I fulfilled a dream of mine and bought a 1966 Ford Mustang. It is an original Finnish car with an A-code 289 V8 and 4 speed manual transmission. It needs a lot of work but that's partly why I bought it :) I will be writing more posts as the project proceeds.
With the exhaust manifolds installed, all the major parts were attached to the engine. I still had a million small details left though. I started with the fuel pump. To make sure it would not leak, I spread some Hylomar on both sides of the gasket before installing it.
The original fuel pipe from the pump to the carb was in good condition so I just cleaned and used it. Then came the oil pressure sender, carburetor, fuel filter, radiator, hoses, throttle linkage, wiring and spark plugs. I bough new NGK APR6FS plugs which should have the correct heat range for my engine. I also made sure that the plug gaps were all 0,75 mm (0.03 inches).
I had bought a Pertronix Ignitor 1 module and a new coil but decided against installing them yet. I would use the original coil and points in the distributor for the engine break in. I knew they worked so I thought it would be safer that way. I turned the number one piston TDC and dropped the distributor in.
I also decided to install the clutch equalizer bar so I could disconnect the transmission from the engine during break in. It was really dirty so I cleaned and painted it. Its bushings were also really worn so I got a new mounting kit.
Final pieces were the battery and valve covers. Connecting the battery revealed a major malfunction in my new starter relay. Right when the negative lead touched the terminal sparks started flying and the engine turned over. I tested the relay and it was short circuited all the time. Luckily my original relay still worked so I installed it back. Now all that I had to do was pour in the fluids and the engine was ready for its first start!
Finally both the car and the engine were ready to be joined together again. Luckily a friend agreed to help me with it so I would not have to install the engine to the car alone. He brought along an engine hoist so we set it up, bolted some chains to the heads and attached them to the hook. I could not access the rear of the engine while it was attached to the stand so we first lowered it to the ground to install some parts.
I placed the separator plate on the dovel pins, dug out my flywheel and cleaned it of protective oil I had sprayed on it. Next I placed it on the crankshaft flange and we rotated it until all bolt holes lined up. You can only install it in one way so the balance weight is in the correct place. The holes in the crankshaft go straight through to the oil pan area so thread sealant must be used. I applied some on them and threaded the bolts in. To tighten them to the needed 80 ft-lbs. my friend had a long socket wrench that he used to prevent the crank from rotating while I used the torque wrench.
Next I had to swap in a new pilot bearing. I didn't have a suitable puller so I decided to use the "wet paper and a bolt" method shown in this video.
I just teared some paper in pieces, placed them in a bucket of water and started hammering the mush in the bushing. I used a bolt that filled the bore as tightly as possible and after a few minutes the old bushing dropped out. I've also seen grease and even bread used instead of paper but I think this method leaves the least mess. After getting the bushing out you just remove the paper and wipe the water off.
My new ACDelco 381009 clutch kit contained a new bushing and bearing. T-5 installation guide mentions that you should use a bearing so that is what I planned to install. Unfortunately when I tested it, it was so loose it slid right in the crank. There was no interference at all so it slid out just as easily. Clearly it could not be used. The new bushing on the other hand was correct so I had no choice but to use it as there was no time to get a new bearing. What I could find from net discussions it should work just as well.
After tapping in the bushing, it was time to install the clutch. I placed the centering tool and disk on the flywheel and then covered them with the pressure plate. I had bough new ARP bolts so I used them to pull it in. I tightened each bolt only about one turn in time to prevent bending the disk. Finally I torqued the bolts to 35 ft-lbs and pulled the installation tool out.
Then came the bellhousing, clutch lever and bearing. Bellhousing was simple to bolt in but the clutch lever and bearing were pretty tight. It took a few tries to get the bearing to stay in place while hooking the lever to its pivot but finally it went in.
I was ready to lift the engine to the car now but my friend suggested that we should bolt the transmission to the bellhousing and install the whole package at the same time. This would make my project much easier so I agreed. First I installed the T-5 adapter plate to the bellhousing. You need to drill two holes to it for the bolts but I had already done that earlier. Two of the bolts are threaded in from the inside but luckily we were able to tighten them without removing the bellhousing.
Next we lifted the T-5 transmission in place and fiddled it until the bolts started threading in. It took some twisting and showing but pretty soon all bolts were in and the engine was ready to be installed.
We would need to change the angle of the engine while lifting it. Unfortunately we did not have a tilting fixture so we had to improvise. After digging out a ratchet tie-down strap we attached it under the damper. It worked well enough for our needs so it was time to pump the engine up and manhandle it over the car.
Lowering the engine in the car was the most difficult part. Little by little we inched it down, forward and backward until the transmission passed the firewall. We had to be really careful not to scratch the paint or hit anything on the way down but we did get the engine in.
When the end of the transmission started touching the floor, we had to lift it somehow. First we released the strap and inched a jack under the transmission. With it we got the back end up while lowering the front. Some positioning and showing later we got the first engine mounting bolt in. After that getting the last three in was pretty simple. Then we could release the chains and the engine was installed!
Getting to this point took the whole night so I left a jack stand under the transmission and went home to rest.
