theguitarist
Well-known member
I spent the last few months quietly readying the Mustang Monthly articles about 65-coupe's aluminum head install as well as some forum posts with great interest since I have been doing my own rebuild all winter. I won't bore with too many details but I thought it might be time to throw my own 2 cents in since 2 cents is about all I have left.
Upgrades:
CI aluminum head and intake
CI cam (the one listed as most popular on the website) It sounds great at idle!
Autolite 2100 carburetor (given to me by another Mustang enthusiast)
Spectre cold air induction
Tremec T-5 transmission
140 amp one-wire alternator (bought cheap from a friend)
Summit Racing aluminum radiator
Mustangs Plus steering control arms
New brakes, ordered from Summit Racing and most pieces were returned since none of what they say will fit actually fits a 6-cylinder. Replacement drums and wheel cylinders from NAPA and O'Reillys
The short block (bottom half) had all internals replaced, cleaned, and balanced by a local machine shop. We then painted everything and installed the head and intake and broke in on an engine stand. Nothing fit as it should have. Numerous mounting holes on the intake, head, and valve cover had to be widened for proper fit. Since I didn't have the funds to test on a real dyno we ran some numbers on a dyno program.
Before rebuild: 129 horsepower at the flywheel and 169 ft/lbs of torque at 4,000 rpms.
After rebuild: 202 horsepower at the flywheel and 216 ft/lbs of torque at 4,500 rpms.
My new torque curve is close to 200 ft/lbs from 3,000 to 5,500 rpms. I have accelerating power in almost any gear in almost any speed. The car is a blast to drive! I'm sure I could take almost any V-8 from stop light to stop light, but nobody has challenged me yet. The real reason for this build was to increase efficiency. I haven't gotten accurate mpg numbers yet but a recent trip to Seattle and back burned under half a tank of gas. This trip used to burn 3/4 of a tank. I will get some accurate numbers soon when I drive to Las Vegas for the Mustang 50th anniversary event.
I spent about $5,000 on this build. I saved a lot because I did most of the work myself with the help of friends who know a lot more about motors than me. I also saved up for this for several years. Was it worth it? Absolutely, but I had been planning this for a long time and I expect this car to run flawlessly until her next rebuild; hopefully 50 years from now when my son owns it.
Upgrades:
CI aluminum head and intake
CI cam (the one listed as most popular on the website) It sounds great at idle!
Autolite 2100 carburetor (given to me by another Mustang enthusiast)
Spectre cold air induction
Tremec T-5 transmission
140 amp one-wire alternator (bought cheap from a friend)
Summit Racing aluminum radiator
Mustangs Plus steering control arms
New brakes, ordered from Summit Racing and most pieces were returned since none of what they say will fit actually fits a 6-cylinder. Replacement drums and wheel cylinders from NAPA and O'Reillys
The short block (bottom half) had all internals replaced, cleaned, and balanced by a local machine shop. We then painted everything and installed the head and intake and broke in on an engine stand. Nothing fit as it should have. Numerous mounting holes on the intake, head, and valve cover had to be widened for proper fit. Since I didn't have the funds to test on a real dyno we ran some numbers on a dyno program.
Before rebuild: 129 horsepower at the flywheel and 169 ft/lbs of torque at 4,000 rpms.
After rebuild: 202 horsepower at the flywheel and 216 ft/lbs of torque at 4,500 rpms.
My new torque curve is close to 200 ft/lbs from 3,000 to 5,500 rpms. I have accelerating power in almost any gear in almost any speed. The car is a blast to drive! I'm sure I could take almost any V-8 from stop light to stop light, but nobody has challenged me yet. The real reason for this build was to increase efficiency. I haven't gotten accurate mpg numbers yet but a recent trip to Seattle and back burned under half a tank of gas. This trip used to burn 3/4 of a tank. I will get some accurate numbers soon when I drive to Las Vegas for the Mustang 50th anniversary event.
I spent about $5,000 on this build. I saved a lot because I did most of the work myself with the help of friends who know a lot more about motors than me. I also saved up for this for several years. Was it worth it? Absolutely, but I had been planning this for a long time and I expect this car to run flawlessly until her next rebuild; hopefully 50 years from now when my son owns it.