I own a 1965 ford mustang 289 coupe. I recently rebuilt the engine and it has yet to run to its full potential. my first problem is I cant get it to stop overheating. Next I think the carb needs to be rebuilt and adjusted, but I cant find anybody in my area that will do 2 barrel holley rebuilds then tuning? Any ideas or answers?

 

Is it overheating from idleing or after it warms up while you're driving it? what speed?
What bore did you go to on the engine? .030, .060?


Overheating can be many issues, on a new rebuild correct timing would be my first guess, what is your timing set at? did you set it with a timing light?
What shape is your radiator in? original?
Do you have a 4,5,6,7? blade fan?
Do you have a fan shroud?
What temp. thermostat did you put in?
New water pump?
Does the lower hose have a spring in it to keep it from collapsing at speed (won't happen in the driveway, only when driving constant).
Do you have your heater hoses routed correctly?
Any air in the system? Doess it puke fluid or draw from a recirculation tank?

As for the 2bbl., they're not hard to rebuild but if you can't, take it to someone who can, they set it at a begining point that it should run at, then you can drive the car to someone to tune it.
Jon

 

Hey Jonk 67 do the fox body seats match your red interior?

 

Flush the radiator, get a fan shroud, get an upgrade fan, put a shutoff valve in teh hose from the intake to the heater, throw the POS Holley 2V away and install an Autolite 2100 (way WAY better than the Holley dreams of).

Excellent point about the overbore, if it's .030 over, you need a 3-row radiator, no choice.

 

2+2 - "Excellent point about the overbore, if it's .030 over, you need a 3-row radiator, no choice."

Overbore shouldn't matter. The overbore should not make it run hotter. It's only adding a bit more dislpacement, and barely any compression. It should only run hotter if you've bumped compression ratio.

I'd look at the lower hose sucking closed, too much/incorrect timing first since they are the easiest to fix. Is it running lean? check the plugs. A lean motor will run hot.

Did you use a new balancer? If so did you get the right one? If not did you check it to make sure the outer ring with the timing marks has not slipped over time?

If you're using a timing light that is adjustable have you made sure it's calibrated correctly? I've seen them off by as much as 5-6 degrees. If you've ever dropped it, it might be off.

just some more ideas

 

I put a big radiator from a ford f-150 with a 390, into my 67 with a 302... it fit right in and NEVER got hot, just an idea

 

I was having the same overheating problem with my 65' 289. I tried everything I could think of before I finally broke down and replaced the radiator. I went with a new aluminum radiator from Summit. I think it was less than $200 and it was a direct replacement, no problems installing it. Now I run under 180 degrees all day long even in the FL heat and traffic.