just gotta remeber with the letter cams, they are purpose ground , but in a otherwise stockish motor they are a monster
They definitely help the stock heads out, for sure…and for their purpose they aren’t bad cams. That’s actually part of the reason I’m not very partial to them though. I haven’t used stock type heads since I was in my early 20’s. The money invested in decent aluminum heads is returned in both performance, and money not wasted on iron heads. On this motor for example…I’m using 225cc TEA prepped High Ports with 54cc chambers 
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Nothing but top end fel-pro my friend, lol.
Just picked up my face plated g-force T5, clutch, and shifter. Soon as it gets here, I can get to mocking up the block without the motor mounts. I’m not looking forward to that part, lol…but at least I’ve done it before so it’ll be easier this time :p.
Now, to order my cylinder heads!
You prefer a worked T5 to a TKO600? I put a TKO in last summer and love it. But, I was coming from a Toploader 4 speed and have no experience with a T5 other than a bone stock one in my '94 5.0 GT 'Vert. The fact that T5’s in stock form are good for no more than 350 ft. lbs. was all I needed to hear to push me toward the TKO. I was aware of stuff to build the T5 but my thoughts were if one was going to spend the money to do that, why not buy something designed for 600 ft. lbs. instead?
I did do some reading on the topic after I saw your post and I see that there is a following/preference for what you chose but can;t say I am completely convinced.
Now what’s this about mocking up? A 302 with T5 should be a walk in the park since the cars came 302’s in '68 and the T5 is an easy fit, no?
I like MLS gaskets these days, especially for aluminum heads on an iron block. I am currently running Cometic custom thickness ones on my engine and bought some Procomp MLS (great price) for a 408C I am building.
I’ve taken stock WC T5’s and T5-Z’s into the 10’s lol. These companies idiot proof their ratings for liability’s sake. A positive stop shifter and a good adjustable clutch will make a stock WC T5 live forever in a 3000lb vehicle, even on slicks. The problem comes when people run heavy(ish) cars with big tires and overkill clutches, then clutch dump the things at the line. I promise even your TKO wouldn’t handle that abuse for long lol. The other benefit to a T5 is the shifting. It’s very smooth…much smoother than a TKO, which…coming from a toploader (I ran the same toploader in four different cars lol)…probably feels like a dream to you .
Here’s a quote from G-Force about their upgraded T5’s:
Generally, it can be assumed that with the available upgraded mainshaft, the G-Force Street 5-Speed kit will handle roughly 600 hp or 500 ft-lb. of torque in a 3300 lb. vehicle running drag radials at the track with a moderate clutch upgrade.
My T5 is rated at 750HP, and around 600lb/ft (I have all the upgrades and the G-Force aftermarket case) in that same vehicle…but that’s not the reason I bought it. I bought it for the substantial weight savings as compared to the TKO, along with the straight cut, non synchro gears. These gears are not only incredibly strong…but also guarantee your shifts will land at any rpm. The synchro’s limit the stock T5’s to about 6500-7000rpm, depending on your level of skill at shifting.
So, the reasons for choosing a T5 over a TKO were many…and in some ways mirror my reasons for choosing a 302 over a 351. Lighter weight, less power loss to internal friction and inertia…
And then there’s just the fact that most people don’t believe it when you run mid 10’s or faster with a 302/T5 combo that you drove to the track, lol.
As for mock up…well, that’s a story in and of itself. I do not run motor mounts on any car that will be used hard…for a number of reasons, lol. The first is that they distort any stock type block (even a 351W) when the motor is loaded heavily. The second, is simple header fitment. Fitting a 2" primary header and a scattershield would be impossible with the stock mounts in place.
On the gaskets…the MLS stuff is very nice! I just prefer my high quality, inexpensive, durable Fel-Pro’s lol. The cost/value ratio has always worked in my favor.
I bought my wheels today!! I found a set of 15x9 and 15x4 Centerline Warriors with 26x10x15 slicks, and 26x4.5 front runners from the Corral classifieds today for $500 plus shipping. The slicks I’ll set aside for now, and I’ll sell the front runners. In their place will go 165/80R15 (Volkswagon Bug tires lol) for the front, and 275/60/15 Hoosier DOT Drag Radials (or possibly 27x10.5-15 QTP’s) for the back.
Fun stuff…lol. Here’s some pictures 
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So, I got the Cougar up on the back pad the other day, in preparation for stripping the inside the rest of the way in order to completely assess the floors. But tonight I decided to remove the oil pan to check out the bottom end of the 302…
When I pulled drain plug on the oil pan, more water than oil came out. I was seriously not happy.
But…the bottom end looked great, and the number 8 rod bearing was pretty much perfect.
And ohhh…lookie there. A Melling HV oil pump. How nice.
So that pretty much covers todays adventures. I think I’m going to go ahead and strip the short block down and have the block cleaned…at which point new rings and bearings would just make sense. It’ll also make cleaning the piston tops that much easier.
Can you tell I’m putting off messing with the floor boards yet…lol…?
learn from my mistakes, even though the crank looks good, and measures out, turn it anyway!
