My 1965 Mustang Coupe (Project Thunder)

[72mach1]

So here's the starting point on my new project car.

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First step is rust repair, changing the color to the new sterling grey with black shelby stripes, removing the luggage rack (so not cool), putting on a new low rise hood and wheel flairs.

It's in for paint now, then it'll be time to start the fun stuff, performance upgrades!

[72mach1]

Here are a couple in progress pics from the body work.

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I'm looking for some suggestions on power adders and suspension if anyone has any thoughts. Already have the usual suspects planned, carb, cam, intake manifold, headers, 2 1/2" exhaust, electronic ignition.......

Brian

[joe5.8]

Find a wrecked 03-04 cobra and use all the parts

depending how much u want to spend i would even use the IRS with some Fab work

[srh3trinity]

Where did the flares come from? They look great, do you have some for the front too?

[72mach1]

Thanks. The flairs are front and back and they are from mustang depot. They're actually made to use with the side skirts from their E2 kit, but I just want the flairs so I'm trying to make them work, we'll see.

[Wesley J]

Rear Suspension: I cant help with the rear as I didnt think any of the setups on the market in my price range were very well designed so I built my own. You can check out by build (link in my sig) for ideas though

Front Suspension: I went with the Fatman Strut IFS kit. Again, you can check it out in my build. Quite happy with it on the road. Installation and overall design is below par for the cost. I'll have a full review with details in the suspension subforum one of these days.

Cheers,

Wes

[72mach1]

The body work and paint are supposed to be done on Wednesday, then it's getting the new cam, carb, intake, distributor, headers and exhaust. Can't wait to see what it looks like with the new sterling gray!

[72mach1]

Here are the wheels that are going on it. Just arrived today.

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[72mach1]

Just finished with paint. Sterling grey with black shelby strips. Also has the low rise hood and wheel flairs installed. What do you guys think?

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[John Wright]

I love the smell of fresh paint in the morning...looks great...nice and shiny.

[fordrule]

looks awesome

[67 ls1 vert]

hey brian, did you paint inside the trunk area too? car looks much better now. good job.

[72mach1]

Yes, the underneath of the trunk lid got base and clear, the trunk floor got just base. Also under the new fiberglass hood, the finished edges got clear, unfinished got just base. I'll be taking a couple more pics over the weekend and posting them.

Question, I have a 3 spd manual trans and I'm guessing the 8" 2:80 open rear end. How can I confirm? Assuming that is correct, at highway speeds the engine sounds like it's redlining at about 60mph. Whats a better gear ratio for performance off the line but good freeway cruising also? Any feedback on the trans? Is it worth swapping out, what are the pros and cons and what should I go with if I do?

Thanks. Brian

[blown9746]

definitely swap out the trans. If you are on a budget you could find a t5 out of a 5.0 mustang cheap. That will drop your cruising rpm a lot and then you could go up to a 3.55 or 3.73 posi rear. Would make a huge difference off the line and cruising too

[srh3trinity]

I like the color combo. With the old hubcaps on, the car looks like it still has some manners. With the new wheels and tires, it is going to be a whole different beast.

[MSTSFabbed]

Get rid of that 3 speed if you can. Mine was straight junk. I'm running a 93 T5 (for the record the 83 to 92s IIRC bolt right up to a 289 NOT the 93 :( ) I have a 3.00 rear gear and it now pulls 70 at 2000 RPM in 5th. Massive massive difference plus a much deeper 1st. I'm planning to upgrade to 3.80s because its now too low haha.

Check your id tag on your axle and I'm sure you can google it and find whats in it, if you don't have a manual or something. Car looks good!!

[67cougnut]

Get rid of that 3 speed if you can. Mine was straight junk. I'm running a 93 T5 (for the record the 83 to 92s IIRC bolt right up to a 289 NOT the 93 :( ) I have a 3.00 rear gear and it now pulls 70 at 2000 RPM in 5th. Massive massive difference plus a much deeper 1st. I'm planning to upgrade to 3.80s because its now too low haha.

Check your id tag on your axle and I'm sure you can google it and find whats in it, if you don't have a manual or something. Car looks good!!


why wont 93 t-5's bolt up to a 289? as long as its a 6 bolt 289 then any t-5 should work as long as your using the correct bell housing or the stock bell housing with an adapter. the 94-95 t-5's had longer input shafts and you need to use caution when using those. ive seen guys use the standard t-5 adapter on there old 4spd bell housing and then they cant figure out why the gear box wont bolt all the way on.

[Bryce]

for front suspension ideas check out my thread in my signature.

Car is looking good. I always like seeing another ford.

