66 mustang cheap autocrosser

[slimbailess]

ok, so I know it's a Ford, but my father-in-law bought it years ago just for the top-loader 4 speed that was in it, which he then pulled and sold. he then parked the car out in a field and left it there "because a six cylinder car isn't worth anything". don't know how long it's been sitting, but when I asked him about it he told me I could have it....FREE! so, I talked my wife into letting me bring it home and have been collecting parts and researching mustangs for ideas...the body is not too bad, other than lots of surface rust, and a waffle left rear quarter and the usual floor pan rust from sitting with windows cracked. but, since I am planning on running autocross with it, I figure I don't need a perfect body, just one thats ok....

[slimbailess]

ok, so I have a six cylinder 66 mustang that hasn't run in years, and the interior is full of rat stuff...so, I pull the motor and take it to the scrap yard then start to work on the inside...I pull as much as I can out of the interior, take it to the car wash and vacuum it out, take it back home, clean out some more and repeat...took about 4 trips to the car wash vacuum to get everything out, the reason why was the 10" long rat (not including tail) that had taken up residence in the car...never did find him again after I saw him the first time, but thats ok, I didn't want to shoot into the car....after I got seats and all out of the inside, I found a wrecked Ranger for sale...I decided to buy it and use what parts I could on the Mustang and sell the rest...it had a 3.55 geared 8.8 rear axle, and 4 aluminum wheels with nearly new BFG T/A radials, 14's tho...I also found a vendor that has a kit to use the Ranger rotors on Mustangs to convert to disc brakes...so far I have swapped the rear axle over, and installed some v8 spindles I bought off a friend of mine who was selling them with a falcon he had, and have started removing the poor bodywork from left rear quarter....who knew a 7 inch grinder with a wire wheel was so good at removing bondo? will post more pictures tomorrow, they are on camera, without a card..amazing the difference a little shiny can make in the looks of a car! anyway, I think it looks a lot better, even if they are Ranger wheels...

[screamin_c10]

Thats some sweet patina... I feel your pain on the floor pans, just pulled mine out the box and asked myself why am I doing this again?

[71swb4x4]

I say throw the steel wheels back on it, leave the body the way it is, and drop a cobra 4.6 in it, brand new suspension, decent interior, and drive the wheels off it! (Easier said than done!)

I love the car. You will have fun with it. I have a 66 6 cylinder in high school, FUN car. That little 200 could push it around just fine.

[Zoomin]

Looks like a cool project. What's the story on the truck in the background?
Posted via Mobile Device

[884x4Sub]

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[slimbailess]

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Looks like a cool project. What's the story on the truck in the background?
Posted via Mobile Device

look on the 46 and earlier project page, info is there

[slimbailess]

Originally Posted by 884x4Sub

.....

cool car, don't know if mine will go quite that far, looks like a lot of custom bodywork....

[67ChevyRedneck]

This is a pretty sweet idea. You got me thinking and then I saw this on ebay last night and it made me think of my basketcase firebird... maybe I can just get it nice enough to make it look like an old patina racer? For anyone who thinks it would be sacrilig to do that to a 67 firebird... my car should be scrapped

I think your car would look sweet in a flat blue or black with white or gray stripes and a number on the door.

[slimbailess]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

This is a pretty sweet idea. You got me thinking and then I saw this on ebay last night and it made me think of my basketcase firebird... maybe I can just get it nice enough to make it look like an old patina racer? For anyone who thinks it would be sacrilig to do that to a 67 firebird... my car should be scrapped

I think your car would look sweet in a flat blue or black with white or gray stripes and a number on the door.

thats kinda what I am thinking, I plan on painting it black for now, remove all interior plastic other than the dash, and then painting the interior white like a modern Nascar....

[slimbailess]

few pics I had on my camera....swapping the ranger axle in for the 4 lug one and the rear quarterduring bondo removal....

[slimbailess]

akso, without taking pictures, I traded the ranger 4.0 and trans for a 302 and c4 combo out of a 79 granada....the guy had gotten the granada to use the brakes and rear axle in his 67 mustang, and had a ranger with the same motor, so it was an even swap...tell you what, having a tractor sure makes swapping motors easy...also, was heading to San Antonio on friday and ran across a store called Mustang Mania, and was able to score a better hood, some headers, and a few front end parts for my mustang...pics of motor coming tomorrow....

[slimbailess]

pics of motor installed, I know its not pretty, but just need to get it all in right now....got the drive shaft rebuilt and installed, was able to make granada auto shifter work I think, and going to put plugs back in and try to wire it tomorrow....still have to find pulleys to line everything up, chevys I know what to look for, fords I don't....hopefully I can find something in the wrecking yard, don't want to buy new stuff...got my hood on, and was able to put the front wheels on and set it on the ground...still need to buy more parts for the front brakes, and had to order two inner tie rod ends last night, as the ones I had were the wrong ones....hoping the outers will work...and later on I will buy #620 springs for the front, and probably reverse eyes for the rear...but for now, I am planning on starting on body and paint tomorrow if my compressor comes alive...also, hoping to finish removing the rest of the interior and start painting it too....

