The Game Plan

[crane550]

Hi all,

I am a proud owner of a new (to me) 1968 Mustang Coupe. It has a i6, C4 tranny and an (ugh) vinyl top.

It is rust free except for two small spots, and the body has never had any work on it. The interior is excellent, and all original except for the dash pads. Lovin' it.

So....eventually I would like this to be running a big 'ol hopped up 302, have a good suspension setup in it, and switch to disk brakes and five lugs.

My question is, what order should I do these? My rear end is really sagging, so I know I need to beef that up soon. I was thinking of this leaf spring kit. Are there any better options if I want better traction or handling without breaking my bank account?

Also, my front end is pretty loose, so I was thinking of something like


front suspension kit, or this one with steering. My steering is pretty lose right now but workable.

So my thoughts are... 1. replace rear springs. 2. install front end kit for a V8. 3. drive it a while. 4. install front disk brakes, switch to 5 lug and put on new wheels. 5. drive it a while. 6. drop in 302.

How about that? Will I have trouble dropping in a v8 kit when I'm still running an i6? Are there any overlaps in the steps I have layed out? Thanks!

 

[Tubo(2-bo)]

Nice Stang!
I think getting the front end right is more important than, the rear.
Swapping in all the V-8 fron suspension, is going to 5 lug. So go ahead & do the front discs at the same time. That'll save duplicating front brake work.
While your in there, see about doing a 1in UCA drop, Arnig/Shelby drop. Read Daze's article http://home.bresnan.net/~dazed/drop Your Stang will be safer & more fun to drive, with better brakes & handling.
One way or another fix the safety issues first.
Happy Stangin!

 

[Iamdiffrnt]

+1 on what Tubo said. If you are going to have the front suspension all apart, you are better off taking care of any upgrades you plan on doing at the same time. I've also heard great things about Opentracker's roller spring perches (which if you think you might want to use, this would be the ideal time for). As for disc brakes, there are a lot of great options out there besides ssbc.

Check out:
http://www.discbrakeswap.com

There are more, do a search on disc brakes, can't remember more off the top of my head. Also, might not hurt to send opentracker an email to see what he suggests for suspension parts, (he also has templates for the shelby drop, which make locating the holes a lot easier).

Hope this helps.

 

[rbohm]

chassis first. subframe connectors, stringers to connect the connectors to the rocker panels, and a center cage like tcp built.

suspension next. rebuild the parts that need rebuilding, upgrade stock rubber bushings to polyuerthane, mydoline, or spherical bearings. dont not use anything other than rubber bushings or spherical bearings on the strut rods as they have a nasty habit of breaking. as for springs, in the rear you want a good 5 leaf spring. in the front you first need to decide what level of compromise you are going to accept in regards to handling and ride quality. there are many who will tell you to use the same 620 springs that shelby used, but for the street they are too stiff. also if you get the chassis properly stiffened up you dont need the stiffer springs since the chassis isnt twisting. also make sure you really want to swap in a 302, more on that later. if you keep the six, then use the 480in/lb gt springs, with the V8 use either the 480 gt springs, or step up to the 540in/lb springs like i am going to use on my 66 coupe.

for a rear end step up to an 8" rear end from a granada or maverick as this will give you a little extra clearance in the rear for wider wheels and tires if you want, or grab an 8" from a 67-70 mustang or fairlane/falcon.

for brakes, since you have a 68 stang, you already have teh same spindles as the 65-66 V8 mustangs, thus you dont need to change spindles. you can use the same four piston calipers and rotors that the 65-67 mustangs used up front. if you want four wheel disc brakes, you can grab the rear discs from a crown vic listed in another thread in this forum.

now for the engine. dropping in a 302 is an easy way to go to get power, but consider building the six. there is a new aluminum head that replaces the stock head, and has a removable intake. the cost is about what you would spend on aluminum heads and intake for a 302. the 200 can make decent power given a chance. check out www.fordsix.com both the tech page and the forums. ask questions over there before you decide to swap in a V8.

as for a transmission, you can keep the C4, or swap to a T5. in fact a T5 with a 3.35 first gear and 3.55 rear gears will work great with the six.

