67 Mustang

[sixty7stang]

Hey guys I have a 67 Mustang Coupe 3 speed automatic tranny, with a 351 Windsor V8. I have an Edelbrock 4 barrel carb and stock exhaust manifold. The other day while driving down the highway, a newer (I'd say 2006-2008) V6 Mustang which seemed to be stock, drove by at high speed so I decided to have some fun. I let loose and started to catch up. As I got to his bumper we were going about 115. My pedal was to the floor and I could tell that was as fast as I was going to get. He kept going and left me in the dust. It absolutely destroyed my pride haha. What do you guys think I should do to make old Elly faster and accelerate quicker? I don't have a ton of money to spare on her right now also. Thank you all so much in advance.

 

[horse sence]

what is your gear ratio? is the carb opening the butterflies all the way?
headers and a cam with a performer rpm intake and a good distributor will help.

 

[Mr67Stang]

Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?

That is an old saying that was pinned up at the machine shop I used to frequent as a young teen some 25 years ago when I had aspirations of turning my factory 200 hp 289 automatic '67 Stang into some sort of street monster. In most cases you have to make a choice. Do you want to be quick or do you want to be fast. There are two seperate aproaches to either goal with few capable of financing both. With upgrades available today that were out of reach before such as over-drive transmission swaps it is a bit more feasable. You say your car was running out at 115 mph; imagine if you could have shifted to overdrive as that newer Mustang did. Where was your tachometer reading when you were at 115 mph? If you were in your power band still, an over-drive would have given you maybe another 15 - 25 mph depending on your gearing. I have had my '67 up to 126 with stock suspension and brakes. Lets just say its a bit scary when that front end starts to get floaty on you. Now I just want to hit 105 mph... within a 1/4 mile in about 12.something seconds. That's just me realizing my finacial limitations.

 

[sixty7stang]

what is your gear ratio? is the carb opening the butterflies all the way?
headers and a cam with a performer rpm intake and a good distributor will help.

Its about 3:08 and i'll have to check on that when i get home today. I have a performance cam in it already. I'm planning on getting headers in the next month or so as well! The distributor isn't bad either. I'm also planning on beefing up the suspension soon

 

[sixty7stang]

Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?

That is an old saying that was pinned up at the machine shop I used to frequent as a young teen some 25 years ago when I had aspirations of turning my factory 200 hp 289 automatic '67 Stang into some sort of street monster. In most cases you have to make a choice. Do you want to be quick or do you want to be fast. There are two seperate aproaches to either goal with few capable of financing both. With upgrades available today that were out of reach before such as over-drive transmission swaps it is a bit more feasable. You say your car was running out at 115 mph; imagine if you could have shifted to overdrive as that newer Mustang did. Where was your tachometer reading when you were at 115 mph? If you were in your power band still, an over-drive would have given you maybe another 15 - 25 mph depending on your gearing. I have had my '67 up to 126 with stock suspension and brakes. Lets just say its a bit scary when that front end starts to get floaty on you. Now I just want to hit 105 mph... within a 1/4 mile in about 12.something seconds. That's just me realizing my finacial limitations.

I would like to add a little speed in the higher rpms, but mainly i want it to get up and go. I would like to be able to get it up to around 120-125 of possible? And also, the timing is just a tad off as we've had to time it by ear for now. I should be getting a timing pointer either today or tomorrow though. That should help just a little bit. But mainly, i want to be able to get up and go quickly.

 

[sixty7stang]

I would like to add a little speed in the higher rpms, but mainly i want it to get up and go. I would like to be able to get it up to around 120-125 of possible? And also, the timing is just a tad off as we've had to time it by ear for now. I should be getting a timing pointer either today or tomorrow though. That should help just a little bit. But mainly, i want to be able to get up and go quickly.

Also, my tach was at about 5500

 

[Mr67Stang]

Also, my tach was at about 5500

About the perfect shift point for a 351w. Think T-5 conversion to get what your asking for.

What is your rear end gear ratio? For a pretty quick launch and a decent top end I used to like the 3.55:1 gears (this is the gear I had when I hit 126 mph). That was with a 289 and a four speed top loader. 140 mph would have easilly been attainable w/over-drive. However, my care was too floaty at 126, so 140 might have lead to a disasterous end. I now have a 3.89:1 gear and my top end dropped but my get up and go quickness improved.

