Starting a new project, 89 Mustang "back in the day" street / track day car

[Tazracing]

not really, a ton of green houses died this year from all the snow..

[Brian Lohnes]

Ed, this is great!

When you get this baby done, I want to come up and see you burn some corners!

Brian

[fast Ed]

There were more than a few days in the middle of winter here that I would not have wanted to be working in the greenhouse. It's more of a space thing, my landlord is kind enough to let me put my VW in a corner of the shop, and when he gets back from wintering in Florida next month I don't want him to find another large chunk of the shop taken up by a disassembled Mustang. :D

We are getting in to the nicer weather here now though, so the greenhouse is the perfect spot for it.


Brian, you're welcome to ride shotgun any time at one of the school days at Mosport when I'm instructing. I might even make it down to Watkins Glen this year, been at least 5 years since I've been out on WGI.


cheers
Ed N.

[fast Ed]

Well, this weekend I got back at it a bit. Spent yesterday down at my brother's place helping him yank the engine and trans from his 68 GMC pickup.

So today I wanted to get the heads off the engine that had been sitting exposed in the car. Needed to find out if it was going to be useable after having sat outside with the intake ports open. I was hopeful, but prepared for the worst.

I got the valve covers off, in there was pretty clean, looks to be a low mileage engine as the previous owner had said:





So off came the rocker arms and pushrods, and got the head bolts cracked loose OK, ready for the moment of truth:



Bad news, things don't look very tidy in the cylinders:



#5 cylinder has some corrosion on the bore:



Unfortunately the other side isn't looking any better:



Cylinder #3 looking even worse than #5.



So I guess those were the two cylinders that had the intake valves open, makes sense since they are the 2nd in the firing order for each set of 4. Too bad it was left open, I guess even if the rocker arms had been loosened to let all the valves close, it might have been OK.

Now comes the decision as to how to proceed. Do I try to accomplish a quick cleanup on the affected cylinders with a honing tool, or is that just asking for trouble? I'm thinking that the best course of action to keep the project moving forward, is to go to the 86 HO engine that I bought as a spare. It was higher mileage, but a recent runner. If I take it, clean it up, and swap on the extra set of E7 heads that I have, I could get the car going as a runner that much sooner. Not really looking to spend the money right now on a full rebuild of the 90 engine that was in the car, this is supposed to be a budget buildup as much as possible.

Comments, suggestions?


cheers
Ed N.

[ford141]

I'd say throw the runner in it for now, build up the 90 motor as time and budget allows. I think the honing is a temporary patch on a time bomb, and it will probably like to use oil. Throw the runner in, focus on getting the rest of the car right, build a motor later.

[Russell]

When you say clean up the 86 motor you mean wash the out side or new rings a barings? I would spray the rusty cylenders with PB blaster to free up the rings. Take the pistons out see what they look like run a hone in it see if its got any pits. The main thing I don't like about 86 motors is the flat top pistons. How much more power will you get when going from e6 heads to e7? Is that power increase worth the cost of a head swap on a temporary motor? If you have to do a quick rebuild, how about the 86 block 90 pistons and e7 heads? If the 86 will drop in as it sits that's exactly what I would do. If I gotta put new head gaskets on a high mileage motor its getting rings and barings at the same time.

[Tom Slick]

When you say clean up the 86 motor you mean wash the out side or new rings a barings? I would spray the rusty cylenders with PB blaster to free up the rings. Take the pistons out see what they look like run a hone in it see if its got any pits. The main thing I don't like about 86 motors is the flat top pistons. How much more power will you get when going from e6 heads to e7? Is that power increase worth the cost of a head swap on a temporary motor? If you have to do a quick rebuild, how about the 86 block 90 pistons and e7 heads? If the 86 will drop in as it sits that's exactly what I would do. If I gotta put new head gaskets on a high mileage motor its getting rings and barings at the same time.

Y'all probably knew this already, but you can't use e7's with the flat tops in the e6 lower end without cutting valve reliefs. Even the stock cam will cause Mr. piston to interfere with Mr. valve. The chambers in the e6 head are funky different taller. I've been considering cutting a valve relief with a carbide tip brazed to a valve just to see how deep they have to be with a stock cam. I think there is enough meat in the piston to do it? I figured between the 3 or 4 cc reliefs instead of the 6 or 7 the later pistons use and 59cc P heads instead of 61ish E7's, and a zero deck, it would be worth almost a full point in compression.

[mustang13]

Tom treed me on the no-mix 86 short block, E7 head deal. thats what makes 86 shortblock a pain in the arse. My two cents, if the 86 engine has a clean bill of health, put it in and get the car moving.

This kinda makes me wonder when in the future the stock of seasoned 5.0 HO longblocks for projects will dry up. I know around here, back 10 years, you couldn't throw your hat without hitting a cheap used roller HO engine if you needed one.

Ed, I think the rusty engine has spoken, and is calling out for a 331 kit, since it needs a bore job

[milner351]

Jeremy - I think the mustang HO engines will be hard to find eventually - but there are SO MANY F150's econolines crown vics, etc with the run of the mill roller block 302s - I dare say we'll never be in the same boat as the flathead guys.

I agree - 331 is the way to go - my friend that owns the trans shop is building one up now for his maverick.

[fast Ed]

I know it's tight for P/V clearance, but lots of people have used E7TE heads on 86 pistons ... that has always been a popular swap for the unfortunate 86 owners.

If I run the 86 engine, it will either be completely as is, other than giving it an external cleaning and swapping over the 87-up style intake plenum, OR, I will give it a go with the fresh set of E7 heads I have as extras.

A 331 would be nice, but if I want to run the car legally in VARAC vintage racing, that would be a no-no. The SCCA Escort Endurance series rules from 1989 called for a pretty much stock engine. I'm not looking for huge power in this car anyway, a strong stocker with some bolt-ons will be quick enough, and reliable. I can scare myself easily enough at Mosport through the 80 - 100 mph corners, without worrying about additional speed on the straights. :D


cheers
Ed N.