1968 Mustang Coupe 351C

[68angrypony]

Hi All,

New guy here. Looking for some help and direction. I picked up 68 coupe probably 2 years ago now. It was a factory 289 4spd car. It was sitting for 20 years in a drive way in Bell flower, CA. I live towards Riverside so not that far to get. Here are some pics of the beast right after I got her:

Now, The assistance I need is that I have a buddy who went into the military and is in boot camp right now. He gets back mid to late december and we are all going to hit the track. Instead of taking my Euro car for a german show off I wanted to see if their is any possible way to get this Pony to the track for a good showing most likely in the 8th mile. With my turbo 4 last time I was running 10's with only half my mods on. My friends brother was running 8 to 8.5's with a modified supercharged grandam gtp.

I would first love to get this car mobile let alone shoot to be somewhere in the 8 to 10 sec range.


With that said. The car has been sitting for 20 years before i got it and the last 2 in my back yard. We took 80% of the body down to bare metal and primered it black to see what was underneath the paint. I also pulled the 289 out and sand blasted the engine bay and painted it semi-gloss black. I don't have the funds to make it look pretty at this point. The goal right now is just to make it street and track worthy for when my buddy gets back and then i can always finish collecting all the parts and saving to do a proper restore.

With that said, I installed a 351 cleveland 2v engine with an edelbrock performer intake manifold and edelbrock 650 carb that came with the engine. I can start the engine in place and it idles fine without any smoke. I have to start the engine by messing with the wires under the hood but I haven't really investigate the wiring at this point.

So now I am trying to figure out what I would need to get this car street worthy let along track worthy in the next month and a half to have some fun with the car while my buddy is back in town.

So here is a list of what I feel I need:

-I need a radiator: (stock 68 is gunked up and hoses aren't in proper location any ways) definitely planning on going aluminum. Not sure if I should go electric fans or mechanical.
-I need to find a better set of pulleys. (bought a set from kentucky mustang and didn't line up belts right. they sent me a new crank pulley that has 3 or 4 groves but it is massive.) should i find a set of stock pulleys or go with an aluminum set?
-I need an air filter
-I have no brake master cylinder.
-I need a new seats ( thinking pro car seats or another adjustable seat for a 6'4 tall guy)
-I need a tilt steering wheel.

Some other things I know I need off the top of my head is a front and rear valence and new bumper mounts.

-Would the springs on the car do with new shocks or are they most likely trash?
-I have a new fuel tank/sending unit, but do I need a new fuel line?
-I have 4 wheel drum brakes that I haven't even looked at yet. So I will need to go through -them and I need a brake master cylinder. The original one was manuel. Would I need to go -power to have a chance at stopping?
-I definitely need new wheels and tires. I have a lead on a set of new 18x8's for the front and 18x10.5's for the rears. I can pick these up for under 400 new. I was thinking the grip would help for traction. I have the stock 8 inch rear end and I believe 2.88 gears in their as well.
-My distributor died due to the ignitor II going out so I am planning on buying an Ignitor III and setting the rev limiter to 5800 rpm since I don't know whats inside the motor since I bought it used.


Sorry for being all over the place. But I think from the pictures and the bits of description you guru's can see where I am at and possibly help me put together a list of what I need to get it to the track in 1.5 months. I am looking at about a 3 to 4k budget.

Thank you in advance for any and all advice you guys can help me out with.

 

[68angrypony]

I also forgot to mention that I need to buy headers as the stock ones run into the shifter/transmission linkage. So I am going to need a set up headers and an exhaust system. Or just headers and a trailer and truck to get it to the track and run it open headers ;-)

Here is a small video showing how I start the engine and what it sounds like.

1968 Mustang 380.avi

 

[daveSanborn]

You have a LOT of info and a LOT of questions. I'll attempt to pick away at a few of them.

I have the stock 8 inch rear end and I believe 2.88 gears in their as well.

This is a BIG problem for an 1/8th mile car. You'll want/need AT LEAST 4.10 gears.


