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69 Mustang coupe - project thread

1K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  uscoop 
#1 ·
Hello Mustang fans. I will start by saying I might have brain damage taking on this big of a project, but what the hell.

My wife and I have been looking for a classic Mustang to restore for a while and this past week we found a 69 that desperately needs to be rescued. It has been sitting for over 15 years and to sum things up, well it needs everything. I'm lucky because I have a good friend who has restored a few classic Mustangs and he knows them well. This car has the 302, which actually starts but barely. It has the stock automatic transmission, and it looks like it may have come from the factory with the Mach 1 hood scoop.

We are going to start by ripping out all of the interior to ensure it doesn't need floor pans. All wiring will also come out.

This list of parts and steps is not meant to be in the correct order, but here is what we are planning:

-Tare down and clean the car up, removing rust and fixing anything that needs attention
-Install new wiring harness, new gauges, dash with A/C ducts, and replace all of the windows.
-order a complete new interior kit, black
-We are going to cut down the shock towers to flatten them to make more room. Paint the engine bay.
-Most likely will go with a Ford crate 428 cj engine and a brand new automatic transmission with overdrive
-A/C is a must, so we'll be adding that, along with new alternator and new power steering pump, radiator and fan.
-We will add Fuel Injection at some point, but not at first.
-new gas tank
-new headers and full exhaust
-new suspension with disc brakes all around
-Most likely 3.53 rear gears, looks like it has a 9 inch rear-end
-Fiberglass body kit - comes with new bumpers, hood, fenders
-Of course new wheels and tires
-The last step will be to paint it either black or blue

I'm sure there are lots of other stuff I'm missing.

I know I can get stuff from CJ Pony and a few other sites ,but please let me know if you know of other good sources to get replacement parts.

Wish us lots of luck and I appreciate any and all advice.
 

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#2 ·
You may be surprised to know that the factory shock towers and bracing add a lot of stability to the front end, and the factory type front suspension has a lot of potential. Longer travel with better geometry than most of the Mustang II type front ends. There are kits that do really well, but for a street car, upgrading shocks, doing the Shelby mod, fixing the worn out parts, stiffer swaybar, and you're at least 90% of the way to where you'd be with aftermarket stuff that costs 90% more. Further, by keeping the shock towers, you don't have to engineer a bunch of chassis stiffening to keep the nose from getting floppy.

Not sure which 428 crate engine you're going with, but heavy as they are, the FE motors definitely impede handling. A stroker 351 Windsor punched out to 408 or 427 cubic inches will deliver the same (or better) power than a 428 FE, but the smaller weight and external dimensions mean better handling and you will have more clearance for your spark plugs and headers too. Ditching 150 or so pounds from the nose, high up, is always a good thing for the way your car performs. If you choose a newer 5.8 based 351, you'll even have roller lifters, which mean no worries about additives for your oil to keep an old flat tappet cam alive.

When it comes to transmissions, it'd be a lot easier to find a 4R70W to bolt up with a 351 than with a 428, too - one that will actually fit in your transmission tunnel and hook up to your shifter with minimal fuss! 3.73 gears would be a really good choice to go with a reasonable camshaft, allowing your engine to have outstanding low-end acceleration and still loaf along at 80 mph making decent mileage.

In keeping with that, you might want to include a Holley Sniper EFI (carb-type) system right from day 1. Having your fuel system spot-on from the moment you bolt it up means never washing the rings with fuel, and will help your engine live far longer than any carb will, not to mention slightly improved economy, better overall performance, smooth idle, reduced emissions, and better throttle response. The savings from not shaving your shock towers should pay for that handily. Why buy a carb only to throw it away in a few years anyway? Do it once and do it right if you're considering this for 'later'.

Really love the style on the 69! Sweet ride.
 
#3 ·
Thank you! You raise a lot of great points and I will for sure consider all of them. I do like the idea of saving money and keeping most of the factory front-end. I also like the idea of a small block punched out to a 427. Again, many thanks for taking the time to share your suggestions.

If you or anyone else can share links to the kits you were suggesting, that would be awesome!
 
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#4 ·
There are a million companies making 408W strokers and 427's. Depending on what you really want to use the car for will determine a lot of your choices. A full-tilt-race prepped engine is pretty expensive, but honestly, any 408 or 427 with aluminum heads and a *mild* cam would be a riot on the street. Going with a more race-ready version would require an awful lot more planning and work, including probably a roll cage and extensive mods to reduce chassis flex and wheelhop. If you are not intending to wing this thing past 7k, and don't intend to use slicks, it makes more basic options a lot more viable.

It's also worth pointing out that on the street, "average" horsepower is a lot more important than the "peak" horsepower number that sells engines. As an example, a solidly built 302 that hits "only" 300 RWHP will absolutely slaughter a 700 horsepower Honda 4 cylinder engine in acceleration. I've seen it. How is that possible? Because the 302's torque was available from very low RPMs, and stayed very high all the way through the power curve, while the Honda only made decent power on the very top end of its powerband. It was a real dog all the way till about 5k RPMs, and then it would suddenly pin you to the seat and become nearly uncontrollable - for about 1.5 seconds till you had to grab the next gear.

That's an extreme example, but an honest one. On the dragstrip, you don't care about what happens when you're stuck in traffic, and just mash the go-pedal from a rolling start. You only care about getting the engine to its peak power-producing band as quickly as possible, at wide open throttle, and keeping it there as long as possible. In the real world, your engine should be a lot more broad shouldered, producing awesome torque and response at any RPM and speed. There's nothing worse than having your car just cough and struggle when you hit the gas, especially when you've put a lot of money and work into it. My friend spend many thousands on his Honda, and honestly, I've ridden in a lot of stock Toyotas that would impress you more by just stomping the skinny pedal, until it hit it's happy spot in the RPM band.

