Ford question... (dont hurt me!!!) Mustang

[westbad]

Hi, my friend has bought a 1966 Ford Mustang currently a 6 cyl, i am restoring it for him doing all the body work etc.
We are also going to convert it to V8 but not to sure on what V8 to go for i know they came out with 289's
Another friend says the 289 is the quickest of the 3 V8's we have to choose from, which are 289, 302 and 351 all windsor motors

Just after peoples opinions on what motor would be the best for our build, i say theirs no replacement for displacement and we should go the 351 but my other mate says 289 will be quicker... Ive never really had much to do with ford engines as ive always been a commodore man.

Whats your opinions?

Thanks

[Rolla_Rolla']

Just drop a LS1 in it

[westbad]

Just drop a LS1 in it

lol that would be my preferred option.

[ruffiano]

I'd be voting the 351. DO a bit of research into the XY Phase III, and build your engine to the same specs.. stupid amounts of power....
Have fun!

[westbad]

I'd be voting the 351. DO a bit of research into the XY Phase III, and build your engine to the same specs.. stupid amounts of power....
Have fun!

See this is my argument with my friend who bought the mustang, the 66 mustang is pretty much like the old XY a lot of parts are interchangeable, and they ran the 351.

Ill do some research on the phase III thanks

[ruffiano]

The 289 was a gutless wonder... all look no go.....

[westbad]

another option for us is to get a 302 windsor out of anything up to a AU and take all the injection stuff off it and put a nice carby manifold on it.

[ari666]

lets do some quick math here:

289 is smaller than 302 and 302 is smaller that 351...

so calculate the given mass X velocity X volumetric efficiency X the amount of spanners in a sidchrome tool kit and it equals:

why the f... would "your mate" think a 289 is better than a 351???? (granted i would prefer it over a 302)

edit* oh, pics in the "projects" section or it didnt happen. not everyone here is a spastic holden nut. i love old cars and mustangs are classics.

[westbad]

lets do some quick math here:

289 is smaller than 302 and 302 is smaller that 351...

so calculate the given mass X velocity X volumetric efficiency X the amount of spanners in a sidchrome tool kit and it equals:

why the f... would "your mate" think a 289 is better than a 351???? (granted i would prefer it over a 302)

He says the 289 will rev a lot faster than a 351, saying the 351 is big and heavy.
So thinks the 289 would be a lot quicker on acceleration.

Im not convinced..

[ari666]

another option for us is to get a 302 windsor out of anything up to a AU and take all the injection stuff off it and put a nice carby manifold on it.

i will spank you if you ever say that again.

302's are boat anchors. they are fords version of a 253

[ari666]

He says the 289 will rev a lot faster than a 351, saying the 351 is big and heavy.
So thinks the 289 would be a lot quicker on acceleration.

Im not convinced..

bah! torque will get you off the line, and torque comes from cubes. 351's LOVE to rev. and good performance parts are much easier to come by cos' they are the small block of choice for ford fans.

i have been taken for a drive in a GTHO replica with a 351 and that puppy hit 8000rpm before you even had a chance to blink. road reg and it ran mid 10's

mustangs are half that cars weight, so correct gears will make all the difference.

[westbad]

i will spank you if you ever say that again.

302's are boat anchors. they are fords version of a 253

lol thanks ill remember that

[westbad]

we are also on the look out for a 9" diff for it.

[delcowizzid]

289 is a great engine with a few good bits added my mates mustang runs one and it puts lots of 308's and 350's etc to shame revs damn fast

[ari666]

edit* oh, pics in the "projects" section or it didnt happen. not everyone here is a spastic holden nut. i love old cars and mustangs are classics.

i just thought i would quote myself here, cos' you answered b4 i edited. so just in case you didnt read it.

stick a 351 in and that car is gonna fly! and 66' is a good year (same as my impala) itll be a beauty once its done, how bad is the body?

edit* nin inchers are a dime a dozen on ebay, butpick up a "just parts" magazine fo 2nd hand ones

[MasterOfReality]

289 is a great engine with a few good bits added my mates mustang runs one and it puts lots of 308's and 350's etc to shame revs damn fast

I also read years ago that the 289 can be built into a pretty stout motor.

