There are two basic choices when it comes to insuring a classic car. You can either negotiate with your mainstream insurer and wind up paying more money for coverage that may not accurately represent the true value of your car, or you can opt for collector car insurance, and accept the restrictions that come with such coverage. In order to determine which choice is best for you, ask yourself the following questions:

• How often do you drive it?
• Where do you store it?
• Do you have another car?
• Are there other drivers of this car?
• Has this car been modified?

Standard Insurance
If your classic Ford is also the car you drive to and from work every day, or if there are other members of your family who drive it, you may want to work with your normal insurance company. Here’s what to know about mainstream insurers:

• Valuation: Your value will be based on “actual cash” value, which is blue book value minus depreciation. You may, if your insurer is incredibly flexible, be able to boost the value a little, to a coverage limit you and your agent agree upon but you’ll have to provide an appraisal and a list of sale listings for cars the same age and condition as yours, to support your numbers. As well, your insurer will not be required to pay out the full coverage amount, merely “up to” it.

• Modifications: Minor mods – wheels, tires, paint – are not a problem, though you must disclose them, and provide supporting documentation if you believe they improve your car’s value. Anything you do to the body or engine – especially the engine – will likely cost you a small fortune in premium, or send you to a collector car insurance company.

Collector Car Insurance
If your mustang is not a daily-driver car, no one else but you (or other adults who are experienced drivers) has access to it, and you store it in a locked garage when not in use, a collector car policy may be the way to go. These policies, backed by companies who specialize in antique, rare, or unique vehicles, are based on a different kind of valuation – agreed value – which is what you typically do not get from a mainstream insurer.

However, collector car policies typically come with a list of rules and restrictions. Here are some of the most common:

• You must be an adult driver, with significant (at least ten years) driving experience in order to qualify.
• You must have a daily driving vehicle that is adequately insured.
• Your driving record must be clean.
• There are limits to the amount of driving you can do, generally under 3,000 miles/year.
• Your car may have to meet certain age requirements. This varies from state to state, but is usually fifteen years or older.
• Many collector car policies have “proximity” clauses, requiring you to be in or near the car in order for it to be covered.

Despite the restrictions, you’ll likely find that collector car insurers are more forgiving about modifications, so if you’ve rebuilt the engine of your ’stang, they may still cover it. Also, premiums are often lower than mainstream policies, and often there is little-to-no deductible.

Whichever method of insuring your classic muscle car you ultimately select, be sure that you DO choose something. Even classic cars can still be ticketed for no insurance, after all.

You’ve heard of Barn Finds, well here’s a Garage Sale find. You don’t see this everyday, especially in the internet era. A 69 Fairlane at a garage sale with nothing more than a for sale sign on the windshield? I guess it still happens and that feels good. Further inquiry shows this is a Fairlane 500 with an original 351W and 4-Speed trans. Car appears to have been painted a few times but is originally black. Located in Sparks, NV if you have an itch, email jon@fordmuscle.com and I’ll put you in contact with the owner.

That’s how many heads Air Flow Research’s new facility is capable of cranking out. Formerly based in Pacoima, California, AFR moved to a state-0f-the-art facility in nearby Valencia. At 28,500 sq.ft., the new digs are double the size of the old location.

AFR’s president Rick Sperling tells us, “We have 12 Haas HS1 CNC porting machines, 3 Haas VF4 vertical machines, two FH-6800 Mazak machines, and on order is a Mori Seiki NH6300 machine with a 32 automatic pallet shuttle system with robotics to load and unload stations. We also have numerous other support equipment like two Newen Valve machines, a Serdi surfacing machine, automated pressuring checking, automated tool dispensing equipment, CNC Bridgeport’s mills and lathes, VF2 Haas CNC machine and a Brown and Sharp CMM for QC. ”

As AFR comes up on their 38th anniversary the company that pioneered CNC ported cylinder heads continues to innovate and set the standard for aftermarket cylinder heads. The company recently changed the majority of their cylinder heads over from 11/32″ to 8mm valvestem diameters. The smaller diameter stem reduces weight and thereby allows for a smaller valve spring and retainer. The resulting weight savings not only increase valve train reliability but extend the rpm range by avoiding valve float. Dyno tests have measured over 30 horsepower gains with no other changes! Look for a FordMuscle article and dyno test in the near future.

We congratulate and commend AFR on there new facilities. While many companies in the industry have looked to off-shore production to increase profitability, AFR has managed to be the industry leader in performance and quality while keeping their production right here in the USA.

Visit AFR’s newly designed website for a wealth of information, including dyno tested packages for a variety of Ford displacements.

Once The fastest growing sport in America, NASCAR is now threatened by an imploding car business and shrinking sponsorship budgets that are the sport’s very lifeblood.

CNBC’s Darren Rovell has the inside track on the sponsors, superstar drivers and fans that have made NASCAR a multi-billion dollar business.

Premieres on CNBC Thursday, July 9th at 9p, 10p, and 1a ET

This one slipped under our radar. On June 22nd, 84-year old Lee Iacocca, announced that he is offering a special edition 45th anniversary Mustang through Galpin Ford. Only 45 of the special edition cars will be offered. Silver only, with the standard GT engine or an optional supercharged 400HP version.

Sure Iacocca was the head of Ford back in ‘64 when the first Mustang was launched, but since then he has been more closely associated with Chrysler.

The car looks pretty cool, but why anyone would want a Mustang with an Iacocca badge is beyond us. More at their website.

DEARBORN, Mich. — Citing better-than-expected sales and traffic at dealerships, Ford Motor Co. said Monday it plans to increase third-quarter production by 25,000 units - marking the automaker’s second production hike in recent weeks.

Ford spokesman Mark Truby said that will bring total quarterly production to 485,000 units, a year-over-year increase of 16 percent or 67,000 units. Last month the company said it would raise third-quarter production by 42,000 units.

The boost affects all models of Ford, Lincoln, Mercury vehicles, with more emphasis being placed on Mustangs, pickup trucks and the Ford Focus compact car, Truby said.

“We had pretty well lowered production in recent quarters to meet demand,” Truby said. “Now as we’re seeing market share increases and showroom activity, we’re ramping up production to meet that demand.”

The increase comes as Ford’s top sales analyst, George Pipas, said the company’s June sales were “good” compared with the overall industry. The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker could see a year-over-year decline of 10 to 20 percent, which could be the lowest among all major automakers, he said.

“This will be our lowest decline of this year,” Pipas added.

Author and political satirist P.J. O’Rourke has an new book out titled Driving Like Crazy. The book, featuring a young P.J. laying across the hood of a ‘67 Mustang, talks about how the muscle car was once a vehicle for guys wanting to impress girls, and how this has been displaced by the emergence of social media and other less tangible methods.

P.J. was recently interviewed by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. Usually such interviews talk superficially and in generality about muscle cars. Surprisingly though both guys deserve kudos for their knowledge of such cars, and more-so for keeping the discussion very relevant to the car on the cover.

At 1:46 into the interview Jon Stewart says, “And you take out the 289 and throw in the big-ass Cleveland.” We’re not sure when the last time any classic pushrod Ford engine was called out by its CID on cable television, but we approve.

Tim Meyer informs us that dyno testing of the 454 stroker IMCA motor, which we featured a build-up on, resulted in a monstrous 650 horsepower and 659 ft.lbs. of torque. For a dyno graph and video check out the original article “Top Secret:Behind the Scenes with a TMeyer Inc. IMCA Modified SB454″.