Newly aquired 67 Mustang

[95GTS]

Well I got a 67 Mustang for Christmas this year. WOOHOO!! My father-in-law gave me his 67 stang. It was his first car. I NEVER thought he would have done this. It's my new resto project.

Anyways, it's got a 289 V8 2V in it. It's been rebuilt but that was about 4 years-ish ago and it hasn't been run since because he said he thinks the C4 needs a new flexplate. So since it's been so long since the motor has run what do I need to do to the internals? My wife's uncle said to fill the whole motor with oil and let it sit a considerable amount of time. I guess to help "loosen" up anything that may be froze in position. What would ya'll suggest I do?

At time of rebuild: block gone thru and then the cylinders sleeved to keep the 289 ci. Crank turned, new bearings, etc. It's supposed to be still 289. It's got 302 heads on it with new valves so it can run unleaded fuel. 2 barrell carb that I'm assuming is stock. It does have a new "high performance" cam in it but he hasn't got me the information on it yet.

Suggestions??

What kind of power can be made with a 289? I'm used to 302s and up as well as fuel injection. I don't know jack about carbs.

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

First of all, congrats!!!

You can make 289's hum pretty good with few mods.... though they hum pretty good by keeping them stock as well.

You need to know what your final plans for this car are. I'm partial to keeping solid Mustangs as close to stock as possible, I like leaving the mods to cars that won't keep their value such as Mavericks or Falcons. Modify accordingly.

As far as the flexplate, is there a vibration or a problem with the starter making contact?

As far as the engine, overall... you may have some uneven wear in the valve springs, but I doubt that would be noticed under normal driving conditions. I would suggest picking up an oil pump primer attachment for a drill. Make sure you are getting proper oil pressure, preferably with a mechanical guage that you can hook up and watch as you prime the engine... be sure to note the exact location of the distributor prior to doing that... The next step would be to give the engine a couple cranks, manually... unless the engine was exposed to moisture, there shouldn't be anything that is locked up (though some of your valve stem seals may be dried). At that point, I'd unhook the coil wire and try giving the thing a crank for a while. This should lube things up as the parts are slowly moved.

Next would be to start her up and see what things look like and how it sounds. I'd treat the start up as a new engine start up and go through the same procedure... and change the oil afterwards.

I'm not an expert on this... and others are welcome to give you other suggestions, but I think that this would cover your bases pretty well.

Again, congrats on the good fortune.

[95GTS]

Well I don't really know a whole lot about the car's history. The motor has been rebuilt but never run. My father-in-law said that they couldn't get it to start and thought it was a problem with the flexplate. I need to talk to him some more about that problem.

There shouldn't be any wear on the valve springs because they are new.

I haven't got a complete plan for the drivetrain. I had been looking for a shell or 6 cyl to get real cheap build from the ground up with a Tremec 5-speed, 351W bored and stroked to maybe a 393, along with either a 8.8 or 9 inch rear with around a 3.55. BUT, lol, out of the blue he gives me his pride and joy. Since it already has a V8 and an automatic that has really good potential I'm thinking about just keeping that set up but still wanting to get some more hp/torque out of the motor. At minimum I want to be in the mid to low 13s. BUT as you could tell from what my previous goal was I was shooting for considerably lower ETs.

The interior will be going back to pretty much completely original Aqua.

The exterior will be Black on top from front to back (edge of hood to edge of trunk)/side to side (fender edge to fender edge) and then the original Clearwater Aqua around the rest of the car.

The brakes aren't currently working so I gotta figure out what to do. It's 4 wheel drums. I'd ideally like to have 4 wheel discs as well as with 5 lug pattern like the SN95s so I can run better wheels.

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

If they couldn't get it to start... and it is the flexplate, that would have to mean that the starter isn't engaging and it wouldn't crank. I can't imagine the flexplate being much of a problem in getting it started in any other manner, with the exception of course, of it not being the right one for the motor. First things first... make sure you got a good motor to start with.

As far as the brakes, when in doubt... chang'em out: pads/cylinders/hoses/master cylinder... they are cheap and are a necessity to any safe driving car. As far as the conversion... If you are looking to drop some bucks and plan on keeping it for quite a while, then go for it. However, again, I'm a bit of a stickler for keeping it stock, at least in appearance.