[narx66gmc]

Looks awesome with those wheels!! please dont paint it...

[slimbailess]

well, spent several hours on the mustang the other day, and made several trips to the auto parts store and the wrecking yard, and was able to get the motor to crank and run for a few seconds.....still need a radiator, and I need to replace the fuel pump so I can make it run a bit longer, but at least my wiring is running the right direction....always been a chevy guy and the duraspark ignition from the granada is a different animal, but I guess I should have searched on the internet more before I cut wires in the granada....turns out I cut a few I needed....uh-oh....mistakes cost you money, but at least I'm heading the right direction.....then, I also realized during this action that I had no keys, so I had to pull the dash apart to get to the ignition switch.....good thing I did, at some time, either now or before I got it, there was a wire that got shorted out and melted coming off the ignition switch....so now I will be rewiring at least part of the car....but, the fact that the engine ran means I will at least be able to move it....good day over all....

[Beetle]

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[andrewmp6]

With the coil make sure it mounted level or if its at a angle make sure the poles are not pointing up that can kill the coil fast.Do you have any plans to brace the car like sub frame connectors or maybe a shock tower bracing kit?

[slimbailess]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

With the coil make sure it mounted level or if its at a angle make sure the poles are not pointing up that can kill the coil fast.Do you have any plans to brace the car like sub frame connectors or maybe a shock tower bracing kit?

yes, I plan on subframe connectors and a cage in the future, just have to wait on that a bit

[andrewmp6]

For subframe connectors look at tinmanfabrication.com his look stock once welded in and painted.Strongest is probably globalwest.net they have a rocker rail kit you can use with there subframe connectors to tie it fully in.

[slimbailess]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

For subframe connectors look at tinmanfabrication.com his look stock once welded in and painted.Strongest is probably globalwest.net they have a rocker rail kit you can use with there subframe connectors to tie it fully in.

thanks, all work has ceased on the car right now, had to go back to work so I could pay for everything....be a couple months before I can get on it again....life is getting in the way of my playtime!!!

[rcbildr]

Originally Posted by slimbailess

thanks, all work has ceased on the car right now, had to go back to work so I could pay for everything....be a couple months before I can get on it again....life is getting in the way of my playtime!!!

Bummer...a friend of mine would always say, "life is what happens when you make other plans."

Nice project!!!!

[slimbailess]

no pictures just yet, but I have managed to make the granada motor run...pulled valve covers and oil pan, took it to the car wash and washed years of neglect out of the motor...bought a performer intake and holley 600 carb, added hei ignition, and just put the four piston K-H brakes on it... tomorrow, I finish bleeding the brakes and start on seat mounting, (I bought two low back poly seats, just because I am thrifty) and see if it will motivate...I have to swap out the shift lever in the tranny, because the one I have is for a column shift, but might rig a shifter for now. the motor does have lots of blowby, but sounds crisp....more pics and a video tomorrow...btw, when you are working on something like this, it will nickel and dime you staright to the poorhouse!!!!LOL

[slimbailess]

ok pics as promised...cant really see the work, but the motor runs good with its new carb and intake, tho still need to do some more tuning...I got the trans linkage rigged and was going to drive it on the trailer, until I put it in gear and the pinion hit the floor board....high idle, good brakes and loose housing equal bad things....i was going to put it on trailer anyway, so I went ahead and loaded it and backed it up where I can weld the axle down...oh yeah, got some new wheels too, took lots of searching to find something affordable

[67ChevyRedneck]

Do you have any bigger pics?

What wheels did you go with, size and backspacing, and tire size if you don't mind? The look cool in the little pics

I have the $ saved up, but I can't find a set of wheels I love enough to spend 1,200-1,500 on new wheels/tires.

[slimbailess]

[QUOTE=67ChevyRedneck;6220956]Do you have any bigger pics?

What wheels did you go with, size and backspacing, and tire size if you don't mind? The look cool in the little pics

I have the $ saved up, but I can't find a set of wheels I love enough to spend 1,200-1,500 on new wheels/tires.[/QUO


17x7 Silver Alloy Ion Style 625 Wheels 5x4.5 +0 FORD MUST... backspace is 4" ...I got them off ebay, from eliteswheels...the tires are 245/45/17 rear, 205/40/17 front...I was kinda limited on tires, cause I just got what my local tire shop had used...I tried to resize the pic and also get pics of wheels, but I am having trouble...did find eliteswheels on ebay, set of 4 $574 with free shipping