MaxLT

**SOLD** Beautiful Award Winning Restomod 69 Fastback, Excellent Condition **SOLD** Considering selling my highly desirable 1969 Mustang Boss Clone with fresh 351W Stroker motor, AFR 185 heads, Roller Cam and Lifters, 750 Holley HP Double Pumper Carb, TKO-500 5 Speed Trans, Long Tube Headers with X-Pipe, Cross Flow Radiator, Edelbrock Performer RPM Endurashine Intake, Custom A/C, Power Brakes, lots of go fast parts, lowered suspension, Flaming River Manual Performance Steering Box, Power Windows, Upgraded Stereo, White Face Gauges, and all new sheet metal (Hood, Fenders, Doors, Deck lid) prior to 2nd full body restoration with all new rubber, seals, gaskets, and chrome trim. Original FL Car and owned since 1992. Nearly perfect and runs very strong. Ton's of money spent over the past 20 years and it shows. Car was entered in two Mustang shows and took 1st place in each.

Those heads will bolt right on but the exhaust ports are different so you'll need new headers or exhaust manifolds along with them. If you have that much to spend, since there is no substitute for cubic inches, why not invest it in a budget 351w build. They can make lot's more hp and cost almost the same to build and are pretty easy to find.

It's been years since I've swapped mine out, all I can remember is that the key needs to be in the run position before you can release the cylinder to slide it out.

I'd go with 1.7-1 roller tip rocker arms, and cam upgrade first and also better heads if you can afford it.

I've done it twice, the first time by myself using an original gasket and no sealant. My install lasted about 5 years before it started leaking. The second time I paid a glass professional $75 to help me and he used a gasket and also recommended we use sealant to glue it into place. It was the best $75 I ever spent, the pro made it look so easy, no leaks since, and he got the stainless trim perfectly installed as well. The headliner and sail panels go in before the glass and tuck under the gasket.

I felt like that more times than I could count over the years and through the course of two restorations on the same car I wanted to quit a bunch of times..... but then I'd walk out into the garage and the light would be reflecting just right off the beautiful body lines, the sheer muscular attitude would be shouting out I'm going 100mph just sitting still, and the chrome would be glistening like nothing made today and after I'd hop in, pump the gas pedal once, turn the key, hear the beast rumble back to life, I'd fall in love all over again. (or at least until the next part broke...) Never met anyone who has been afflicted with muscle car fever (like most of us on this site) who ever said "boy I'm really glad I sold my old hot rod" years ago; but nearly every one will tell you about how much they regret having sold one at one time or another. My recommendation is really think it over before letting her go

well, I guess you found your problem eh... that's the nice thing about working on these old Fords, they seem to never miss an opportunity to break in unexpected ways...:scared:

I'd check the master cylinder first, pretty common problem and easy to change. If that's good, then the other thing I've had similar problems with is old brake hoses and lines. Although they looked good on the outside, they can rust/swell so much that they completely pinch off the fluid flow through the hose or line. Also easy to test just disconnect the hose or line at the wheel and step on the brake pedal and see if fluid comes out or not.

I've been trying for 15 years to blow up my little 8" 2.79 rear end so I could justify the cost of a good 9" upgrade and don't you know it, the darn things bulletproof and just keeps taking all the abuse I throw at it. When it finally goes I figure anywhere between 3.5-3.7 is just about right for my TKO-500 and 408W street rod.

I've got the two core aluminum cross flow radiator from Summit and it works great with my 408 even in the hot summer heat with a/c. Also have to agree that I think it's best to stick with the stock pressure cap. BMW's run higher pressure coolant systems and their mechanics will tell you that in the first year of operating the engine the hoses actually swell so much that the system can actually take another quart or so of coolant. That seems like way too much strain to put on a 43 year old cooling system. _____________ 408W, AFR-185, 10.0-1 c/r, 750 Holley HP carb, Elelbrock Performer RPM Air Gap, 1 5/8" long tube headers, 2 1/2" dual exhaust with x-pipe, TKO-500 transmission, Zoom Kevlar clutch, mid eye springs and 1" drop front/rear.

I tried for several years to get my electric fan setup (with cross flow aluminum racing radiator) to properly cool my engine. It was a 17" fan and 3000+ cfm with a shroud and it just couldn't keep my car cool at idle, with the a/c on, or in slow traffic. I seemed to spend more time watching the temp gauge than I did enjoying the ride. Finally put my old flex-a-lite mechanical fan back on and the problem went away. When I was using my electric fan the air within a few inches of the fan was very hot, but with the flex-a-lite the air all the way back to the shock towers is hot so it's moving lot's more air at idle. I've got to admit, I did like the look of the electric fan but with such a small radiator opening it seems like we're fighting an uphill battle trying to get such a large volume of air moving fast enough with an electric fan to displace all the heat of the engine.

