[X_man]

So, we went to look at a 1966 Mustang coupe with a straight 6 cyl. & 4 speed with air. I have a couple of questions I'm sure the seasoned veterans on this forum can quickly answer.

1. It had 4 bolt wheels all the way around. How hard is it to upgrade to 5 bolt? Would a front disk brake upgrade take care of the front wheels? Can new axles be installed in the rear end, or must the entire rear end be swapped out?

2. Later, we would want to put in a 289 V-8, or similiar size small block. Is it a simple swap of the 200cid 6 cyl, or do I need to plan on a suspension upgrade?

3. Finally, it had some rust pinholes below the lower rear window trim, in the section in front of the trunk lid. How bad might this get, and how hard to repair?

I know number 3 is difficult to answer without seeing it, but is this a general area for rust? It just had four 1/8 inch holes that were showing along the trim. I just don't know what to expect when removing the trim.

Also, we checked for rust elsewhere, but didn't really see much if any. What are some other typical spots to check?

Thanks for the help.

[BlueStreak03]

Definitely check the floor pans for rust, and behind all the wheel wells. IF there's rust coming completely through in one area, I'm almost positive there are large amounts in other areas. Finding a car that old without spots is going to be just about impossible, especially if you're looking for one as a project car. As long as the floor pans are in decent shape and all the body panel gaps line up, I'd be willing to make a deal.

[fast66]

If you want a v8 car, then buy a v8 car. The amount of work and cost to properly change a 6 into an 8 is really not worth effort, and at the end of the day you still have the Vin saying its a 6 cyl.
All suspension, trans, rear end, brakes etc should be changed to convert a 6 to an 8. IMHO not worth the effort.
In terms of rust, the general area are
1 inside of cowl. -pour some water into the cowl vent, and see if it comes through to the footwells.
2 bottoms of doors, both outside skin and inside skin.
3 bottoms of rear qtr panels
4 inside trunk floor
5 around drip rails
6 If it had a vinal roof, under the vinal
7 around the battery tray
Thats about all can think of at the moment. Good luck

[69stangman]

I agree with fast66. Swapping from a 6cyl to a 8cyl is possible, and has been done, but it isn't really worth the trouble. The swap will cost you more in parts than buying a V8 from the get-go.

[Perry1977]

Fast66 is right on with the rust spots. The cowl is #1 for a reason, because it's the biggest pain to fix. All of the spot welds around it have to be taken off just to get tot he area to repair, and if you have a body shop do it that part alone could cost you $2 grand to fix.

Another thing to consider is this: a 6-cylinder Mustang coupe is the bottom of the totem pole as far as these cars go. If you're looking to undertake a full resto, it's going to cost you just as much to restore a coupe as it would a fastback or convertible, but the latter two will be worth more than twice what the coupe is when finished. Sure, the initial price of a fastback/coupe will be more (unless you find a deal ), but in the end you'll be happier.

That is, unless you like coupes the best and that's what you want! In that case, go for it.