1965screamer

Hey everyone! Im new to this forum making my first post!

Ive been looking into doing a Mustang II swap on my 65 coupe for awhile but I want to hear some personal experiences and opinions on them. There are multiple reasons I have been considering it: rack & pinion, disc, no shock towers and updated suspension. Are there better routes to go or are these setups really as good as the companies make them out to be?

67mustang302

Pros: you can fit much larger engines

Cons: everything else

They don't handle nearly as well as their made out to be, require a bunch of fabrication, and reduce the rigidity of the engine compartment when you get rid of the shock towers. That's often what leads them to handle worse, the front frame rails start moving around all over the place. They're great for a drag setup, or limited street use, or something where you don't care that mucha bout handling but want a big engine for straight line power, but if you're keeping the engine a small block(289/302/351W all fit in a 65) there are much better and less involved setups for handling and power steering.

1965screamer

The car is a weekend driver and occasionally sees the strip. Im looking at building a 408W in the near future and would love the extra room. How is the handling compared to stock?

67mustang302

Handling compared to stock? Stock sucks. But it'd depend on what you did after a conversion. A 408 will fit. It's just a 351W block on the outside, a bit tight even with the right headers, but it'll work. If you want good handling you can slap in some better control arms with the relocation, and some good shocks/springs. The basic suspension design in the old Mustangs isn't bad at all for handling, Ford just screwed it up when they implemented it by jacking the geometry all up.

Something like a Global West Negative Roll kit with eccentric eliminators and good shocks/springs, with the right matching rear suspension will make even a Classic Mustang handle extremely well. If you wanna spend even more bones you can go with some of the coil over kits that allow softer spring rates, so you get the handling and a smoother ride.

1965screamer

Alright I'll look into doing something like that before making a final decision.

Thanks for the suggestions!

109jb

If you want a bit more room you can still use the stock style suspension with stock or aftermarket components by notching the shock towers. I will be doing that to my 70 Mustang once I get my homebrew power rack and pinion sorted out. Here is a link on how it is done:

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...60/index.shtml

andrewmp6

Unless you want a mod motor or big block there is no need to notch the shock towers both 351w and 351c will fit but its a tight fit.You can notch them some with the stock style suspension.My friend built a 68 fastback mod motor and mustang 2 kit my 68 with a nasty small block and tcp coil overs out handles his car and it gets him mad i walk on him in the twisty roads here.I got more power then him and my car was built up better but he loves my car and hates his.Kits like http://www.rrs-online.com/ and http://www.ajeracing.com/64-70Mustang.php Here is how to notch them with the stock style suspension http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/sh...p?tid/1502005/