My son bought a 66 that someone took the 289 out and put in a nice 200. We don't know if he swapped the suspension. Got everything together and the wheels dont seem right. Front end seems high, rockers arent parallel to ground. How much difference is 289 to 200 suspension, what changes do we need to make?
Also when we took the 4 lug rims off there was a washer and a lock washer on each lug behind the rim. I assume these are just regular 4 lug rims for some other car. What do we look for in rims for the 66, they are 14 inch.
Thanks!

 

If it has four-bolt wheels, it's a six-cylinder car. Really. About 40% of 64-66 Mustangs had a six-cylinder engine.

It doesn't surprise me the rear end is low, the six-cylinder rear springs were horrible, started sagging when the cars were almost new.

As for the wheel washers, it was probably some lame attempt to make the track wider. The 14x4-4.5 wheel was pretty much unique to six-cylinder Ford cars of the 60's.

 

What does the VIN say?

It doesn't make sense why someone would take a V8 and V8 suspension out, and put in all 6cyl stuff....

 

+1 on it being an original six cylinder. If it came with a 289 it would have five lugs. The rear leafs sag horrible. Replace the rear leaf springs and maybe do a 1'' lowering spring on the front and it will be level. stock mustangs were a lil higher in the front from the showroom

 

Yeah someone lied to you the car was a inline 6 when it was built.The 4 lug pattern a couple of imports used it but not the same back spacing.

 

Sometimes you'll hear the story from the guy selling it to you "Well the guy before me took the V8 out and put an I6 in... I dunno why... blah blah blah" etc.
It's all a load of BS.

You're fine keeping it as a 6cyl since it sounds like you've got a nice engine in it right now. My engine was, and is, nothing more than a rusted, seized up hunk of scrap, that I'd be lucky to get $100 for. That's why I'm going V8. That, and I'm a typical muscle car kinda guy who prefers a little more power...

 

If the front end is high I would guess that someone put the wrong springs in the front. When I had my suspension rebuilt on my 6 cylinder they put in the 8 cylinder springs and it was way too high. I made them change it out with the proper springs and it sits even now.

 

Ok, VIN- 6F07T312264, from looking it up it was a 6 cylinder. The guy was fibbing for some reason or someone stuck an 8 at some point into it. So maybe we just need a good alignment.
The rims, if put on without the washers, make the tire rubber hit the top ?Ball joint, so I am guessing the rims are the wrong depth.

I havent worked on a car since I restored my 66 Corvair Convert when I was his age. I love the way these cars come apart. Hopefully we will have a nice car for him soon. Thanks!

 

What rims are they? Just standard with hubcaps?

I suggest you keep it I6, sounds like you're going that way anyways.

And that's cool to hear about the Corvair. I was deciding between a Corvair and a Mustang as my first restoration. Pretty obvious which one I picked
But the Chevy Corvairs are very cool cars that often go unnoticed or unappreciated. Glad to hear you spent some time on one in the past, I guess you sold it eventually?
I hope to get my hands on one sometime. A good friend of mine was one of the biggest Corvair restorers in GA 15 years ago. He had 13 corvairs all at one time, probably went through 30 or more in his restoring days. Right now he has a '69 and my favorite, a purple 1964, it's soooooooo cool. He's selling it though

And I have to agree with you. Taking these cars apart can be frustrating at times but once you get the hang of it, it can be fun to get your hands dirty.

 

Yeah, Sold it 26 years ago.

Just looked at the rims, they are stamped FORD 5MM, I saw some 65 rims on ebay that said 1MM. The tires they had on are Goodyear 185/70R14 88T. The rubber would hit the upper ball joint but the rim is below it and out a bit. Are these the wrong rims or tires wrong? We plan on going with hub caps.
Thanks!