Not a honda question, but i dont know where to post it on here.

I have a 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe. I am leaning towards a black paintjob (its currently red), but i saw a non glossy silver and loved it. I cant really describe the silver though. Does anyone have any other suggestions or comments? I just think Black and chrome works together ...olds only tho

 

a non glossy silver? that strikes me in kind of a strange way but ill need you to describe that more. its just my personal preference that 64.5 - 66 Stangs dont look good in SILVER silvers.. maybe more of a pewter will look nicer if you want a silvery color. black looks bitchen on them but make sure you get a good bodyman to do it. nothing worse than an beach car ( lots of waves :P ). somethig along the lines of a Lexus RX300 kind of Gunmetal silver might look good on it too. it is a strong color with lots of flop ( at an angle it looks darker than it does when the sun hits it ) i think you are doing the right thing though when it comes to not painting it red.. i mean.. Fords Millionth Mustang was a 66 model one.... seems most of them are still on the road.. and most are red lol. im working on a 65 Stang too though.. its gonna be light blue though. ( hey its not my car... lol )

 

Thanks for the feedback. I think that it was a pewter silverish color, it wasnt gloss, but it wasnt flat. Kinda like brushed aluminum, but not that flat. What are you doing in terms of power? Mine came with a 200 inline 6 (which actually was, sadly, an upgraded motor - it came with something smaller). Im ditching that in favor of a 351 Cleavland. Looks like a rebuild is my best bet, and cheaper. I dont think the 351c's came out till a few years later, so i might encounter a few mount problems. Also im looking to ditch the auto, but the manual trannys seem rare for a 65. Know anything on that 1? thanks

-Mike

 

yeah chances are that the engine came with a 170 in it... the car that im working on right now has one in it.. its pretty damn slow lol. that car isnt mine im just working on it for someone. the plans for that one are to keep it stock because besides the paint its really original and it runs really well. hell it even has working AC... GREAT working AC .. puts most new cars to shame.

the 351 Cleveland came out in 1970 and is actually a pretty big engine dimension wise. i wouldnt really advise putting that into a 65 because of the lack of room in the engine bay. personally if it was mine i would look for a 351 Windsor. thats whats powering my Cougar ( 69 Cougar.. hence the screen name here ). the 351W is the same size as a regular small block ( 260/289/302 ) from the heads down but is about 2 inches wider at the heads. ( due to a taller deck ). youll need special headers to get it in there but it will physically fit in there. being as its a 6 cylinder car it has the stock 4 lug front and rear suspension that will actually need to be upgraded as well to handle the extra weight of a 351 ( or 302 for that matter ). as long as you are at it a set of Granada disc brakes will be a good upgrade as well. ( betting that your car has drums.. i have yet to see a 6 banger with discs ) the V8 front suspension is probably the hardest part of the conversion really. finding an 8 inch or 9 inch rear end ( stronger and 5 lug axles as well.. ) isnt that hard to get especially the 8 inch version. alot of people get rid of those and install a 9 inch rear end. its not necessary for a 9 inch right away but when you start making some serious power its a good thing to have. As far as manual trannys for these cars alot of the Mustang vendors still have new parts of the linkages around and they should be able to help you find the clutch pedal assembly as well. the aftermarket has kits that will allow you to swap in a T-5 tranny out of a late model Mustang if you so choose. thats not bad as it will even give you an overdrive gear. factory 4 speeds are kind of hard to find though but they are out there. ( the prices for a conversion for a 4 or 5 speed are roughly the same.. so why not get a 5? ) if you want an auto a C4.. FMX and some C6s will bolt up to the 351W. ( 351 Clevelands as well ). 351Ws arent TOO hard to find. 69 - 73 are the best years for them and seeing as they are related to the other Ford small blocks ( 260/289/302 ) there is a large aftermarket following for them too. they can be bored and stroked as well with 393 and 408 kits widely available ( they can take up to a 427 bore/stroke but its not reccomended for the street... they tend to burn oil at that point ) there are tons of cams and aftermarket heads out there for that engine whereas there are virtually no aftermarket heads for the Cleveland ( lots of cams for those though )

whew... ok that was alot to say but if you have anymore questions let me know. a buddy of mine did a 6 cyl to V8 swap on his 64 Falcon ( essentially the same car mechanically as the Mustang ).

