1982 Mustang #50

[Blue_69_malibu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9vaVq3 ... O1sOVzbYTg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dysBfft ... O1sOVzbYTg

A couple videos. I definitely need to fix the exhaust leak...

-BP

Sounds good indeed. The motor seems to rev quickly and freely....which is nice.

Do a lot of Ford guys mount the MSD box on the shock tower like that?

I also dig the overall vibe of the car. It gives me Pac Man Fever....but in a good way.

[Basement Paul]

I talked to Danny, the previous owner tonight. He got me info from his buddy that built the motor, so I know a little more about what I have.

It's a 1970 351C block out of a Cougar. The heads are from a 1972 4V Cobra Jet (all 4V's were called Cobra Jet) and had a 4V open chamber head. The motor is .030 over and 10.5:1 with Badger pistons. The cam is a Crane Fireball and is supposed to be the biggest one they made. I'm guessing it's still a hydraulic cam and since they don't make the Fireball anymore, the biggest one they make that would be similar is .588 / .595 and 250 / 254 @ .050, and should be good from 3600 - 7200. I'm not sure if it's that big or not, but it's probably not too far off.

It has a 3000 stall converter in it, although I haven't been able to test that yet. I peg the tires at about 14 years old, so they're pretty hard now and will probably get replace once it warms up (and I sell the Caddy). It does have 4.56 gears and 28 spline axles. He said it has a spool, but I don't believe him since there's no chatter around corners. I think it's a regular posi unit.

The crank is standard size and micro polished bla bla bla.

I'm guessing that since the motor was rebuilt about 8 years ago, that someone got wise and put hardened valve seats in the heads...

Tonight I ordered a distributor tune up for the MSD too.

-BP

[Fred32v]

1970 was the last year for soft valve seats.
Those 1972 heads have harder seats since lead was removed from gas after 1970.

[Basement Paul]

Dogs love hot rods.




-BP

[Basement Paul]

So today I screwed around with the Mustang some more. I adjusted the high speed idle on the choke down to about 1700 rpms (was at about 2k). I put a noticeably softer spring in the secondaries too.

Then I went after the distributor. I learned that the initial timing was set at about 35 BTC... no wonder it would barely start when it was warm. It also had a bushing in the distributor that would let it advance up to 21 deg more at higher RPM. SO it was WAY advanced all over the place. I also replaced the cap and rotor. Now for some reason the tach periodically jumps though. I hope that goes away on it's own.

So I put lighter springs in to bring the advance in sooner, I put a bushing in that would allow total advance of 28 degrees under RPMs, and I turned initial timing down to about 6 degrees BTC. This gives me about 34 deg total advance that comes in completely by about 3800. Now the car starts right up when it's warm, and idles better both in gear and neutral. I didn't get a chance to drive it though, but I can't imagine any issues.

I also learned that my 3000 stall converter is really a bone stock, 1500 rpm converter. I put it in gear, brake torqued it in the garage, and by 1500 rpms, the rears are spinning... that's a problem I'm going to have to remedy. I'll most likely go with the same TCI unit I have in the Caddy which is about 3000 stall, but still has good drivability. I used one also in the Trans Am that I liked.

I think I'll go down to the Canton swap meet next weekend and maybe find a 9" with a more streetable gear in it. I think a 3.73 would be ideal to make this a good all around cruiser and a lot more cruising friendly. I'm going to focus on making it a better driver and more reliable for the street, then if it's not fast enough at that point, I'll work to make it faster. I really don't think this motor is as hairy as advertised. I believe the 10:5 - 1 compression, but I think it's not too much more than a stock '70 cam.

More to come...

-BP

[Basement Paul]

I just finished ordering this:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tci-441300/overview/

I found it on Amazon for $451.13, and in case you didn't know, Summit does price match against Amazon which was sweet cuz I also just got a $25 off coupon in the mail from them...

Hopefully I'll get another coupon from them in the next week or two before I start buying tires. Those will get pricey.

-BP

[Blue_69_malibu]

[quote="Basement Paul"] I found it on Amazon for $451.13, and in case you didn't know, Summit does price match against Amazon which was sweet cuz I also just got a $25 off coupon in the mail from them...

Looks like we all got the same "cue pen" in the mail last weekend!

Hey - when you were tuning your carb, did you get a vaccuum gauge out at all? The largest Crane Fireball Cam would be struggling to make 10-11 inches of manifold vaccuum.

Then again, if you have power brakes that work and there's no add'l vaccuum boost on the car, I suppose it's a moot point. (Who get's the car, Reverend?)

[Fred32v]

Hey - when you were tuning your carb, did you get a vaccuum gauge out at all? The largest Crane Fireball Cam would be struggling to make 10-11 inches of manifold vaccuum.

It might be fun to see what a vacuum gauge says, to see what it is and how steady it is.
Just for grins.

[Blue_69_malibu]

I found it on Amazon for $451.13, and in case you didn't know, Summit does price match against Amazon which was sweet cuz I also just got a $25 off coupon in the mail from them...

Looks like we all got the same "cue pen" in the mail last weekend!

Hey - when you were tuning your carb, did you get a vaccuum gauge out at all? The largest Crane Fireball Cam would be struggling to make 10-11 inches of manifold vaccuum.

Then again, if you have power brakes that work and there's no add'l vaccuum boost on the car, I suppose it's a moot point. (Who get's the car, Reverend?)

How many times can I spell "vacuum" incorrectly in the same post?

[Basement Paul]

I'm pretty much in a holding pattern right now until A) the weather breaks some, and B) I get this Cadillac moved down the road. It takes up a bunch of real estate in the garage which makes it hard to work on anything. The cold weather has now just become annoying and not fun, not to mention how insanely coated the roads are with salt. Ugh. Oh well, I'll just keep gathering parts for now. Maybe I'll put a vaccuum gauge on it to see what's happening, but I'm betting there's lots of suction.

-BP

[GMJohnny]

Do you mean a "vahkyoum" gauge? ( Sorry, Tony, I had to! )

GM

[Basement Paul]

Here's a sweet vacuum:

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/pts/4361403474.html

-BP

[Blue_69_malibu]

Here's a sweet vacuum:

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/pts/4361403474.html

-BP

That's a tough call. Good price and conveniently located.

On the other hand, your motor could just be a cam, lifters, and valve springs away from being bad-ass w/o the blower.

Just to many unknowns at this point, I suppose.

And John....no worries. "You had the shot. You had to take it. You weren't below the hard deck for more than a few seconds. Jester's dead!"

[TireSmoker]

However bad-ass it would be with a new cam, it'd be exponentially more bad-ass with a blower. He's had plenty of forced induction motors before this.

DO THE DEAL!

-Dave

[Blue_69_malibu]

However bad-ass it would be with a new cam, it'd be exponentially more bad-ass with a blower. He's had plenty of forced induction motors before this.

DO THE DEAL!

-Dave

Assuming the short block and valve train can withstand a serious power adder, think about $450-ish vs. $1,800?

-THE ACCOUNTANT

Plan B: say to hell with it b/c we're over 40....and do both.