As mentioned above, you could add some decent long tube headers and a good electronic ignition if not already done.

 

[sixty7stang]

About the perfect shift point for a 351w. Think T-5 conversion to get what your asking for.

What is your rear end gear ratio? For a pretty quick launch and a decent top end I used to like the 3.55:1 gears (this is the gear I had when I hit 126 mph). That was with a 289 and a four speed top loader. 140 mph would have easilly been attainable w/over-drive. However, my care was too floaty at 126, so 140 might have lead to a disasterous end. I now have a 3.89:1 gear and my top end dropped but my get up and go quickness improved.

As mentioned above, you could add some decent long tube headers and a good electronic ignition if not already done.

Ok thanks. I have about a 3:08 right now. We are going t be beefing up the suspension within the next couple months though what exactly do you suggest? And i'm also getting some headers soon.

 

[sixty7stang]

Just advanced the timing a bit. Helped alot but its stil not perfectly timed yet

 

[woodsnake]

To get your carb'ed Ford to run right, you are going to have to have a good timing light, and a vacuum gauge. It's so much better to actually "know" what you have going on, instead of trying by ear.

 

[sixty7stang]

To get your carb'ed Ford to run right, you are going to have to have a good timing light, and a vacuum gauge. It's so much better to actually "know" what you have going on, instead of trying by ear.

Oh yea I agree. I just finished timing it correctly a couple hours ago. Runs WAYYY better than she used to. Way quicker.

 

[Iamdiffrnt]

Since you are already running an automatic, I would say, look at a beefed up AOD, or think about a 4R70W trans. The AOD is a decent trans, same gears as a C-4, + Overdrive. The 4R70W already has most of the parts you would use to upgrade the AOD, a lower first gear and overdrive. However the 4R70W is an electronic trans and you would need a controller. I think the trans upgrade will get you where you want to be, then you can upgrade your rear gears as you see fit.
I also would recommend talking to the guys at Silverfox Performance Trans, as they specialize in AOD's and 4R70W transmissions.
Good luck!

 

[sixty7stang]

Since you are already running an automatic, I would say, look at a beefed up AOD, or think about a 4R70W trans. The AOD is a decent trans, same gears as a C-4, + Overdrive. The 4R70W already has most of the parts you would use to upgrade the AOD, a lower first gear and overdrive. However the 4R70W is an electronic trans and you would need a controller. I think the trans upgrade will get you where you want to be, then you can upgrade your rear gears as you see fit.
I also would recommend talking to the guys at Silverfox Performance Trans, as they specialize in AOD's and 4R70W transmissions.
Good luck!

Ok thanks man! As far as rear end ratio I'm thinking either 3:55 or 3:73.

 

[65ShelbyClone]

Steeper gears with your current engine and trans will only make the top speed lower and the cruise RPM higher. I wouldn't go above ~3.50 with a car that sees highway driving and has no overdrive. That's what I have and it's close to 3000rpm at 65mph with a 25.5" tire.

You also didn't mention what year your engine is and/or what year the heads are. Is the 4v intake an original or aftermarket?

 

[sixty7stang]

Steeper gears with your current engine and trans will only make the top speed lower and the cruise RPM higher. I wouldn't go above ~3.50 with a car that sees highway driving and has no overdrive. That's what I have and it's close to 3000rpm at 65mph with a 25.5" tire.

You also didn't mention what year your engine is and/or what year the heads are. Is the 4v intake an original or aftermarket?

Engine is 71-74 and so are the heads. Intake is aftermarket. And I've come to terms with reality and decided not to go for top speed but more off the line quickness which is why I'm thinking 3:55 or 3:73

 

[Mr67Stang]

Ok thanks. I have about a 3:08 right now. We are going t be beefing up the suspension within the next couple months though what exactly do you suggest? And i'm also getting some headers soon.

There are a few good companies out there making upgrade suspension for our classic Mustangs and as of yet, I have not researched a one of them since my suspension is all stock, less the recent purchace of a set of Competition Engineering Slide-A-Link traction bars, I will be looking at it in the future. So, come back and let us know what you go with. I am building my car more for some weekend warrior grudge racing at the local 1/4 mile track so I wont be spending a lot of money to try and make the care run "Dead Mans Curve".