Spbeyond

Hello. This will be my first classic car. I am buying a 66 coupe with a 289 as an everyday driver. Has a new clutch. What should I replace first to get a decent amount or reliablitly? The engine has 90,000 miles on it. If i were to overhaul the engine what is the range I should expect to pay? Is the 289 known as a decently reliable engine? What problems should I expect. What gas milage can I expect and is there anyway of making i better without killing my power? I appreciate any help.
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Astrawn

Look for rust! The more rust the more its gonna cost to fix!

Spbeyond

I inspected it as far as I could and couldn't any rust. Just had a new professional paint job.

Deviousfred

I would say first thing to fix/replace would be that 41 year old suspension.

EDIT: and brakes

middiepride

welcome to the forum

okay, heres my try

first would be for overall safety if it doesnt have disc brakes get them. ask daze aobut them, he has an amazing kit for a great value, dennis from csrp sells them too. the suspension, well, there is usually an all inclusive package sold by each vendor. look at the vendors and ask plenty of ?'s here and with them.

the 289 is great, its reliable, revs easy and makes good power. you can increase power and gas mileage at the same time with mods like headers, exhaust, tuning the carb, manifold. ur increasing the engines efficiency. gas mileage will be alright if in tune, not quite on par to efi though. you can maybe down the road put in a t5 or an aod for overdrive, the fifth gear does wonders for gas mileage.

RUST!

mustangs do rightfully so have the nickname rustangs but dont get scared off. pour a pitcher of water in ur cowl and see if it eventually makes its way to ur floor. if so, then its time for a cowl replacement. check the torque box and framerails. if the framerails on a unibody are shot, the car is unless yoiu want to pay the rlly good money to replace them

kalli

new paintjob doesn't neccessarily mean no rust. unfortunately some people just paint old stangs new and the car seems 10fold worth the money.

the cowl test mentioned above must be one of the most important mustang buyers guide tests :-)

Spbeyond

Okay, suspension, brakes. I will get those done. I cant promise I will be able to do them all immediatly. I not totally made of money. These are all good suggestions though. Keep them coming. Here is the listing. I have looked at this car personally and it looks better in person. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=443...&ad=423354 Suggestions? He is a really old guy and kept saying he is willing to go down on the price. I have about $3000 to put down on the car and I will have to find a lender for the rest. Anyone ahve suggestions for finding a lender that will finance classics? Thanks

JamesW

Welcome to the forum Andrew. Sounds like you've got lots of questions right off the bat. From a help perspective, it usually helps to ask the questions separately, rather than in a group. That way you will get a thread of discussion each item.

Regarding reliability for a daily driver 66: That's quite an order in Utah. Focus on safety items, such as brakes, tires, wipers, and a good cooling/heating system. After that, items such as radiator hoses, heater hoses, pertronics ignition, plugs, plug wires, and distributor cap/rotor. the 289 motor is a very reliable motor. You can expect 14-18 mpg with a good tune on a 90K motor.

Spbeyond

Why is reliability a tall order in utah?

JamesW

I would think a heater/defroster would be a little more important than say... Texas or Florida. It's common to see cars with heater cores bypassed down here.