68rollercoupe

I have been searching the forum for a while and I think I have a plan I want to stick to with the build up of My 1968 Coupe. I have never built a ford of anykind so I would like to run my plans by more experienced minds.
I have built other Brand cars (All Chevy stuff) and this all started when My wife decided she wanted a mustang.

First off I paid 900$ for a 1968 mustang coupe in Decent shape. I have replaced the battery tray and 75% of the pass side front frame. The remainder of the frame is in good shape.

The car was a 289 V8 and the 289 and C4 have been pulled. My plan is to build a 302 HO roller block bored over with flat pistons and valve cuts. The cam will stay stock for street use. I will be bolting on a set a mildly ported GT40's with a aftermarket intake and a 4 barrel Holley. The issue I have with the motor is that I need a front sump motor. Will my 289 oil pan work with the HO roller motor?

I plan to reuse the C4. What balancing isssues will have to deal with in terms of what flywheel and converter to use? Is there any problems with putting a manual valve body in the C4. I have ran reverse manual valve bodies in Turbo 400's in the past with good luck.

I am on a pretty tight budget so Wheels and tires have been driving me up the wall. There is a local guy that has a set of 2005-2009 mustang 16 inch wheels, they have a the older classic look to them I would run spacers to make them fit right. They come with 225/65/16's already on them. I also have a set of 205/60/16's that came off my wife's accord that still have over 50% tread. I thought if I went with these and changed to a wider 9 inch rear I could just remove the spacers.

I have called over a dozen junk yards and found one granada/monarch, it already had the spindles removed. Every one I talked to said they were all crushed when metal got really high. Has anyone used the brackets that use GM metric calipers and ranger 2wd rotors? I know they are available on E-bay but have not talked to anyone who has used them. I also plan to use the GM metric calipers for rear disk, I have done this several times in the past with good luck on 9 inch rears. (The 9 inch is about the only ford part I am familiar with)

Other smaller things I plan on are all new bushings for front and rear suspension, New interior, New paint, new shocks, sub frame connecters and so on and on.

Please be very critical of tire wheel choices, motor choice, just everything because I dont claim to know whats best for this old coupe and I only want to do this once.

Alos, I have a parts mag from both NPD and mustangs unlimited. Does one have better parts that the other or should I just take the best deal?


THANKS in advance.

First time Mustang owner

Starfury

I'd recommend picking a new cam. There are lots of modern cam choices that will give you better power and efficiency without sacrificing driveability. With some more information about rear end gearing and how you're going to drive the car (street/strip, daily driver, freeway use, etc), we can recommend a good cam for you.

The GT40's and roller block are a good way to go. There's a lot of power potential there. I'd recommend keeping the compression ratio between 9:1 and 10:1. Too high and you'll need octane booster, too low and you'll sacrifice power. I run 9.3:1 in my 331 and it'll take 89 octane all day.

The 289 pan will work fine, but you'll need a front-sump oil pump pickup tube. Not a big deal. If you want to keep all of the 289 front accessories, your old timing cover and everything else should bolt on. The only problem you'll run into is that your old fuel pump eccentric may or may not fit on the new motor. If it doesn't, you'll need a later two-piece eccentric. Also not a big deal.

You'll need a 50oz imbalance balancer and flex plate. Powerforce makes a decent, affordable balancer. I'm happy with mine. Someone else more familiar with autos will be able to tell you how many teeth you need on the flex plate, but it'll have to match what you're taking out.

Those late model V6 rims definitely look slick. I considered them for a while, but threw the idea out because they're only 7" wide. You can fit an 8" rim under that car without any trouble. Use adaptors though, not spacers. Someone else here has a good picture of what they look like. They're much more stable/safe than a plain spacer.

Unless you're planning on going over 400hp or doing drag launches with sticky tires all the time, I wouldn't bother replacing the stock 8" rear end housing. Upgrading to a good limited slip or TrueTrac differential will eliminate the weak point in the rear, which is the 2-pinion diff. With a good differential, an 8" should be able to hold against 350ft-lbs on a daily driver without any problem.

I'd recommend a CSRP front disc kit, specifically the 65-67 OE Kelsey-Hayes kit. It will bolt onto your existing drum spindles, so it's essentially a bolt-on kit, aside from having to replumb some brake lines. I'm very happy with the kit I purchased last year. In addition, the owner is a member on this forum and can answer any questions you might have.

If you're going to take apart the front suspension (which is probably a good idea), I'd strongly recommend relocating the upper control arm bolts an inch lower. This was done on all the early Shelby Mustangs as it drastically improves handling. It fixes the crappy stock suspension geometry, keeping the tires flatter on the road while cornering. This is especially important for radial tires. It's essentially a 'free' mod, although buying a template and 17/32" drill bit from Day @ Dazecars isn't a bad idea.

68rollercoupe

I had planned on using the spacers that bolt to the lug nuts then have new studs for the tires. I think thats what your talking about.

The guy with the 05-09 wheels is asking 250 for wheels and tires, seems fair enough to me.

This car will not be daily driven but will be a weekend warrior around town, My wife wants to drive it to work from time to time. I will have to go do a spin test to figure the rear end ratio, I have not gotten to that part of the car yet.

I was thinking with new pistons and the GT heads I would have plenty of play power for county roads and rural highways.

2+2GT

If you are looking for Granada spindles to change to disc brakes, don't. The spindles you have will work with either a caliper adapter, or with factory-style 67 disc brakes.

Starfury

Those are exactly what I was talking about.

Not bad, but I'd try to get him down to $200. They're not exactly uncommon.

68rollercoupe

"If you are looking for Granada spindles to change to disc brakes, don't. The spindles you have will work with either a caliper adapter, or with factory-style 67 disc brakes."

Would you care to share a good source for the caliper adapter brackets. I took the drums and backing plate off today and installed the hubs, so I need to come up with some rotors, brackets and calipers.

I did some research on dropping the upper control arm, it seems like its a must. I had planned on dropping the front and inch with springs, will dropping the arm lower ride height or just change the handling?

Starfury

The UCA drop will probably drop the front end 3/8 to 1/2". I have 1" drop springs and the UCA drop and I still think the ride height is a bit high for my tastes, although the car sits level with 1" drop leafs in the back.

Scarebird makes caliper brackets that use S10 calipers and I believe Ranger rotors. It's a cheap setup as the calipers only cost $20 or so a piece and the rotors are cheap as well, but the OE 65-67 4-piston setup is far superior, IMO.

68rollercoupe

Cool. I just found the scarebird sight a few minutes ago. Seems straight forward. I have the Metric calipers that they are using on the rear end of my jeep and it will lock up 35 inch tires with manual brakes.

I think I will do the UCA drop and install the stock springs and once I get the motor, rad, and everything put together I will see how it sits, then If I want to throw some lowering springs in I will before I get it all set up.

Now if the dang spot weld cutters I ordered would show up I could get back to work.

Silverblade

welcome aboard

check these out

http://dazed.home.bresnan.net/opentracker

tx65coupe

Welcome to the forum!

I agree that the late model V6 wheels do look the part. I saw a green 65 or 66 on youtube that had them and it looked nice.

This member of this site has them.

https://mustangforums.com/forum/clas...turbo-car.html

I have a T5 in mine. I will say that if the car is going to be driven alot then go with and AOD. There is nothing like overdrive for cruising.

The engine configuration sounds good. A agree with Starfury though. I would upgrade the cam a little.

I have Granada brakes on mine. If you really still want to go that route you can probably find them on ebay.