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.

You will need a 28oz balance flexplate/harmonic balancer for the 69 302.

You need to think about what your goals are before you go off buying parts. Do you want a daily driver with some extra guts? Or maybe a full track car to run deep 11's?

What kind of street manners do you want? Power goals? etc. Think about these questions, come up with a goal, then start asking around about combos that will get you there.

If you plan on beefing it up anyway why not keep the newer motor?..Seems like a lot of hassle to go back to the original engine when basically all you will be using from it is the block if you upgrade the heads and cam etc..Also the newer block should already be setup for a roller cam.

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Originally Posted by frdnut

If you plan on beefing it up anyway why not keep the newer motor?..Seems like a lot of hassle to go back to the original engine when basically all you will be using from it is the block if you upgrade the heads and cam etc..Also the newer block should already be setup for a roller cam.

I appreciate your response. My Dad is about originality I guess is how you would say it. Other than the 302 in it now and the paint job, the car is all original. He wanted to put the original engine back in it so the numbers and everything but with a good amount of HP rather than the stock HP.

Originally Posted by ChicoB

You will need a 28oz balance flexplate/harmonic balancer for the 69 302.

You need to think about what your goals are before you go off buying parts. Do you want a daily driver with some extra guts? Or maybe a full track car to run deep 11's?

What kind of street manners do you want? Power goals? etc. Think about these questions, come up with a goal, then start asking around about combos that will get you there.

First off, thank you for taking the time to help me and my Dad. Our hopes are to have an engine that is for a daily driver with some extra guts. The car pretty much sits in a storage unit and gets driven once a week or so, so having an engine that eats a little more gas isn't a big deal. Thats the price of performance . He wants something that will sound real mean and have the get up behind it when he pushes the pedal but nothing that would be strictly for the tracks. I'm not real sure when it comes to putting cams in the car and the differences between the cams. Also, will the balancer need to be changed if we are gutting the engine out and beefing it up?

Well there's certainly nothing wrong with putting the stock engine back in if your after originality..That engine hopefully still has its orginal damper and flywheel so you don't have to worry about the different balance between the newer GT motor and the old original 302...What trans are you running?

Take the original block and put a 331 stroker kit in it. Run a decent cam like a Crane H-286-2 and it should have a little bark and a nice bite.

Originally Posted by frdnut

Well there's certainly nothing wrong with putting the stock engine back in if your after originality..That engine hopefully still has its orginal damper and flywheel so you don't have to worry about the different balance between the newer GT motor and the old original 302...What trans are you running?

To my knowledge, I think its the original C4 Trans that was in the car and the guy hooked that up to the newer motor. But Im not completely sure so I will definitely get back to you on that.

Originally Posted by ckelly

Take the original block and put a 331 stroker kit in it. Run a decent cam like a Crane H-286-2 and it should have a little bark and a nice bite.

I appreciate your help man . That sounds like exactly what my Dad and I are looking for. What all would be necessary for this kit to work? Would there be any other types of upgrades necessary in order for this kit to work that is not included?