468ci '85 Mustang GT build thread
08-09-2010, 09:28 PM
#1
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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468ci '85 Mustang GT build thread
Didnt know where to post this, so I'm dropping it here. Basically I've had this car for the last three years or so, and am finally getting around to doing something with it. Pics and minor details will follow, but the jist of the build....1985 GT with a junk motor gets minor restoration and and a big block Ford V8 =)
How the car looked when the project started:
The body is in good shape, and luckily I havent really found and body filler YET, I have an inkling its hiding under that paint. Car was white originally, but got painted red then green.
Most of the engine bay got cleaned out since I'm switching it over to carburetion. Air intake tubes, most wires etc, power brakes and power steering rack are also gonna go. You can see the worst of the rust damage on the firewall near the steering shaft, and on the driver side apron/strut tower. Luckily the rust was only surface rust and the car didnt have cancer from the corrosion. Looked a lot worse than it turned out being.
I stripped the majority of the red and green paint off, as well as ground and neutralized the rust. All bare metal was primed over before applying the gloss black single stage.
And the finished product! I didnt paint the crossmember since I have a tubular unit coming for it, and the trans tunnel will get undersealed when the car is up on jackstands getting the crossmember installed. Looks a lot better =)
The motor is a D6VE(1976) block and C6 out of a '76 Ranchero GT. Cool thing happened, when I picked it up, I was only after the block and the C6 trans. This particular engine wasnt reading over 60psi on the left bank for compression, and I thought the rings where bad, so the plan was to just rebuild it...
When I finally tore into the engine, I found a nice surprise. The bad compression was from the previous owner trying to plug a smog chamber in the D6 head. The plug was leaking and this caused the low compression readings on the left bank. I filled the cylinder bores with paint thinner to see if any leaked past the rings, and thankfully not a drop did. After soaking it up and peeking at the bores, I realized the block had been bored/honed recently. I wiped off the top of one of the pistons, and sure enough, it was marked .040! I lucked out big time and ran across a recently rebuilt 468ci shortblock. Its a cell phone pic so its hard to see, but the piston has the .040 markings. Lucky me.
Will update soon, enjoy!
UPDATE 9/8/10
Sorry for the delays guys, been busy
So basically I've just been collecting parts for the car. I found an 8.8" housing and differential out of an 88 GT, no axles. This will be replacing my 7.5" unit that came with the car. The QA1 K-member is gonna be here friday hopefully, gonna have a detailed install thread to post, should be good =)
I also found my cylinder heads! They came off a 1968 Thunderbird 429 Thunderjet V8.
The intake ports are pretty massive, and compared to a late model 460 head, the exhaust ports are huge too. I'm gonna hand port the exhaust ports, most likely gonna leave the intake side alone.
I've also been playing with my shortblock. I pulled the D6VE heads and intake off, pulled off the C6 trans and resurfaced the deck and cleaned the piston faces. Next step will be to finish degreasing the block, scuffing the block and painting it a dark ford blue.
I also lucked out on Craigslist. I found a set of stamped aluminium Moroso valve covers and a gear drive set for $75 bucks! One of the covers has a dent in it, but they're getting powdercoated and I do bodywork for a living...So Ill be able to bang it out and make it pretty again
So I basically lucked out big time at a local swap meet here in Idaho. Found a set of lightly used 2003 cobra front control arms with poly bushings and new balljoints for $50. Yep. Crazy thing? The arms are designed to be used with tubular k members and are offset accordingly. SCORE!!!!
The swap pan, oil pickup, and mid length headers have been ordered, will post update when those buggers get here. Starting to look like a legit project now =)
Car is coming along, slowly but surely. Stay tuned!!
How the car looked when the project started:
The body is in good shape, and luckily I havent really found and body filler YET, I have an inkling its hiding under that paint. Car was white originally, but got painted red then green.
Most of the engine bay got cleaned out since I'm switching it over to carburetion. Air intake tubes, most wires etc, power brakes and power steering rack are also gonna go. You can see the worst of the rust damage on the firewall near the steering shaft, and on the driver side apron/strut tower. Luckily the rust was only surface rust and the car didnt have cancer from the corrosion. Looked a lot worse than it turned out being.
I stripped the majority of the red and green paint off, as well as ground and neutralized the rust. All bare metal was primed over before applying the gloss black single stage.
And the finished product! I didnt paint the crossmember since I have a tubular unit coming for it, and the trans tunnel will get undersealed when the car is up on jackstands getting the crossmember installed. Looks a lot better =)
The motor is a D6VE(1976) block and C6 out of a '76 Ranchero GT. Cool thing happened, when I picked it up, I was only after the block and the C6 trans. This particular engine wasnt reading over 60psi on the left bank for compression, and I thought the rings where bad, so the plan was to just rebuild it...
When I finally tore into the engine, I found a nice surprise. The bad compression was from the previous owner trying to plug a smog chamber in the D6 head. The plug was leaking and this caused the low compression readings on the left bank. I filled the cylinder bores with paint thinner to see if any leaked past the rings, and thankfully not a drop did. After soaking it up and peeking at the bores, I realized the block had been bored/honed recently. I wiped off the top of one of the pistons, and sure enough, it was marked .040! I lucked out big time and ran across a recently rebuilt 468ci shortblock. Its a cell phone pic so its hard to see, but the piston has the .040 markings. Lucky me.
Will update soon, enjoy!
UPDATE 9/8/10
Sorry for the delays guys, been busy
So basically I've just been collecting parts for the car. I found an 8.8" housing and differential out of an 88 GT, no axles. This will be replacing my 7.5" unit that came with the car. The QA1 K-member is gonna be here friday hopefully, gonna have a detailed install thread to post, should be good =)
I also found my cylinder heads! They came off a 1968 Thunderbird 429 Thunderjet V8.
The intake ports are pretty massive, and compared to a late model 460 head, the exhaust ports are huge too. I'm gonna hand port the exhaust ports, most likely gonna leave the intake side alone.
I've also been playing with my shortblock. I pulled the D6VE heads and intake off, pulled off the C6 trans and resurfaced the deck and cleaned the piston faces. Next step will be to finish degreasing the block, scuffing the block and painting it a dark ford blue.
I also lucked out on Craigslist. I found a set of stamped aluminium Moroso valve covers and a gear drive set for $75 bucks! One of the covers has a dent in it, but they're getting powdercoated and I do bodywork for a living...So Ill be able to bang it out and make it pretty again
So I basically lucked out big time at a local swap meet here in Idaho. Found a set of lightly used 2003 cobra front control arms with poly bushings and new balljoints for $50. Yep. Crazy thing? The arms are designed to be used with tubular k members and are offset accordingly. SCORE!!!!
The swap pan, oil pickup, and mid length headers have been ordered, will post update when those buggers get here. Starting to look like a legit project now =)
Car is coming along, slowly but surely. Stay tuned!!
Last edited by Clif Brohn; 09-21-2010 at 10:11 PM.
08-10-2010, 12:31 PM
#5
5th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location:
Posts: 2,926
Im pretty sure thats what it works out too, since a .030 overbore rebuild is 466ci, i think the .040 overbore is a 468ci.
Yeah I about did a backflip when I pulled the heads off and noticed the block had been bored recently =)
Yeah I about did a backflip when I pulled the heads off and noticed the block had been bored recently =)