[MSTSFabbed]

67cougnut- The 93s also have the longer input shaft I believe. Its quite possible I have my years wrong as its been a while since I did my research. I was told mine was a late 80s, put it in and it bottomed out in the pilot bearing with about a half inch left. Im running the adapter on it now and it works fine.

[67cougnut]

Here are the wheels that are going on it. Just arrived today.

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are those the torque thrust m wheels?

[72mach1]

Thanks for the input guys. The t5 sounds pretty good.

The wheels are a set that look like the Torque Thrust M's I found on ebay. Everything about them is about the same but the center caps.

[72mach1]

Another question. Looking for some input on rear ends. If I go with the t5 I want to up the gears for better highway driving but not give up too much off the line. Am I better off to get an entire new rear end? If so, what's the best set up for someone that's budget conscious? And will these be bolt in replacements and let me keep existing drive shaft, etc.....Currently I have the original 289 (unfortunately not a hi-po) with I believe a 2:80 ratio 8" open rear. I'm leaning towards a whole new rear just to move from open to locking. Thanks, Brian.

[705.0Merc]

Nice car. My buddy has a '66 with a 9 inch rear end. He has 3.55 rear gears and a Tremec tko 600. He cruises very well on the freeway. I have a Tremec 3550 which is much stronger than a t5. It holds up very well to my turbocharged 5.0. The Tremec tranny's have really dropped in price over the years. As for a power adder I recommend a turbocharger to anyone. I will never do anything else on my car.

[72mach1]

So what started out as a few power adders has turned in to so much more. The engine's pulled and the blocks on its way to the machine shop to get cleaned up. Apparently the engine's never been touched since 65 and maintenance hasn't been great because there was a huge sludge build up in the block and oil pan. Getting that all cleaned up and some new rings put it. Also found out the radiators leaking so I'm replacing that with a stock unit. Updated pics closer to the end of the month. Brian

[MSTSFabbed]

Haha were in the same exact boat man!

With the T5 you'll have to shorten the drive shaft a few inches (pretty cheap and the T5 is totally worth it).

I'm running an 8'' open rear with 3.00s (also behind a 289)and its STUPID low on the freeway- 80mph turning 2100rpm= downshifting at every hill. With the over drive, I wouldn't go under 3.55s and I plan to run 3.80s. Thatll give you a stout 1st gear (maybe more than you want, I dunno) And a posi is always better than open, I just personally can't afford it yet.

Sounds like weve got pretty dang similiar set ups!

[72mach1]

That's great. Did you keep a thread of your build? I'd love to check it out.

[MSTSFabbed]

Naw I haven't. I feel like it might be decent enough to do one now haha. I'll have to scrape together some pics if I do.

If youre looking for something specific I can probably send it to you.:twothumbs

[72mach1]

So here are some better pics of the starting point. Finally figured out how to host them instead of thumbnails.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

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[72mach1]

Also, just a quick update. Cars in the shop, engine is out and going to the machine shop to be bored 30/1000's over.

Just got this in the mail today for when it gets back.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[MK70]

Looks like you started with a fairly solid car there. It's looking good. How radical do you want to go with the suspension? You can go with a (relatively) inexpensive suspension like Opentracker, Global West, or Street or Track. Or you can go with a completely different suspension like Martz or Griggs Racing for much more. I get the feeling you plan to go with more stock type suspension upgrades. One other option is the Air Ride stuff. Of course, if you're a handy fabricator, you could fab up your own stuff like some others on the forum have done. Look around, there's plenty to choose from. Take your time and do your research. Good luck!

[72mach1]

Thanks Kenny. Yeah, I'm looking to improve handling from stock, but probably more mild upgrades on this one. I'll wait til the next one for anything major. This is my first serious attempt at a resto and modifications so I thought I'd start out more basic. Then I'll probably rip it apart again in a year or two to start over! haha!

Well, no updates this weekend. My wrenching was limited to a new fuel filter, air filter and cleaning the carb on my son's pocket bike! There's always next weekend.

Brian

[72mach1]

It's finally back from the shop. Here's what's been done so far:

Hedman Headers with 2 1/2" dual exhaust
Proform HEI Distributor
MSD Plug wires
Stock replacement radiator
Bored .030 over with new valve job
Edelbrock Performer Intake
Holley Street Avenger 670 with vac secondaries and electric choke
Holley chrome air cleaner
Lunati Voodoo .522 lift cam

I also had the engine painted azcast and black.

Pictures coming shortly. I've got the new front wheels on and I'll finish up the rears tomorrow night. Got to drive it a while tonight. Definitely runs stronger, but I'm open to suggestions for more power adders? I'm thinking supercharger.......

[navyflyer72]

Nice build, I'll definitely be following this. I have always loved the lines of these Pony cars, can't wait to see her at final ride height with the wheels installed. Any upgrade ideas for the interior? rollbars, harness, buckets, etc?

