Here is the place I work at we do high quality work you will find a lot of stuff about us on the web good and bad do some searching and express your concerns when you call. Mentioning this forum will help also.
http://tandlengines.com/

 

Man that fastback looks awesome!

I agree about storing the original motor off to the side and going with a crate motor. Thats a great idea.

I think you will be happy with either of those combinations. The 351 would be cool, but I think I would go with a modified 302.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out.

tx65coupe: thanks. It's a fun car and should be more fun with a new engine. The orgiginal still does ok, but has a tendency to get finicky on hot summer days. I'm now leaning toward the stroker (331 or 347), just don't want to deal with possible fit/hood clearance issues. I can get more than enough power and torque from the stroker.

 

The fresh stroker motor should wake it up significantly. My 65 has roller 302 with cam and heads etc. I think its plenty for it to be a blast to drive. With the 331 or 347, yours should provide more than enough power for some excitement. The other thing about the 351 is that its heavier, and I don't know how much I would like the added weight up front.

 

hey, thats a really nice fast back, if you go 351w, your not going to be able to re-use your dougs tri-y headers, and the windsor is heavier (150 lbs) than a 302, so the front end of my car sagged about an inch and a half, but i have about $4500 under the hood and im putting out roughly 340 hp, and my buddy has a 347 stroker in his 66 coupe and he has about $8000 under the hood, although hes putting out about 480 hp . also with mine i went with a tall intake manifold so i ended up having to cut a hole in the hood and put a scoop over the air cleaner, but if you stick to a manifold like the edelbrock performer and a drop base air cleaner, you should be fine

 

You are ignoring one of the biggest advantages of the early Mustang. The engine you describe is a GREAT candidate for an in frame overhaul and the early Mustang is designed for such a service operation.

By removing the two bolts and removing the crossmember underneath the oil pan (a 30 second operation with an impact wrench) the pan comes off these engines REALLY easily and won't touch anything on the way to the floor.

The heads come off these engines REALLY easily with the engine still in frame.

If the engine has never been touched like you say, it is almost certain that the cylinders will measure out okay and will hold a set of rings very well.

Pull the heads first and take them to the machine shop for a thorough valve job including bronze wall valve guides. When you get back from the machine shop, pull the pan and pistons. Mic the cylinder walls to make sure you have .008" taper or less, which is almost a guarantee if the mileage is actual and it's never been apart.

With cylinders passing muster, use cast iron rings and don't touch the cylinder walls. Cast iron rings will seat on glazed cylinder walls with no trouble. This was scientifically proven by Ryder Labs back in the seventies. When cast iron rings are used without honing, they are VERY long lived. Go ahead and replace the rod and main bearings and for good measure, the rear seal.

Go get the heads from the machine shop and put it back together. You will have an engine as good as new and it STILL will have never been out of the car.

This will cost very little cash and will give you a great, original engine.

I've done numerous in frame overhauls like this with great success. Todays cars don't lend themselves to this work, but luckily, todays engines last long enough that they rarely require it.

Try it, you'll like it.

 

MBDiagMan: thanks for the suggestion, but I've pretty much settled on a replacement at this time.

I want a good increase in power for the fun factor and don't want to modify the original to the degree that would be required. Also, I want to have the confidence in the engine that I have in the rest of the car, so a ground up rebuild is the best way if I were to use it. Keeping this K engine unmolested is a good bet for future value of the car as well. Plus, I want to pull the engine so I can redo the engine compartment. I did a decent job in stripping and painting it with the engine in, but can do better by pulling the engine.

Thanks for everyone's input. I think I'll be heading for a 347 stroker.

Mike

 

If you're bent on significantly more power, a 347 is the way to go IMHO. If it were mine, and I were doing a 347, I would go to some lengths to make it look stock. I will be modifying a stock air cleaner, painting my Edelbrock correct engine color and doing as much as I can to make mine look like a 289. It's always fund to dole out a few surprises here and there.

By cutting a bunch out of the back of a stock air cleaner and using a K&N, you can adequately improve the flow of a stock air cleaner. Using tall sheet metal valve covers, glass beading them and painting them engine color will not be noticed by many as anything beyond stock.

I've had several sleepers over the years and have had lots of fun with them.