Ok…I sorry (not really) but I have to consider what my readers like. And to date one of the most read articles on my blog is the piece I did on the Mustang II King Cobra http://wp.me/pKHNM-uY . (Go ahead you know are going to go read it!!)
So I’m going to do a series on the Mustang II (after all I’m project managing the restoration of a 1975 VW, I could spend sometime on that era Mustang). We’ll touch on the 4 and 6 cylinders and yes there was a 302.
So we’ll start with a history lesson.
1973 was the last year for the more powerful and larger bodies Mustangs. Ford may have thought they were going back to the original size Mustang and the 1974 version was in fact close to that size. The 1966 Mustang had a wheelbase of about 108 inches ( 181.6 inches in total) and the 1974 was 96.2 (175.0 inches over all). Compare to the 1973 which (depend on which version) was 187.5-190.0 inches over all.
The generation ran from 1974 to 1978 and sported some collectible cars, the King Cobra and Mach I…yes Mach I’s in a Mustang II.
Christmas has come and gone and 2011 is almost in the bag. As the year draws to a close, I often think of things I didn’t get to do or didn’t get enough of and then decide if they’re worth carrying over to next year.
2011 has been a bit of a rollercoaster year, changing jobs can really take some of the wind out of sails of the “U.S.S. Fun” yacht. So I didn’t get nearly enough race time and fell way short of the number of car show attended or participated in. I didn’t get as far as I thought I would with the Mustang mods either… although the upholstery and transmission were pretty key and did get finished. I didn’t make my goal of 500 posts this year on the blog, but there’s still a little time left so I can get close.
Creating the commercial side of Average Guy’s Car Restoration, Mods and Racing got kicked off with taking on the project management for a 1975 VW Beetle restoration (a $20K restoration, yes REALLY) and shortly I’ll have completed my certification for classic, racing and specialty car appraisals. I still need to finish my web site and grab some sponsors and then pick up a business license.
So my carry-overs will be more racing, SCCA and local drag strip; more mods for the Mustang (and maybe a little something for the Vette). The car shows numbers will be increased and that will start in January, with the car show of all car shows, the Barrett-Jackson 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ. (Yes, I do consider it a car show – it’s only an auction to those that go there to buy.) I’d like to spend more time with my Corvette Club (Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts – ACE) and maybe hook up with one of the all-purpose car clubs as well. I’m looking forward to having an article or two published…somewhere and boosting the commerical side of things.
That’s a pretty big personal agenda for next year, but I’ve got some up and coming things for the blog as well. I’m going to expand the engine series a bit and include crate engines. I try to stay way form fuel injected engines and just keep it ‘old school’, hard to do when you own a new-ish Vette, however so don’t be surprised some modern-mods. Will try to do more “live feeds” from events, those are fun but a lot of work. I have one more avenue to try and that’s pod casts. They’ll be hosted on my site and maybe even try a couple video blog cast.
Ok that’s it for now.
Thanks for reading and stop by and drop me a note on the blog.
Well, I’m officially depressed. No it’s not because of the holidays, or the rapidly approaching June when I’ll move too far into the 50’s to be able to fool myself that I’m just barely 50, nope none of those things.
I’m looking at GM’s (bastards!!) Performance Catalog and all the shiny things in it. Like the ported LS3 heads, and the LS376 – 525…yes 525 hp in a crate engine, drop in and drive. I realize two things, I need an older Chevy to play with (or upgrade the C6 Vette) and that I’ll need a second job if I even want to touch any of this stuff and where will I live when the better half finds this stuff laying around the garage? (Tell me you aren’t depressed now?!?!!…It’s ok…admin it!!!)
Note: It’s gonna get worse… I have the Ford performance parts catalog as well…all I can say is thank GOD!!! I don’t have a Morpar to drive around….oh….the therapy…bills….!!! Why, OH Why didn’t I drink the family KoolAide when I was a kid..I would have been able to shun the Fords and Mopars and just be a normal one brand car guy??
There is some awesome stuff the Chevrolet Performance Team is put out, everything from small block crates to LSX monsters, to circle track crate engines.
Over the next few post I’m going to cover a few highlights and a couple unexpected – like engines for the Chevy Cobalt and some V6 engines. (Have just read some specs for the upcoming 2013 Mustang V6 – I want to see what Chevy’s got.)
In fact let’s start with something off the wall. Like the 900 V6 Intake for a 4 barrel carb!! What???!!!! It’s an aluminum high-performance for the 3.8 or 4.3 liter V6. So go ahead bolt on that 390 cfm carb..oh heck….grab that 600 cfm 4150 and drop it on top.
That is not a bad price. Of course it’s not for all heads, like it won’t fit the 3800 V6 or the 18 degree heads and you might have add a bump to your hood for clearance!!!
Dec 16, 2011 the last produced Ford Ranger. This isn’t just the end of the Ford Ranger, its the end of the Cologne V6 and the closing of a plant that has been producing car since 1925 – over 25 million. The last Ranger was a fleet car going to Orkin Pest Control – yawn – couldn’t have been a Raptor or and F150 Harley Davison version.
