I'm Stoked!! Engine Time

[DRASTiK 22]

Hi gang,

 

I know it's been a while since I posted a progress update, but I have updated my album recently. The car is almost ready for paint after replacing most of the metal and busting my butt getting that aftermarket spoiler trunk lid to come remotely close to looking decent.:sweatdrop:

 

Anyways, just yesterday I got with Ford Strokers and put a deposit down on my new 347. TFS 190cc heads, custom roller cam, etc... Carb will probably be somewhere in the 780cfm range and intake will be an RPM Air Gap.

 

Car will see 90% street duty with occasional trips to the local 1/8 mile.

My goal is to enjoy driving this car, not set any land speed records.

Trans is a wide ratio top loader.

 

I'd like opinions from you all on the following:

Gears - I'm thinking a 3.50 gear (9" rear) should be a decent compromise between performance and drivability. If I want to take it on a long trip, then I'd like to do that without the engine screaming on the highway.

 

Tires - I'm planning on running a 16" or 17" wheel, but tire size hasn't been finalized yet. Want something that fills up the wheel well nicely. Car will have mideye leafs. Suggestions for tire sizes are also welcome.

 

Headers - I'm planning to run shorty's so that I don't have to mess with the clutch linkage. What size should I get though. 1 5/8, 1 3/4? Will have full 2.5" dual exhaust.

 

I've got some time to plan this accordingly, so I'm just looking to get my plan figured out.

 

Thanks in advance,

Dave

[Powershift 19]

Sounds like a good build plan!

 

As far as tires... there is probably a better selection of available tires sizes with 17's these days. As far as sizes, what look are you trying to achieve? How low will the car sit? Also, how will the car be used primarily?

 

For your 347 stroker I would think an 1-5/8" header would be fine. I'm going to run mid-length headers, to gain some ground clearance. They are sort of the mid performance range header between shorty and full lengths. You might want to consider them too.

[DRASTiK 22]

Wider tires in the rear (at least 245's) and probably something around a 225 or 235 in the front. Not sure about the height. I'm not interested in an EXTREMELY low profile that leaves a large gap between the tire and fender. I'm also not interested in stuffing the tallest tire I can find in there either, so something that leaves around an inch or so of clearance between the top of the tire and the fender would be good.

 

Car will have mideye leafs to drop the rear a little, and also have 1" lowering springs in the front. Would like to achieve a clean and mean look, but not an all out drag racing, shackeled up look.

 

Primary use will be on the weekends or when the weather is nice. In-town driving mostly, but occasional long trips aren't out of the picture either. Poker runs, and other events are likely as well.

 

Hadn't thought about mid-length headers. I'm just trying to avoid spending a fortune just to get some long tubes that'll work with the z-bar setup.

[chillininnh 21]

I like 3.50's for that combo myself. Definitely 17's for wide tire choice. Shorty or midlength headers for sure, I see no need to coax every HP out if it's not a drag car. Long tube headers can be a pain in the @ss. Gimme the ground clearance anyday. Good luck, just my 2 cents.

Edited March 21, 2012 by chillininnh

[69gmachine 15]

I guess it would depend on how often and how far those highway trips are. I would consider a 5 speed. For most of my driving, an OD with 3.70s is fine but when I drove cross country at around 80 mph for hours at a time through the desert, it was winding pretty high for my taste. I'm plannnig to drop down to 3.64s even with my OD. If I had a toploader I don't think I would go over 3:30s (not sure if they actually make that ratio).

[DRASTiK 22]

Thanks for the responses so far.

 

I should probably clarify a bit more about what I mean by long trips. I'm not considering any cross country trips or anything like that. The longest trip I can imagine would be less than 8 hours (trip to the beach or something) and that would be rare. Aside from those rare trips, the longest trip would be less than 2 hours one way.

 

I'm certainly not looking to squeeze every last bit of power out of it. I've been down that road before and driving a car like that in town gets old. I think Chillin and I are in agreement on this one. My number 1 priority is to enjoy driving the car. Any trips to the track will be for enjoyment only, not competition.

 

A 5 speed is something I'm certainly thinking about, but that would be down the road. I'd like to get the nostalgic experience of a top loader for a while before I make any tranny changes. My last 69 had a C-4 in it and I always wanted to drive one with a manual tranny, so here's my chance.

[Angel 24]

Definitely go with 17s. Our cars look good with them! Plus plenty of tire choices and they arent too expensive either. I dont know how big you want to go in the back in terms of width, but Ive got 275/40/18 tires in the back and I plan to go with a 285 next time. These cars look sooo good with wide rims and tires.

[Powershift 19]

A 5 speed is something I'm certainly thinking about, but that would be down the road. I'd like to get the nostalgic experience of a top loader for a while before I make any tranny changes. My last 69 had a C-4 in it and I always wanted to drive one with a manual tranny, so here's my chance.

 

If by "nostalgic experience" you mean doing 3,000 rpms at only 65 miles per hour, I'd skip it if possible. HA HA!