What happened with yours?
Well…I finally got to the floor pans tonight…the damage was both a little more than I hoped, and yet a lot less than I expected.
Not too bad. All the floor pans are solid, excepting the passenger front of course. I do think the heater core was leaking (or the cowl)…because its rotted up towards the firewall as well. You can see it a little in the second picture. Honestly though I’m a bit grateful…as both are relatively easy fixes with the car completely torn apart. In addition I’m fully aware it could be a lot worse…with the poor thing having been open to the elements for all this time like it has been.
As a funny side note…how on earth does something like this get buried under two layers of carpet, and down between two sections of tar mat??
And finally…my carb arrived today . Its a 750 Race Demon (General Competition). I’ve read good and bad about the Barry Grant Demon series carbs…it seems people either adore them or hate them murderously. I’ve always been annoyed with some of the quirks Holley’s have, so I figured I’d give this one a shot.
All in all, it’s coming together pretty well. I ordered my electric headlight door conversion kit yesterday…Cal Tracs and shocks the day before…I’ve got the additional 3.5" exhaust parts I wanted (I’d like to convert over from two straight pipes to an x-pipe with dumps before the rear tires). I also have my floor pan patch panel, and picked up my 4spd brake and clutch pedals (along with a roller bearing kit) yesterday. I’m putting in the order for my heads on Monday. As things stand now, I’ve got about $4,500 left worth of parts to buy (give or take) to make a running car that has a shot of getting down the street under its own power, and possibly even down a track. That total is pretty inclusive too…even things like headlights and coolant are in there lol.
Hopefully I get to work on it some more tomorrow…but we’ll see how things go. I’d honestly love to have a straight weekend just to spend on the thing. I mean, even once all the parts are bought there’s a crapload of labor that’s going to be make use of them!
Lookin good Cris!! Hey those wheels look like rader wheels from another thread here,pretty cool!!
oil pressure problems in my 351 w in my f150, crank was clean, and now have a flucuating oil pressure problem at operating temp.
Can’t say I agree with this as the source of having a problem with oil pressure.
Was going to say…I’d look straight to the oil pump if the crank measured out. Even if it didn’t…you’d have to have some pretty messed up bearing clearances on multiple journals to cause any real fluctuation.
But!..on to the subject of my post…!
Is it just me?..or is that inner lip between the wheel house and the frame wider than a 67/68 Mustang? My wheels are coming in Wednesday…and I’m not entirely sure they’re going to fit. 15x9" with 6.5" backspacing per the guy I bought them from. I’m thinking I’m going to be needing 5.5" backspacing…particularly considering my rear end is slightly narrower than the stocker (58.50" vs 59.25"). My 15x10 with 5.5" fit perfectly in my last 67 Mustang, which makes me curious what you guys have run with success. In the end though I guess we’ll just have to see.
On to the rust pictures, lol.
This is the passenger side. I’ve got to be the luckiest guy in Arizona. I happened to find the ONLY native car with rusted out quarters…shoulda bought a lottery ticket instead…/sigh. Anyhow though…the damage isn’t too bad it looks like. A bit of time with a grinder, some filler metal, and a welder should make it right again. Of greater concern is the literally CRACKED piece on the upper lip. I’m kind of scared to start digging into that one.
And what’s with this weird door misalignment, and only in this spot?? The rest of the door lines up perfectly, lol.
Driver’s side. Its a bit worse than the other side…but still fixable without patch panels I think. I’m really not a body guy though, so I’m going to call a friend on this one…lol.
At least the trunk looks solid…lol.
I always thought it was funny the strange things that survive the years on these old cars.
Anyway, even though I’m still amassing parts etc…I’m still assessing what I’m going to need do to make the car solid. I scored a decent (much better than mine!!) new passenger side grill section (including the entire headlight assembly) for $90 on eBay last night, which was substantially under my allotted budget. I’m still kind of worried about what I’m missing in chrome trim pieces…I know the costs of that stuff can add up REALLY fast.
Quick question? Do any of you have the name of that rust catalyzing paint? I’m going to clean the inside of the car as best as I can of course, and remove anything that even remotely resembles surface rust…but I’d like to have an added bit of security.
Thanks in advance .
Cougars can fit a wider tire. That is a lot of backspace though. I think 5.5 is it.
I fit 5.75 backspacing on a first gen. But that was with a stock width rear housing. That would be about the limit from what I remember. I’m no longer running those wheels.
Just an FYI in case you did not know, or for anyone else following this thread. There are 3 different 67-8 grille designs. They will all interchange but there is a difference in looks. I have seen cars on show fields with 2 different styles of grilles installed.
Post a photo of all the trim you do have. We will be able to tell you if anything is missing.
There are a lot of different products on the market that claim to be rust preventors. Eastwood sells a product, POR-15 sells their own product and most likely your local parts store has a product.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
Hey Cris,how is the project going?
I just learned something new. I was aware the 67 and 68 had a design change, in the metals used (maybe). Why are there 3 different grilles Randy?
Steven