Prepping for a Rebuild

[jisham]

I used to drive a Saturn that someone totalled so now I get to go back to my old High School car and use the settlement money to restore my '66 Mustang.

I eventually want to put a new head on it upgrade the carborator system, etc - make it a "GT200"

About the car.

Year: 1966
Style: Coupe
Engine: i6 200ci

Here is my current checklist of things I need to do and some concerns I have - let me know if I am on the right track or if you recommend I do something different.

-Pull out engine - do a rebuild (eventually will put on a new head)
-Upgrade Exhaust to a split exhaust system, throw on some Flowmasters
-Replace suspension
-Upgrade to disc brakes
-Transmission Check up - I believe I have the Automatic 3speed trans that I have read is worth keeping (does not look like it aligns to the engine properly though)
- Rewire electrical
- Clean/fix gas tank and fuel line

Concerns:
I only have about $2500 to put into the car so I want to make sure the important stuff is done first, but I also want to make sure things are done in the right order.

There is some rust on the car but I don't know how far it goes. Is it something that I can go back and have the frame and body inspected after the engine fixed up and put back in ( I would assume I would have to remove the engine to check it again anyway). The other stuff I know I can add to as money comes in but the body is the thing of most concern to me.

Another thing, because I am not putting on the new head with more HP just yet, could I wait on upgrading the brakes to disc brakes until I have more horses under the hood?

Thanks for the input. I plan on starting things within the next couple of weeks.

 

[addo]

Whereabouts are you located? It won't hurt to fill out your profile some more - nobody gets spammed.

I'm asking because relative distance to Mustang resources will affect the order of things.

First I would suggest a high valuation and comprehensive insurance. Otherwise you risk the lot.

Next step varies. If you are close to lots of junkyards/vendors - forget about the motor more than is needed for safe function. Tidy up the body instead. If you're in a remote place, go for durability of the driveline first up.

$2500 isn't a whole lot, and you'd do well to refrain from pulling anything apart until there's a cast-iron plan that fits your budget.

 

[jisham]

Thanks for the reply - Profile update for you . Been a while since I've been on here.

I do realize that I have very little for this so I was hoping to plan out the best attack plan to be able to spread things out a bit as money to finish it up comes in.

thanks for the tips - I beleive there are a number of Junk yards in both Northern and Southern California. Luckily I have a friend who is a mechanic in NorCal that done engine swaps before and a Mechanical Engineer friend in SoCal that dropped a corvette engine in an Rx7. So there is some experienced help to assist me as well.

 

[addo]

There's adequate stopping power in drums; slightly more if they're drilled. The disc install will take a good slice of cash in any case, and not offer a whole lot of return. I'd spend on replacing all three flex hoses, and replacing the wheel cylinders. Fitment of a dual reservoir master cylinder is always good (it's safer), and you could get a boosted one made for disc brakes. It'll work adequately with drums, having slightly more pedal travel before full effect.

For the motor - I'd get the cam reground to about 272° dual pattern, install it with a multi-keyway timing set and skim the head a little (maybe enough to get theoretical compression ratio to about 9.5-9.8 ). Fit DIY electronic ignition using a GM HEI module and a late '60s distributor used with recurve kit. Open the plug gaps to around 50 thou.

The transmission "alignment" you refer to, needs checking and possibly fixing. It it's working fine then probably best leave it be inside - shift improver kits are nice but may be overspending for now.

Spare cash could also be dropped on a dual out header and an Ebay set of aluminised 2¼" V-8 style pipes/mufflers. Ask for muffler preferences at your peril - it's an endless debate...

Get the corrosion looked at by someone who actually understands both older Mustangs and corrosion repair. You could try posting pictures here. Remember - if you can't keep the water out - make sure it doesn't stay in! Drill small drain holes as needed.

Remember that a lot of used six cylinder stuff is a buyer's market. If you think someone's asking too much for a used distributor (for example), keep searching.

 

[jisham]

Here are some photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jisham/Mustang

I'll probably add to them as time goes on.

 

[jisham]

so I think after a little thought I am going to hold off on upgrading the disc brakes and focus on getting the brakes I already have working really good.

I haven't started the engine in about 5-6 years (been sitting in my parents drive way). I am thinking I want to try to do as much of the rebuild myself so I can use more money towards other things on the car.

Any suggestions on exhaust set ups - the one I have is pretty much worn out ( leaks exhaust under the passenger seat). I would like to go with a split exhuast.

Here is a list of companies I have:
FSP
Clifford Performance

 

[addo]

For the time being, you can probably do well with "Classic Inlines" for the parts that can't be bought better elsewhere. That might be Pacemaker dual out headers and a nine keyway timing set.

