Apologies for the noobish question, just hoping some old-school gurus on here can spare a few reads to help me out.
I have a C-code coupe, 289 (non-hi-po) with a C-4 transmission, both stock. It was originally Lime Gold inside/outside, it's been repainted forest green and has bullet wheels on it. This summer, I am going to fix it up - paint it and make it look faster.
Retaining any degree of its individuality is not a real concern with me; I think Lime Gold was a fugly color anyway. It is a coupe and not a fastback, so I am considering painting it up like Jerry Semo's '68 Trans-Am mustang.
So, I have already had the 289 rebuilt; it was bored 0.030 over, with new pistons, rods and bearings to original spec. (Sorry, don't know much about the rebuild, or about engines yet.) Apparently, my engine has 351 heads on it. It still has the stock intake and exhaust manifolds, a single (incredibly skinny in comparison to the ricers) exhaust pipe.
The car is simply not fast enough. Burning Integra GS-Rs at the stoplights, then getting dusted by them on the freeway because they have high-flow fart-can exhausts and cold-air intakes is really, really pissing me off. This car should not be losing highway races. Jerry Semo would be ashamed.
I don't want a race car, but I don't want a cruiser either. I'm trying to build something along the lines of a BMW Mustang: softly sprung enough to be comfortable, but with good handling characteristics and less road and wind noise, and Ford performance. I'm trying to make a classy, usable daily driver and I want to be able to dust those goddamn Acuras on the freeway.
The car is fast but it's conservatively geared (3.0:1 or something, I believe). and lacks any freeway manners whatsoever, due to a combination of incredibly poor aerodynamics (it's like driving a barn door at 100 mph) and the C-4. While it has prodigious low-end torque, it is quite unstable over anything besides a perfectly flat road in a straight line. Rear-axle wheel-hop during bumps in turns is really, really scary in this car, often sliding the rear axle over a tangible few inches. There is no differential in the car, and the rear suspension setup is stock, and aging, as are the intake and exhaust. Currently, it has stock intake and an AutoLite 2100 carb on it.
I'm budgeting $1500 for a clear-coat paintjob and some body work, including straightening the body panels and rust removal - don't know the car's history, after all. I have $1500 set aside for parts. Installation labor is not a problem, my family runs a garage. Here is what I am thinking (including the bodywork), please tell me if I should change or rethink anything:
Aftermarket xenon headlights and NOS fog lights, trunk lid spoiler, Maier racing front valance w/bumper, black with silver stripe down the middle and silver C-stripes
Transmission rebuild with better freeway gearing, shift improver kit
Wider, larger diameter wheels (not in budget, pays for itself thru selling current wheels). I have a power steering Mustang; what kind of control issues would be raised by putting wider tires on it? (like wider 17"s or 18"s)
Lower car 1" front, 0.75" back. (maybe flared fenders, to accomodate larger-width wheels)
Panhard rod, under-rider traction bars, new leafs
Pertronix points-less ignition, Optima battery, alternator upgrade
Intake + roller-rocker conversion + cam (thinking Crane Gold rockers with a CompCams cam, don't know which cam or intake yet)
Mild self-performed head porting (maybe just port matching and grinding bigger exhaust - I read somewhere on these forums that 289s have problems removing exhaust gases?)
Used Ford 9 inch differential with hotter gearing
Tri-Y or long-tube headers and dual exhaust
Aluminum or other high-performance radiator and electric fans
Dual-plane intake and 600cfm (or as close as I can get) 4-barrel carb with a carb spacer (this increases air intake speed, or something?)
The goal that I have is to create an engine that revs up fast and develops a lot of power at high rpms, but without sacrificing low-end torque. Since most freeway passes are at already high rpms given the C-4 automatic, I feel like I want more of a top-end, but I'm worried about killing the engine. Can someone advise me?
Also, what else can I do to upgrade the handling on my car? Are those suspension-rebuild kits with control arms worth it? How can I get rid of that corner-bump wheel hop, besides some absurdly expensive Cobra IRS or TCP solution?
Finally... and this is weird... Has anyone ever seen a video screen installed in a classic Mustang? I'm thinking about trying to install one myself in a dash pad; I think it's just about the right height.
