A very hot week in the yard at Mustang Maniac and we could do some of our work in the sun which makes a nice change. We have a couple of cars this week both ’69s where the owners wanted to remain anonymous which is absolutely fine by us, they are more happy to show the work being done as long as we don’t identify their cars, so we will respect those wishes.

Customer Cars

The first ’69 has had their old rusty fuel tank flushed out and checked for any holes or rust, all was fine. We still need to clean it up a bit, but not really worth it until all the parts are fitted and checked to be working. That will be done after the road test, which is a perk of the job! In order to help the fuel get pumped up to the front of the car with a ‘degree of enthusiasm’, an internal electrical fuel pump was added just after the sender, the fuel filter sits just outside the tank and bolted into place.

Up the other end under the hood after the fuel arrives with a bit of vigour, a fuel regulator and fuel return filter were added. Nothing to outrageous and in your face, but if you know what you’re looking at then it tells you; all is not stock!

This steady and regulated fuel flow makes it much easier to set up carburettors in both cold and hot conditions. The fittings are not fully finished just yet, but we took the pics before we left for the day with them in place. Could this car be heading to Santa Pod for a day of Mustang racing? We couldn’t possibly say or know for sure, but it could be!

The other ’69 was to have a new heart transplant in the shape of a new 351w going in. The replacement engine was to have as much of the old engine bolted back onto the new engine as possible, so as not giving it away as being a completely new engine. When the car came into us it had a real bad rattle and some rather bad knocking!

We took the head off the the side of the engine that we had narrowed the noise was coming from. The inspection showed that we found a conrod cap bolt was broken so the piston was hitting the head. Damage was clear and already done. It works out cheaper for a new engine rather than rebuild the original. That’s after you take into account the specialist labour costs, parts, then the waiting time while it’s being fixed. So sensibly the latter option was taken up by the customer with a date correct replacement.

We wheeled the replacement out into the sun to be worked on fitting the fan, fuel pump, pulleys, alternator, oil filter, plumb fittings, sensors etc. were all bolted back into place where they could be reused of course, and not worn or damaged after we had checked them.

With the intake manifold bolted into place, we could add the carb and coil.

Next up will be the final plumbing pipes, electrics and HT leads early next week. The distributor and carb will be dialled back to defaults before we settle the engine back into the car. Why no test rig? Quite simple really, we have seen this engine running after the rebuild before we put it on the shelf as back ‘in stock’ as it were.

There is something quite exciting about seeing a new engine ready to go into a car!

Stay Safe & Take Care!