Lookin great, keep the updates coming!:)

[latamud]

67cougnut- The 93s also have the longer input shaft I believe. Its quite possible I have my years wrong as its been a while since I did my research. I was told mine was a late 80s, put it in and it bottomed out in the pilot bearing with about a half inch left. Im running the adapter on it now and it works fine.

You're thinking of the 94-95 T5, with the different length input shaft. It was the last two years on the 5.0 in a Mustang, the SN-95 body. Easy to remember, fox bodies went to 93, so 93 and earlier fit. Now, the 94-95 will bolt up fine if you use the 94-95 bellhousing, but the driveshaft/trans crossmember need more attention.

[latamud]

It's finally back from the shop. Here's what's been done so far:

Hedman Headers with 2 1/2" dual exhaust
Proform HEI Distributor
MSD Plug wires
Stock replacement radiator
Bored .030 over with new valve job
Edelbrock Performer Intake
Holley Street Avenger 670 with vac secondaries and electric choke
Holley chrome air cleaner
Lunati Voodoo .522 lift cam

I also had the engine painted azcast and black.

Pictures coming shortly. I've got the new front wheels on and I'll finish up the rears tomorrow night. Got to drive it a while tonight. Definitely runs stronger, but I'm open to suggestions for more power adders? I'm thinking supercharger.......

A simple power adder would be a centrifical supercharger. For your build I recommend a Paxton, Vortech or Powerdyne. I think a Procharger would be overkill.
I see you already replaced the radiator for a new stock replacement. I would have upgraded to an aluminum cross flow to help cool the engine better, especially after adding a power adder.

Before going fast, you want to be able to stop fast, so I'd look at upgrading the brakes first. With those 17" rims you can stuff 13" rotors on there. Street or Track has a nice setup and Mustang Steve as well, both reuse the drum hub, supply adapter brackets and you can run 13" Cobra brakes on stock spindles.
Suspension, Call John Dinkel at Opentracker Racing Products, 831-659-0688, leave a message and he'll get back to you, he's a great guy and won't oversell you anything more than what you want to use your car for. My guess, daily driving and occasional spirited driving/street warrior. As him about roller spring perches and roller idler kit. He'll even send you a Shelby drop template free.
Rear suspension, if you want to try something wild Dave at DVS Resto has a simple Cobra IRS swap kit. It's $1600 complete last I checked, and you can get a Cobra IRS dropout for around $500 locally. Well, I picked up 4 last year, spent $1925 for all 4 from various sellers.
I don't do kits much, like to do it myself.

My builds (in progress):
yellow 66
408 Clevor, Vortech S-trim, Viper T56, 03 Cobra IRS, FMS 3.73 gears, Detroit Locker, Opentracker Racing design front suspension, 13" custom disc brakes, 03 Cobra 17x9's with 275/40 front and rear, fender flares front and rear, 20 gal fuel cell. I can cruise 80 mph at around 2000 rpm in 6th gear with the 3.73s.
http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/latamud/vehicles/7313

blue 66
03 Cobra 4.6 w/ Eaton blower, Cobra T56, Cobra IRS, 03 Cobra front suspension, 96 Vert Chassis.
http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/latamud/vehicles/36397

[72mach1]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Latamud - As soon as I bought the stock replacement, I knew I should have gone with the aluminum upgrade. I'll eventually make the switch. Thanks for the input, I've been thinking about the roller spring perches at Open Tracker. I'll definitely give him a call.

I've been following your build as well. Incredible!

[72mach1]

Navyflyer - Sorry, missed your question about the interior. I'm not planning anything to major. I'll probably mount a stereo somewhere I don't have to cut the dash, looking for bucket seats and add a tach. No cage at this point. I'm thinking the next one will be the race car.

[72mach1]

Ok, here are some pics. First one is a front shot of the engine with mods described above.

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Second one is a side shot of the engine.

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Last one is a tough angle to shoot the new front wheel. Tight garage, best I could do.

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[MSTSFabbed]

Latamud- You right! Thanks, I couldn't remember what years were what, just that I ended up with the WRONG one haha!

[72mach1]

So I've been working on changing out the wheels. Pulled the old, cleaned up and painted a little.

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After:

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[72mach1]

What do you guys think? I liked the rear, but need to drop the front a little I think to get the stance right.

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[72mach1]

Ran into a problem on the first drive after the wheel change. The passenger side rear is rubbing.

The drivers side has plenty of clearance:

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But the passengers side is about a 1/2 to 1" lower and rubbing:

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Being new to some of this, what do you think would be causing it? Bad shock?

