I'm a newbie mustang owner so I'm still learning all the details of tuning and maintaining my car. So far this forum has proven a wealth of knowledge, so let me pose a somewhat generic question and solicit feedback from some of you gearheads. I have a 69 coupe, 351w 2 barrel, completely restored to stock. The car has the original engine, with about 4000 miles on it since it was rebuilt. What steps could I take to maximize the performance of the vehicle while still leaving it as much in its original state as possible? In otherwords, obviously I could yank the engine and drop a 429 in it but thats not what I'm going for, I want to know what can I do with what I have. Please remember I'm a newb so use small words where possible

thanks!

 

What is your budget like? You should start with the basics-headers, exhaust, intake manifold, carburetor . . .

 

well I wouldn't go so far as to say money is no object but I'm willing to put the $$$ into it to do it right. Can you offer some specifics for the suggestions you offered, what kind of parts do I need to look into and what kind of performance gains can I expect from each? I understand that installing non-stock headers and pipes can allow the engine to more efficiently vent exhaust and thus improve performance...but the carb? What are my options for carbs? Obviously dumping more fuel into it is part of the equation but lets face it you could have one of these forums dedicated soleyl to carb selection and tuning -lol. What about changing the gearing in the rear end?

 

What are you wanting to do? 351W's can make insane power if built correctly.

 

well that's the thing, I'm new to this so I'm not even sure what my options are and what I should look into, thats why I'm looking to get input from you guys. As you note, 351w's can make insane power if built correctly, hell the stock engine has plenty of get up and go, but if you were looking to tune one yourself for maximum performance what would you do? And in what order (from highest gain to lowest). I hope that is clear, thanks

 

If you want it to handle no big blocks get a big stroker small block like a 427 or world makes a 460 small block too.handling there's many wants to get it export brace monte carlo bar roller spring perches are a good start and sub frame connectors too try http://www.tinmanfabrication.com/index.cfm .

 

definetly stay with the 351. if you want more cubes you can stroke the engine. don't put in a big block (heavy!)
Bolt-on horsepower would be a nice combination of heads, camshaft, intake and carb
I have never seen a 351, so I cannot give much advise on which parts exactly to get, but I'm quite sure someone here can give recommendations.

 

If you want to just make what you have better, without getting into the internals of the engine, you could add an Edelbrock Performer intake and a 600-650 Holley carb. Add a set of heddman longtube headers and a 2.5 inch exhaust. you should be able to tell a pretty good difference. That will allow the engine to breathe better, but lets face it, there is soooo much more you could do. If you really want to make a big difference, you should at least change the cam, but then yo will want heads, and the, you may want to stroke it, and then nitrous... ect... ect... ect. The list never ends. The real question is: what do you want the car to be? Any idea how much horsepower you want to get??? If you can shoot us some numbers we can tell you what it would take to get there.

 

well the stock engine is an H series 351w so it currently puts out about 250 HP...if I could get 350-400 HP out of it I'd be quite pleased

 

OK, to get to 400 HP, you will need some good heads, a big cam, a nice intake and Carb, and a well flowing exhaust. For some excellent quality heads, go with Edelbrocks. You should be able to reach your goals with the RPM series. Some people on here preach AFR all day long, but their quality sucks. The valve guides wear out quickly, the springs break, threads are not helicoiled, and out of the box they really don't flow all that much better than any other compareble head. If I didn't go with the Edelbrocks, Id pickTrickflows, but they have guide problems as well.As far as a cam, go with a COMP extreme energy series, at least a xe284h, but a xe294h. would be better. I would suggest a RPM air gap intake and a 650-750CFM carb. You should be fine on a stock bottom end as long as you freshen it up. I would at least put in ARP rod bolts too. Im not sure what type of trans you have, but if its an auto, you will need a higher stall converter too. Do not think that you can build a bad motor and have a bad car... you will have to build the car to handle the power. If you don't have disc brakes in the front, you will want to upgrade that for sure.