Hi Folks , New here and very 1st post, I'm actually trying to find a good site for my Wife to become a member because after all it is her car, I'm just trying to find out some pro's and con's about it for her.
I purchased this car for her this week and it did not have the engine installed, the car belong to a teacher
that inheritance it from her pass away father 12 years ago, she said he seldom had driven it , it was in storage most of the time, the Daughter is the person ( teacher ) is the person we purchased it from...
Now about 3 years ago she started driving it ,but the 200 6cyl. ran badly and she brought it to the school were she teaches and had the Shop machanic take a look at it, he said the car most likely needed the engine rebuilt,
so she asked for him to go ahead not having any idea what the cost would be but knowing that shop classes do the work Free, he told her all she would pay was the cost of the parts, so he went ahead and pulled the engine and got back to her with the list of parts he would need along with the price, $2000
she said she could'nt afford that for him to not do anything more,, So she never could come up with enough to have the engine rebuilt, So she put the car up for sale early this week and we purchased it,
Now she gave tons & tons of old paper work with the-ol-car, some which show that back in the early 90's the engine had been changed out ,did'nt say what engine was in it only that the re-man was a 200 6cyl.
OK Now to the confusing part,,,,,,, I ran a decoding on the Vin# and it came back as it having original 289
OK I can understand this , but what I can't understand is the car having 4-lug wheels, I have been told that the 6 cyl only have the 4-lug wheels, so why is this so? is this a fact? or was there also 4-lug mustang built with the 289 also? and 1 other convensing thing is, this car underwent a new paintjob sometime ago and I have found back behind the front fenders evidents of there being the V-8 badging, there are some bondo
filling 2 holes on each vender at the same location,, can anyone please help verify this so I can get my wife on the right track with her Classic car build,,, Thanks again- Musting

 

Man, that really sounds like a V8 car then, that is very wierd, I dont see who would change to 4 lug. And no, ALL V8 cars had 5 lugs.

 

What's the fifth digit of the VIN ? If it's a T it's a 6 cylinder. What year is it ? Dean

 

Thanks , Here is the Vin# 6F07C399960
these are the correct vin# on the title as well as on the fender,,
I have tried to upload a picture of the-ol car, However I dont think it went thru
It's a 1966 and another starng thing is before the engine was changed the car had bee converted from a either 3-speed / 4-speed to a c-4 automatic .. the clutch pedel is still hanging under the dash.
and the storie just keeps getting tricky'er the car has original miles of only 60154 .I know the mileage is correct because I have the title isued in 92 said it had 49,228, and this car has been sheltered more than driven .and I have paper showing the cars tranny being changed iin '90 and the engine in '91 now why would someone change out a low miles 289 engine to a 6 cyl? I was told the change in the steering wheel was because the owner was large and needed more room although kept the original wheel in the trunk, and the tranny was changed because he was old and had problems shifting the tranny, but nothing was ever said about the engine & tranny being changed out, as a matter of fact she told that the car was an all original car, I'm finding out is not so!
But this 4-lug thing still remains a mystery to me..
Thanks for any help: Musting

 

It's a 66 car with a 289 2 barrel sure enough. Not sure why anyone would make the swap to 4 lug... but they obviously did. The good news is that parts are plentiful to change it back to 5 lug. Maybe a disc brake Lincoln Versailles rear end in her future ? Good luck, Dean

 

What does she want to do with the car? Would she or you like a V8 better? Cost is about the same to build either a 6 or an 8. Look up the Granada Disc swap in the FAQ section, that is a quick easy way to get 5 lugs and disc brakes on the front.

You could also just put the 6 back in and drive it like it is. Its a pretty car, and to me it screams GIVE ME A V8!! But its not my car.

If you havent already talk with her and figure out what you want to do with it, if you want it to be fast, or just nice and fun to drive. Then figure out what the budget you have to work with is. Parts are easy to find for Mustangs, very easy.

 

yup, definately a C code 289 2V vin. only about a month or 2 off my car's assembly. Is the door tag still there? If the tranny was swapped out to the auto, judging by the pics, They did a great job on the shifter install. Looks like a stock auto shifter. The 4 lug thing is really bizarre. Too bad you can't get a Marti report on a '66 to see more info on how it originally shipped.

 

Everything can be explained except the 4 lugs. That would be a really dumb thing to do, but stranger things have happened. If it were mine, I would change it back to 5 lugs and throw in either a 289 or a 302 V8. Check the rear end to make sure it has the 8 inch rear. That, along with the VIN is a dead giveaway that it started out life as a V8 car.

 

Or someone just changed the VIN number from another car....

 

What hw said would be more the case I think..