Blake's 1965 Mustang Project

[digitalsolo]

So very many spot welds!



Damaged area on the driver's side removed:



Picture of the nastiness that is the "fresh air towers" on the cowl.   There is some misc. damage in the firewall/cowl panels around these, but it's minor so I'll fabricate new pieces to patch it and sort it out.

[digitalsolo]

So I'm doing more and more research and I'm leaning heavily toward a 5.0 from a truck.   Intake cams + Boss 302 manifold and some custom headers and I'm there.   And in proper form I'm probably changing my mind again to put a blower on the car.   As a street toy with no drag strip aspirations it's easier to package, as is the associated charge cooler and insta-torque is a ton of fun.   It will either be a TVS roots or a screw blower of some type.  I know some people with good connections to AutoRotor (their European supplier is a friend) so I may see if I can pull anything off there, time will tell.   This is all at least a year away.   If I could get an ecoBoost V6 for the right price I'd look at that, too, just because it's interesting.

[frijolee]

As much as I hate to say it since I love the LS engines, the car may be worth more with a Ford engine of some variation under the hood.  Not everyone is as brand neutral as most of the folks on here seem to be. 

That said, have you thought about whether Erik/Akina's blower setup could be made to fit?

[largeorangefont]

So I'm doing more and more research and I'm leaning heavily toward a 5.0 from a truck.   Intake cams + Boss 302 manifold and some custom headers and I'm there.   And in proper form I'm probably changing my mind again to put a blower on the car.   As a street toy with no drag strip aspirations it's easier to package, as is the associated charge cooler and insta-torque is a ton of fun.   It will either be a TVS roots or a screw blower of some type.  I know some people with good connections to AutoRotor (their European supplier is a friend) so I may see if I can pull anything off there, time will tell.   This is all at least a year away.   If I could get an ecoBoost V6 for the right price I'd look at that, too, just because it's interesting.

Yes, a truck 5.0 and Boss manifold (or Cobra Jet Manifold is even better if you can find one for cheap) will be sweet. The blowers just bolt right on those Coyote engines so that is an easy swap out when the time comes.

That said, the stock 5.0 GT manifold has the most midrange torque of the 3.

Boss 302 Vs. Cobra Jet

[Cman]

So this is less frustrating than your RX7 build....how ?

Steve

[digitalsolo]

As much as I hate to say it since I love the LS engines, the car may be worth more with a Ford engine of some variation under the hood.  Not everyone is as brand neutral as most of the folks on here seem to be. 

That said, have you thought about whether Erik/Akina's blower setup could be made to fit?

I certainly have.  I am positive it can be made to fit the car.  My budget however, not so much.      Gotta build a house, I'm lucky the wife let me snag 5k for the car.   I gotta pay off about 10k in old loan debt and then save up about 45k more for the house, so it will probably be another year until I'm ready to buy $$$ stuff like engines/transmissions/etc.    Until then it's fabrication!

As far as value goes, eh, I don't care too terribly much about that, but I'm not going to put an LS1 in it just because "OMG LS1" so I figure I'll give all types a fair shake and if I can put a Ford motor in it with no downsides, I might as well do so, right?

Yes, a truck 5.0 and Boss manifold (or Cobra Jet Manifold is even better if you can find one for cheap) will be sweet. The blowers just bolt right on those Coyote engines so that is an easy swap out when the time comes.

Yeah, I think bang/buck is great and it seems like a nice platform.  Plus I've always wanted to play with one.

So this is less frustrating than your RX7 build....how ?

Steve

Less frustrating?   I don't know about that.   I wanted a 4 seat car and I've been talking about building a classic Mustang since I was like 6-7 years old.   I used most of the money from the RX7 to pay off some home equity loans to build a new house, but snagged a bit to buy this as a long term project.    It's worth noting that I built an FC because I had one in the garage.  I didn't seek one out for any particular reason.   I wanted to go a different direction and I was getting pretty tired of dealing with the same stupid problems over and and over on the RX7, so here we go.    The ability to take my wife/kid on a drive was pretty high up the list though.   That and I wanted a car with A/C and P/S and it wasn't really reasonable to redesign the RX7 AGAIN for that purpose.

[uummm]

No room in that engine bay?  Compaired to an rx7 it looks like you have acres.

[BeasTT]

I keep thinking block splitting 5.0, not new, bad ass, 5.0 lol

[digitalsolo]

I keep thinking block splitting 5.0, not new, bad ass, 5.0 lol

LOL.  No old crappy 5.0.

Also, new flange built and installed on driver side of cowl.  Looks much better.  You can't see it in the pictures, but it is lipped up on the front like stock as well.  Getting decent with the hammer and dolly.

[digitalsolo]

BTW, I have to run to CT for a week (and then back/forth again most likely) due to work stuff (2 billion dollar acquisition that my team is in charge of controlling migration of technical assets for), so no updates for a bit.   BUT, next time I'll try and show the process for making the patch panels.  It's essentially the same method that the guys building the crazy awesome Mini use (Project Binky).   It's actually not a terrible job, though I really need to go buy a small metal brake and finish the press brake I'm putting together.    I will probably get that one done first so that I can make my own plates for the subframe connectors (I plan to DIY those).

BTW, pretty much all of the panels I'm working on are being seam welded, not just spot welded, though some areas preclude that.   I am looking at areas I can box/brace for more support as I go as well.

[MPbdy]

I know you've broken this down before...but I don't think you sleep.  There's no way.

Are you close to curing Ebola as well?

[iHopeItWorks]

Love seeing different builds on this great site.  Blake/digitalsolo I admire your knowledge and look forward to your continued work.

[screamin88]

"Long term car project"........ 6 months.


Good deal Blake! Going to be a killer car when finished for sure!

[digitalsolo]

LOL, you guys should see what I could do if I wasn't working 60+ hours a week (and ~12-15 days straight including some 24-36 hour workdays right now) at the day job, haha.

I can guarantee this won't be a 6 month project.   I estimate needed budget to complete how I want it around 20-25k dollars.   I am about 24,999 dollars short of that.      If I get a good raise at work I will have sufficient funds to get it done in 18-24 months, otherwise it'll take a bit longer.   I need to build a house and that requires BANK.   I will have a workshop with a life though!

There is really a LOT of metal work projects to do.   Finish the cowl work, add torque boxes, shave drip rail, dial all the gaps, build subframe connectors and clean up any other "questionable" areas I find are first on the list.   I think that will take the winter at least.   Then I MAY do a flush mount to the windows (add metal to tighten the gaps for a modern style window treatment).   Then I am thinking about changing to a modern door handle and modern power window stuff.    That's all low in price but high in labor.    Also want to fill in the various holes in the engine bay...  then Mustang II front suspension and shock tower deletes...  then rear suspension upgrade (4 link)...    yada, yada...

Oh, and mil-spec harness... and HIDs, and LED tails/markers...  dome lights... modern interior...   etc.    This is gonna take a while. 

[jparker7]

24-36 hr work days. Fuck that.  I don't care how much money they pay that shits not worth it.