[Pliskin]

Just a quick update for anyone who may be interested. The Daytona has a new, custom-copied from original, all brass heater core now and functioning AC drain hose. It took 28.5 hours of labor to reach, repair and reassemble.

A good amount of the time was invested in attempting to remove the cover box assembly that encloses the climate control components forward of the firewall. This is installed at the factory using several beads of a thick, sticky, tar-like substance that serves as a gasket/sealant. Since it runs in several axis, pulling the cover off in any one direction means you must defeat the grip in another. The fear was the possibility the force needed risked breaking the cover. Fortunately that didn't happen.

I complained to Lance Stander, owner of Hillbank Motorsports, Irvine and Shelby Distribution USA, that a customer with a brand new Shelby shouldn't have to deal with repairing a flawed factory supplied component. As you may know, these cars are sold without any type of warranty so my intent was to suggest to Lance he might want to consider reviewing the process they employ when inspecting or testing parts before they install...especially something so hard to reach. To my surprise, Mr. Stander immediately sent me a check that will cover 2/3 of the repair cost along with his apologies for my inconvenience. Pretty classy response in my book.

So, back in business here...hope all is well with everyone.