18x10.5 wheels will not fit the rear wheelwells w/o cutting/tubbing.

4 wheel drum non-power brakes can be used, just make sure they're completely gone through.


Personally.... and don't take this the wrong way..... I think you're living in fantasyland. 8 seconds with your budget ain't gonna cut it. I'm at the track at least a couple of times a month with my buddies 2000 pound full fiberglass bodied, lexan windowed, tube chassied, 30" M/T's, 600+ HP "real racecar" and he's barely into the 6's..... I think his best pass to date is 6.92.

To get your car into the 10's is going to require a LOT more motor. The 351C 2V isn't a bad starting point, but unless it's been professionally enhanced, it's likely putting out less than 200HP. Think AL heads, performance camshaft, stroker kit, etc., etc. to get the HP up into the 400HP range and possibly you could get into the low 11's/high 10's.

 

[blue65coupe]

Remember, he's talking 1/8 mile not 1/4. Like mentioned, you've got a lot of info AND questions. Rear gear is definitely gonna need to be changed. Take it from me, change the fuel line. I really don't know what to tell you since you don't know the engine internals. It's a crapshoot. Did you go through the engine any? Do a compression test at least? BTW, welcome aboard.

 

[cmayna]

Is this the Jeremy I know from the Cleveland forum? If so, welcome my friend. I'm swamped at work right now but will try to help answer some of your questions later today.

Craig

 

[68angrypony]

Personally.... and don't take this the wrong way..... I think you're living in fantasyland. 8 seconds with your budget ain't gonna cut it. I'm at the track at least a couple of times a month with my buddies 2000 pound full fiberglass bodied, lexan windowed, tube chassied, 30" M/T's, 600+ HP "real racecar" and he's barely into the 6's..... I think his best pass to date is 6.92.

To get your car into the 10's is going to require a LOT more motor. The 351C 2V isn't a bad starting point, but unless it's been professionally enhanced, it's likely putting out less than 200HP. Think AL heads, performance camshaft, stroker kit, etc., etc. to get the HP up into the 400HP range and possibly you could get into the low 11's/high 10's.

I assume you drifted in the 1/4 mile train of thought? I have a 4 cyl turbo and was doing 10's in the 8th. My buddy was racing his gf's new passat 4 cyl turbo stock and was in the 10's. I can't believe that this car would be slower than a stock 4cyl but I could be wrong. I have never even ridden in an old mustang outside of a stock 65 fastback 289 with a c4. But that car chirped into 2nd and seemed as though it would be faster that a 10 sec in the 8th. But I am a rookie and that is speculation. I know my buddy had a 68 4 door nova that had the stock rear end a 350 a 3 speed auto and he used to race the hell out of that car back on a budget and would race turbo civic hatch backs, 500 hp all wheel drive eclipses and smoke them. So I was hoping the cleveland would be a strong motor to turn some heads with. Ultimately I guess I don't understand fully how to make my muscle car into the fast car I want. Newer cars seem pretty easy but old cars are not as simple as they are made out to be yet.

 

[68angrypony]

Remember, he's talking 1/8 mile not 1/4. Like mentioned, you've got a lot of info AND questions. Rear gear is definitely gonna need to be changed. Take it from me, change the fuel line. I really don't know what to tell you since you don't know the engine internals. It's a crapshoot. Did you go through the engine any? Do a compression test at least? BTW, welcome aboard.

I'm a real rookie with most of the things needed to be done on this car. I actually just sanded it done and rattle canned it. I have no idea whats inside the engine. All I know is that the engine supposedly came out of a 70's Fastback owned by one of the owners of a big hotel in Vegas. They thought the engine was dogging the car. So they put a new create motor in it. That supposedly didn't help. So they replaced the tranny. So basically the motor is suppose to be a "strong running motor". He wasn't sure if their was anything internally done to the motor. Not sure if listening to the youtube clip gives away anything to the trained ear as if it is completely stock internals or not.