[westbad]

i just thought i would quote myself here, cos' you answered b4 i edited. so just in case you didnt read it.

stick a 351 in and that car is gonna fly! and 66' is a good year (same as my impala) itll be a beauty once its done, how bad is the body?

The body is clean now!! but it wasnt when i started, its just about ready for primer. So far i have replaced both door skins, the front corner of the engine bay where the battery sat, both front guards with new panels and the front and rear lower valances

Also had to weld the floor pan, firewall and rear 1/4's due to rust, but thats all fixed now, looking good as new, if not better lol starting to look like we are getting somewhere finally. Hoping to get primer on it by the end of this coming weekend.
And i will be painting it the VE purple, (not my choice! just doing as my friend asks as its his car)

The car cost him $9000 and so far have the total spend has come just shy of $15,000.
Just about every part that can be replaced is being with new parts.. altho i cant convince him to buy a new bonnet!! to be honest there not much wrong with the original but we have replaced every other panel with new parts.

[westbad]

edit* nin inchers are a dime a dozen on ebay, butpick up a "just parts" magazine fo 2nd hand ones

Yes they are but we need a diff that is 58" wide and most 9" seem to be around the 61" mark, If it comes to it we can get the diff cut down, but this is going to be more expense and if we can avoid it by getting one the correct width we will do.

The car was originally drum brake front and rear, it will be disc all round when complete.

[neet_wagon]

Put a 427ci 'Cammer' in it. = WIN.

Google it. Probably the greatest motor those boys over at Ford ever screwed together.

"With a single four-barrel carburetor they were rated at 616 horsepower (459 kW) at 7,000 rpm & 515 ft lbs of torque @ 3,800 rpm"

^^^^^^^^^Taken from the 'trusted' (sarcasm) source 'Wikipedia' ^^^^^^^

If I ever get around to it I wouldn't mind buying an old 5ltr hatch (mustang) and putting a Cammer in it, with a dirty great big pos. displ. blower on top.

***Forget all about the 289 and the 302. The 289 will run out of puff and always be under stress, and the '02 is a lump of crap!

[neet_wagon]

Yes they are but we need a diff that is 58" wide and most 9" seem to be around the 61" mark, If it comes to it we can get the diff cut down, but this is going to be more expense and if we can avoid it by getting one the correct width we will do.

The car was originally drum brake front and rear, it will be disc all round when complete.

Aren't the 8 and 3/4" they come with all that strong?

[westbad]

Aren't the 8 and 3/4" they come with all that strong?

The rear end is drum and we want disc, plus the diff in it at the moment is a 4 stud one and we need 5 stud.

I have no idea what diff is in it at the moment, looks similar to the old sailsbury diffs the VH's had. Plus it is leaking.

[ruffiano]

If you wanted to do something along teh winzor lines, there's always teh Tickford winzor V8 form the AU III Te50..... definately wortha look... and you cna put a charger on it too, and tune it, and all sorts...

[neet_wagon]

Fair enough then.

Have you spoken to the guys that do all the suspension/steering upgrades for the old falcons and mustangs? They do some good stuff when it comes to making the ol' girls handle.

[neet_wagon]

TE50 was a POS, along with EVERY fuel injected windsor

[westbad]

Fair enough then.

Have you spoken to the guys that do all the suspension/steering upgrades for the old falcons and mustangs? They do some good stuff when it comes to making the ol' girls handle.

I havnt but im pretty sure my mate has been on to someone, he got the front disc brake conversion kit for it and some other parts. was around $1500 just for the front brake set up.
I can see this costing him a fair bit more yet.. around $20,000 i reckon when finished.