I’m putting the 390 from my rusted out Cougar unibody into a solid unibody that had a 289 in it. I noticed that the anti-sway bar used with the 390 is much thicker than that used for the 289. And I suppose the springs are special too for the 390. Does anyone know what other front suspension parts I need to transfer along with my 390 into the unibody that had the 289 in it?
That’s about it, might throw in a heavy duty pair of shocks.
Well I’m pretty sure that is incorrect because when you look at shock towers on the WCCC website, they have different ones for the 289 and the 390.
I am not sure what you are seeing on the WCCC site as I did not see any shock towers that were listed as being small block or big block. About the only difference that I know of is the size of the reinforcing plates. The later production 1968 big block cars had a bit larger plate than the other 1967-1968 Cougars.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
Not in 1967.
1968 S, X, R, and W code cars received wrap around brackets about April 1968. It is possible that prior to that, the shock towers had additional welds on the brackets.
Additionally, 1968’s began the addition of a passenger side torque box.
I think we need Don to comment on this one!
My 427 GT-E built in April 1968 , had NO reinforced shock towers.
Just trying to help here, but look at the shock towers that the 390 came out of and compare to the car you want to install the engine in and see if any difference. It would be a good idea to install the shock tower reinforce kit to be safe.
Scott is correct.
Okay, lets see here, the website says,
The reinforced shock towers came out in late March 1968 and were used on all big block Cougars and Mustangs.
it also says,
The only reason you would pay the extra money for this rare tower is if you were repairing a like car and need an exact match. If you are looking to upgrade a car that did not originally have reinforced towers you would want to purchase our 69 towers that have a larger reinforcement plate and cost much less.
That’s almost as good as straight from Don.
So I guess they are not required but would be nice to have. Neither of mine have those so there would be no point in swapping them.
Thanks everyone for the feedback.
Skinnedknuckles, though not required, I think the consensus is that while you have the opportunity go ahead and add the shock tower reinforcement before dropping the 390 in there.
The meaning of the what we wrote on the web site is this: the 1968 concours wrap around shock tower braces are in short supply. If you want to beef up your front end, by all means use the 1969 or 1970 shock towers as a replacement if concours is not an issue.
The 1969-70 wrap around bracing shock towers came on all 1969-70 Mercury Cougars. They did not come on 1969-70 Ford Mustangs if they were equipped with a 6 cylinder, or 302-2V, or 351W or 351C. Many of our customers that purchase 1969-70 Cougar shock towers are replacing them on Mustangs that have had holes drilled or burned into them for access to zerk fittings. It is a good upgrade if the shock towers need to be replaced.
Inspect those shock towers. On my 1968 J code, I discovered several cracks on both shock towers when I was replacing the front suspension and prior to painting the engine bay. Glad that I found those cracks and got them repaired before I got the car on the road.
Keep in mind Scott does most of the technical writing and research for the site. I just parrot what he says on youtube which make me look smart… Keep in mind I am not a real mechanic, I just play one on youtube! If you want to go with the original 67 390 exhaust you will have to cut out the supports under the back seat.