So I pulled the old 79 hatchback out of the tree row and got it running again.  Plans are to work the kinks out of it with the 2.3L until the V8 and TKX trans are ready to go in. I picked up a Mercruiser 188 boat motor real cheap, and working on converting the long block to car mode.


I will get pics added soon, but let's start with what is already done or acquired so far:

• Eastwood Triflow GM style radiator installed. (2.3 location)
• Speedway Motors 5 Lug 11" front brake rotor conversion.
• 14x7 American Racing wheels (Old and rusty from my 73 Mach 1)
• 8" non removable carrier axle from a Granada, not installed needs seals. (2.47 gears ugh)

Next big purchases :

• Tremec TKX 5 speed
• Quick time SFI bellhousing
• McLeod clutch
• Drive shaft
• Headers / manifolds
• Engine mounts (make?)
• Front coil springs

The goal is to be complete by next summer to make "Sick Summer" drag week, if it actually becomes an event. I will need to refresh my memory on Mustang ii motor mounts and why the driver side frame mount needs to be moved back one inch.  If I can make my own solid mounts that would eliminate that, I'd want to go that way.


More to come.

I'm not sure about the cam, but I've seen people say they are close to a truck cam?  I know it is a 351w or 302 HO firing order.  They took a grinder to the intake manifold to delete on the firing order. They also say it has 351 heads on it, which in 1973 had bigger valves.  I was able to verify 351 casting marks when I removed the intake manifold.  I am curious to see what it will dyno with an Edelbrock Performer 289 manifold, 600 cfm 4 barrel, underdrive alternator pulley and aluminum flywheel.

Keep it going...I will be pushing my project into the corner for the Winter so I will be interested in reading about your project.

So I've been reading over the rules for "Sick Summer", or all the Sick week drag weeks.  Looking at the classes, I could run Stick Shift, but may have trouble meeting the 3000 pound minimum weight.  I'm thinking of the 275 Street Race category.  Problem is they require all seats, and finished interior with optional headliner.  Also the floor boards need to have factory shape.  My floors are mostly gone lol.  I had ripped out the back seat years ago, and the carpet pretty much rotted away.


Rock Auto does have a good selection of new carpets in the $200+ range.   Also found front floor panels with factory style shape stamped in them for like $360 something on ebay. 


Today I made another junkyard run to the newly arrived 79 Pinto wagon.  Had plans on getting the back seat, but after clearing the entire back end out of scrap metal, and flipped up the seat, I gave up.  Huge mouse nest.  Like old enough to rot into dirt.  So I took the grill and headlight trim for spares, since a factory looking grill is also required.  Also got some black arm rests and center tray. 


So I made my way to the 71 Mustang II V6.  It has plush white vinyl seats.  The front seats didn't look terrible, the driver seat was starting to tear some.  I flipped up the back seat and it looked great.  Got them pulled out and was charged $73.50 for all my goodies. 


It has some black marks on it that I think will clean up.  I hope it bolts right in to a Pinto, but really it just needs to look like a seat. I thought about getting the front seats, but really I'll be getting real racing seats in the future.  My interior is going to look crazy with a bunch of different colors. lol

Given the dismal power numbers of the V8 MIIs, I'd be a bit worried about how restrictive those manifolds are.  Maybe it's possible to extrude hone the hell out of them...?

All good points I can agree with.  This car will be a slow evolution from street car to more drag car orientated.  I don't want to go so far into the drag car territory that it can't be driven on the street.  That wouldn't be good for the drag week plans.  Eventually it will need a safety cage.  With this 302 Windsor I don't have any plans to spice up the engine any more than Mercury Marine already did.  I'm mainly just doing an aluminum fly wheel and underdrive alternator pulley for less losses, 4 barrel intake and MSD ready to run distributor.


I really really don't want to get crazy with the hooker headers that send a pair of pipes through the fenders, or the set that runs them under the cross member.  I haven't done one of these drag and drive event weeks before, but just making it from track to track seems like the hardest part.  Simplicity would be a big bonus.  For now I need to keep a small budget and save the big money for a new trans, bellhousing and clutch, and would really like some QA1 suspension up front.  For next year the cast manifolds will have to do, but I want to weld up some of my own log style manifolds similar to the "stainless headers.com log style turbo headers".  Except they would be flipped back to the conventional rearward direction, and perhaps have some turn down pipe built in.  The back half of the car already has full 3" exhaust from the transmission to the rear bumper.   A Summit glass pack inline with a Flowmaster Super 44 at the tail end.  I'm figuring 2.5" pipe from headers to a Y pipe into 3".  But, I can't fabricate any of that until I have everything in the car.


My real end game goal for this car is to run a 351 Cleveland block.  That will be the point that I start to turn up the power and actually try to be competitive.  There may or may not be a hole in the hood for a dual quad tunnel ram intake or other craziness.  I will try to stay a little period correct with the 70's, but might venture into fuel injection. lol For now I call that the dream.  Setting small goals for now.

Pulled the Pinto out to bring the snow plow in for repairs.  That air dam is sitting low!  I eyeball it with the bottom of the floor.  Good thing this is a summer car. Lol

I began my axle swap project with my Granada 8.7 and Calvert Racing goodies.  Still having trouble getting the front leaf spring bolts out.  I had hoped to reuse the spring shackles and hangers, but no luck.  The bushings wore away and the bolts almost wore through the hangers.  I can find rubber bushing replacements, but everything else is not available.  I will try getting a set from the junkyard, but odds are they will be bad too lol.  Might have to fabricate my own hanger, but I dont want to spend a lot of time on it.  Down the road I would like to put spring sliders on. 


https://youtube.com/shorts/9bGtBVu2ymE?feature=share


I guess I know why it handled so bad now.