2012 V6 Ford Ranger - The last one.
The plant produced armored cars during WW II and 50’s Fords, early Crown Vics and Galazies. It also produced one of my favorite cars the Ford Sunliner.
The engines for the 1973 Mustangs pretty well with the rest of the matched up the other models engines, but with some minor “tweaks”.
You couldn’t get a Mustang with a 4 cylinder (yet) but you could get with the standard 6. This was the 250 version, (250 cubic inches of displacement) the bore and stroke was 3.68 x 3.91 also used in the Torino. Topping it with a single barrel Motocraft carb and coupled with a compression ratio of 8.0:1 gave it a ground pounding horse power rating of 88 (Oh don’t worry, it gets worse in 1974).
302 remained the same for the Mustang and was the standard for the Mach 1. The 351’s (Cleveland and Windsor were available and they really remained the same as those for the other models.
Now you might be saying, ‘Well Tim, seems like you typed yourself in to a corner here. Those engines are the same.” But here is what made the differences – options!!!
With special intakes, valve springs, dampers, large 4300 D carbs, 2.5 inch diameter dual exhaust outlets and modified cam, you now talking increased breathing and exhaling capacity. Which we all know means…say it with me…..”MORE HORSE POWER!!!!!” But how much? I’m glad you asked.
The 351 with these types of option produced between 246 and 266 horse power. The 302 doesn’t show being configured with anything other than the stock options.
The world’s most significant all-Corvette show is moving back to central Illinois. After nearly a decade of being held at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Bloomington Gold will be moving about 115 miles south to the town of Champaign for 2013, near where it first began nearly four decades ago.
According to Bloomington Gold CEO, David Burroughs, “Although it will be hard to beat the beautiful fairways of Pheasant Run, input from Corvette-owning customers wanted more opportunity for socializing and driving events as part of the entire Corvette show experience. It needed to become more dynamic.”
David went on to say: “Our customers own Corvettes because they are fun to drive. So, we needed a venue that not only served our exhibitors and customers who buy/sell and certify Corvettes, but also a venue that makes it easy and fun to navigate to/from and around the community before, during, and after the show. Therefore, we needed a small-town atmosphere with big-town hotels, great facilities, and quick escape routes to miles of country roads. Champaign, Illinois, has the smaller-town atmosphere, and the University of Illinois Assembly Hall grounds have everything else.”
So mark your calendar for June 27-30, 2013. Not only will this be the first year for the new venue, but it will also be the show’s 40th anniversary. And if you’ve ever attended one of the Bloomington Gold shows, you’ll know that there’s something very special planned that every Corvette enthusiast will not want to miss. In the meantime, the 2012 edition of Bloomington Gold will remain in St. Charles and take place June 21-24. For more information, visit BloomingtonGold.com.
I just recently picked up a copy of GMs new Performance catalog and all I can say is WOW!! But we’ll dive into that in a future post.
Gracing the cover was the latest and greatest COPO Camaro. You remember those special order packages. Well they have brought it back and factory racing just jumped up and shouted “LET DO IT!!!!” [vodpod id=Video.15839761&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]
Next up are the Ford 400’s that were available for 1973.
There were 3 options when it can to Ford’s biggest power plants in 1973, the 400 Cleveland the Thunderbird 429 and the Thunderbird 460. If you are thinking…YES!!! More Horse Power!!!! …you are going to be a bit disappointed, compared to today’s standard and the 1960’s standards.
The Cleveland had a cast iron block, over head valves and displaced 400 cubic inches. Its bore and stroke (4.00 x 4.00) and compression ratio (8.0: 1) were choked to death by the two barrel Motocraft carb. It produced only 163 hps
Wimpy - 400 2 barrel intake...needs a 4 barrel intake
Ford ' 73 400 in a wagon
The two Thunderbird engines (both cast iron with overhead valve) got the privilege of being topped with 4 barrel Motocraft carbs. The 429 displaced 429 cubic inches and the 460 knocked out..yup you guessed it 460 cubic inches.
They had a bore and store of 4.36 x 3.59 and 4.36 x 3.85 respectively and both had the same compression ratio of 8.0:1. The top hp for the 429 was just barely over 200 at 201 and the 460 out did that by 18 giving it a 219 hp.
Fords 460
429
Here is the twist with these and the rest of the Ford engines. The horse power stated was changed depending what model the engine was used in. Most of those in this series were the lowest stated. For example the 302 was rated at 135 hp in the Maverick, but 138 in the Torino. (Yes, a whopping 3 more hp!!!)
The average difference was between 1 and 5 hps, so we aren’t talking about a bunch of hidden power as they were configured. But we all know that you pop off the that 2 barrel carb off any of these engines and plop on wide mouth Holley, and you were going to get much better numbers!!
Thanks for reading. ’73 Mustang engines coming up.
