where do i start??

sa_andy · Dec 23, 2003

Admittedly,,,I'm new to all this.

I recently bought a brand new 1966 Mustang with only 140,000 miles on the 289 2v (just broken in, right?). So,,,the car runs ok,,,but of course, I'm looking around at all the Mustang sites, and thinking about replacing the engine and the automatic transmission (which leaks more on my garage floor than a new puppy).

My question is, do I buy a new crate engine from somewhere, or do I remove the engine, and take it to a local machine shop and ask them to do their magic on the removed engine? And the same question about the transmission. I guess I'd like to stay with the 289, and I'd like to keep an automatic transmission.

I don't really expect too much. I'd settle for 300 hp. And I guess money really isn't the object here,,,,I just want to have a bit of an adventure with my 13 year old son, and removing, and replacing an engine may fit the bill.

Thanks for your thoughts on this endeavor.

dodgestang · Dec 23, 2003

sa_andy said:
Admittedly,,,I'm new to all this.

I recently bought a brand new 1966 Mustang with only 140,000 miles on the 289 2v (just broken in, right?). So,,,the car runs ok,,,but of course, I'm looking around at all the Mustang sites, and thinking about replacing the engine and the automatic transmission (which leaks more on my garage floor than a new puppy).

My question is, do I buy a new crate engine from somewhere, or do I remove the engine, and take it to a local machine shop and ask them to do their magic on the removed engine? And the same question about the transmission. I guess I'd like to stay with the 289, and I'd like to keep an automatic transmission.

I don't really expect too much. I'd settle for 300 hp. And I guess money really isn't the object here,,,,I just want to have a bit of an adventure with my 13 year old son, and removing, and replacing an engine may fit the bill.

Thanks for your thoughts on this endeavor.

The very first thing you have to do.....is set a budget....decide just how much you want to spend on the car and then start making decisions from there.

The most cost effective way to freshen up the car is to pull the motor and trans yourself. Take the trans to a trans place adn tell them to rebuild it good as new....it will prob cost $400-800 depending on the place (rough estimate). Then take the motor to the machine shop and say "please build me a motor with 300 HP , I want to reuse as many parts as possible. They will tear the motor down, prob end up boring the block, getting new piston, clean up the old crank and rods, balance it, assemble it, clean up the heads, work with you and recommend a cam, intake, and carb you can get from them or give to them (order elsewhere) and then they will provide you a shrink wrapped motor total cost prob under $3000. This is in my opinion the most cost effective way to freshen up the motor and tranny for someone with moderate mechanical skills. You save a lot of silly labor charges by pulling it out yourself so you don't mind paying labor for the more skill intesive stuff.

But you should also do the motor and trany last in my opinion after checking and oking or fixing several other items.... How is the suspension? When was it last rebuilt? That is far more imortant than 300HP, how about the brakes? Are they firm and give you a good assurance when you stomp them? Could the car benefit from a dic upgrade? How about the steering? Is it still responsive or is the worm gear shot.

Good luck on your new adventure and may it bring you may years of weekend fun with your son.

66P51GT · Dec 23, 2003

Definitely get a budget or it will quickly get out of hand. My $10k project could have easily dipped into the $20k range if I didn't closely manage my shopping temptations.

I agree with dodgestang, if you want to keep the C-4, just have it rebuilt. Otherwise look for alternative upgrades such as an AOD, or T-5 conversion.

Definitely pull the motor yourself.

Another engine alternative is to bolt in a Ford built crate motor. They are available from several locations and come with different build specs. An example is a 340hp roller motor for $3,200 from Mustangs Plus.

You will then need an intake, carb, headers, fuel pump, etc. to finish the job.

Good luck and happy shopping.

sa_andy · Dec 23, 2003

dodgestang said:
The very first thing you have to do.....is set a budget....decide just how much you want to spend on the car and then start making decisions from there.

The most cost effective way to freshen up the car is to pull the motor and trans yourself. Take the trans to a trans place adn tell them to rebuild it good as new....it will prob cost $400-800 depending on the place (rough estimate). Then take the motor to the machine shop and say "please build me a motor with 300 HP , I want to reuse as many parts as possible. They will tear the motor down, prob end up boring the block, getting new piston, clean up the old crank and rods, balance it, assemble it, clean up the heads, work with you and recommend a cam, intake, and carb you can get from them or give to them (order elsewhere) and then they will provide you a shrink wrapped motor total cost prob under $3000. This is in my opinion the most cost effective way to freshen up the motor and tranny for someone with moderate mechanical skills. You save a lot of silly labor charges by pulling it out yourself so you don't mind paying labor for the more skill intesive stuff.