Edit: Found out the passenger side front and rear are about a 1/4" lower at the top of the wheel well than the driver's side. Didn't notice it on the front at first because there was no interference.

[bamadale]

very nice mustang!

[72mach1]

Thanks Bamadale.

So, I bought a 3 hole shackle kit to try to raise the passenger side to stop the rubbing. First I had to try to get off the 45 year old shackle that was on there, 2 hours later it was off! Then I placed the new shackle to check fit, too long. Cut it down to find out the nuts and bolts that came with it don't thread correctly and I couldn't move the leaf spring without unbolting the u bolts and shock. While removing the shock the bolt snapped, so I had to rip apart the back seat to get the shock out. Long story short, I went from a complete car to one that's torn apart in the garage over the course of the weekend. Can someone remind me why I wanted an old car again???:)

[srh3trinity]

See the above pics that you posted. New cars don't have that much soul or cool factor.

[latamud]

Ran into a problem on the first drive after the wheel change. The passenger side rear is rubbing.

The drivers side has plenty of clearance:
But the passengers side is about a 1/2 to 1" lower and rubbing:

Being new to some of this, what do you think would be causing it? Bad shock?

Edit: Found out the passenger side front and rear are about a 1/4" lower at the top of the wheel well than the driver's side. Didn't notice it on the front at first because there was no interference.

So the driver's side front and rear is 1/4 higher than the passenger side? My guess is the driver's side front coil spring up top is hung up on the upper perch under the shock tower. There is a 1/2" lip than is supposed to center the spring but if it doesn't seat correctly that lip can ride on top of the coil spring causing that side to ride higher.
Be careful if this is the case. I've nearly lost a finger a few times trying to get mine set. My coils are cut so short they fall out of place when I lift the car up.

The car looks way better than when you started. I enjoy starting with a good clean foundation like yours, so much potential. RESEARCH RESEARCH RE-Search.

[72mach1]

True about the old cars being cooler.

The springs in the front look to be seated correctly, but I have the shackle kit and new shocks on. That seems to have given me the clearance needed. No more rubbing on the tire!

I am having a heck of a time getting the choke and idle adjusted, but it's close. Pictures coming soon.

[72mach1]

So it's been a while since my last post, but the short version of the story is that the shackle kits alone didn't work. Needed to order new leaf springs because the old ones were shot. I also got a rendering done to show where I'm heading. I've attached it for everyone to take a look.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Since my last post I have added a monte carlo bar:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Also upgraded to a 1" sway bar:

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More to come.

[72mach1]

Now onto the leaf springs. I ended up having to pull the old ones, which required cutting through the front bolts with a sawzall. The hung new leaf springs with new ubolts and hardware all around.

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But I have to admit, I did have a helper:

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And here's how it turned out. What do you think, am I getting close to the rendering?

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[72mach1]

Finally got some more done to the stang. The driver's side at least.

In this pic, you see the pilot holes for the shelby drop:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Now the open tracker roller spring perch installed:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

The 1" drop spring going in:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Finally with the wheel back on:

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

So, I know there will be some settling, anyone have any ideas how much? I installed new KYB shocks also and put new polyurethane coil spring pads in. Now I just have to get the passenger side done. Next weekend hopefully. Ignore the ugly drum brakes, I didn't bother painting them because I'm planning to switch to front discs.

[1red68]

Nice! It looks good. Keep it up!

[Bryce]

i think my front settled about 1". Is it aligned yet? whats the static camber? Roll the car around and it will also help settle. If I lift the front end of mine, I need to bounce on it a little to get the front end back to ride height.

Looks good!

[72mach1]

Thanks guys.

Bryce,

I've only got the driver's side done so far, passenger side next week then aligned. Thanks for the info on settling.

Brian

[72mach1]

Got the passenger side done this weekend. Took it for a quick spin and after getting it rolling it settled in quick. I've got about an inch above the wheels now. I'll get some new photos soon. Can't wait for the alignment to really see how it feels.

[hightower2011]

Very cool project, looking to go about the same route as you with my '68 coupe. Keep up the great work!

[ProTouringCuda]

I did the shelby drop on mine, plus did 1" lowering springs. I had to massage the front of the fender for clearance on turns, but all-in-all I'm happy with the stance.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/11/100_1615-1.jpg

[72mach1]

Thanks for the input guys. Getting the alignment done next week so I can get it back on the road. Still trying to decide how to drop the rear now. With the front settled it's got about an inch clearance, the rear with the new leafs is probably closer to 3 or 4. Any thoughts other than swapping leaf springs again? Not to crazy about the idea of blocks, but that may be a possibility.

[36couper]

I know my Nova isn't a Mustang but I had to massage the fender lip too so I could turn with no tire rubbing. I assume the air pressure in all of the tires is equal right?