Newbie - Ford GT40 302 crate in a 1965 fastback

yes, it will drop right in with the exception of a few things. you will need to decide if you want to use serpentine acc. or v belt. if u use serpentine, you will need a new alternator with the serpentine pulley and if you have power steering, u will have to figure that out. a pump from a fox car would suit you best. if you decide to go v belt, there will be a lot of things to do. u will need to change to your old timing cover, waterpump, and change the balancer and crank pulley. i would go serpentine. also, that engine is balanced for 50oz. so depending on which front setup u use, you will have to keep your engine balance consistent from front to back. all of what i have just said is listed on that ford racing website though. the main thing is that it will physically fit and bolt in just like a 289. the oil pan may also have to be changed, the 65 cars had dimpled oil pans to clear the crossmember that that oil pan doesnt have

The engine that you've decided on doesn't need the extra room that a MII front end gives. Have a good look at http://www.rrs-online.com.au/html/products.htm for some bolt-in suspension options - you'll save a heap of work. They also have kits that allow you to carve away the part of the shock tower that you no longer require. They have some new rear end kits also.

Dimensionally the crate motor is identical to the original 289.. sounds like a great choice to me.

As far as the tranny, you can go AOD or T5.

Yeah, if you want to go Toploader, or just use the factory style Z bar setup, that block won't have the boss drilled for the pivot for the Z bar.