The other day my girlfriends mom asked me and her what she would do when she gets her Mustang if it breaks down. My response was that she could check the basics, and call me if she saw nothing obvious and I come fix it for her. Either that or a modern car breaks down and she has to call a tow to take it to a shop and pay to fix it.

Anyhow, later on I got to thinking... What would make a '60s small block Ford break down? In my experience daily driving a '67 and '68 Galaxie with a 289 and 302 respectively, for several years, there sure as heck isn't much that stops the engine from running.

Hell, the only thing that stopped the 289 from running was snapping a rocker stud at about 7 grand, and the 302 finally stopped running when the timing chain had so much slack in it that it just couldn't stay running any more. The 289 thing was my own fault, and with the 302 I knew that it was gonna go for a long time and was just driving it until it was dead. My uncle drove it for 7 years before me, and to give you an idea of the neglect it saw for those 7 years... When I got it the thing had 1 quart of oil in the pan, was 3 quarts low on tranny fluid, and only the back brakes worked. He drove it every day like that!

In any case, I can't for the life of me think of any reason why a well maintained small block Ford would just stop running while cruising along. This is of course assuming all the basics have been gone over (electrical, tune-up, compression, etc.) and the engine checks out fairly healthy and any electrical/wiring issues have been taken care of.

The only reason I have ever 'broken down' in several years of driving small block Fords is due to burned up points from going way too long before replacing them. I knew I was way overdue for replacing the points and had bought a new set, but hadn't gotten around to putting them in. So one day the car started running very rough and stalling out at idle. I decided it was time to replace the points, so I pulled over and 5 minutes later I was on my way.

In any case, points won't even be an issue because when my girl gets her Mustang one of the first things I'm gonna do is buy her a Pertronix kit like I have in my Galaxie... 13,000 miles in 7 months and not once have I had any trouble from it or has it needed any adjustment.

So really, other than outright beating the piss out of the thing until something lets loose, or neglecting it until it destroys itself, I really can't think of anything that would cause a small block Ford to stop running. Only major mechanical stuff, which I've always noticed before anything fails from it, or electrical/ignition stuff which is pretty easy to fix.

Once my radiator sprung a leak. It whistled a bit. I topped off the radiator, wrapped a rag around it with duct tape, and went on my way without overheating or anything. Patched it up with JB-Weld that night and never had another problem.

It seems that in my experience the small block Ford engine just keeps on going no matter what. If a classic car with a small block Ford is to ever break down it will most likely be from points, or electrical/wiring. It seems like any trouble is far more likely to be with the rest of the car, which I don't think there's much that would actually stop you from being able to get home safely.

Unlike modern cars there aren't a million and one electronic and vacuum components which any given one will stop the engine from running or starting. My Galaxies have always started up and gotten me where I needed to go, which is more than I can say for the two modern econo-boxes I've driven.

Sorry for being long winded. I'm just thinking out loud at what could fail. If my friend from work decides to sell his Mustang, my girl could be driving it this coming summer. Just thinking about what I would need to go over to ensure she has a reliable car to drive, and waht to check before buying it. Obviously some of the first things to be done will be a full tune-up, a carb rebuild, and replacement of the brake hydraulics (car has been sitting for a few years in the garage).

So how about you guys? What are the most common reasons for a '60s Ford with a small block to 'break down'?