plez help my 68 200ci

[Anonymous]

first off i need to introduce myself. Iam 16 years old. just bought my first car. its a 68 mustang it runs but needs a lot of work. i found out about this website thro the HAMB they didnt like me on ther so someone told me about this.
my mustang has a 200 inline six. it needs some help in the horsepower area bad. it runs like it has about 15 hp. but it is a strong running motor. i recently ran it at the drag strip it ran a consistant 21 @ 63 mph. any help i can get w/ this will be greatly appreciated. i also want to find a split manifold for it. thanks walter

 

[Anonymous]

give it a full tune up, plugs,wires,rotor button, and dizzie cap. Check your air filter and make sure it isn't super dirty. Possibly install a new fuel filter.

When you pull the plugs check for coloring. black means rich. white means lean. You want a light tan colored plug in a perfect world. Adjust your a/f ratio accordingly. If you run out of adjustment it's probably time for a new carb or a rebuild.

If you have a decent bit of money to spend look in to getting a holley 350 2brrl carb for it and have it direct mounted to your manifold. After that sticking a set of pacemaker headers on there would be a good idea . Another popular mod is an aftermarket ignition setup. Many think the petronix or petronix2 is a good setup but, some beleive it to be a p.i.t.a. Most everyone seems to agree that the duraspark 2 setup is one of the best and cheapest effective ignition upgrade. If you realy plan on modding out the motor in the future maybe a msd ignition or crane ignition isn't out of the question.

Anyways start with the basics and go from there. A tune up can never hurt you. plus after your done you know it's done . G/l with whatever you decide on.

 

[gtm1086]

Welcome. Just reading the posts on this site will help you alot. I would highly recomend you purchase this book first. http://falconperformance.sundog.net/

Then go over to Ford Six Parts and droll over all the goddies Mike has to offer. http://www.fordsixparts.com/

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy Walter:

Welcome to the wonderful world of keepin' it straight!

You didn't specify which transmission you're got. Also know that you can get a noticeable gain in power, economy and throttle response by adding an additional 5 degrees of initial advance to the distributor. Gap your pugs at .040" for a little more torque.

Another investment you should make early on is a Shop Manual for your vehicle. It is truly worth the $50.00.

Another FYI is that the '68 Autolite 1100 one barrel carb was down sized to a 1.1" venturi. '67 and earlier 200s have an 1100 with 1.2" venturi. The difference in CFM is 156 to 185. The '67 and earlier have a Spark Control Valve in them so they are not directly compatible with your better distributor. You would do well to find an Autolite 1101, which flows 215 CFM. It was on '69 Mustangs with a 250 engine. It is as close to a direct bolt on as you can get. This upgrade alone would be worth about 8 mph in the quarter mile.

Enjoy the journey.

Adios, David

 

[Anonymous]

When you pull the plugs check for coloring. black means rich. white means lean. You want a light tan colored plug in a perfect world.

It used to be that way, but in a world of wierd gas and weirder additives, plug color can go in many directions.

 

[addo]

True! I pulled some for a reading the other week and they were deep rust coloured! Did a little "digging" and it turns out MMT was the culprit. Called the company who made the additive I put in, and yes, they freely admitted this was in their formula. Weirdest colour I've seen; this rich auburn red.

 

[Anonymous]

Tellya the truth i've never seen a good tan colored plug. Not even on efi's that i've pulled plugs on. Thats just what i was always told though so whatever.

I'd just adjust it until it sounds best by ear and foot if it were me but, that's definetly not the scientific way to do it . if you have a points dizzy on there then checking for gap and making sure it's fairly clean in there wouldn't hurt you either.

 

[Anonymous]

Tellya the truth i've never seen a good tan colored plug.

It goes back to the days of leaded gas.
No more leaded gas = no more colored plugs (more or less)

 

[Anonymous]

That would make sense my dad always owned carbed old mustangs and such up until the last 10 years. he's went the efi route lately which is good i suppose on the durability factor especially when you don't take the time to retune the carb seasonally and such.

He is pretty much efi illiterate and i'm not much better on efi's than i am at waking up early during summer vacation. All i know is my truck is efi and studders and pings a good bit and i don't have the money to fix it right now lol. All my plugs come out pitch black and my 02 sensor turns black in about a weeks time. After about a week there is a noticable decrease in power. After i notice that i take the 02 sensor out and clean it and i'm good as gold once again....... Wierd stuff but, it will be sold soon so i don't realy care if it's in perfect condition before i sell it. It still can haul anything i hook to which is nice though.