I'm looking into adding electric power steering to my 69 as well. My 2011 BMW 528I has electric power steering and I like it no matter what the magazines say. The electric conversion kits on the market are getting better every day and for me you can't beat a system that fits under the dash, doesn't sap engine power, won't interfere with headers or anything else in the engine compartment and won't require me to add a power steering pump, hoses, rack/steering box to my already tight engine compartment. Best of all is some of these kits are engineered to work with the Ididit steering columns. From everything I've heard from the companies doing these kits, they are adjustable and for people like me who already have a nice Flaming River manual steering box, you can dial in electric assist for low/parking lot speeds and still enjoy all the feel of the road that a good manual steering box provides.

Not exactly sure about the T5, but when I installed my TKO-500 the yoke that came with it had larger end caps for the u-joints than what the drive shaft did. I thought it was going to be a big problem but when I took the yoke and drive-shaft to NAPA they actually had the correct u-joint on the shelf that had two different size caps. So if they are two different sizes, I'd recommend taking the drive-shaft and yoke with you to the auto parts store and you may luck out like I did.

I put the biggest size/cfm electric fan I could fit into mine and it never kept the engine temps cool while idling in traffic it would always creep up and up. After several failed upgrade attempts, I wound up pulling it back out and installing a Flex-a-lite mechanical blade fan. Since then, I haven't had any more overheating problems.

I agree with Phils69, nothing better than gravity. Just drop the plug drain and fill. All the tiny metal particles from break in will either be in the filter or sitting in the bottom of the pan. A good magnetic drain plug or oil filter magnet isn't a bad idea if you don't use one already.

The two things you can do to make your bottom end stronger/more stable is to add splayed/4 bolt main caps and a stud girdle. Most engine builders will tell you that for a street rod, unless you plan on spinning it routinely above 6500 rpm's, make more than 550hp, or run 12-1 compression ratio, they won't do all that much as the older 351w blocks are pretty stout to begin with. The best thing you can do to ensure longevity is get your rotating assembly balanced and run a good harmonic balancer.

Congratulations on your new purchase. I've had mine going on 20 years now and they really are great cars. You can run any good quality motor oil conventional or synthetic (between 5w-30 up to 10w-40 although most use 10w-30). With the flat tappet camshafts I'd recommend a zinc additive as well to keep from wiping out a lobe. One of the easiest solutions is Lucas Engine Break-in Oil Additive ($14-$15 at most auto parts stores). You only need to use about 1/4 of the container for each oil change 4oz and not the entire 16oz jug. The label says not for passenger car use but that's a warning for late model vehicles so it won't damage the catalytic converter.

Any chance on of you could post some pictures, I was thinking about doing that upgrade as well.

I'd bet it's your tri-y headers scraping the ground every time you hit a decent bump as they hang down way below the frame rail or anything else up front. Most non Boss, or Mach-1's with a 302 or smaller engine came with just your standard 8" open differential and mostly 2.79 gears. That's not all bad though, as these little rear ends will take a pounding (with as light as Mustangs are you will usually break the tires loose long before you hurt the rear end or axles), unless you spend time at the track or really pound on a Manual Trans car they tend to last forever.

I think the Bosch Distance Plus filters are by far the best oil filters for the money. Mobil 1, K&N, Wix, Napa Gold, Bosch and Purolator PureONE are pretty good filters as well. For Oil, I'd say that Valvoline and Mobil 1 Synthetics are about the best reasonably priced ones out there. Royal Purple and Amsoil are very good but they aren't worth the price premium to me. Castrol is sneaky and used to advertise their Syntec as true synthetic when it's not so don't waste your money, and I've never forgiven Penzoil and Quaker State for the crap they were putting out 20-30 years ago so I can't give an honest opinion on their latest stuff. No matter what brand you use, if you stick to 3k conventional oil changes, and 12 month synthetic oil changes you should never have any type of oil related failure. Lastly, if your motor is still using a hydraulic flat tappet cam don't skip on a zinc additive or use a high zinc oil to protect the camshaft. (I used to use 1/4 of a quart of Lucas Engine Break in oil additive at each oil change before I upgraded to a hyd roller camshaft)

Sure enough, I just went out and read out the coil wiring harness for resistance, and 70mstang's right the resistor wire is part of the under dash wiring not the engine wiring harness. Thanks for the tip!

Got the Bezel today, it's a real quality piece and the radio fits nice and snug. Should have it installed tonight.

Congratulations, it's a great feeling to hear an engine you put together roar to life.

Ignition coils are filled with an oil like material to keep the windings cool, as they get old they tend to dry out, then overheat and go bad. If it was the original one I'd say 42 years is a pretty good lifespan. You may also want to replace the wiring harness from the firewall to the coil as well, as sometimes the resistive wire used to limit current through the points to the coil oxidizes and results in too low of a voltage to the coil that can kill them also and the entire harness is relatively inexpensive.

I lucked out and found a good used one on E-bay for $210. I don't have the wood-grain dash in my car but this may look good and actually break up the sea of black on the dash. If not I can always remove the wood-grain and paint that area black and still have the nice chrome edges that those cheap ABS ones don't have. Won't get it until mid next week and then I will post a few pictures of it once it's installed.