1965 Ford Mustang

[67ChevyRedneck]

Just took a computer restart... pain in the...

[67ChevyRedneck]

I absolutely made the right choice. I wish it was out in the sun, they look killer on the car.

I figured out my tire sizes. After a ton of reading, you apparently want your tires a little wider than the wheels, duh, and being that my actual wheel widths are 7-7/8" and 8-7/8" I'm going to go with 205/50/17 front and 235/45/17 rear. That will give me 8.07 & 9.25 inch widths and 25.07 amd 25.33 inch heights, respectively. So they should fit the rims nice, tuck the wheel wells, and the backs will have just a touch more height. My stock tire size is 205/70/14's which are about 25.3" high.

[JRANGER]

Nice!!! They are gonna look awesome...Look awesome on for sure....

[67ChevyRedneck]

So yeah, this happened today...

[slimbailess]

the wheels look good, glad I was able to give you some info about sizes...I ended up putting #620 springs in the front of mine, and cut half a coil off the front springs to get it down a little....

[67ChevyRedneck]

I went with the same tire in the back that you did, 245/45/17 on an 8" wheel. For the front I went with 215/50/17, which makes the front tire about 1/4" smaller than the rear.

My wheels were 17x7 w/4.25" BS and 17x8 w/4.75" BS, which is about 1/4" MORE backspace than most people have and my tires STILL rub!

The back is fine, except the factory quarters had nubs that stood out an inch into the wheel well past the inner lip (2 of them), once I bend those up a bit there should be no rub in the rear.

My fronts JUST BARELY rubbed at the top, and that was only when pushing it into curves that were also hills (causes suspension to dip) I wish I had gone with 205/50 and 235/45, but too late now, so I'm going to have to slightly roll the front fenders at the top.

Performing the shelby drop should help, as well as rebuilding the front suspension, which is completely shot. I was going to drop the nose some, but really like how it sits now. The shelby 1" drop really only drops the nose 3/8 to 1/2" according to most. But after I replace my sagging old springs it will probably be where it is now.

I'm really happy with the price as well. Shopping around I got the wheels for $596 and with discount tire's sale today, I got the "better" cooper tires for $475 mount and balanced. Looking at the old tires, I was going to have to replace them soon. They have an early 2005 date on them and are starting to get a little bit of dry rot.

[JRANGER]

looks awesome!

[Jahloha]

I am loving this Mustang, I have actually had in the back of my mind doing a Mustang after my truck. Always loved the 69'. So that leads to a question:

Is there a Mustang online forum equivalent to ours here? Something with good folks, good write ups, etc.?

I ask because I have been reading on our forum for about 2 years before I even owned my project truck now. Helped me gain a lot of basic knowledge, so I could hit the ground and not fall on my face haha.

[JRANGER]

Originally Posted by Jahloha

I am loving this Mustang, I have actually had in the back of my mind doing a Mustang after my truck. Always loved the 69'. So that leads to a question:

Is there a Mustang online forum equivalent to ours here? Something with good folks, good write ups, etc.?

I ask because I have been reading on our forum for about 2 years before I even owned my project truck now. Helped me gain a lot of basic knowledge, so I could hit the ground and not fall on my face haha.

http://www.vintage-mustang.com/
http://www.stangfix.com

I get more answers from stangfix but i get more replies to my build on vintage-mustang. So I use both, they are full of knowledge

[CAL 58 GMC]

The wheels look nice on your Mustang!

[67ChevyRedneck]

I missed some comments! YAY!

Thanks fellas, I really like the wheels too!

There are NO forums out there like this one. None. However, like mentioned above, http://forums.vintage-mustang.com is a good one. I'm "65 Pony" over there.

These cars have one HUGE problem... RUST RUST RUST! I can't tell you how many craigslist rust buckets I had to look at before I bought my car. The cowls is the worst and most expensive to fix, but they also rust in the torque boxes and frame rails even here in the south. I got lucky, I'm almost positive my car was a garage queen her whole life.

[InitialBoss]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I missed some comments! YAY!

Thanks fellas, I really like the wheels too!

There are NO forums out there like this one. None. However, like mentioned above, http://forums.vintage-mustang.com is a good one. I'm "65 Pony" over there.

These cars have one HUGE problem... RUST RUST RUST! I can't tell you how many craigslist rust buckets I had to look at before I bought my car. The cowls is the worst and most expensive to fix, but they also rust in the torque boxes and frame rails even here in the south. I got lucky, I'm almost positive my car was a garage queen her whole life.

You're lucky! I've been scouring Craigslist too but so many people want top dollar for rust buckets. I still don't understand why the fastback/sportsroof are so expensive too. I'm looking for a '69 fastback myself but haven't found one in my price range. I'm on vintage-mustang as InitialBoss. I'm reading up so I can learn more about the mustangs and how to fix them.

[Denee007]

Just finished going over your Mustang fun Great Mustang and you do great work!
dne'

[67ChevyRedneck]

Thanks! She's been immobile the past month or so. The single bowl master cylinder blew, thank God I fired it up one Saturday morning and the pedal went to the floor, so glad I wasn't out on the road!

