Considering 66

1077 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Nashville'65, Apr 9, 2015

MikeStang66

Discussion Starter · Apr 5, 2015

Hi All,

Brand new member here. Please excuse my rookie questions and terminology.. I've been looking for a classic 65-67 for quite some time now and found one I'm seriously considering. It's a 66 coupe with a 347 stroker which was supposedly rebuilt a couple years ago and 4 speed tranny.
Went to check it out and all looked pretty good for the asking price. Upon firing it up, it took a few tries and pumps of the gas pedal to get it started and once it turned over, sounded a bit rough. Took a good 5-10 mins to start idling decently. I'm thinking it's gonna need to be tuned up and carb tuned or rebuil or maybe new. It's a 4 barrel Holley on it now with manual choke.
It was a tough to drive with the 4 speed and me not being used to the clutch which I'm not too concerned about. It did have some hesitation and seemed to choke when pushing down on the gas.
The other issue was the brakes.. Has original drums on all 4 and looks to be original cylinder. When I first started driving and tried to stop,The pedal went all the way to the floor and car kept rolling. I then pumped the pedal a few times and it helped a bit. Still not good stopping power at all. Was a little scary with the brake situation.

So my 2 concerns..

Besides the Carb needing a tune or rebuild. What could I be looking at repair wise? Maybe plugs, wires, etc.?

Brakes.. Definitely want to upgrade to discs in the front and a new, probably dual cylinder. Any other thoughts on this?

I'm all in and know that I will be putting some time and money into this thing.

Thank you in advance for you input!

Save

1 - 1 of 7 Posts

desdain

· #5 · Apr 6, 2015

Being a 347 stroker, its not gonna run as smoothly as a stock 289 or 302. Strokers are racing engines and aren't ideal for normal daily cruising (real gas guzzlers). I speak from experience as I also have a stroker in my 66 fastback. When it's cold, it's really rough and I have to feather the throttle to keep it running. When it's warmed up, it's still too lumpy for my taste. In retrospect, I should have put in a mildly built 302 instead. Can't complain about the power though, as with 430hp/440lb ft it's a real beast.

If you do buy it, this forum is a great source of information, with many knowledgeable members. Btw. there is no logic in buying these old cars, but we drive them because the trips we make is all about the journey, not the destination.

Good luck!

Save

1 - 1 of 7 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month