As far as the valve springs, what I meant is that as the engine is sitting, there are valves that are open. Since they have been open for years, this may create some uneven wear... that is where I was going with that.

[95GTS]

I hear ya. I'll get to work on that motor right away. Also, come to find out I showed some pics to a guy on another site and he says it's a 70-up 302. It's also got a HOLLEY (1850?) 4V on it. Here's the thread so you can see pics of the car. http://forums.stangnet.com/showthrea...=1#post4875580

The reason I'd like to at least have discs on the front is because drums are horrible for braking. I'd like to have alot better braking. Opinions?

[Orange97GTVert]

Wow, what a Christmas present!!

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

Looks like you got some work ahead of you...

As far as discs vs. drums... discs are definately better performers... but it is a costly upgrade, so there is a cost vs. benefit that must be weighed.

As far as that carb, it certainly looks like a 4 barrel, though I'm curious as to the blue manifold... most 289s came with 2 barrels... and the most efficient upgrade is usually an aluminum dual plane intake, which most people wouldn't paint. So unless the car came with a stock 4 barrel (which would be a great find as you would have some impressive compression and power out of the factory "box"), I'd say that is probably a stock 4 barrel replacement manifold.

One way to find this out might be casting marks on the cylinder head under the valve cover... you may see a "2V" or "4V" casted there on top of the head.

[95GTS]

Talked to my wife's uncle last night who helped her father build it. He said it is a 302 and the intake is a Ford 4V piece. Also found out from him that the motor doesn't have very many miles on it because when they put the torque converter back on and put everything back together you could hear something rubbing in the transmission when the car was running. He said he thinks the TC didn't get put on correctly and that maybe a bolt from it is rubbing and that we need to just pull the tranny and readjust the TC.

[Phillyfanfrombirth]

Hmmmm....

Might be possible that the plate that divides the engine from the transmission has a bend in it, or may not be lined up properly...either way, if there is a noise such as this, I'd try to address it prior to even trying to start it. If the torque converter is not lined up properly for any reason, you will be in for some costly repairs if you try to run it. You might be should to pull the access plate on the bottom of the tranny to see if you can see any type of wear or metal shavings that may have accumulated down there, or to see if the torque converter bolts are worn in any manner.

[bmxmon]

stainless steel brake company makes complete front disc brake kits to convert from drum to disc, all you need to find is some front spindles from a junk yard. I am probably going to go that route, the kit is about $950 i think. Another way to go though is just to get the complete front disc brakes off a Granada, Versailles, Monarch, or mustang. From what others have told me is that the earlier years to around mid-70's of any of those models front disc brakes will bolt right up.

[rwhite65]

I personally think go with the disk brakes. As you believe you have learned, u may not have the stock engine. So the value as selling it as a stock stang just went out the window.

You are planning on making it faster....might as well make it able to stop the new speed. Which is worth more? a stang with disc brakes, or a totaled one cause it would not stop?
Ryan

[95GTS]

I"m not concerned about it being original. I'm going to build this thing the way I want and am not concerned about resale. This thing will never be sold. It's a family heirloom. Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely going with discs up front at least if not in the rear, too.

[rwhite65]

Well I am glad to hear it. I already have disc brakes in the front, but the rear is getting them too...maybe even bigger ones in the front.
Last year I came around a curve in the country and there was a lab in the roadway.....this hurt.
Ryan

[Rev]

I know one thing that can ruin the flexplate because I did it myself. The torque convertor has a drain plug (or two) on the surface that abuts the flexplate. That drain plug/s must line up with a hole/s in the flex plate. That allows draining the torque convertor of fluid after the tranny is installed. It is possible to mount the convertor to the flex plate with the drain plug/s not lined up with the hole/s, There may be 2 drain plugs and corresponding holes. When the nuts are tightened that mount the convertor to the flex plate, the flex plate is then bent out of shape if not lined up correctly.

It didn't prevent the car from starting, but it ruined a starter motor and after inspection of the flex plate being turned by a new starter motor, it was clear that the flex plate was bent. I had to remove the tranny, buy a new flex plate and reinstall both of them as well as the new starter motor. It's a little painful to admit that I screwed up so badly 10 years ago, but it is a lesson learned with a lot of wasted time,effort, and money.

Rev

[Rich Wollie]

Congrats on the '67! I have a '67 fastback with a 289 and 302 heads. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine!!!!