I bought a dual bowl power set up, just never had time to set it up. I hope to have it back mobile this weekend. Biggest pain will be bending the lines and cramming the power set up in that tiny area....

[russgoodman]

Not sure how I've missed your thread all this time. I've got a pretty close match to it. No rocker moulding, no reverse lamps, wimbledon white, C code/c4. Mine doesn't have factory air or disc brakes though and its got Palomino interior. Congrats its looking good and its a very nice car!

[Denee007]

Hi, when I went to install the power booster in my 67 Mustang, it had a manual MC. I had to enlarge the hole for the power booster to fit and drill holes for the booster as well. It was a factory replacement booster from Chockstang. I don't know if your year would have that problem of having to enlarge the hole for the booster to fit.
I did install front disc brakes, so I needed a proportioning valve, so I used the ssbc adjustable proportioning valve.
However, I had my engine out doing the restoration process and was able to have plenty of room to work.
Do you have 4 wheel drum or disc drum?



You can make out where the old MC went, imagine the booster fitting up there. Wish I had know before paint work

[67ChevyRedneck]

I was finally able to verify 100% that the brakes were factory (apparently it was a really rare option for 65/66, but much more common on 67+? Not sure, still learning) but when I removed the MS I had to unhook all the lines and found all the lines/bends appeared to be original with the original distribution block and proportioning valve. (You can see dist. block and barely make out prop valve below that in pic) The car has the factory disc/drum set up.

When I removed the A/C I found the piece of the firewall that had been punched out at the factory and was stuck to the original firewall padding. I kinda hate that I remove it, but the vintage air set up is so much nicer.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I'm using the 2005-20BB power disc booster from NPD. It's supposed to be a direct bolt in. It even has an adjustable pedal rod. I'll find out soon. I'll mock it all up, bend the lines, take it apart, paint it, bleed it, and reinstall it all.

[Denee007]

Hi, are you also on AllFordMustangs? I was googling your part number and came up with something you posted about your booster brake install. You had your engine out not long ago? If so, that would have been a great time to do the brake stuff. I'm a member of stangfix.com, but haven't been on it in a long time. I'd feel like a traitor if I popped back on there!

The pic below just shows clearance is close, but that's how it was for the factory setup. It's awesome you have the factory disc/drum, so the proportioning valve that you have should be Ok? I was always told to replace all the brake lines due to the age of the car~ which I did. Something to consider.
Going now to work on my Mustang

[67ChevyRedneck]

Yes, that was me. Kit didn't have any instructions. Nothing. I have it all figured out now... just have to do it. I'll probably redo the brake lines, kits are pretty cheap now.

Never had the motor out. Hope I never do.

[Denee007]

Aw c'mon~ you have such a beautiful classic car! you could pull that engine, make that engine compartment Wow people when you open the hood! I'm just being the little devil on your shoulder~ don't mind me You and some friends could have that engine out in no time, reseal it, keep it stock the way it is, re-furbish the engine compartment and take care of the brake system while the engine is out, etc. That mustang of yours is worth the effort~ it's a collector! I'll help you! or, at least I'll be here for you! If you were down the street, I'd help!
dne'

[67ChevyRedneck]

Nah, I'm not "that guy." I drive my cars to shows dirty. I try to put a few thousand miles on each one per year, which makes it too much of a pain in the ass to clean. If I did detail it all up they would be dirty again in no time. I try to keep the inside and the paint clean. What happens under the hood stays under the hood.

Plus, I just have way too much to do. Full blown home renovation and 3 classic/project cars and a very busy career take up way too much time.

[JRANGER]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

Nah, I'm not "that guy." I drive my cars to shows dirty. I try to put a few thousand miles on each one per year, which makes it too much of a pain in the ass to clean. If I did detail it all up they would be dirty again in no time. I try to keep the inside and the paint clean. What happens under the hood stays under the hood.

Plus, I just have way too much to do. Full blown home renovation and 3 classic/project cars and a very busy career take up way too much time.

lol sounds like my approach..I plan to clean up my bay but ill be doing so with say a paint brush and the engine still in lol

[Denee007]

I do have to say, keeping the engine bay clean and underneath halfway decent~ a pita! So I can appreciate you and Ranger's way of doing things.
dne'

[67ChevyRedneck]

I don't think I'll be buying a classic Ford again. I'm pretty sure this car hates me

I mocked up the booster. Fit ok (SUPER TIGHT THOUGH!) and while testing the brake pedal fit noticed there was no way in hell the arm provided with the kit was going to fit my factory disc brake pedal's pin. So off to the store for a 5/8" drill bit I may never use again. $17 later I had what I needed. Probably paid way too much but I needed it. With the hole drilled the correct size I was even able to use the factory bushing. Not something you would expect to have to do for a $320 kit that is supposed to be a direct fit for your car. Looking at parts online, the same hole diameter for the pedal pin was used from at least 65-69.

The bushing is swapped from the old part to the new one in the last pic, so you can see on the original how much larger the hole was... not even remotely close to large enough.