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This is a project thread about my 1968 Mustang. This was my first car. I bought it on E-bay about 14 years ago and drove it for a few years before the transmission went out. I swapped the C4 for a 5-speed, but never finished the clutch pedal swap. The car ended up sitting for about 10 years (luckily most of that in the garage). Last year my dad tried to run the motor a little after we cleaned it up some and it seized up. He can't keep at his house anymore due to some re-modeling so I have taken the plunge and I'm trying to bring it back. I'm currently in grad school working on a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, so while I'm not too worried about the work, I don't have a ton of cash to spend. I've swapped engines and transmissions in this car a few times so I mostly know what I'm doing. Currently I'm cleaning the car up and getting primer on anything that's started to rust. I have the top part of the motor partially taken apart. The rockers and push-rods were all fine so I'm expecting the excitement will come when I pull the heads. It has a period correct 289, but the car was originally a six cylinder. I'm hoping the block can be salvaged, but if not I have a 5.0 block from an F150 if I can take if I need it. Future plans involve: finishing the clutch pedal swap, stopping the rust, fixing silly stuff the PO did, fixing silly stuff I did in high school, hopefully driving the thing for the first time since 2004-5. Anyway on to the pictures.  This is the good side of the car. I have the fenders off right now cleaning them up.  This is the bad side. Also featuring the my horrible high school attempt at fixing the door skin after someone backed into it.  This is what most of the car looked like in I first got it. My first task has been making sure everything has primer.  Here is how the car is coming out after a little sanding and primer. Also my 94 Toyota pickup dd in the background.  Here's the engine shot. Hopefully salvageable.  The hood has cutouts for turn signals. The PO wisely turned them into vents. You can see who's been to the track and who hasn't. The rest of these are showing off the many different colors hiding all over the car.  Original color.  Bright orange hood.  Lime gold fender.  Candy apple red fender.  Blue head light surrounds. I was hesitant to start this thread due to AI's previous history with southern Mustang owners, but I probably need the encouragement and to take pictures. Let me know if you have any questions or want me to take a picture of anything on the car. Hopefully the first update will include pulling the heads, and seeing the condition of the cylinders.
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Jan 14, 2016 23:41
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 19:30 |
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I was going to ask your opinion on minorities, but it seems you already touched on that subject. I'm excited to see how this goes though. Why the 5.0 out of a F-150 and not say out of a fox body or something similar? (I'm still angry I never got to see how that thread ended)
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Jan 15, 2016 01:36
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frozenphil mk. II 
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Jan 15, 2016 02:17
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Elmnt80 posted:Why the 5.0 out of a F-150 and not say out of a fox body or something similar? I would prefer a 5.0 from a mustang because the engines are a little different (mustang and explorer got the high output, trucks and sedans got a large car version), but I can swap the intake and carb from my motor to either. The F150 motor is free out of a family members car with a bad transmission (I'd have to drive about 3 hours to where the car is and pull it).
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Jan 15, 2016 03:26
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Duckaerobics posted:I would prefer a 5.0 from a mustang because the engines are a little different (mustang and explorer got the high output, trucks and sedans got a large car version), but I can swap the intake and carb from my motor to either. The F150 motor is free out of a family members car with a bad transmission (I'd have to drive about 3 hours to where the car is and pull it). Surely a local 302HO out of a junkyard Explorer for a couple hundred bucks would be a break-even proposition compared to a several-hour drive to get another one? Either way, I'm sure you can make it work; just get it running and drive it while you put together your hotted up FE or Cleveland or big-cube 351-based Windsor or whatever your ultimate plans are. 
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Jan 15, 2016 04:30
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Elmnt80 posted:(I'm still angry I never got to see how that thread ended) I think we all feel at least a little bit cheated. I certainly do  I look forward to following this build. So keep up with lots of photos please.
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Jan 16, 2016 21:49
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The weather was nice yesterday so I did a little work on the car, and then my father in law came over and helped me pull the heads. I got the front of the motor taken apart, and I'm starting to think trouble with the cooling system was the issue. Behind the water pump still looks really nice though. Here's some close-ups of the gross.     I pulled the intake and distributor. The distributor came out fine and the gears look good and still have oil on them. The intake valley looks good and marks confirm it is a 302 block.  Here is the head with the rockers and push-rods removed. From the marks these are 289 heads, and the studs for the rockers means it's probably from the 60's. This was a somewhat common hot rod swap, because the 289 heads have a smaller chamber and give higher compression. I pulled the headers and then undid all the head bolts. Everything came of easily nothing seamed seized. One quick pry on each head and they came off.  The combustion chambers look good with no signs of damage to any of the valves. Most of the cylinders and pistons look god with some light marks but no actual scoring.  Passenger rear.  Passenger front.  Driver front.  Driver rear. This is the only cylinder with any problems. I don't know if this water was the cause of the issues or if it has collected while it sat. The piston and combustion chamber seem untouched. I'm most worried about something in the water jacket having rusted through, because the head-gasket seem intact and in good condition.  Here is a bad picture of the damage to the cylinder wall after I got the water out. It's been a while since I did any machine work, but the scoring is light and I think only about a thousandth as I can barely catch it with a fingernail. I've never re-built an engine so I'm not sure if I can hone this out and use bigger rings, or if I'll have to have the engine over-bored. I need to borrow a caliper from my lab and make sure the engine hasn't been bored out already, but I think it's stock. Next step is to pull the engine and get it on a stand so I can pull the bottom end. Hopefully this is the extent of the damage, but I'm afraid there must be more. In the meantime I still need to finish the clutch pedal install and cleaning up rust spots. The hood hinges also failed and will have to be replaced, so that's another thing on the list. I'll try to get some full car shots for the next update, if only because it has cleaned up pretty well with the new primer. Raluek posted:Surely a local 302HO out of a junkyard Explorer for a couple hundred bucks would be a break-even proposition compared to a several-hour drive to get another one? Either way, I'm sure you can make it work; just get it running and drive it while you put together your hotted up FE or Cleveland or big-cube 351-based Windsor or whatever your ultimate plans are. I thought the same thing, but I don't know if it's popularity or Cash for Clunkers, but I can't find a cheap 5.0 block anywhere.
