1968 Coupe - making huge headway!

Howdy All -

It's been a while since I posted, my new job keeps me traveling a lot.

You may or may not remember me - I have a '68 coupe that I have been working on for several months. Today I went to the shop and checked it out. The mechanic has completely removed everything in the engine bay and under the chassis. He power-washed it three times, rotary wire-brushed it and scraped seam sealer and other gunk between each washing. Once it was pristine, he shot the underside and engine bay with sealer, primer and then several coats of gloss black paint. It looks SO FREAKING GOOD! Better than I expected!

I knew the car was in good shape when I got it, but my mechanic told me that he could not find anything other than light surface rust anywhere except where the master cylinder had been leaking, and that area was not badly corroded. He was able to sand it down and seal, prime and paint it.

I also had him remove the cowl to check for and treat any rust. Once it was off, he only found a small area of light surface rust. So he sanded the whole area to remove all the surface rust and is sealing and painting it tomorrow. He's going to put on several coats so it should last another

40 years! He's also tack-welding a screen inside the cowl so that leaves and junk won't be able to get in and rot.

While he has the front fenders off, he's sanded and power washed everything he can get to. He's repainting all of it and putting on new seam sealer everywhere.

The engine going in is an EFI 351W roller motor out of an SVT Lightning. We're putting in a cam, headers, 24# injectors, and a Mustang computer which we're getting reprogrammed for performance.

The tranny is a T-5 out of a 5.0 Mustang. We're putting 3.73 locker gears in the rear end. I wanted to go with a 9" rear end, but we're going to stay with the 8" for now. If it breaks, I'll pony up for a 9".

The suspension is all Grab-a-Trak - new upper and lower control arms, 620 coil springs, 5-leaf rear springs and a Shelby drop. Right now it has

15x8 rims and 225/60s all around, but we figured out that I really need 17's unless I want to be at 2900RPM in 5th gear at highway speeds!

The power steering pump is shot, so it's being replaced, and I got the "make it new" power steering kit from Mustangs Plus, so the steering should be nice and tight.

I got the disc brake conversion from Mustangs Plus, so it will be disc front. Disc rear is in my future, just not at this point.

Man, it's been a crazy ride. It's true. This kind of project is just a hole in the road into which you pour money. But, man, when I saw that car looking all smooth and glossy, it was all worth it. And it's still a good month and a half or two from being done!

Anyway, just wanted to check in and thank everyone for all the great advice. I am not anywhere close to being a mechanic, so I know I've probably asked some really irritating questions, and you have all been really great!

There are a ton of digital pix at the shop, I am going to go by soon with my USB thumb drive and copy them, then I will put them on my web site and send this newsgroup a link.

Cheers! Thomas Cameron

Reply to
Thomas Cameron
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"Thomas Cameron" wrote

Hope you don't toast the tranny with that setup and that motor. Stock T-5's top out around 350tq then they scatter themselves.

Reply to
66 6F HCS

Yeah, I've gone back and forth over that. I don't really know what my alternative is, though. Is there a 5-speed tranny that would be a better choice? I've drooled over the 6-speed T56, but that would apparently take major surgery to make fit.

This engine should make about 340 ft/lbs torque, so it *should* be OK. I am also not really going to thrash it very much at all. I suspect there will be the occasional stop-light silliness, but nothing too hard-corps.

Thomas

Reply to
Thomas Cameron

Just get a Tremec. It's a bit of work to shoehorn one in, but worth it. Here's all you ever wanted to know about putting a modern trans in an old Mustang:

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Cheers,

Reply to
Ritz

"Thomas Cameron" wrote

The Tremec TKO.

Reply to
66 6F HCS

Ouch. Twice the price I was planning on paying for a T-5.

Reply to
Thomas Cameron

"Thomas Cameron" wrote

But you will KNOW it won't break. A lot can be said for confidence in your equipment.

Reply to
66 6F HCS

Very true. But I checked into it and a 92-93 T-5 from a 5.0 Mustang is rated at 330 ft/lbs. This engine is projected to make only a little more than that, and I am going to be driving it daily. It's not going to the strip or anything like that.

I'm so far over budget on this, I'm willing to risk the T-5 for a year or so. Then, once I save up a couple of grand of play money I will go for a Procharger intercooled blower and a seriously built T600.

But that'll be phase II. :-)

TC

Reply to
Thomas Cameron

I've trashed and worn out lots of transmissions, rearends and other parts, I absolutely used many parts completely up. I destroyed, than replaced or rebuilt more parts and pieces than I care to remember. You should get plenty of warning of it's eminent failure. I don't know about that transmission, but the 3 toploader 4-speeds I had to rebuild still got me home after they rendered themselves ready for rebuild. Wish I could same for the automatics, they generally leave you stranded when they go. Even if you don't get fair warning, not a giant risk, you coast to the side and tow it home, no harm, no foul. It is after all not a boat or even a plane for that matter.

Good Luck

Reply to
351CJ

You won't think it's twice the price when you've got to buy one anyway after you've roached the T-5. A stock T-5 is not meant to handle a worked up 351. It'll break. Just do it right the first time and spare yourself from having to do the job twice.

Cheers,

Reply to
Ritz

I've seen people blow up T-5's with mildly hot 302's. It won't last. Honest injun. You'll end up spending more money by trying to get by with the T-5.

Good luck!

Cheers,

Reply to
Ritz

Possibly. But if I can get it to last a year (which should not be a problem), then I can amortize the cost. I can live with that.

TC

Reply to
Thomas Cameron

Heh.

Reply to
Ritz

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