so funny story about my 66...

1996mustangGT · Feb 9, 2008

so for quite sometime thought i had a hi-po 289 engine in it...the 66 k-code
wrong
knew it was repainted from legend lime to green, and had some minor body work to it
what i didnt know was that the engine is like a frankein-engine.
i have a 1966 hi-po block with a 1965 intake and a 4 barrel carb
wtf..?
also found the build sheet and turns out its just an 'A' code...
so its supposed to have the 4 barrel carb but not the (obviously) 65 intake and hi-po block/internals
so yeah...now i dont feal any remorse at starting to work on it :bunny3:

Red96GT · Feb 9, 2008

Old cars histories are really interesting. It will be weird in 30 years when we can just carfax our car and find everything we ever wanted and didn't want to know about it.

1996mustangGT · Feb 9, 2008

lol yeah...
the body work is documented by my granfather but i got bored and found the build sheet
and started decoding it and shiat...all the engine work is something new to me...
i'm never selling my love...they can bury me in my 96 and put the 66 on top for good measure

AaRoN · Feb 9, 2008

Sounds like one heck of a surprise :coolsmiley:

Mr. OAM · Feb 10, 2008

Had a similar experience with my wife's '66. The previous owner said he put a 1968 302 into it. It was originally a 6 cylinder car. The intake and block was for a 1968 302, but the crank, rods, pistons, and heads were for a 289. After decoding the casting number I learned it was one of the blocks that were cast at the Windsor plant but then Ford decided not to actually build the 302's there, and then shipped the blocks to Cleveland. Cleveland used some of them to finish up production of the 289's and then used the rest for the begining of the 302 engine. So if you get a 1968 302 block with a letter "B" at the end of the casting number it could be either a 289 or a 302, even though 302 is cast in the lifter valley.

Yup, no regrets now to modify your engine.

Steve

95-stang · Feb 10, 2008

I often wonder if in a few years will all the Boyd cars and Overhaulin cars be turned back into the original cars they once were?
I know you have plenty of iron over there, but classic cars are surely limited by their dwindling numbers.

Mr. OAM · Feb 12, 2008

That is a pretty good consideration. Thanks for bring it up.

Of course our scale of market in the US is quite larger than in the UK so there is a greater number of each model car here. As for the much older cars some have been restored to original, others customized, even more with the Boyd/streetrod treatment, and then some are all out race cars. The people that are generally interested in these cars are becoming fewer as the grow old and pass on. I'm talking about cars from the 1950's and earlier. As for the 1960's musclecars, there is already a movement to restore them to original due in part to the success of the Barrett/Jackson car auction where rich people buy cars no matter what the price, as long as they are "pretty". They also need to be restored, generally, to original condition to bring the most bucks.

I wondered if my son's generation (he is now 22) was going to be fixing up broken down cars that were built when I was a teenager, since we are usually attracted to our Father's cars from our Father's day. But the cars in the 1980's were a bad time for the US industry as they were busy learning how to make good 4 cylinder engines, front wheel drive cars, and electronic fuel injection. The body styles were very "blah". Except for Mustangs there aren't too many cars that are desireable from that era.

Steve

95-stang · Feb 12, 2008

Some good points there, i was in love with late 50s early 60's fins and chrome from a very early age, [there was nothing to compare here] but dont have the room for an Impala or a 63 TBird. [or anything that big]
Your lucky in that you have areas in the country with warm and dry climates to buy desirable cars from, we have no such areas and most cars dont like our climate, though rust does.
Fixing up cars [of recent times] is'nt the fairly straightforward job it was doing 50's and 60's cars, there's enough electrics in a Fox body to make you need an electronics degree, never mind a mechanical one. I agree, some model years dont have much appeal, and as you find here, some models just never had any appeal, new or old.
Some Fox bodies have been here so long now in the UK, its hard to find a mint condition one, but they are popular with their owners.
I watch Barret/Jackson on Motors TV, and i love to see a "cheap bargain" though its a rare event, its so funny in my mind how most people have come to the same conclusion of whats a valuable, desirable collectors item and it reflects in what each model goes for.
I was pleased [unlike some] to see Dynacorn unveil their Mustang fastback shell, what a great rustfree alternative to build a restomod [as done in Mustang Monthly] and leave some of the genuine ones alone for the true restorer.
If only i had the space and the money...............