Thanks for reading my rather long post
I have a C-code coupe, 289 (non-hi-po) with a C-4 transmission, both stock. It was originally Lime Gold inside/outside, it's been repainted forest green and has bullet wheels on it. This summer, I am going to fix it up - paint it and make it look faster.
Retaining any degree of its individuality is not a real concern with me; I think Lime Gold was a fugly color anyway. It is a coupe and not a fastback, so I am considering painting it up like Jerry Semo's '68 Trans-Am mustang.
So, I have already had the 289 rebuilt; it was bored 0.030 over, with new pistons, rods and bearings to original spec. (Sorry, don't know much about the rebuild, or about engines yet.) Apparently, my engine has 351 heads on it. It still has the stock intake and exhaust manifolds, a single (incredibly skinny in comparison to the ricers) exhaust pipe.
The car is simply not fast enough. Burning Integra GS-Rs at the stoplights, then getting dusted by them on the freeway because they have high-flow fart-can exhausts and cold-air intakes is really, really pissing me off. This car should not be losing highway races. Jerry Semo would be ashamed.
I don't want a race car, but I don't want a cruiser either. I'm trying to build something along the lines of a BMW Mustang: softly sprung enough to be comfortable, but with good handling characteristics and less road and wind noise, and Ford performance. I'm trying to make a classy, usable daily driver and I want to be able to dust those goddamn Acuras on the freeway.
The car is fast but it's conservatively geared (3.0:1 or something, I believe). and lacks any freeway manners whatsoever, due to a combination of incredibly poor aerodynamics (it's like driving a barn door at 100 mph) and the C-4. While it has prodigious low-end torque, it is quite unstable over anything besides a perfectly flat road in a straight line. Rear-axle wheel-hop during bumps in turns is really, really scary in this car, often sliding the rear axle over a tangible few inches. There is no differential in the car, and the rear suspension setup is stock, and aging, as are the intake and exhaust. Currently, it has stock intake and an AutoLite 2100 carb on it.
I'm budgeting $1500 for a clear-coat paintjob and some body work, including straightening the body panels and rust removal - don't know the car's history, after all. I have $1500 set aside for parts. Installation labor is not a problem, my family runs a garage. Here is what I am thinking (including the bodywork), please tell me if I should change or rethink anything:
Aftermarket xenon headlights and NOS fog lights, trunk lid spoiler, Maier racing front valance w/bumper, black with silver stripe down the middle and silver C-stripes
Transmission rebuild with better freeway gearing, shift improver kit
Wider, larger diameter wheels (not in budget, pays for itself thru selling current wheels). I have a power steering Mustang; what kind of control issues would be raised by putting wider tires on it? (like wider 17"s or 18"s)
Lower car 1" front, 0.75" back. (maybe flared fenders, to accomodate larger-width wheels)
Panhard rod, under-rider traction bars, new leafs
Pertronix points-less ignition, Optima battery, alternator upgrade
Intake + roller-rocker conversion + cam (thinking Crane Gold rockers with a CompCams cam, don't know which cam or intake yet)
Mild self-performed head porting (maybe just port matching and grinding bigger exhaust - I read somewhere on these forums that 289s have problems removing exhaust gases?)
Used Ford 9 inch differential with hotter gearing
Tri-Y or long-tube headers and dual exhaust
Aluminum or other high-performance radiator and electric fans
Dual-plane intake and 600cfm (or as close as I can get) 4-barrel carb with a carb spacer (this increases air intake speed, or something?)
The goal that I have is to create an engine that revs up fast and develops a lot of power at high rpms, but without sacrificing low-end torque. Since most freeway passes are at already high rpms given the C-4 automatic, I feel like I want more of a top-end, but I'm worried about killing the engine. Can someone advise me?
Also, what else can I do to upgrade the handling on my car? Are those suspension-rebuild kits with control arms worth it? How can I get rid of that corner-bump wheel hop, besides some absurdly expensive Cobra IRS or TCP solution?
Finally... and this is weird... Has anyone ever seen a video screen installed in a classic Mustang? I'm thinking about trying to install one myself in a dash pad; I think it's just about the right height.
Thanks for reading my rather long post