I don't know,,,,,, where I live, it seemsthatmost V8 Mustangs that are not totally thrashed are expensive. IMO, a V8 Mustang of this vintage is much more likely to have gone through a few not so loving hands over the years than a comparable 6 cyl. The car we started with requires basicly zero bodywork, has zero rust, and absolutly never been wrecked or had any body work done, all of the seams andbody lines areperfect. Even the bottom of the car is a thing of bueaty (IMO!!)

As far as the value of the car goes,the value of this car for my son, is the ability for him to drive the car thathe wants. Even if my son were to decide to sell the car someday,the money he (and I!) hasinvested in the car will certainlybe a bettervaluethan throwing the same money into a new vehicle. I think that you are right in that the I-6 conversion will be generally of less financial value than an orig. V8, but I believe that a very nice and professional conversion would carry more weight than the arbitrary 50% reduction in value that youstated/impliedabove. There are plenty of buyers out there who are notreally concerned aboutwhat engine that the VIN calls for. If you build it (right) they (buyers) will come.

We will be spending some time and money in the upgrade of the mechanical workings of this car, but I believe that we will make up much, if not all of this spending, by not having to do rust repair, bodywork, paint prep, new body panells, etc.

My occupation requires vast amounts of my time for most of the year.I generally have some spare time from the first of the year through march or April, generally, during this period I dont work a lot more than 40 hrs a week so starting with a good clean slate as far as the body of the car goes, willmake the difference between finishing this car, or not finishing the car in the time available to me. If this were a more dificult build I probably would have never even started it, and both my son and I would have missed out on a lot of fun!

You might consider that most of the good affordable V8 Mustangs are in the hands of.... well... people like you, who are not willing to part with these cars cheap. There are many I-6 Mustangs out there for reasonable prices, and really, the conversion isnot that hard, not nearly as difficult as many want to make it.

I saw many, many posts on forums advising against the conversion before I undertook this project. I for one am glad that I "threw caution to the wind" and steped right in and did it anyway.

Granted, from the begining I had decided that a NEW engine, a NEW 5 speed transmission, and a NEW 9" axle would be used. I decided on the rack and pinion after I started, because iteliminated most of the front end issues brought on by the conversion.

Thanks for the post!!

 

i would keep the six

 

Why???

 

Besides,,, it is really a little too lat for that!

 

i would get a v8 car and keep the six and make the six my DD so that i can make the v8 car a real sweat machine but thats just me

 

agreed, if your converting to a 8, shouldve just bout a 8, usually can find em not that hard. keep the 6 original. i know its a little late but....

 

I can respect this,,, but,,, (there is always a "but" when we try to justify our actions) the car was a really really nice unrestored six, the purchase price was right,and he has a daily driver already. Neither my son or I are purists, and he wants a hot rod so that is what we are building.

In any case it is my opinion that avehicle of this vintage can benifit from a few safety upgrades such as disc brakes, a double master cylinder, (he has already had a total brake failure in this car due to a leaking rear wheel cylinder), a steering column that is not akin to a sword inthe event of a frontal collision, improved steering, etc. Once this is done, we may as well finish the job and have the car he wants.

I do agree that if one had the choice between two vehicles in similar condition with one being a six and one being an 8, I would choose the 8 as well. This said, I have seen some pictures on this forum of major rust repair being done on orig V-8 cars that makes me believe that some of these folks would have been much better off starting with a good I-6.

He will be driving the car a little in it's I-6 form for a while untill the rest of the parts come in. (Actually untill I can convince my wife to let me buy them).

Best Wishes
JMD

 

Well yes, i just saw a few people specifically mention a 289. I was just saying 302s are everywhere and you can stroke them to get a few more CIs 306, 331, 347 whatever they will fit easy. and just to get the project rolling throw the 302 in there and get it stroked later. 351s fit, but I don't know how good... anyone else?

 

lets see some pics of these cars from ya new guys!!

changing gears for a sec, has anyone ever "beefed up" a 6 cyl? gotta be some power left untapped on these..... something like a supercharged 200 6 would be wickedly unique

 

MM or M&F had an article about that, I think they have their own forum something like http://www.fordsix.com/forums.phpor something.