Nuke

I'd be more concerned about the impact on the electronics; that would be the bigger PITA, IMO.

outceltj

strange but interesting. sounds like a real pita but more power to u

JRC702

Funny how folks look back at the days of carburetors and distributors as the good old days...............
I would never want to own a car with either ever again.

jsimmonstx

If anything, it would be LESS mechanically problematic than a new 5.0. Since you have no hope of warranty in either case, I say go old school.

jsimmonstx

You can't replace the intake (space between heads is wider and ports won't line up), but you can replace the motor. I want to do the same thing, only with a 331 or 347 stroker, and yes - with dual quads. People claim it's "less reliable" and "problematic", but I ran a dual-quad (AND dual points) setup for years on a street car, and it ran great, and without hiccups. It was a road race Mustang, but turned 13's at the strip on pump gas and street tires.

I say go for it, but it's gonna cost some money. Front suspension changes (K member), motor mount adapters, and wiring harness mods - at the minimum will be required. If you want to keep your accessories, you're going to need additional brackets. There's also the question of other stuff in the car controlled by the computer (including the fuel system).

Your best bet is to try and make contact with that guy with the 460, and ask him what he had to do to make it work. You can also try contacting the various Ford/Mustang-specific car magazines to see if they have any sources for additional info. If you ask in any of the various forums, you're mostly gonna get comments along the lines of "that's stupid", or "it ain't worth it".

If you're gonna do it, I wouldn't waste my time with a "stock 289". If you're gonna be violating smog rules, you may as go as big and nasty as you can afford.

jsimmonstx

That's because they WERE the good old days.

retfr8flyr

OP it could be done but it would involve lots of research and lots of $$$$. You would need to convert to a distributor setup and a stand alone ignition system like the BigStuff 3. I don't see any way you could get the stock computer to work with a carb setup.

The big question, like others have asked, is WHY? It would be a real pain and would most likely make a lot less HP then the stock system. I started racing a long time ago in the carb era and I would never willingly go back.


Earl

jsimmonstx

It's probably not about power, or fuel economy. It's more than likely about the noise, the idle, the eye candy, and the fact that you don't need to (and most likely can't) take it to the dealer if something goes wrong. It might even be the draw of a perfectly straight body/chassis to start with a 50-year old wreck and wondering when rusted out floor pans are gonna drop out from underneath your feet.

Hot-rodding has never been about what "makes sense", or how much it's gonna cost. It's always been about the challenge and one's own vision.

Goldenpony

Sorry Bro, I lived those days. Gotta throw the BS flag. I like FI and electronic ignition.

Ditty

The ONLY way I see this being anything other than a pipe-dream is if you already had the chassis, engine and mounts, trans, etc and the chassis was bare of all electronics already. THAT I could see. But taking a prefectly good running car, even a V6 and dropping a carbed V8 in is MUCH more work and money than it's worth. It CAN be done, but that doesn't mean it SHOULD be done.

I remember screwing around with the Holley Double Pumpers on my Dodge 360 in my "79 truck and the 352BB in my '68 F100. They were soo much of a PITA. Every week it was something else going wrong. That and the Dodge was getting 8mpgs back then.....F100 not much better at 10mpgs.