May want to check ebay for a set of shop manuals. All I have ever needed has been either Tom Monroe book or shop manual for work I've done. Musatang Resto book is fairly limited. I've got 2 of them and rarely use them. Not enough detail for a newb like me.

 

The advice given thus far has been good, but I'd like to emphasize one of the points made.

Bagging and tagging parts.

Most engine pulls or Mustang restorations always start with great intentions and a simple plan....

"I have a 3 day weekendso I'm going to pull out the motor and freshen it up a little".

Problems arise when an unplanned event occurs and sidelines the original plan. Your Dad calls and needs your help moving the refrigerator and then it falls on your big toe.... your cat gets sick and needs to go to the vet..... an old buddy pulls into town and wants to go drinking.... you notice the block/shock toweris cracked after getting the engine out..... whatever.

Inevitably, something will happen to interrupt the original plan.

If the work required is unfamilar to you (and it sounds like it is....), remove the engine as if your kid brother/girlfriend is going to put it back in/together. Take notes. Take pictures. Take the time to seperate nuts and bolts as they're removed and individually bag them with a nice little note ("these 2 bigger bolts hold the starter to the bellhousing and the smaller one holds the battery cable to the starter"). Writing "2 big bolts and one little bolt" and throwing the bolts into a bag will do you absolutely no good next Christmas vacation when you're trying to figure out where the heck those bolts go. Without pictures/notes, water pump/accessory bolts/brackets orientation is always good for scratching your head for a few hours/days.

You will thank yourself later, trust me.

I've bought a dozen Mustangs in last few years and got everyone of them at rock bottom prices. Mainly because they were completely disassembled and no-one could seem to remember how to put them back together.

Good luck!
Dave

 

Thanks again everybody,great advice.Im definately new at this but its something Ive always wanted to do so Ill just keep onasking questions and workin at it and maybeI can make a decent driver out of it.

 

+100 on dave's post

add to that...use some masking tape to mark all the wiring you pull off, even if it seems pretty obvious. do the same with plug leads and even the diz position. You may not use the old leads and diz but you can "dummy up" with them when you put new stuff back in.

enjoy the process...itis great fun but sometimes a bitfrustrating. A bit like playing golf. Err...well not really. Golf sucks[:'(].Even playing your best ever gamedoesnt give anywhere near the satisfaction of turning the key on 8 healthy cylinders.

 

Worth repeating....bag and mark everything. Pictures help as well for re-assembly.

Make sure everything is detached berore pulling. i.e. fuel line, battery cable, alternator other electrical harnesses, ground from back of the block to fire wall, vacuum line to trani, thottle linkage, trani cooling lines, power steering pump, pull the radiater etc.(drain into container, anti freez is poisonous to pets. A couple of licks and they are gonners). Sucks when it hangs on something and you don't know what it is.

By freshen up do you jusat meen clean and paint? I don't know to what exent, if any, you are re-building the motor but, while its out,I would at minimum replace the timing chain and gears (obviously if original) the orig. nylon teeth are prob worn and chain stretched. Also oil pump and pickup w/ a NEW HARDENED shaft. the oil pump is the heart of your engine and ironically, the original shaft is prob the weakest. I you are going to do at least this, remove the water pump while the engine is in the car. This will give you some more clearance at the front of the motor when you are pulling. You will also need aharmonic balance puller if you are going to remove the timing cover (make a diagram of what timing cover bolt goes where. They are different sizes. I mark the heads with a sharpie). While your at it, don't wait for the original water pump to go, just replace it now, with a new thermostat as well, and flush the motor.


Be prepared for frozen bolts. Pre lube everything with pb blaster. Don't force or use a longer pipe for leverage. Don't want to snap anything of in the block. Time and patience are the key for frozen bolts. If something is stuk I have repeatedly soaked and waited several day. Sometimes a little heat as well. But cross that bridge when you come to it (notice I said when, not if). Likely candidates are the bolts going through the timing cover into the block as they hit water passages. Also the exaust flange to the manifolds.

Make sure you support the transmission under the bell housing before lifting the engine . Also, loosen, don't remove, the transmission mount bolts, this allows some play when trying to unmate theengine from the trani.Be carefull when lifting engine, as trani will rise too. Watch clearance betwee top of the trani and tunnel. You can wind up crushing the vacuum line. To unmate the trani can be a little tricki. Raise the engin, which will pull up the trani, the support the trani and then lower the engin just a hair. This will take pressure off the torge converter studs, then you will likely have to gently pry the two apart. Once you get a wedge in there it pretty much pops apart. But remember make sure you have remove all the nuts from the torgue converter studs at the flexplate. Other wise you will wind up snapping the tranmission shaft. Don't pull the torque converter off the trani if not replacing. It a PIA to get it back on.

Anyway, make sure you read through the tom monroe book thouroughly as well. These are just some additional thoughts. Does notcover everything. That book is excellent. I still have my copy from 1986 when I rebuilt my first motor. I always refer to it. Even to this day. Has paid for itself a hundred times over.

Just take your time, be safe, and ask questionalong each step of the way. Be sure you know what you are doing before you do it. It is a relatively straight forward process.

Hope this helps, Good luck.