Bought a 66...

[MikeRey]

I bought a 66 Mustang the other weekend. 289 with a 3spd. C code car. Very little rust, new paint, ect. ect. The 289 was rebuilt about 8k miles ago. I'm assuming a near stock rebuild. The car had a 4spd... I don't know what happened to it. Anyway, here are some problems with the car that I would like to address:

The steering is pretty bad. The car wanders on the road. I don't have the cash for a Power steering kit. Any REALLY good manual steering upgrade/kits available? Flaming River has a new steering box. Would that help with low speed steering/turning? Open tracker has some decent products. Any others out there?

Finding gears in the transmission aren't hard but they aren't easy. Does anyone sell a good bushing kit for it? Can anything else be done to the transmission to make it shift better? I'll probably be ditching this and going with a 4spd but for the time being...

What are the best sparkplugs for this car? I plan on getting something like a 570cfm carb, intake manifold and some decent headers. I don't know if these affect the gapping or type of plug... I also plan on upgrading the ignition wires as well.

Any good cam that use stock heads? I would love to upgrade the stock heads, but again, don't have the money. Not really worth it because I have no idea what has been done to the bottom end of the motor, and this motor is a strong good motor. Doesn't burn, consume or leak any oil. I don't want to open her up to that extent. I, of course want a good sounding cam that'll give me some power.

I plan on getting a tach, because I do plan on getting on the engine, but don't know what a good redline for this car is. Any comments on this?

Are aftermarket sways helpful for this car? The car doesn't handle the way I want it to. I plan on upgrading just about every suspension part on the thing... KYB shocks I hear are a good start, then 1 inch lowering springs, ect. ect. Again, the opentracker company has some decent stuff out.

And last but not least... The brake disc conversion question. What is the easiest most complete kit to install? The granada conversion requires some lines to be converted... I would rather just replace the entire system. I'm torn between Baer or SBCC (sp) Any suggestions?

 

[geostang351]

Finding gears in the transmission aren't hard but they aren't easy. Does anyone sell a good bushing kit for it? Can anything else be done to the transmission to make it shift better? I'll probably be ditching this and going with a 4spd but for the time being...

If you are going to remove the tranny to put in a 4 speed, I would just go to a 5 speed from an fox body mustang 88-93. The T-5 is a common swap and much info on it can be found as many companys actually sell the modified parts you require.

And last but not least... The brake disc conversion question. What is the easiest most complete kit to install? The granada conversion requires some lines to be converted... I would rather just replace the entire system. I'm torn between Baer or SBCC (sp) Any suggestions?

Discbrakeswap.com

 

[rbohm]

I bought a 66 Mustang the other weekend. 289 with a 3spd. C code car. Very little rust, new paint, ect. ect. The 289 was rebuilt about 8k miles ago. I'm assuming a near stock rebuild.

nice purchase.

The steering is pretty bad. The car wanders on the road. I don't have the cash for a Power steering kit. Any REALLY good manual steering upgrade/kits available? Flaming River has a new steering box. Would that help with low speed steering/turning? Open tracker has some decent products. Any others out there?

first make sure the suspension is in decent shape. the lower control arm bushings tend to wear badly and cause steering problems. as for the steering box, flaming river makes a good box. i would choose the 16:1 box, power steering or not. open trackers products are top quality, and have revised suspension geometry that will aid handling.

Finding gears in the transmission aren't hard but they aren't easy. Does anyone sell a good bushing kit for it? Can anything else be done to the transmission to make it shift better? I'll probably be ditching this and going with a 4spd but for the time being...

since you are going to do a trans swap anyway, i would also find a T5 and bellhousing from an 88-93 mustang. i would also convert to either a cable or hydraulic clutch linkage. i personally am leaning towards a hydraulic linkage for my 66 coupe when it gets to that point.

What are the best sparkplugs for this car? I plan on getting something like a 570cfm carb, intake manifold and some decent headers. I don't know if these affect the gapping or type of plug... I also plan on upgrading the ignition wires as well.

for plugs i prefer autolites. the extra cost for platinum plugs is not worth it imo. gap them at .040" and use a good ignition. in my 66 falcon i have a durasparl distributor hooked to a chrysler ignition box, and an msd blaster 3 coil. for an intake i would use either the weiand stealth or performer rpm. for a carb i would use a 600 cfm edelbrock performer carb. for headers i would use a tri-y design header with a 1 1/2" to 1 5/8" primary tube. i would use a good quality spiral wound plug wire, msd makes a good set.

Any good cam that use stock heads? I would love to upgrade the stock heads, but again, don't have the money. Not really worth it because I have no idea what has been done to the bottom end of the motor, and this motor is a strong good motor. Doesn't burn, consume or leak any oil. I don't want to open her up to that extent. I, of course want a good sounding cam that'll give me some power.

since the bottom end seems to be in decent shape, a good cam and heads are not out of the question. for a cam, go with the comp cams he268h high energy grind. kind of old but a solid design that has stood the test of time. as for heads, hit the swap meets as you might find a set of aftermarket heads that someone has replaced. you can likely pick them up for little money. look for something like a set of windsor jr heads as they have smaller valves and will work better on the smaller engine.

I plan on getting a tach, because I do plan on getting on the engine, but don't know what a good redline for this car is. Any comments on this?

for a redline, with the he268h cam, and the valve springs that go with it, keep the redline below 6500, 6000 is better.

Are aftermarket sways helpful for this car? The car doesn't handle the way I want it to. I plan on upgrading just about every suspension part on the thing... KYB shocks I hear are a good start, then 1 inch lowering springs, ect. ect. Again, the opentracker company has some decent stuff out.

for a suspension;

1" front sway bar
3/4" rear sway bar
subframe connectors
540in/lb rate front springs
200in/lb rate rear leaf springs, 5 leaf prefered, but 4 1/2 leaf is also good
KYB gas adjust shocks all around

And last but not least... The brake disc conversion question. What is the easiest most complete kit to install? The granada conversion requires some lines to be converted... I would rather just replace the entire system. I'm torn between Baer or SBCC (sp) Any suggestions?

as for brakes, you have many options. since you are not going to race this car, i would go with the scarebird mechanical disc conversion on all four corners. this will allow you to keep your stock spindles and avoid any possible steering and suspension geometry issues. and yes they do occur with the granada spindles. the scarebird system is inexpensive, but reliable and provides good brakeing. if you want larger brakes, then check out mustang steve's disc conversion using 13" rotors and cobra calipers on the front, and 11.65" rotors and cobra calipers on the rear.

i am mentioning wheels and tires last as your brake selection will affect what wheel and tire combo you choose. if you use the scarebird conversion, you can use a 15x7 wheel, and with 4" backspacing you can fit a 225/60-15 tire in the wheelwells.

if you use the mustang steve cobra brake conversion, then i suggest using compatable 17x8 wheels with a 245/45-17 tire. the bullet wheels look nice on the mustang, and the stock cobra wheels look ok, just not period correct.

one thing about the scarebird and mustang steve brake conversions, for the most part they are just a set of brackets with instructions and a parts list of what you need, though mustang steve sometimes has complete kits available.