If you're shrewd and keep nosing around, pretty much everything else can be acquired by word-of-mouth or Fleabay. Here's an exhaust system that would donate a lot of your dual setup quite cheaply.

 

[fordconvert]

External visible rust is not that bad to deal with on these cars, the paint job is likely to be the expensive part. Where you want to look is underneath. Look at the area where the leaf springs attach if they are getting puffy you are going to have to deal with them sooner rather than later. Other than holding the springs and rear to the car these areas hold the rear 'frame' to the mid 'frame' which is a square(ish) tube under the doors. Same issue in the front with the frame bits that the shock towers mount to where the come down under the floor boards. No big deal if the floor is rotted but if the piece that holds the seats is rotted again you got a big project ahead of you. Then there is always the cowl that can be an expensive pain but does not tend to be as structural as those other areas. With the drivers floor out you can get to the cowl a bit easier to install a 'repair' kit.

Does the motor run now? On these cars the motor is so easy to remove if runs I would just leave it for now. Since they are fairly easy to find you can always pick up a used one later for a serious rebuild when budget permits.

My car had the HD V8 drums and was fine driving around the neighborhood but getting in traffic on a 65mpg highway with stoplights or hitting multiple cloverleafs on the interstate in traffic was a little scary. If you are the only one on the road its not a problem but if you are trying to go with the flow and not get run over its an issue. Back in the day when no one could stop it may not have been an issue but now with everyone else running 4 wheel disc with abs... I did scarebird power discs last year and now it is just like any other non abs car.

 

[jisham]

Thanks for the comments.

For the engine bit. The last I ran her the only issue it had was with the alternator. I was in college then and away from home so I didn't have the time to fix it. Other things I wanted to do was put in a larger radiator because the engine heated up quickly and fix the exhaust.

I'm a bit frightened to see if it turns over due to the fact it has been sitting with the same oil in it for the past 6 or so years.

 

[fordconvert]

I'm a bit frightened to see if it turns over due to the fact it has been sitting with the same oil in it for the past 6 or so years.

Should not be a problem as long as it was sitting with a hood, air cleaner, and at least 1/2 and exhaust system. Since its easy to do pull the plugs and dump some of your favorite light oil stuff (wd40, pbblaster, marvel) down the plug holes, let it soak overnight and then crank it over by hand. To be extra safe you can also pull the valve cover (probably could benefit from a new gasket anyway) and dump some down the pushrods to soak around the lifters. Either with a home made tool or carefully with a rubber mallet operate the valves to make sure none of them are stuck. As you turn it over make sure everything is moving. If all looks good I would then crank it with the starter and look for oil coming out of the ends of the rocker arms. If the oil looks alright I would then start it and run it for a few minutes then change it. Mine didnt splash much oil with the valve cover off so you can run with the cover off to make sure everything is happy.

Most engines I would not go through that much trouble but the 6's are so easy to get to all that stuff its not a big deal and could save you from a bent pushrod due to a stuck valve. If it was sitting under a tarp in the backyard I would for sure go through all that but since its only been 6 years and its been in an intact car I doubt there will be any issues just from the storage. Most of your issues will be from age and use/ abuse.

 

[jisham]

I finally got a chance to look at the engine more closely. Drained the oil to prep for doing a more thorough cleaning before I check the valvues/pistons and what not. I am going to replace the Valvue cover gasket while I'm at it. Things look a lot better off then what I expected.

I know for a fact that I need to replace the voltage regulator and alternator as well as put in a new battery (I know this because there is no batter in it).

I guess some things I should start pricing out is an exhaust system from the header to the tail pipes. I also am not sure if I should try finding a used Carburator or just go with a new one.

I also remember having a few fuel fuem problems so I am also going to take out the tank, clean it and have it resealed and what not - if it is in too bad of shape replace it.

The transmission is still of concern to me. I will take some pictures and try posting them for some input.

 

[mustangsilly]

I would visit the Classic Inlines website and check the staged upgrades there. Some mods are not effective w/o doing other things. For example, the Loadamatic distributor on the 66 is not compatible with later carbs. And it doesn't make sense to do a lot to the exhaust without improving the engine's intake breathability, ie. bigger carb, cam, etc.

 

[dieselmaster]

good way to start out is to alout so much per part of the car, 200 bucks on brakes, 200 bucks on interior, 1000 for engine, 1000 for body/tires. From there you can create you budget as u cna upgrade each aspect of the car. Interior and body are things u can do yourself with a little help from carcraft and google. Millions of resources on how to do cheap good body work, and easy interior fixing. Make sure it stops by chekcing your brake lines, brake cylinders, and master cylinders. The engine itself, for a mild build get ready for and possible machine work, 100 to 250 dollers. Rebuild it for 700 to 800. Everything from classic inline of course.