shikoz

Hi all-
I have a 1966 289 originally equiped with the smog components. I'm in the process of tearing down the engine, and I'm interested in ditching the smogequip (I understand all of the legalities associated with this equipment, so I'm not interested in a discussion as to why I should keep it). I plan to drive this car, so the engine upgrades will be minimal- possibly a larger cam, stock 4V intake, stock (rebuilt) 4100 carb, and maybe headers, or the "HiPo" type exhaust manifolds.
My (several) questions:
1. Are these smog-type heads dissimilar to the regular 289 heads in terms of fitment of headers?
2. Can I "cap" the air-injection holes and not sacrifice performance?
3. Am I better off sticking with exhaust-manifolds
4. What the heck should I do with these cylinder heads!!!!!!????

Thank You- in advance

my77stang

1. they are the same
2. yes, no performance loss - if the heads are off i'd grind down the bumps in the exhaust ports to increase flow, ex flow is a major weak point in windsor style heads
3.NO - headers are soooooooo the way to go. equal length
4. use em, they're grrrrrrrrrreat!

groho

You're exactly where I was a year ago. Go to the bone yard and find a set of 65 heads. I believe the casting ID will be C5. These don't have the casting humps of 66 and later heads, eliminating the need to machine the humps. I got the heads, and 4V intake for $75and had them rebuilt for less then $400. The smog port lugs are aprox $6 each and can be readily found at any mustang or ford shop if you prefer not to spend the money on rebuilt heads.

I've got a 4100 (1.08), which can be found at bone yards if you're patient, but be careful regarding vent tubes, and external components such as linkage. Those parts are not easy to replace if lost or broken. Found mine for $10, I rebuilt it for aprox $40, but had problems dialing in the secondaries. For ease,ended up putting on an Edelbrock 600 CFM to get by until I have the time to seriously sit down and drive/tune that carb (suspect the accelerator pump) The Edelbrock unit is simple, quick, and other then the throttle linkage, a direct bolt on, the electronic choke is a very nice convenience. Pony carbs is good, but expensive as a rebuilder for your 4100, and is pretty much the same cost of an Edelbrock.

Install a pertronix ignition and an adjustablevacuum. You'll be happy you did.

As for smog, in CA there is no longer a smog requirement for, if I'm correct, 1971 and earlier, so you're free to rip it out. Suggest contacting your local BAR - Bureau of Automotive Repair for specific smog requirements regarding the year of your car. Don't waste your time talking shops, 10 mechanics = 10 differents answers. BAR sets the rules, not the mechanic.

Transmission - I hated my "green dot". It sucked. If you're willing to do the work, you can get a very nice build for under$500. I pulled the tranny, bought the critical parts, and paid the labor to have a pro build the unit. You cna build it yourself but all it takes is one mistake and you end up having to pull the tranny all over again to find your problem.

Brakes - spend the money on a good disc brakes. I realize this is expensive, but it could save your life.

Good luck, be patient. The more work you do yourself, the more money you'll save. Do your homework. There's two types of gear heads, the ones that do it right, and the ones that want to look pretty.

rmodel65

if u want some nice heads as an upgrade look for 96-97 explorer head they are the best flowing factorysmall block head

my77stang

yeah, because they are gt-40 heads =P

can be identified by 3 casting lines on the ends of the heads.

they were also in the 5.0 mustangs the last few years before they went to the 4.6's

rmodel65

only on 93-95 cobra and 1st gen lightnings but dont tell the yard that just buy them for an explorer they will have a casting date of f6/f7 and gt will also be cast on the heads u can also get gt40p's from a 98-01 but the sparkplug is angle differently and will cause exhaust interferences with stock manifolds and some headers

my77stang

yeah, what he said =)

shikoz

Wow! Thanks for the information. I'm thinking about those gt-heads- sounds good.

gothand

No smog checks are required in CA for 1975 and older vehicles. Go ahead and build it the way you like it and don't sweat the smog stuff.

IMO, if you're trying to maintain a "stock" vehicle then recondition what you have. Once you get away from stock, i.e. Edelbrock carbs, intake manifolds, etc., why not just build it exactly how you want it? I understand originality when it comes to rarer Mustangs, but if you have one of the other 1 million+ 65/66 Mustangs, you're free to do what you want. I'd try selling the smog stuff on Ebay and drop in a crate motor, price depending on how much power you want.

When my dad bought me my first '65 Mustang GT when I was 19, he basically said to decide whether I wanted a stocker or a runner and to never look back. My car was far enough away from stock so the decision was easy. Hopefully yours is too.

Good luck!

shikoz

gothand- thanks for the advice.
the car I have is an A-code with smog. To my understanding, the only thing that seperates the A and C code is the Carb and Intake- oh, and that some A-codes were GTs. My car is completely stock right now- I've checked the intake, engine and headnumbers. I'm sort of in a dilema with this stock vs. Custom thing. As soon as I buy a custom part, be it an Edelbrock Carb or Shelby Hood, I'm custom. In finality I suppose I should just build it the way I want it-And that is aMustang withsome performance and great drivability.

Again, thanks for all the advice!