1969 Ford Mustang Fastback 302

Hey there,

I'll cut right to the chase, my Dad has a '69 mustang fastback and the guy who restored it put an 86 or so GT 302 engine and other stuff in it to make it work (bellhousing, torque converter, harmonic balancer, etc.) My Dad recently contacted the guy and got the original '69 engine (302) and we plan on restoring that and beefing it up a little.

I was wondering what all would be required to put the original engine back into the car. I know the harmonic balancer, torque converter, bellhousing would need to be recplaced but what other things would need to be done.

Also about the original motor, we plan on upgrading the cam and heads on the car, what other stuff would need to be replaced to make this possible. Would there need to be a different harmonic balancer, or distributor, or bigger carb or..? We want to make it a mean street car but not so absurd to make it where we would have to upgrade the transmission or anything like that.

Listen up LP {I'm a 78 fan but LP's are ok if you find the right ones }, your COMPLETE 302 does not need a harmonic balancer... That should STILL be on the 302.

All you need are the original motor mounts and original tranny bell housing, the original flywheel and torque convertor... The rest is already there. OH, you will need the throttle cable and kickdown stuff from the original setup as well, unless they are still the same.

Porting the heads and going with hedders and a nice 4V intake and a cam will get you into enough HP that you won't get walked away from too often, and will run real nice without costing a lot.



FE

Wow this thread went dead quick...

86GT would be a roller cam motor and IMHO would be the better build. I doubt anybody is going to crawl under and look at the numbers on the side of the block. You can use the same bell and torque converter with either block, you would just need to use a 164 tooth 28oz flexplate from a 351 windsor with the 69 block. Stock heads on either motor are junk without serious port work that would cost you as much as a good set new. Again its only my opinion but roller cams are more efficient and much less trouble on break in.

Originally Posted by FEandGoingBroke

Wow this thread went dead quick...

Thanks for your help first off. The problem with the original motor to begin with is that it was knocking so the guy took most of the stuff off like the harmonic balancer and what not so my Dad has to track that stuff down. So we figured instead of tryin to fix the knocking problem, to go ahead and beef it up seeing how the internal stuff nees to be fixed. Im not to smart when it comes to internal engine parts and all that but my Dad and I will try and build a decent motor.

Originally Posted by wcj56

86GT would be a roller cam motor and IMHO would be the better build. I doubt anybody is going to crawl under and look at the numbers on the side of the block. You can use the same bell and torque converter with either block, you would just need to use a 164 tooth 28oz flexplate from a 351 windsor with the 69 block. Stock heads on either motor are junk without serious port work that would cost you as much as a good set new. Again its only my opinion but roller cams are more efficient and much less trouble on break in.

Thank you for your help. I talked with my Dad last night to make sure the information about the car is right. The engine that is in it now is actually an 85 GT motor, the last year they put the carbs in the mustang. Would there be any difference in the motor in it when it comes to roller cams?

If it is truely an 85GT block then yes it would be the first year of the roller cams in Mustangs. Late 85 was actually available with fuel injection. I still think your better off with the roller motor for a build. The ford roller lifters are actually pretty good and short of having damage are reusable. Roller cams are pretty cheap anymore and require no special break in. You can retrofit the 69 block to a roller cam but the expense is much higher. You already have everything for the 85 50 oz block why not use it? The only reason to use the 69 block is if you are going to compete in MCA stock class which is a whole nother ball game.

Originally Posted by wcj56

If it is truely an 85GT block then yes it would be the first year of the roller cams in Mustangs. Late 85 was actually available with fuel injection. I still think your better off with the roller motor for a build. The ford roller lifters are actually pretty good and short of having damage are reusable. Roller cams are pretty cheap anymore and require no special break in. You can retrofit the 69 block to a roller cam but the expense is much higher. You already have everything for the 85 50 oz block why not use it? The only reason to use the 69 block is if you are going to compete in MCA stock class which is a whole nother ball game.

I talked with my Dad just a couple of minutes ago and he said the he would rebuild the original 302 back to original state and wants to take the 85 GT block and beef that up with a 331 stroker kit. He doesnt want a drag car but would like a nice mean street legal engine thats got some bark behind it. He needs to know everything needed to do this including the stuff not related to the inside of the engine like the torque converter and stuff like that. I appreciate your help with this and your car looks awesome.

Okay here is what I would do. If you want to be able to use both motors. Order the 331 stroker kit in a 28oz imbalance. Purchase a 28oz balancer and 164 tooth flexplate that will work on both motors and be able to use the same tranny. Rebuild the stock 69 first and get it installed then build the 331 85 block after that. This way you are never without a good motor in the car. What you have right now is 50oz imbalance which will be useless when your done with both builds. you will be fine but if it were me I would buy two 28oz balancers cause they are a pain to change from motor to motor.

Originally Posted by wcj56

Okay here is what I would do. If you want to be able to use both motors. Order the 331 stroker kit in a 28oz imbalance. Purchase a 28oz balancer and 164 tooth flexplate that will work on both motors and be able to use the same tranny. Rebuild the stock 69 first and get it installed then build the 331 85 block after that. This way you are never without a good motor in the car. What you have right now is 50oz imbalance which will be useless when your done with both builds. you will be fine but if it were me I would buy two 28oz balancers cause they are a pain to change from motor to motor.

Sweet, so other than the balancers, what other things would needed to be changed out (torque converter, etc)? Upgrading it to a 331, will I need to get a different type of distributor or should the stock one be fine? Also will I need to get new headers or should the ones on their match up?