But you should also do the motor and trany last in my opinion after checking and oking or fixing several other items.... How is the suspension? When was it last rebuilt? That is far more imortant than 300HP, how about the brakes? Are they firm and give you a good assurance when you stomp them? Could the car benefit from a dic upgrade? How about the steering? Is it still responsive or is the worm gear shot.

Good luck on your new adventure and may it bring you may years of weekend fun with your son.

Thanks for your prompt reply...
I had to redo the front drum brakes to get the car moving (or stopping). I replaced everything except for that crazy fruit jar. The back drum brakes seem to be ok. It's tough for me to judge, they stop the car, but they are not disk, or power, and not like the cars of today. The suspension and steering is ok...for a 38 year old car, and I do plan on going over that sometime too. I think that the engine is original, but the heads have been replaced some time.

As far as money goes, I wouldn't be adverse to dumping $3,000 into the engine compartment.

Thanks for your input

3spd on floor · Dec 23, 2003

first of all, post some pics of your project.

about the car: first things first, RUST! how much is there?

what sort of background knowledge/ car experience do you have? whats in your tool collection? for the most part, anything you are able to do yourself will save you money. you might consider buying a short block from one of many engine shops and putting the rest of it together if you have the tools/know-how.

also, what do you want the car to be? daily driver? weekend warrior? show car? figuring out what you want to do with the car will help you decide what to work on first.

oboebrian · Dec 23, 2003

dodgestang, I see you're not advocating rebuilding the engine himself j/k

Sally, you could always do a 408 stroker motor alah dodgestang, or a 347 stroker, it really depends on your $, time, and skill. I'll let the others comment more before i dip further into this thread.

oboebrian · Dec 23, 2003

Oh yeah, post picts of you car

dodgestang · Dec 23, 2003

oboebrian said:
dodgestang, I see you're not advocating rebuilding the engine himself j/k

Sally, you could always do a 408 stroker motor alah dodgestang, or a 347 stroker, it really depends on your $, time, and skill. I'll let the others comment more before i dip further into this thread.

I said based on skill level, farming it out would be the most cost effective....we all can't afford to spend $4000 on a motor. builf it in the garage, and then have it fail in the 2nd worse way possible and have to spend another $5000 recovering because of all the parts that got destroyed because some moron at speedomotive faxed the wrong specs to......ahhh heck you got me all riled up again.....

Suffice to say.......unless you are expereinced or can affiord $$$ booboos, have the motor done by a pro.

68GEETEE · Dec 23, 2003

If you do upgrade to lets say 300HP, get rid of those drum brakes in front and get a good power disc setup on there, you'll need it.

allcarfan · Dec 23, 2003

Shameless plug:

I have a rebuilt c4 for sale right now with 5k miles on it...converter, bellhousing, extra valvebody with a shift kit......on ebay for $100.

sa_andy · Dec 24, 2003

oboebrian said:
Oh yeah, post picts of you car

thanks for the replies...

I don't have alot of experience, heck, I even have a hard time understanding what alot of you guys are talking about! When I was younger, I removed and replaced an engine (didn't rebuild it though, I bought an already rebuilt engine). I've changed water pumps, starters, fuel pumps, timing chains/belts but that's about it...all pretty simple stuff.
I don't want anything fancy, or special,,,just something to drive around in on a regular basis. I'm sure after I finish it mechanically, I'll have it painted by a good body shop. There isn't alot of rust,,,although there was some damage to the front right quarter at one time (I can tell under the hood that the inner fender well is bent up a bit, also the right door has a gap at the bottom that you can see clear through to the outside).

Here are some pics that you guys were asking about...

sa_andy · Dec 24, 2003

mustang2 rightside2

Here are a couple of more pics....it was repainted a light blue color...but it was originally a "brittany blue" color...this was a 1967 color...even though it's a 1966, i guess they started using the 1967 color before the 1967 year. I'm not sure what color brittany blue is...i don't know that I've seen it before.

where do i start??

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