79_stang

I've looked at this car several months ago, and thought it was a good deal then, at just $200, as a non-runner. The car is a '79 hatchback. Original owner, high miles I'm sure, but this weekend, the car is free. I'll be picking it up this evening while the wife is out of town, and looking for either a 5.0 or a 5.8L, carb'ed engine, along with the necessary 5spd and V8 front suspension, etc for it.

If I can start questions here :
• Would a marine block be a better choice, as opposed to a typical block? I'm wondering if the marine block will have the higher nickel content and a 4-bolt main, that I'm led to believe it has

• What would be the best stock heads, to build with? Keeping in mind gasket-match porting, polishing, roller rockers and S/S valves (all done by me, with the exception of having a shop check for cracks, and possible decking). I'm thinking C8 to D1 for it's higher compression ratio, am I thinking in the right direction?

• Besides another mustang, what other car would I have a good chance of finding a V8 and 5spd in?

• Off-chance, does anyone know the WMS-to-WMS of the rear axle? Ultimately, the car will have a 35-spline, narrowed 9", on a triangulated 4-link suspension with coil-overs (asap anyway, I'm not made of money... obviously, since I'm excited about a free car)

• What kinds of problems can I expect, if I were to drop a V8/trans into the stock 6cyl car right now, w/o upgrading the suspension and brakes? I assume heavier steering, and longer braking distances and shorter pad life (assuming I use stock-type brake pads)... anything else?


Bottom line for this car is, since it's free, it'll be built into a Billy-Bad*ss street/strip car, getting a tube chassis, the rear end mentioned above, 5-lug coilover front end, TT'ed, street-slick'ed, tubbed, possible carbon-fiber body and panels, and lexan windows

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It's old, it's dirty, and it doesn't run, but it's free!

xRockThePonyx

Welcome to the forums! I'm going to move this over to the classic guys, as that's where all kinds of tech ?s go. I'm sure they'll know most of, if not all of what you're asking.

Best of luck!!

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2000 v6 Mustang
[b]PROUD 'Stang chick!

DSMtuner

All I can tell you, is I dont reccomend putting a V8 into a stock 6cyl car. The front will sag, and it will be a pain to stop. You can say hello to brake fade, thats for sure.

If you want to keep the budget low, and make use of your 6cyl, try to find a junked 8cyl with no powertrain. Take the suspension and brakes off, rebuild it all. You'll be as good as new. It will be a project though..

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65 Mustang Coupe, FOR SALE.

For Sale: mdecesaro@gmail.com
-1965 Ford Mustang Coupe 200ci
- Stock 351w exhaust manifolds.
-1974 Motorcraft 351w 2bbl carburetor.
-Stock 351w intake manifold, 2v.

79_stang

Heh, I wondered where it went - still getting used to this board... thanks


Swapping the V8 suspension and brake parts will definitely have to happen, before I drop in the SBF. It's become clear, that it will most certainly get a tube chassis... I've got little faith in this unibody, especially when I tub it

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It's old, it's dirty, and it doesn't run, but it's free!

67coupe

Well if money is no object,(never been the case with me), get the 351W SVO block. They are a little hard to come by now, but since it has such thick cylinder walls he can be over bored a bunch and there are stroker kits out there that take it to over 450 cubic inches.

I even saw a stroker kit for the 460 SVO that goes to 802 cubic inch. My dad was a Ramcharger drag team member in the 60's and in my teens he always told me, "If your not going to be the fastest car around you are wasting your money." He meant for that statement to have a discouraging effect on my street rodding, but instead it gave me a goal.

Soaring

If it was a 6 banger Mustang, we could help you out a lot more. But, generally speaking, the 6 banger suspension and brakes will have to be replaced. You probably have a small engine bay, so do some measuring after the get the 6 banger out to help you determine which engine will fit in there. Either the 351Windsor or the Cleveland would be the choice of most of us Classic guys, but there's nothing wrong with the 5.0 either. If you can get a 5 speed tranny that matches the engine already, you will save yourself a butt load of trouble trying to find the right bell housing. Not sure what rear that hatchback has in it, but probably an 8 inch open. If it does, then it will be just fine with some gears, and will handle up to around 400 HP or so, but if you are going to power up to over 400, then the 9 in. locker is a good choice. Do some measuring to see if a 9 in. will even fit under there. Besides a Mustang, you can also look in the junkyard at Lincoln Versailles for that rear.

79_stang

While the car IS a 6cyl now, it definitely won't be that way, when it's driveable again. And it's because of the limited engine bay size, that I was considering the full tube chassis, to eliminate the inner fenders and front strut supports completely. I've decided that the small block stroker might not be a good idea, since it would limit the number of times it could be rebuilt, and probably wouldn't live as long as a BBF, with the same power. With that in mind, I'll likely end up getting me a 460 marine block, to build up, and add turbos too.

Unfortunately, being a 79, it has the 7.5" rear end, so it will get that 9" shortly after the V8 swap, and before it's driven

Heh, on paper, this has already gotten out of hand. Since my Bronco, and this Mustang, are both headed in the same direction, for their builds, it's going to be tough to decide which one gets the parts first. Ultimately, both will be getting full carbon fiber bodies and panels... but they do need to get built first

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It's old, it's dirty, and it doesn't run, but it's free!

Soaring

It sounds like you have a plan, but you are in for a butt load of money changing that engine bay and adding all those mods for a Fox body stang. Good luck!

79_stang

That, I think, is going to be my biggest challenge - not only changing the engine bay for the bigger engine, but getting the unibody to sit on a tube chassis at all. And even that's going to be my second biggest investment, in this whole project - the tubing for the chassis and cage. Most expensive, of course, is building the engine.

I'm going to give a shot at narrowing my axle housing myself, and have to order the shafts from Moser (no way I'm going to try cutting splines, myself... I'll have someone roll them in, instead). I'll be piecing together a rear disc brake setup, for much less than $100, so that'll help. The front end, however, I'm unsure about... I've given thought to using a front end from an older LTD, or something similar. I dunno, any ideas? I'm wanting the 5-lug, A-arm suspension, and really not concerned about which vehicle I get it from - so long as the lug pattern isn't metric


Such big dreams, with... no money

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It's old, it's dirty, and it doesn't run, but it's free!