 

[crane550]

What would be wrong with using something like opentrackers kit for the front suspension and then swapping out tires and brakes later? I can't really afford to do it all at once.

 

[rbohm]

nothing would be wrong with that. i would do the brake upgrade first though, rather than the suspension upgrade. safety first.

 

[crane550]

nothing would be wrong with that. i would do the brake upgrade first though, rather than the suspension upgrade. safety first.

I'm not sure what the bigger safety issue is right now, the brakes or loose steering. I'm heading over to Les Schwab right now, and going to see about a brake job on my drums. If it's too much I wont bother, but this might get me by for now, and I can order a suspension kit this week. As they are the brakes are Ok, just not great. I would not spend too much money on something I wont keep for too long, but this will get me by for now.

Check your email opentracker. Looks like I might be throwing some of my hard earned bones your way.

I will get some pics for ya'll soon, but it's raining outside and it's too gloomy.

 

[crane550]

Alright, $52 got my front end a lot tighter. One of the fellas at les schwab offered me an 8in rear end for $100. Would this be a good upgrade for me since I will be going to 5 lugs anyways? Might as well drop it in while I do my rear springs? He said the gears are "three-0" Not sure how that would work w/ my inline 6 for now until I can drop in a 302? Will that be ok?

 

[Tubo(2-bo)]

If you've got the C-Bone, to spare, and the 8" is size compatible to your 68, thats not an unreasonable price at all. Then you can clean it up, and "prep" it while out of the car, as budget allows. A 3.0 pegleg, is better for the 6, than a more common 2.80 Not performance, but that'll be OK for a while.

 

[jlangholzj]

first off, nice car, don't you just love those hub cabs (eeewww!) i love my 68 and im sure you will to. but if your not dead set on a v8, there's ways you can make that i6 go like a rape date. although, nothing beats the sound of one!

it sounds like you already did what i was going to suggest, i put in a front swaybar kit and new tie ro and ball ends. man o live that really helped it out.

btw, from what i've been hearing, there are some pretty painless ways to switch to disk. im thinking of switching out just the front for now.

i realized it would be nice after running an unoficial 100mph 1/4 mile a week ago altough i stopped rather short for drum, i never locked up.

 

[crane550]

If you've got the C-Bone, to spare, and the 8" is size compatible to your 68, thats not an unreasonable price at all. Then you can clean it up, and "prep" it while out of the car, as budget allows. A 3.0 pegleg, is better for the 6, than a more common 2.80 Not performance, but that'll be OK for a while.

As far as performance, you mean get up and go power? How about gas milage?

I have never swapped one of these before, by "prep" do you mean paint, assemble, switch do disk brakes, or all of the above?

 

[JDS68Stang]

(highlighted quote didn't work) QUOTE FROM rbohm: now for the engine. dropping in a 302 is an easy way to go to get power, but consider building the six. there is a new aluminum head that replaces the stock head, and has a removable intake. the cost is about what you would spend on aluminum heads and intake for a 302. the 200 can make decent power given a chance. check out www.fordsix.com both the tech page and the forums. ask questions over there before you decide to swap in a V8.





JDS68stang: Personally I'm w/ you on your thoughts about building up the I6. Mine is a daily driver so I'm keeping the I6 and just going to leave it stock for now, may build it up later though to a degree.
I can understand crane550 wanting the extra power though and most peoples mindset seems to be you need a V8 to get it, I've heard these built I6's can kick @ss. To each his own though, if you want a V8 crane550 go for it.

Here's a link I found the other night about a built I6, he switched over to the 5 lug also like crane550 wants to do.

http://www.mustangandfords.com/featuredvehicles/56439_66_mustang_coupe_inline_6/photo_03.html


Here's a pic of the I6 tri power settup w/ the headers.

 

[68keyblr]

Cool thing about an I6 is you have acres of room for a turbo set up....that would be super trick