mr.tinman

hello everyone...this is my first time actually posting but i have been reading past postings to try answer my questions but it didnt help me ...so here i am. Everyone on here seems really helpful so i decided to give it a try.. well down to business...
I have a 1966 mustang coupe with a 200 engine and an automactic transmission which is a 3 speed. I Was going to work a month ago and the engine sounded like it blew up...Upon further inspection i noticed that the oil pan had a dent near piston 1 so i took the head off and the #1 piston is able to be pushed up and down and and turned in circles...im sure it broke.lol

well anyways...i decided to rebuild the whole motor and im going to take it to a shop were they are charging $850 for it. This leads me to a disicion if i should just buy a 302 a buddy is selling... or rebuild my 200 but make it a "high performance" 200. I dont know what i should do, im on a limited budget and i would really appreciate suggestions.

ANd if i do put the 302 in it...what parts would i need to change? would the transmission,rearend, etc adapt to it..

ill take any help anyones provides thanks a lot

grruminator78

check the faq
http://www.geocities.com/a65ragtop/V.../i6_to_v8.html

Mustang Boy

i would recommend keeping the 200 i say this not only cause i love the I6's but also cause since ur on a limited budget cause u will have to buy at the minimum a new tranny and suspension and then not long down the road u will need to upgrade the rearend cause itll blow


i would just get the motor rebuilt with som of the parts at www.classicinlines.com and i would also check out www.fordsix.com cause there r many I6 gurus there who will gladly help u with any questions u may have about the I6 which with the right incentive can be pretty quick

paddy187

+1 on what mustang boy said, new suspension, new gear box, new rear end, new brakes are needed otherwise the v8 can break them, thus and I6 to v8 is not cheap to do.

grruminator78

and I6s can make a lot more power than you'd think, and they are torquey bastards at that!!

BakoLuke

stick with the 200...and check out www.fordsix.com
you would have to spend alot of money to convert it over to a V8 car

mr.tinman

yeah alot of people have been telling me to stick the v8 in that sucker....but i knew it would be costly....so most likely what i would do is just rebuild the 200 and see if maybe i can get more power out of it somehow...anyone got any recommendations on what i can do to the engine... thanks a bunch for the help

grruminator78

you should talk to the six people, they know thier stuff, but you can supercharge, turbo charge, aussie intake it, tons of stuff that i really don't know much about... good luck with that thing!

Mustang Boy

if u go to www.classicinlines.com they sell a ton of performance parts for the I6 and will be coming out with an Aluminum head and 4brl intake hopfully by christmas time along with a ton more intakes in the coming year along with a turbo manifold/header and an intake to mount an M90 supercharger

68XR7

I have a '65 with a 200 six. For as long as I've owned it, People have tried to get me to put a v8 in it. That bugs me, almost as much as when they say "Too bad it's not a ragtop". But after all of these years, it retains it's original motor and trans. I remember back in the '70s when the 6 cylinder cars were dropping like flies. They were cheap to buy, so people would get them and drop in any old engine that they had laying around. As a result not many good originals survived. Anyone that knows anything about mustangs, can tell, in a short period of time, whether your car is original or a 'chop job'. Like other posters have said, all of the mechanical components in your Mustang were built around the six cylinder motor. They didn't even have a 302 in '66. Even if you found a 289, your four bolt lugs would give you away. Best of Luck, Dave