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Jan 17, 2016 20:31
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Duckaerobics posted:I thought the same thing, but I don't know if it's popularity or Cash for Clunkers, but I can't find a cheap 5.0 block anywhere. Looking on row52, there are 9 potential donors (V8-having Explorers) within 50 miles of me. Chances are that they mostly have the heads already taken, but one never knows. Where are you located?
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Jan 17, 2016 20:59
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Raluek posted:Looking on row52, there are 9 potential donors (V8-having Explorers) within 50 miles of me. Chances are that they mostly have the heads already taken, but one never knows. I'm in Auburn, Al. I've mostly been looking on craigslist and e-bay, where I either haven't seen anything or it's been way more than I want to spend. I just looked on row52 and the closest V8 explorer to me is in Mobile, which is pretty much where the F150 is. I'm open to getting another block if I need to, but the idea behind the F150 motor is just something to put in the car while I get the original re-built. I don't know if it's worth the effort, but I've swapped engines in this car over a weekend a couple of times already, what's a few more. that said, if this motor can be saved with a hone and some new bottom end pieces I probably won't bother with the F150. Unless I decide to put it in my pickup.
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Jan 17, 2016 21:22
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Duckaerobics posted:I'm in Auburn, Al. I've mostly been looking on craigslist and e-bay, where I either haven't seen anything or it's been way more than I want to spend. I just looked on row52 and the closest V8 explorer to me is in Mobile, which is pretty much where the F150 is. Ah. Yeah, looks like you've got gently caress-all nothing out there. I guess you can just hone out the block you have, see if it cleans up with only taking a thou or two off, and if it doesn't you can go grab that other motor. Also, a caliper won't accurately measure the ID of a circular bore. Get some telescoping gauges and a micrometer.
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Jan 17, 2016 21:29
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Raluek posted:Also, a caliper won't accurately measure the ID of a circular bore. Get some telescoping gauges and a micrometer. Yeah sorry I should have been more specific. I actually teach a lab on measurements so it's a little embarrassing, but I have access to what I need. I really need to get my own set though. I don't even have a good set of gaps and the mustang has points right now.
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Jan 17, 2016 23:39
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Haha, sorry for assuming you didn't know the score. 
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Jan 17, 2016 23:48
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AI level, infinity. I personally would put in a fuel injected straight 6 and not worry about being cool, or ever having to change the oil etc.
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Jan 18, 2016 15:24
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Elephanthead posted:AI level, infinity. I personally would put in a fuel injected straight 6 and not worry about being cool, or ever having to change the oil etc. I actually considered getting an rb25 because they are like 1200 bucks on e-bay with a five speed and computer. Then I looked up the weight difference, and there is no way i'm putting something that heavy in. The cheapest option for me would be a 4.8/5.3 ls engine, but I can't bring myself to put that in a Mustang. Really if money was no issue I'd be doing something different and putting an eco-boost four or six cylinder in it. All of that is kind of pointless right now, because I need to focus on not letting it dissolve into rust like it has been for the past 10 years.
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Jan 18, 2016 17:52
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Honest question but you are looking for Mountaineers too right? More of those came with the V8 in 2WD (my father in law had a thing for 2WD V8 explorers and mountaineers and we have had the hand me downs over the years)
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Jan 18, 2016 19:01
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everdave posted:Honest question but you are looking for Mountaineers too right? More of those came with the V8 in 2WD (my father in law had a thing for 2WD V8 explorers and mountaineers and we have had the hand me downs over the years) The V8 in the Mountaineers is the same as the explorers, but I'm not really looking to get another block right now. Everything can be swapped between the two versions of the 5.0 so the truck motor isn't a huge hindrance. It is also completely free (and the motor ran semi-recently and spins) and pulling it is something for my dad and I to do when I go visit. I'll probably end up pulling it even if I don't use it in the mustang. My dad's plan is to pull the F150 motor right away and put it in the mustang, while I take my time re-building the 302. I need to make sure, but I think all I need to bolt it up to my transmission is a new flywheel. I think it's a good plan, and I like the idea of building a nice motor, but it all come down to me making the trip and the weather letting us do the work. Anyway, I've got a decent bit to work on right now, and I'll make the decision about what motor to use when I get the cleaning/painting finished and find out how much work/parts the 302 needs. Duckaerobics fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Jan 18, 2016 |
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Jan 18, 2016 19:27
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