BUN

Ok all, here we go. Rebuilding my 1965 mustang into complete resto-mod. Not restoring, but building! I am looking for the best motor choice for big HP and reliability. I have a 289 that came out of it, a 302 that was once in it, and a 351W that i bought from a friend. I am wondering which motor will give me the best HP, and I will be adding a Weiand Blower to it. Whichever block i use will get stripped and machined at a shop and the build continues from there. New crank, cam, pistons, heads, rockers and pushrods, the works. Money isn't my largest concern because i am finally going to build the motor i want, over several months. I would like to stick with the 289 or 302, but have heard that after 450HP or so, you are running close to the limit. The rear end will be a 9" ford posi, along with all new suspension and roll cage. Most likely it will be bagged with larger wheels. This is being as a daily driver/ show car, but i still want to go fast if i want!!! Thanks for any suggestions!

MonsterBilly

i like the thought of a blown 302. if you are redoing all the suspension then you could go with coil over fronts and do away with the front towers. this would open it up and give you more clearance for the 351 if you were to go that route.

one thing is for sure, if you are putting that much power in a 65 you will need to at lead do a mini tub. you can do it and keep the original rear seat. this wil give you the ability to run a larger rear tire. you will need to.
I am only a built 289 with 373 gears and a trac loc, I can hardly get it to get traction in first and secong gears.

But as I stated above i would go for a blown 302. built for a lot of boost. that way you can always squeeze more juice out of her

dodgestang

How fast do you want to go?

musnicki

Yea how fast do you want to go and how big is your budget? The 351w can stroke and bore out to a 408 or 427 I think. Thats big power out of a small block. 302 you can get up to 347...all depends, you want a weekend racer or something that you want to put on ten thousand miles in a year.

James

BUN

Don't really even care about racing. Ever since i got this car when i was 16, 15 years ago, i have been building it with what i could afford, nickel and dimeing it together, always dreaming of a blown motor show car! Now i have the means to do it and do it right. I had plans of dumping about 10 to 15 grand into the motor alone, and running a full air ride kit, mini tub on the rear. It is getting completely torn apart and media blasted on a body turner. Want to start fresh and do everything right. i will most likely only drive her in the summer, since i live in WA state, but 10k miles a year is very possible! Would love to drop the 351W in her, but i don't want to get into too many headaches, when i know i can bore out and bolt in a 302. Especially trying to get headers and a 351 in that engine compartment....the shock towers would have to go! It is an automatic transmission BTW and i am going to stay that route. Mostly adding the blower because what gear head doesn't like seeing a blower sticking out of their hood? i know i can make good power on motor alone, but once i am done, i dont want to wish i would have done something different. Plus once i am done, i can start building another bad *** motor, that will be all motor and natural aspiration.

andrewmp6

Really depends your budget world castings makes a 460 small block based off a 351w but its 10k and 600hp.

dodgestang

So you want to put a Roots style blower on the car and not an accessory mount with a blow through carb setup?

Doesn't it rain occasionally in WA? How would you use a car with a roots intake and air horn sticking through the hood as a daily driver?

I think your goals/budget are not in complete alignment.

1. What you plan to use the car for
2. What the performance goal
3. What the budget it

And trust me....I've been there..."I want a 400 RWHP car that I can drive anywhere that I can race occasionally and have sub 12 second on the 1/4 mile and perform without killing me on a road course" and I have spent far more than 12-15k to get there. And I can't drive my car in anything less than sunny weather without being in mortal danger.

BUN

well the 10-15k is just for the motor. i figure when the car is done, i will be in almost 50k with wheels, tires, paint, motor, suspension, axles and rear end, interior, stereo, etc...Mainly just looking for the motor choice now. If i can make good power out of a 302 or 289 and bolt on a weiand 174 series blower and not blow my motor, then that would be the way to go. It by no means would be a daily driver, more of a summer fun car once in a while, maybe take to clubs and shows. I have another mustang for a daily driver. Even if i end up 20k in the motor, as long as it is right and isnt full of problems, i am good with that!

andrewmp6

Have you ever owned a roots blower before?The whine from one will get annoying on a road trip.You have to change the gear oil in it every 20k and it stinks just as bad as gear oil from a rear end does.I would rather run a centrifugal supercharger most use the engine oil to cool so no gear oil to change and no hood clearance problems with one like a roots can have.

Al Newman

First, I don't think anybody has built a motor like you want without wishing somewhere along the line that they had done something different. Second, if you have no interest in racing the car, it really doesn't matter what horsepower number you achieve as long as it has the look you are going after and it is a reliable driver. If you plan to drive the car frequently, I would suggest you put reliability before total horsepower. Everyone has ideas of what would be a "perfect" motor. Go for it, and good luck. Post pics!!!
Best,
Al