Going with lots of cubic inches means that you will have gobs of torque available from low RPMs, which is great for neck-snapping performance. It'll hurt your car's mileage too, just due to the extra fuel needed to mix with air to fill all those cylinders. Your best bet for a really hot street Windsor is to run a good dual-plane like the Performer RPM air gap, the best heads you can afford (think AFR 185's or TW's) and a rather basic cam. Avoid a lot of duration and overlap, unless you just want to support the oil industry, and have a ridiculous top end charge along with a ho-hum bottom end. (not that anything about a 408+ is going to be ho-hum even with a hot cam, but the single-digit gas mileage a lumpy cam will give you with a big block does get old for a street car too)

Don't get caught up in inflated horsepower claims. These cars are really just not that heavy. An honest 450HP Windsor in an early Mustang can keep up just fine with a Hellcat, despite it having a pretty solid 750 horsepower. Why? Because of power-to-weight ratios. (that assumes you can get traction of course. No computer helping you keep the tires under control) 450 horsepower from a 408 is pretty reasonable, to say nothing of what you'd get if it's punched out to 427+. I like the reliability and cheapness of the 408 setup, personally. By the time you get everything to the 6-700 hp level in these 3000 lb cars, it gets to be a really white-knuckle drive on street tires, unless you happen to be a very cautious person. They can get away from you mighty fast.

Which brings up another point: Don't skimp on your brakes.


Coast is probably a good company as an example for engines. Not the cheapest, but they've got a good reputation. https://www.coasthigh.com/Ford-351-Windsor-based-long-blocks-s/113.htm


For all suspension and handling stuff, Streetortrack is amazing. Sean's a great guy.
 
#5 ·
Thank you so much for the feedback and suggestions. This is really great input and I'm ready changing my plan. I will likely now go with the 351 W punched to 427. That will be enough for this mostly street car. I'll review all the feedback and reply again later on. I spent 11 hours today ripping out the entire inside and a bunch of the stuff. I was happy to learn that there are no major repairs needed to the floor pans.

Again, thank you much for taking the time to provide your insight - much appreciated
 

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#6 ·
I've been waiting 3 weeks now for a quote from Coast. They are telling me they are slammed with over 50 engine builds in the queue, so I don't even have a proposed build list to share with you all.

Might need to find another company....
 
#7 ·
There are a lot of great engine builders out there. Just look to see what other people say about 'em before making your final choice! Try to avoid the big 'cheap rebuilders' if you can. They tend to take a lot of shortcuts, and despite their warranties, you may find that your engine just won't last that long. I am not pointing fingers solely at them at all, but an example of this would be Jasper.

If they are a local builder where you live, you can often get much better service in regard to quality, because their reputation is at stake. Pricing and build time may suffer, however. Don't be afraid to look around, ask for references, and just be nosy. This car is important to you, and the engine's a major part of that! No good builder will be mad at you for asking good questions.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

If anyone knows of a good engine building in the Sacramento or San Francisco Bay Area, please let me know. I like the idea of finding a local shop.
 
#10 ·
I haven't lived out there for a long time, or I'd have quite a few suggestions. There were great shops in Winters and Orland that I used, years ago. I lived in Davis, where they feel that Lamborfeeties and Chevrolegs are best for the environment. There are a lot of people that love cars in the surrounding areas though, including Sacramento, so hopefully you can find some helpful gearheads nearby!
 
#11 ·
Depending on how much handling you want, Griggs Racing could be an option. It'll require welding, but you can retain the shocktowers or ditch them, get full coilover suspension, and trust me, it handles incredibly! Easily the most responsive and best handling car I've driven outside of a Formula SAE race car.

Otherwise, there's lots of less-invasive and cheaper options to get a fun-to-drive Mustang, such as Total Control Products, Open Tracker, Global West, and others. Subframe connectors are a must, and front torque boxes are strongly recommended if you don't have them already. For the best handling per dollar, get your suspension bushings and hard parts up to snuff with new ball joints and poly bushings and make sure the control arms are in decent shape, then get the best shocks you can afford (Koni and Bilstein are usually at the top of my list) and the best tires you can afford. If a tire costs less than $150, chances are it's not that great. You should be able to fit 245s under your stock fenders and stock style suspension without too much issue, and on the rears, you can fit probably a 265 or even larger by massaging the inner wheelhouse.
 
#12 ·
Switchblade, CHP built my 347 stroker 2 years ago and i have been more than pleased with the engine they put together for me. I won't sugar coated it took them about 3 months to finish and have it dynoed but the wait was well worth it. Toby is a great guy to deal with over the phone and he was willing to accept parts i had bought earlier for my old 289. I saved good money by using the parts. I did have to pay to have it shipped to FL but they do a phenomenal job boxing the engines. If you are on a time schedule i understand you might want to move on to some else but i'm very glad i waited on them. I got almost 3k miles on it, zero issues and all but fun ..




J
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the information, good to know. CHP said they would get me a build quote by next week, so we'll see.
 
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#14 ·
Update for anyone interested in my project. I gave up on Coast, I called them 3 more times and they said they would send me a quote, but never did. After leaving a few messages, I've moved on. I found this one from Blueprint engines that i really like. It's a 408 stroker with efi and they also agreed to source the 4R70W auto trans with overdrive and flywheel, full package deal. With free dyno, free shipping, and military discount, i'm in!


We've got the car ready for blasting and suspension parts are on order.
 

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