Ahoy! I'm new here, and my search-fu is rather weak. I have a question reguarding the 1965 Mustang, and more specifically what engines would you people reccomend for it. Right now, it has a piddly stock 200hp V8, and I was thinking of (if possible) dropping a 350 in it. Something that will give me a kick in the pants when I plant my foot, yet will still get a *resonable* MPG rating.It has a 4-on-the-floorstocktranny. I knowmy question is kind of open ended, andfor thatI apologize. I've been in love with classic Mustangs for a while, and just now started actually persuing them actively.

I appreciate any feedback, comments, questions, jabs at my mother, and whateverelse you all can throw my way.

The general question is, what would you reccomend for a 65 Mustang in terms of engine?

 

First thing (and I'm just a hard a$$ about this but a 350 is a chevy engine ford's were 351's) Anyway you may wanna read the FAQ section for more information on engine choices. There are lots of possibilites. Everything from your standard 289 or a 302/5.0 block to 351's. (anything bigger can be a pain to get into a 65) And then you can talk about strokers which are becoming ever more popular.

 

what type of engine does it have in it right now. Both the 289 and the 302 V8s may seem like they dont have much hp stock but if you put some work into them (cams, bore, stroke, carb, rebuilds, etc) you can def get 350 out of them

 

See! I learn something new every day!

Right now, it has the 289 in it, and it's definatleyseen better days. I figure, as far as cost/effectiveness goes,I'd bebetter off dropping a 35*1* in. . Then again, I don't know a whole helluva lot about cars as it is. What would you suggest? Tuning the crap out of a 289, or dropping a 351 crate in?

 

It all depends on what you want the car to do once you have finished with the engine, transmission and differential. You could stroke that 289 with some new flat top pistons, AFR 185 heads, Weiand Stealth intake, and Holley 650 CFM carb, JBA ceramic coated headers, a loapy cam, 2 1/2 " dual exhaust with good flowing mufflers on it, and I guarantee you that you will have a smile on your face when you drive it on the street. If you want a drag car, then that's another story.

 

Do you know roughly all that would cost?

 

I'd make your life a whole lot simpler by sticking to a 289/302 block and stay away from the 351W block for your '65. I say this base on experience, probably being the only person on this board who swapped in a 351W only to go back down to the 302. While the 351W will fit with the right headers, that extra size makes even the simplest of tasks (spark plugs) more difficult. The 65/66 engine bay is designed to clear the 289/302 just right (sometimes almost too tight for some aftermarket headers).

Anyway, now that you agree that the 289/302 block is the right one for you , how much do you want to spend? A lot of people will say to just rebuild the 289 you have which is an option. However, keep in mind that it may have already been rebuilt once or twice and not worthy of another rebuild (0.040" overbore is the max. that should be used in this block according to sources I trust). It is one of those things that you won't really know until it gets torn down.

If downtime is to be minimized and you have a few extra bucks to spend on it, I'd strongly consider a Ford Crate motor. For less than $4K you can have an all brand new motor. It'll put you near the 350hp number that you are seeking.

Good luck!

 

Yeah, Gothand has a good point about the crate costing less. What I mentioned would run you considerably more than that. The problem is that it would be difficult to find a 289 crate engine I would think. There are a ton of 302 crates though.

 

Down time really isn't an issue for me, as my brother will have the car while I'm pulling a tour in Korea for a year. I like the idea ofa 302 crate pushing 330-350hp. Would I need to pick up a stronger tranny for that? Or will the stock one be able to handle it?

Thanks a bunch for helping me!

 

stock will be fine...