Well this is how it looked when I bought it. 'It' was a 1965 coupe, six cylinder, 3 speed. Not what you would call a 'Hi-Po' Pony, but had loads of potential. The floors and some frame were recentally replaced and in good condition when I bought it, and for a 30+ year old car in New York that was really good. But I didn't want a 6 cyl. 3 spd. so the conversion began!
What started out as a simple Fixer-up and drive as you upgrade turned out to be a full tear down to the shell and rebuid from ground up. All suspension, drive-train, and interior parts were taken off or out and cleaned and rebuilt, repainted, and upgraded. Out went the 6 cyl. suspension and in went the full 8 cyl. suspension from a 'parts car'. The Body looked to be in good condition, but after some sanding and picking with a screwdriver the bondo appeared. Both rear quaters needed patching. the Rocker panels in front of the rear wheel wells were soft, and bondo was just popin' out of the front fenders. Their wasn't a body panel that didn't need some sort of fixin' . Since I wasn't looking for a 'correct' car Aftermarket parts weren't a problem. The Project isn't finished yet, But I am hopeing to have it done by mid to late spring, just in time to get SCCA solo II action in before the winter.
As far as suspension upgrades go I think I chose parts that would allow the car to perform as well as late model cars, but still allowed for a comfortable ride. The front a-arms were droped 1 3/4 inches and back slightly with a "Negative Wedge Camber Corrector Kit" from Pro-Motorsports Engineering, Inc. This kit corrects the camber curve on the car allowing the tire to stay in contact with the road during heavy cornering. Front brakes were also upgraded to disks with a conversion kit from Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. As well all hard lines are also stainless steel. Rear springs are performance springs from Mustangs Plus and have the 'reverse eye' option to lower them 1 1/2 inches. All suspension bushings are poly-graphite. Front sway bar is a Stam-Bar 1" unit with poly-graphite bushings. Rear axle is kept in place with Under rider traction bars. Since I haven't driven the car yet I haven't decide weather or not to use a panhard rod and a rear swaybar.
The very worn and torn 3-spd was droped in favor of a 4-spd top loader. The transmission was modified with a deep v shift rail kit, which allows the tension that is required to shift to be adjusted to the 'right feel'. Other then that it is a stock case. Shifting is handled by a Hurst Competition Plus shifter.
For now the engine is a stock rebuilt 289. The only changes are from an Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold/cam/carb kit. Dual exhaust.
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