-Steve

 

Thanks again for that info. A front disc conversion is undobtedly needed for where im going with this. A bit pricey, but still affordable (most ive seen are around 1200) for a new kit. This is a planned 3 year project, so i should have enough time to find and get everything worked out to keep in my time bracket. Could i get any info on the 6 to 8 conversion on that falcon? It would be much appreciated. Thanks again.

-Mike

 

Just thought id post a pic. This was before it was brought down where i live.

-Mike

 

the car looks to be in pretty good shape from there. so thats a start.... my buddy said that he had to get different motor mounts.. tranny mounts.. a different driveshaft ( junkyard parts car should have one easy... ) rear end... ( same parts car.. they are normally left on those cars ). this disc brake setup off of a Junkyard Granada ( youll need the outer tie rods for that as well but the spindles bolt on to the existing Mustang stuff-- stock wheels wont clear the hubs on the Granada stuff though.. might be able to pick the Grananda rims too.. all in all that can be done for under $500 if you can find a decent parts car ). some of the steering parts had to be changed.. i think it was the centerlink parts.. once again.. find a decent parts car and that will all be on it. other than the obvious engine and tranny i dont think there was anything else. the gauges i think are the same for the V8 and 6s.. they all have floor shifters but i think V8s had different ones for their trannys. coil springs are different... control arms too i think. basically its gonna be a whole rebuilt front end. not that big a deal as it seems. so basically

- rebuild the front end with V8 spec parts ( about $500 for the kit i think )
- Granada disc brake upgrade ( $200 - $500 for the parts.. rotors and calipers are Pep Boys parts need be.. dirt cheap there )
- steering centerlink ( not sure on price.. they are reproduced though )
- Rear end ( about $150 at the local pick a part.. complete )

its not really that hard to do.. about the same as any domestic engine conversion but some people whine about it more when it comes to the suspension parts.. but hell.... any other car really should be upgraded when doing the same as well. let me know if you need to know anything else... i need some coffee lol

 

Man your beign a great help on this one. I havent really taken the time to research, look, anc price any of this out, ive been really buisy and lazy since i got it a few months back. Someone suggested that for the engine swap, i get a early ford truck with the 351. It would be really cheap, and i would just rebuild it. I think i could work with the mounts, or just fabricate them. For the rear end, im not sure yet. But i think im going to take your advice on the front brakes. Sounds like a good plan, alot cheaper than buying the 1200 conversion kit.

Oh, the car looks ok on the outside, but the inside is complete shit. Ive allready stripped out all the old moldy interior junk (i think this car has seen a lake...there was sand under everything, and there wasnt one part that wasnt watersoaked and moldy). I also found out that the car has been cheaply painted more times than i wanted to count. The last coat (red) was a paper thin coat with no primer, and what appears to be no clearcoat, just the OEM baby blue paint underneath. Thats the least of my worries now, id rather have a nasty car the drives good than a beautiful car that wont move an inch.

What do you think about the ford truck though? Ye or Nea? thanks

-Mike

 

hmm it depends on the Ford Truck. if its from the 70s make sure that its a Cleveland in it and not a 351M 400M. those were thrown into a whole bunch of trucks and its really not a motor that is great for HiPo duties even though its somewhat similar to a Clevelan. if the truck has a 351W in it it might be alright. you can still find a 351W at a junkyard without TOO much trouble though and i dont know about where you are but it might be cheaper to do it that way. plus you wont have to dispose of a whole truck after that too. ( ive parted out cars before.. getting rid of whats left is the hardest part ). the tranny in the truck ( depending on engine ) is most likely a FMX or a C6 if it has a 351 in it ( Cleveland.. Windsor.. M ...either or ) the rear end in the truck MIGHT be helpful as some of the trucks got a large bearing 9 inch that would take just about any abuse you can throw at it. it will be way too wide though for your car so youll need to send it out to get it shortened and worked. all in all i say that youll probably be better off getting all of the parts you need seperate. but hey... it depends what you can find out there. if you can find a truck for free or damn near it that might be to your benefit. i wouldnt spend more than $500 on the whole truck though.. just my thoughts

 

Thanks for that info, i have abetter idea of what too look for in the truck...i just dont know where to look.