[msgjvh]

Well Monday the C4 gets rebuilt. Any suggestions? Going to have them beef up the clutches and install a shift kit. Hoping to make it alot more reliable.

Once the tranny is rebuilt I think I have decided the next big fix is the upper end. Right now it puffs blue smoke which as I understand is oil leaking from the seal guides. It only does this after it sits for a few minutes. Plus in the morning it's noisy until the upper end gets oil, then it quites down but it still sounds a little too much like a sewing machine.

I am not comfortable keeping the heads that are on it now. Way back a valve dropped in the cylinder ruining the block and beating the hell out of the heads. The mechanic then had them magnafluxed and such. Couldn't afford new heads at that time but its a different story today. So what are your suggestions regarding heads and such.

My intent is to keep it near original, I don't care to sink the money in to make it a racer. But I would like it quite with a bit of a punch.

Thanks.

 

[camachinist]

Keep your eyes peeled for some early W heads...they won't drop the compression much (if you have a 302) and have the potential to breathe a whole bunch better. It appears you have a rebuilt shortblock with marginal old heads, yes?

In that case, budget for a co-ordinated combination of a mild camshaft like the SVO A311 (smaller than the factory K-cam), some heads and their parts, along with an intake (something like an Edelbrock Performer, F4B or Cobra repop), carb, and hi-po exhaust manifolds (if you don't want headers)and the appropriate exhaust system (if not already installed)....If you don't already have an ignition upgrade, something like the Pertronix unit and an appropriate coil would be nice...

Budget should be, with new parts, around 1-1.5K depending on what you have and what you need....

Lastly, consider adding, since you have the trans out, an 11" converter...cheap way to get more punch with very little downside...

Have fun...properly executed, you could have a solid 14 second sleeper...what fun, yes? *G*

 

[johnpro]

What Pat said *LOL*. I love my '69 windsor heads on my 289. I've gone a little over board with some of it, but man, is it a fun car to drive!

I might suggest ditching the C4 for an AOD. My '66 is a little rocket off the line, but get it out on the freeway at about 80 mph and it just purrs like a kitten in overdrive.

 

[msgjvh]

It's even worse than that. The orginial engine is long gone. When I first got it the engine was very tired and I was 17 with out the benefit of VMF. So as alot of mustangs back then, the orginial was replaced with a motor from the junk yard. That one dropped the valve and we got a sb from the parts house. The poor thing is really a hodge podge of parts.

I'll be saving some bucks for the upgrades.

Thanks!!

Ohh and what would the AOD cost vs a rebuild on the C4?

 

[mstngjoe]

Check out www.powerheads.com for stock type replacements that are tweaked a bit. Folks here have reported great safisfaction with these heads.

 

[camachinist]

Ohh and what would the AOD cost vs a rebuild on the C4?

Once you have the trans, not much more, as long as the hard parts are in good shape...

A performance AOD (outright) will run around 1500.00 with converter, roughly 1.5 to 2x the price of a similar C4.

If you can rebuild the trans yourself, kits can be had for under 200.00 and performance converters between 200-500.00 for most street applications.

Rummage around at Summit for more details...