 

[daveSanborn]

Remember, he's talking 1/8 mile not 1/4.

I didn't mis-read or mis-understand anything. He's got a LONG way to go to get that car to be an 8 sec. 1/8th mile car.

I'll take some video the next time I'm at the strip to show you some of the cars that are in the 8's.

 

[68angrypony]

Is their any good how to videos floating around for these cars?

 

[tarafied1]

I hate to disagree with Dave, BUT... I think a mild 2V Clevo with some rear gear should be able to get into the 14 second range in the 1/4 so under 10 in the 1/8 should be doable. The problem with not knowing the engine is big. If it has low compression and a smog cam it won't rev even to 5800 rpm without floating the valves and it won't have any power up there anyway. If speed is the goal you do need a 4.10, 4.11 etc which at the top end will spin the rpm's. You really need to know what cam is in there. 2V heads aren't bad and some porting could work wonders. If it has low compression, consider a turbo or supercharger unless you plan on new pistons. Compression is needed to make power so you have to get it somehow, if you plan on staying naturally aspirated you need high compression. Dave is also right about 10.5" wide rims, 9 to 9.5 is about as wide as you can go unless you jack up the rear and let them stick out (70's style). Drum brakes with good shoes and wheel cylinders will be fine on a drag strip, in fact drum brakes work well (once), then they get hot and fade so they aren't good for aggressive driving. Metallic shoes and a manual MS will be okay. Manual just requires more foot pressure it doesn't make them work any better. I see the interior is gutted, leave that way, shave weight where you can, that will help too. I think it can be done but the engine will need some money spent on it. Pull the pan and plasti gauge the bearings so you know if you'll throw a rod. Put a cam & springs in it that you know the specs. And do a compression test to see what you've got for cylinder pressure. Converting to an auto trans with a high stall may help be more consistent but with the 4 speed at least you can play with what rpm to launch it. You'll need some traction bars or add leafs to keep from wheel hopping too.
Oh, welcome!

 

[68angrypony]

Well I am lining up a few parts and trying to get everything to go racing in late December when my buddy gets back from Basic. We do the 1/8th down in San Diego where it can't be more than 500-1000 feet above sea level. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. So right now to get the car moving I need a radiator, brake master cylinder, seat, headers, exhaust, and to get a new wiring harness/go through mine. If i end up getting everything on the car and hit the track I'll definitely report back what my times are. But I will be really disappointed if I'm not at least in a 9 to 9.5 in the 1/8th when my vw did low 10's all night almost stock.

 

[B67FSTB]

Street or strip....I always say : first good brakes , second good suspension, third engine condition and then breathing issues so exhaust / intake
Thats the way to tacle any car whatever you use it for.Keep that in mind.IMHO

 

[daveSanborn]

I wish you luck getting it to run the 1/8th in under 10 seconds.

The 1/8th mile is a LOT different than the 1/4. It "humbles" a lot of people.

Here's the video of my buddy running his 600HP 2000 pound full FG bodied race car. Notice the MPH and timeslip for the 1/8th mile run...... ~7 seconds at 98MPH. I just don't see a 351 2V motor getting you anywhere near 10 seconds. It'll maybe be putting out ~200HP.... at the crank.... Good Luck!


http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=60339828

 

[68angrypony]

You may be right. I guess I just can't believe that my friends gf's stock volkswagen passat 2.0 turbo with 200 hp and full interior and automatic can hit 10.07 in the 1/8th but my mustang can't come near that. I guess my perceptions of cars is a little crazy. :amaz

 

[daveSanborn]

volkswagen passat 2.0 turbo with 200 hp and full interior and automatic can hit 10.07 in the 1/8th but my mustang can't come near that.....

Let's think about this "out loud" for a second..... you can't imagine that your GF's turbocharged sportscar is quicker/faster than a 45 year old car designed and sold to the average sectretary?

Believe it.

While the classic Mustang is capable of the times/speed you're after, it's going to take a LOT more that an old 351/2V that Ford used in their "lower performance" cars.