 

Nothing like spinning your motor at 3K for an hour... when a Toyota Prius zips past you at 75mph or faster, effortlessly. LOL

 

My Mach will be the second Top Loader 4 speed I pull from a Mustang in favor of a 5 speed. There really is NO negative to having on overdrive gear, aside from the additional expense of the swap. But, even that can be done cheap if a T5 trans will support your engine's power level. Used T5's can be bought for reasonable prices, and there are several options for clutch operation which aren't terribly expensive.

[DRASTiK 22]

Angel, I'd love to have 275's back there. Thanks for the tip.

 

PowerShift,

First off, thanks for your opinion and advice. I appreciate it! :thumbup1: I have no doubt that you're 100% right about the benefits of the 5 speed over the 4 speed with no drawbacks. It's very likely that I'll get tired of shifting that top loader sooner rather than later, but with my current engine purchase and the other things I have going on right now, a tranny swap is financially out of the question for the time being, along with disk brake conversions, new seats, steering wheel, and more. I have the top loader already. Once I get the car on the road, I'll move onto those items. If I wait until I complete my 'wish list' to put it on the road, I'll never drive it.:thumbdown:

[Powershift 19]

Aaaah, if you already have a Top Loader that's an entirely different deal! You will have fun with the 4 speed, that's for sure.

 

And, I totally know what you mean about budget being the boss of a build. I ended up selling my pride and joy 2003 Cobra to expedite the build time of my Mach.

[sportsroof69 13]

If you're going to run 1 5/8" headers, I wouldn't rule out long tubes. I had a set of cheap flowtechs on mine, and they cleared the Z bar with ease. It wasn't even the least bit of a problem. When I upgraded to 1 3/4", it was a different story. I realize you're not trying to squeeze everything out, but you'll see gains in fuel mileage, as well as performance with a better flowing exhaust.

 

I also ran a 3.50 gear, until my car started seeing more track duty, and I was happy with it. I drive my car a bunch, and it was a great compromise. Once you settle on a tire size, you can use the Wallace calculator, and it will tell you your exact RPM for any given speed.

 

 

If you're not going to do the track much, a T5 should be fine for you, as long as its on street tires. I think slicks would break it, and you can't hurt a toploader.

[DRASTiK 22]

Good info there. Thanks!

 

I don't suppose you still have those cheap flowtechs taking up space in your garage do you?

[sportsroof69 13]

Actually i do. They aren't very pretty though.

[buening 63]

Regarding tires I wouldn't get too caught up in the low profile thing. The larger the diameter rim the shorter the sidewalls will be. If you stick with roughly a 26" diameter tire you should be fine. Below is my 17" rims with 245/45 fronts and 315/35 on the back. I wouldn't recommend going that wide out back unless you want to modify the wheelhouses or get a bit of tirerub in the corners. The tires are 25.8" diameter for reference, and my suspension is stock height (but original so its likely sagged some). I plan on dropping everything by an inch or so yet.

 

[prayers1 153]

sportsroof69-Nice hook up at the track!!! Those are some tall slicks, what size are they. Also, do you have 15x10 w/a 5"bs?

[sportsroof69 13]

sportsroof69-Nice hook up at the track!!! Those are some tall slicks, what size are they. Also, do you have 15x10 w/a 5"bs?

 

Thanks. They're a 28X10.5.

[DRASTiK 22]

Thanks for the input guys.

 

The stance of Buening's ride is very similar to what I want. Not too high or too low, but somewhere slightly below stock height (with new springs). That wheel well gap is also about right for my taste.

 

I spent so much time with the wheel houses in this car (replacing, patching, or both) that I'm not interested in modifying them now that I finally got them looking right, so I doubt I'd try to put those wide meats back there (although they do look great). After hearing and seeing the input from members here, I'm thinking of going with the 17's and something around a 275/35 in the rear should get me what I want without any modifications to the car. You guys Rock!

 

As for gears, based on your experiences, I think I can manage with the 3.50 ratio at first and go from there. The expense of changing ring and pinion isn't too horrible for me as I install them myself and 9" gears are cheap compared to some others.

[DRASTiK 22]

Buening, did you have to do any modifications to fit the 245's on the front? Any rubbing? Wheel spacers? Backspacing?

 

Mother's maiden name? Date of your last menstrual cycle? Next of kin?

 

Shoot... I'm out of questions...

[Grabber70Mach 107]

IIRC it uses 99-04 Mustang wheel specs w/ 1" spacers in the front and 7/16" in the rear.

[buening 63]

I used 1" front adapters and 1/2" rear spacers. The rear spacers will be dependent on your wheel width, as you likely won't be using the 10.5" rims that I did.

[DRASTiK 22]

Thanks for the info. I didn't realize I could go as wide as a 245 in the front without modifying the car. I'm liking that idea A LOT!

[buening 63]

Yup, but be sure to stick with 8" wide rims up front and don't go with 9" ones.

[DRASTiK 22]

will do. I've still got a while before I purchase new wheels as the new engine pretty much drained my mustang fund for a little while. The current wheels are some old cragar's that have been painted over and that paint is now peeling to reveal chips and gouges. They're the old school 14" 5 spoke wheels. Not pretty, but they let me roll the car in and out of the shop just fine.