Trick Flow Heads
-   Edelbrock Aluminum RPM Polished Performer Intake
-   Holley 570 Street Avenger Carburetor
-   Comp Cams performance cam.
-   Fuel Line with incorporated fuel pressure gauge
-   NOS Wet Injection, currently 150 HP shot
-   Billet Specialties Serpentine Belt Accessory System
-   Billet Specialties Sanden A/C Compressor
-   Billet Specialties Power Steering Pump
-   Billet Specialties 1 Wire 140 Amp Alternator
-   Billet Specialties Reverse Flow Water Pump
-   JBA Headers
-   Cobra Polished Rocker Covers
-   Cobra Oval Natural Finish Aluminum Air Filter
-   J & N Oval Filter
-   Mallory Billet Distributor
-   Cobra Aluminum Pan
-   Magnaflow 2" Exhaust System with X-Pipe
-   Flowmaster 40 Mufflers
-   Late model rolled exhaust tips
-   Adjustable Poly-Urethane Engine mounts
-   Poly-Urethane Transmission mount
-   Red anodized ignition wire holders.
-   Turned aluminum transmission dipstick.

Engine Bay:
-   Aluminum 2 Core Radiator
-   Cool Air Electric Fan
-   Hi-Torque Started Motor with built in Solenoid.
-   Polished Coolant Overflow
-   March Power Steering Reservoir
-   MSD 6AL Ignition
-   MSD Window Switch for Nitrous
-   After market Transmission Cooler added
-   Electric Line Lock
-   93 Cobra Master cylinder
-   Aluminum A/C Condenser
-   A/C Condenser modified for passenger side plumbing.
-   Battery Relocated to trunk
-   Low Tension hood springs for fiberglass hood.
-   Lighting harness rerouted out of engine bay.
-   Stainless steel fender bolts

Driveline:
-   AOD Mega Monster Transmission with Shift Kit
-   B & M Shifter, with Nitrous / Line Lock button
-   Aluminum balanced driveshaft
-   8" Ford 4.10 Gears with Trac-lok
-   Aftermarket rear axles, hardened.
-   PS Engineering wheels 17 x 8 front and rear.
-   Dunlop Direzza Star Spec Tires

Electrical
-   Headlights converted to Halogen with Relay
-   PIAA Driving Lights
-   Electric Windows with BMW Switches
-   Remote Electric Door locks
-   Alarm System
-   Electric Trunk Release
-   LED Rear Lights
-   Electric Fuel Pump
-   B&M Shifter button wire for Line Lock and NOS spray.
-   NOS Arm switch - turns off line lock and NOS on and vice versa.
-   NOS Bottle Warmer
-   NOS Remote Bottle Opener

Body Work
-   GT-350 Font Racing Valance with Bumper bar.
-   Shelby Style Hood
-   Eleanor Upper Scoops
-   Eleanor Lower Scoops
-   Door skins built up to match Eleanor Lower Scoops
-   Shelby Trunk Lid
-   Shelby End Caps
-   Cougar Rear Lights
-   GT Rear Valance
-   GT Style Gas Cap with running horse
-   Rear Key Lock deleted.
-   Painted GM Indigo Blue with White super snake stripes.
-   Underside and all interior panels coated with Lizard Skin heat barrier and sound         
        deadening material.
-   Sub-frame connectors
-   Door locks shaved
-   Antenna hole removed
-   Billet Grill added
-   Horse & Corral Removed
-   Running Horse added
-   Hood Latch mechanism removed
-   Hood pins added
-   Chromed headlight surrounds added

Suspension & Braking
-   Shelby Front Drop upper arm relocation.
-   Shelby 1 1/8" front sway bar
-   620 Front springs, cut down for ride height.
-   Poly-Urethane bushings throughout.
-   Randall Rack Rack & Pinion Steering.
-   Kelsey Hayes 4 Piston Front Disc Brakes
-   Heidt's 5 Link Rear suspension with adjustable coilovers & pan-hard bar
 
Interior
-   Tilt Steering Column
-   Le Carre Steering Wheel
-   Interior changed from Light Blue to Dark Blue
-   Auto-Meter Gauges with Blue LED Lighting
-   Electrical Speedometer with electrical sender.
-   Brushed Aluminum Dash
-   Seat Pan lowered and pushed back for large driver.
-   Shifter location moved rearward for large driver application
-   NOS Arm switch / Line Lock kill switch.
-   Upgraded Door panels with Brushed aluminum inserts
-   Flo-Fit seats custom upholstered with 67 Deluxe interior style and custom inserts
-   Rear seats custom upholstered to match front seats.
-   Tank Armor fitted above gas tank
-   NOS Tank fitted in trunk.
-   Interior Antenna added.

I am glad that my old nitrous stuff will be a part of this amazing car!

I am glad that my old nitrous stuff will be a part of this amazing car!

Its all wired up and working mate. Switches hidden in the glove box. Cant wait for warm dry weather to punch that button.

I am glad that the spirit of Silver Bullet will live on through your amazing machine! May you have the same 0 loss record that I had!

I think you and I need to go ricer hunting together!! Learn how to eat them for lunch eh?

Very sweet car and thanks for sharing the story. 

REMEMBER - THE NEXT WRITE-UP COULD BE ABOUT YOUR CAR!!!

All you gotta do is ENTER and WIN our March RPM Members Ride's Photo Contest!!!

I saw this car in person at a show recently, and wow what an amazing car!