no snap.
 

hello-

I have A 66 mustang that I just recently finished A 6 to 8cyl conversion. my problem is it doesn't seem all that fast to me. to other people they say it's A big improvment. it gets up to speed allright but when I really get on it there isn't really A seat of the pants feal. no snap. just kinda smoothly gets going. so for those of you out there that have or had a 641/2 to 66 mustang with A 289 in it is this normal or is there A problem with my performance.


thanks guys.

is it stock?

We'll need more info about whats in it. You didnt put a stock early 80's 5.0 in it did you?:D :D :D
Also, what rear gear do you have?Stick or auto?
J

he has a 289 (i think) it was implied anyways but yeah if your looking for performance a new gear set in the back and a nice exhaust setup would be the first things to do

sorry about that guys.

I baught the engine from A guy I know, it is A 289. he said it has A small cam but biger then stock. it was board 30 over. I have an edlebrock performer 289 intake on it. with A holly 650 double pumper. exhaust is 2 inch dual straight pipes with 40 series flowmaster and try y headers. behind the 289 is A C4, the rear end gears are 300 to 1.(I think I wrote that right) other then that the car is stock.


thanks guys
ford kid

Vacuum secondaries
 

For what you have, you want 600 cfm at the most and vacuum secondaries. No double pumper.

Rev

Should run pretty good
 

From what you describe - it sounds very much like what I have in my car. I had the engine buils stock with a mild cam and a .30 over bore. Performer RPM intake and 650 carb. My car runs absolutely great. It has all kinds of power in most RPM ranges. I do have 3.50 gears in the rear though. Do you have points? I am not sure how much that can affect, but I got rid of mine right away.

yea still have points. and it's probly time for A new carb the one I have is kinda old. so I will try those two things and let you guys know what happens.


thanks guys
ford kid

Pertronix
 

Pertronix is supposed to be pretty good and relatively cheap if your stock distributor is still OK. I run a Mallory Unilite (not recommended) and a MSD 6AL. If I had it to do over again I would get a MSD magnetic pick up distributor and still use the MSD 6AL. As a side note I finally just trash canned the Mallory 6AL that left me on the side of the road twice in 1 1/2 years.

Rev

Petronix is always a good thing:D I would say that for the money your best upgrade for steat 'o the pants would be a set of gears. With a stock-ish c-4 and that combo, I wouldnt go higher than 350ish-373 (Mine seems to run out of gear too soon even with a 3.25, but it does wind nicely,lol.) Is it an 8"?
Also, a shift kit isnt much, and the firmer shift is worth it. A higher stall torque converter would help with the low end feel too. I have recently swayed back to "on the fence" about converting mine to stick, and if I keep the auto, thats one of the next mods for it.
Just some ideas,

J

3.25 Traction-Lock
 

I think the 3.25/1 ratio is about right for a street driven 289/302. Mine turns 3000 rpm @ 70 mph and I don't want to cruise at higher than 3000.

I do use a TCI Break-away convertor that stalls about 2500 or so (2800 in my car). I run street radials and so cannot launch much faster anyway due to wheel spin. I also use a B&M shift kit that helps a little with firmer shifts.

Anyway, the drive train mods will give you some oomph and seat-of-the-pants feel even with a mild engine.

Rev

hello- well I got the petronix upgrade. and baught a 600cfm edlebrok carb. with vac secs. that didn't seem to help much in the performance but it shure does idle alot smoother.

well I think there is A problem. becouse I was lucky enough to meet A guy at A local show who had A 65 mustang. the drive train was stock. 289 with C4, went for A ride and there is alot more power in that car then mine. you could definitly feel the power kick in and it pulled preaty nicely up to about 40is. on mine there is no kick and you can't feel it pull at all. so deffinitly something wrong.

any idea's on what erea's to check out first.


thanks
ford kid

Basics?
 

You may need to start with basics. Was this a new rebuild or a used 289 that you put in? In either case, start with a compression check. All the cylinders should be within 10% maximum of each other. If the compression is over all low (below 140 or so) then there's something worn. If one is a lot lower than the others then theres something wrong in that cylinder (valves or rings). If the compression checks out well then check the timing. With your car it should be around 10-13 degrees advanced. We know that the carb is good as you have a new one. Does it idle well now? There aren't any vacuum leaks are there?

Even when my car was stock with a 289, a 2bbl., and single exhaust, it still had low end torque and would spin the tires a little when I nailed it. And that was with a 2.80 axle and a C-4.

Your car should have a little more than you describe from what It seems like over the net.

Rev

i would say check cap n rotor but you did get the petronix upgrade ..anyhow if you want to solve your problems get a 351c ;) ..j/k right now i cant think of anything helpful but its 2:30 am and im bored so im just gonna type some bs and when i do think of something ill letcha know :-D

yes it does idle alot better with the petronix and the new carb. the compresion is good. the highest cylinder is at 148psi and the lowest is 146psi. the timing is at 12BTC and the mechanical advance works. the cap and rotor are new. the guy I baught the engine from said it had around 15000 miles on the rebuild.

well see I can't even get A cherp out of the tires right now.

you guys think it could be the trans.


thanks
ford kid

check fluid levels in trans? turn car on leave it in park then check it

fluid leval is ok.


thanks
ford kid

does it smell like ur running too rich? if you are that could hurt your performance i dont know how much but if your not close to stoichiometric proportions you do lose power ..i believe its 14:1 air/fuel ratio thats what you want anyways

pull a plug see if it looks ok

no it doesn't smell to rich to me. the plugs look good. I am kinda thinking it's not the engine. I tried shifting manually instead of leaving it in drive, and it seemed to help some but still not even close to what the other guy's stock stang felt like. so may be it's the trans. I think I am going to have it checked out buy A local shop around here. I'll let you guys know what they say.


thanks
ford kid