Our 1968 Mustang

[Russell]

My wife and I just got our first classic car, it was "Grandma's car" 35K original miles, its mostly an original car with aftermarket fenders and a repaint. It's got a little rust on the under side. Runs a little ruff I think the thermostat is stuck open never got up to temp in the 13 mile / 25 min drive across town. It is your basic 2V 289 auto with A/C

What are the dos and don'ts of getting a classic to be reliable, I am plan on putting in a new thermostat what temp? I was thinking about putting in a 180* I going to go ahead and change the oil, I know there has been a lot of talk here about oil, so here is another can of worms what type of oil is the is going to keep an old low mileage engine happy? Change the ATF or leave it alone? Should I use the lead additives in the fuel? I am sure there will be many questions along the way. Right now the plan is to leave it mostly stock put duals with h-pipe, I need to decide on what type of mufflers. Then drive it often!

[ecniv]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

I'd go ahead and change all the fluids, but more importantly, do a good brake job. Others here will have more useful input, but as far as oil goes I use the cheapest stuff I can find with the API (American Petroleum Institute) donut on it.

[Russell]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

That is a good point, the breaks have been "redone" it stops pretty good for manual drums, I think I will pull the drums and see what they looks like. It has a new gas tank, points plugs and wires, new alternator, and battery

[ford141]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Pulling the drums to check everything out is a good idea, and it lets you get familiar with the car. While you have the wheels off, you can inspect suspension parts and steering components too. That is the first thing that I do with a new "old vehicle" purchase. I've bought trucks with "new brakes", and when I tore them apart I found springs and parts missing from the drum brakes, bolts missing or broken in the calipers, etc. It's a good way to get to know your car.

[ksj1]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Dont forget hoses and cooling sytem.Treat it like you would any other used car purchase.If it looks suspect,fix it.If G-ma had the car serviced regularly then you shouldnt have to do much.Drive and enjoy.Nice car by the way!

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

That's a good idea. It's how I discovered the hardware, return springs and shoes were on backwards on my car. It was constantly locking up.

There are plenty of pics available to show how everything is supposed to be.


BTW, it's a great looking Stang. Have a blast with her.

Changing fluids is a good place to start. It will tell you a lot about the drive train. Get the radiator flushed too.

For a reliable car these days, I like to replace the points ignition with electronic. There are many options for your car from simple, inexpensive to wild and pricey. If the carb is all gunky and leaky, I'd rebuild that too.

[Huskinhano]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Welcome! Good score, as a Mustang owner, you have a good year. Upgrades in a lot of safety such as dual brake circcuits and collapsible steering column instead of the Spear-O-Matic as in my 66. A cheap upgrade you can do to the front drums is to radially drill them. It allows trapped water to escape and aides in brake cooling. Do a search on drilled brake drums, you'll find a lot of info. I also found if you have aftermarket finned front drums, you can use the big block 2.5" wide brake shoes instead of the 2.25" that you have now.

Right now, I'm running a 2" dual exhaust on mine with Dynomax mufflers. I'm using them specifically because they are the right size externally and they don't neck down internally. If you stick with the factory exhaust manifolds, probably any larger exhaust is going to be a waste of money.

There's a lot of low buck mods you can do to the suspension as well. I'll tell you about them when you get to that point.

[rightpedal]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

So are we going to see this beast in Maxton?

Do ford motors use the elbow hose at the water pump that nobody changes?

Keep it in the garage when it rains or put a cowl cap on it. East coast mustangs are always rusting out at the vents.

Put shifter bushings in it, makes a world of difference. I hate the limp handshake when you though it in gear. When you are in there check the denitents for wear, I have had a cougar jump out of park into reverse at fast idle. I cost me a MCL and a lot of 60 chevy parts.

I can't think of any Mustang specific preps. The brake/bearings are worth a look. Ujoints tend to dry out with time greasing them up might be a good idea.

Steve

[ponchoman]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Congrats on the car! That's a nice looking Mustang, and you should have some good enjoyment with it.

I'd also say the normal stuff. Belts/hoses, brakes, crawl underneath and look hard at body mounts, etc.

[Thumpin455]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Tear it apart, take it to bare metal, and rebuild it from the ground up. Jus kiddin.. Looks like a nice ride. For me to use it as a DD it would get disc brakes, fluids changed, and a 650 vacuum secondary Holley on a cheap intake. Maybe a set of headers and some dynomax mufflers.

[terry russell]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Very nice.
terry

[Monster]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

That is one purdy Stang you got there Russell !!
;D

[fahrenschnell]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

Beauty Russell.....My first car was a 68' mustang......but mine was not even close to that nice..

Great buy.......

Seth

[milner351]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

nice looking car - you've gotten the first part of the process right - you found a great car to start with.

as you probably already know - you can buy just about any part for that car from a number of suppliers, NPD, Paddock, mustang warehouse, the list goes on and on.

I would agree with all the above - change all the fluids - add a bottle of cam break in lube or at least red stp to the engine oil to protect the flat tappet camshaft. Changing the trans fluid and filter is also a great idea.

For sure inspect the brakes, but don't stop with the mechanicals - flush the brake fluid to get all the old stuff out, brake fluid likes to absorb water from the atmosphere - and over time it can really screw up your brakes from the inside out.

My first upgrade as mentioned above would be to convert the points to electronic ignition, probably second after that would be swapping out the front brakes for discs. If you want more power - the easiest place to start is a 4 barrel carb on an aluminum intake, long tube headers and dual exhaust.... but this car will give you lots of enjoyment just the way it is.

I would do the fluids and brakes - then in the spring drive it as much as you can and find out what upgrades you feel would be the best bang for the buck, and start there.

great car!

[std]

Re: Our 1968 Mustang

That's a grett car, Russel

Did anyone say Dual Master cylinder? Not so much for reliability as safety.

Change all the fluids. Regularly

180 thermostat should be fine.

I like electronic ignition just cause they're so simple. Don't hook it up to the original ignition hot wire though. They're not 12 volts. Find a hot lead with 12 volts with the key on and while you're cranking it over. Some power is off when the starter is turning.

Don't worry about leaded fuel. Your car will be fine without it. If you're worried about you can put a lead additive in the tank from time to time, but it's not critical.

I'd run a name brand mineral oil. No reason to cheap out on the oil. How many miles are you going to drive it? The price difference between name brand and no name isn't much in the long run. I'd suggest Pennsoil, but John would badmouth me about that.

Have I repeated what everyone else said? I'll have to re read the thread and see if i missed anything.