Tell me what to buy

[tabrad]

Ok, I am very new to the world of classic mustangs, I am more familiar with the import scene.

I am looking for a project car, that will be a classic mustang, ie 67 ish style body, but doesn't necessarily have to be a 67.

I am trying to figure out what is the best setup to go with.

I am looking to get somewhere in the 350whp range. I am guessing that it is not very efficient to get to that power on a stock block. So what block would I need to do that? Trans, driveshaft, etc.

Basically I am asking for what is the best year mustang, block, trans, driveshaft combo for that 350 whp goal?

Sorry I tried to sift through the faqs, but couldn't find what I was looking for.

Thanks!

 

[coolblue65]

thats a pretty loaded question, how much do you plan on spending? are you doing the work yourself?

But just to give you a rough idea, to put down 350 RWHP, you will at least need need a very well built stroker or 351, or some type of power adder, but that can be done a stock block.

FWIW- In early Stangs, anything over 300 wheel HP is going to give you very fast car, not sure what your goal is.

 

[tabrad]

Yes most of the work will be done by me and my brother, we are looking at a total budget of 15k, which includes the price of the car.

The only work that we aren't going to do is the engine internals, which we will just have a machine shop take care of.

So you are saying that if we took a stock block, and bored it out, put larger pistons in, then we could obtain that goal of 350whp?

If so, then what piston size would obtain that goal? In general of course.

 

[coolblue65]

So you are saying that if we took a stock block, and bored it out, put larger pistons in, then we could obtain that goal of 350whp?

If so, then what piston size would obtain that goal? In general of course.

No, thats not what I am saying, to stroke the motor requires a different crank, rods, and pistons. If you are planning on having a shop do the bottom end and because you don't have the parts already, I would look at buying a built short block for a reputable shop like DSS Racing, Coast High Performance or even Ford Racing. Plan on buying a set of very good heads as well. Figure a minimum of 5-6k for those kind of power numbers and all the necessary performance parts.


Base Bullet Engines

 

[rpk]

sorry to sound pessimistic but $15k is an alright but needs work any year fastback.$5000 for alright coup.Look at $4000 for a 350 hp motor that will stay together.Brake upgrades,suspension upgrades,wheels,rims,paint,interior fix ups,stereo.It all adds up fast.

 

[Wicked65]

if you have 15K to spend, Just go buy one thats done. Personally, 65 was the only year to have. First and formost. Find a Straight body car that has no rust or only has it in the small normal places, IE, floor pan, trunk..ect.

Second, figure out what you want to do with the car. If its just a joy ride car, easy enough. 350 isnt really all that hard to get. Just building a solid combination 331 or 347 could get you that.

 

[wicked93gs]

you wont be able to do it if you insist on a fastback, easy enough in a coupe(I have grand total of 3k invested so far, though I am far from done, I estimate about 9k when all is said and done, but I have done all the work so far and will do the rest too) now the biggest thing to realize is its a hell of a lot easier to make power on a v8 than on an import, the quickest way to your goal is this...

1. buy a 67-70 coupe($5000 or so)
2. swap in a 460(you can find a decent one for under $1000, usually with a c6 tranny included)
3. buy a few performance parts(decent 4 barrel carb, good exhaust system, and a set of aluminum heads) $3000 and you should be just about there

a 460 is a heavy engine but stock puts out 250ish HP(low I know) but 400ft/lbs of torque(214WHP/400WTQ) regardless, with a bit of money that engine would be a monster