Hi all, new to the site and also new to mustangs but, today my grandfather has given me his project mustang. The car is nothing special but a 1965 mustang hardtop with a inline six cylinder. the plus is that the car is MINT not a speck of rust or any imperfections in other words PERFECT. the intentions of the car was to build into a nice muscle machine. So my questions to you guys is what all is involved in swapping in a v8. Now before someone tries to tell me " dont ruin the car if its mint and perfect" the car was bought by my grandfather to turn into a v8 and he lost intrest due to the fact he was told that he would basically have to take the body off and put a v8 frame under it. is this true?


Nate

 

Hi, It is a unibody car so there is no frame to sit the body on. You will need to upgrade the rear end, brakes and go to 5 lug wheels. Other than that it is no big deal.

 

Well, you would also have to upgrade your suspension to handle the extra weight. More then likely the engine mounts will have to be changed im guessing. All the info you need is located in the FAQ at the top of the forums mainpage....... sorta

 

diddnt even think about the whole unibody concept till now. Its just the car is beautiful but I cant bring myself to drive a mustang a name that you associate muscle and power with when the six is anything but power if anyone gets where im comming from.

 

Monthly Mustangs Magazine publish a very nice article and photos of a 6 to 8 conversion during the few last issues and for what I read is a lot of things that have to be change for a safe conversion..as for "muscle car" I don't consider a 65 or 66 'muscle" unless you have a hipo or a modified 289..I have a 66 fast back C code with a stock 289 and I come to the realization long ago that it is a nice driver and fast...but by no means a "muscle" car or fast enough..,you mention that the car is nothing special, if it mint , it is special, drive enjoy it or sell it and buy a V8 in the long run will be easier, less costly and the car will be factory original ( beleive me I was there before)... don't get upset this is only my opinion.

 

i agree with 289FB. Keep that car original and sell it. Buy a Mustang that came with a 289 or 302.

 

i'm agreeing with them on this one. being the car is so perfect, i would leave well enough alone. if you want the v8, i'd sell that and get one w/ an 8 already in it, or at least a crappier six body. i have a 67 sixer that i'm putting a v8 into, but my car was far from perfect, and it didnt even come with an engine or tranny in the bay. also being a pre 67 car, your conversion would be a bit more complicated than mine, but very doable.

 

Keep the car the way it is, if its that "MINT" like you said! Go get yourself a 06 GT Mustang for you muscle car needs, best of both worlds.

 

Yeah, I totally agree. My 65, even though it is a V8, is no where near the muscle car as my 03 Mach1. To get that 6er up to the performance level of a true muscle car, you would have to do some radical suspension work. Now, we are talking about 400 or so horsepower, not the measly 200 that the stock 289 produces.

 

technically 64-73 were the muscle car years. then after 74 ford didnt really count it as a muscle car untill 78 or so, or so says the mustang books i own, and in those books they actually label the years 69 - 73 the muscle car years, but i think they all were.

and everyone has a different opinion on what counts as muscle, for me, a good amount of HorsePower and a nice rumble is muscle.