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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Mustang / November 2004'66 mustang - help!
I've just returned from a long trip to find that my wife bought my soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter a '66 mustang for her upcoming birthday. It looks to be in nearly perfect condition from the outside. I'm embarrassed to say, however, that I cannot figure out how to open the hood, and I don't even know what kind of engine it has. Can anyone tell me how to get the damn hood open? I should be pissed at my wife for not consulting me, but this this a very cool car. My best friend had one just like it in college, and we had the hood open a lot, so I know it's possible. :-)  SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. > I've just returned from a long trip to find that my wife bought my > soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter a '66 mustang for her upcoming birthday. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > very cool car. My best friend had one just like it in college, and we > had the hood open a lot, so I know it's possible. :-) Never mind! I just figured it out. It's a 289, and the engine compartment looks very clean and tidy. SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. Hmmm...I'd think about punishing both of them.... Let your daughter have the lesser car, your wife the next better and you take the Mustang! : I've just returned from a long trip to find that my wife bought my : soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter a '66 mustang for her upcoming birthday. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] : very cool car. My best friend had one just like it in college, and we : had the hood open a lot, so I know it's possible. :-) Let's see -- drum brakes, lap belts only, no air bags, poorly protected gas tank... And you're giving it to your 18-year-old daughter? As a second car, I hope, although I can't imagine what any 18-year-old would need with two cars. I used to have a '66 Mustang. I got it from my dad, who bought it new, in '74, and I drove it for most of the next 16 years. I loved that car, but I finally had to conclude that it wasn't really safe to be driving my two young sons around in it. I would never consider giving a car with such outdated technology and such primitive safety features to an 18-year-old. YMMV, of course, and good luck. Paul >I would never consider giving a car with such >outdated technology and such primitive safety features to an 18-year-old. All the car will need is a mirror on the sun visor for doing make up, and a charger for the cell phone. Then it will be up to date for todays teen. DC >>I would never consider giving a car with such >>outdated technology and such primitive safety features to an 18-year-old. > > All the car will need is a mirror on the sun visor for doing make up, and a > charger for the cell phone. Then it will be up to date for todays teen. Actually, Dead, you also need some speakers for your iPod. I test-drove it today. The rumble of the dual-exhaust 289 sent me back into time. The only thing that gave me pause was the brakes. Geez, they suck. Is it just because I'm used to power assist, or are they really that bad? SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. >The only thing that gave me pause was the brakes. Geez, they >suck. Is it just because I'm used to power assist, or are they really >that bad? Drum brakes do suck. The 66s brakes should be upgraded. You can retrofit some Granada front discs onto it yourself or buy one of the available kits on the aftermarket. At the bare minimum the single reservoir master cylinder should be replaced with a dual unit from a 67 or later for piece of mind. DC > >The only thing that gave me pause was the brakes. Geez, they > >suck. Is it just because I'm used to power assist, or are they really [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > DC Personally I prefer the feel of drum brakes, and they can actually stop a car better than disks. The problem with drums, and why disks were adopted as standard eventually was because drums hold heat in and will fade and become very hard when decelerating rapidly from high speeds. Big drums or drilled/vented drums and the problem is significantly reduced. For example, on my '68 galaxie with 11"x2.5" drums I am good for one emergency stop from ~85 MPH and my brakes are just about done. Even then, slowing that last 10-15 MPH takes a lot of effort. Despite that the car still stops in a good distance for a full-size car weighing about 2 tons. My point is the brakes were good enough in '66 so they are good enough today. Drive accordingly and there is no problem. Leave an appropriate following distance (which most people don't do, but shoudl anyway), and basically just don't overdrive what the car is capable of. But yes, a dual reservoir master cylinder is worthwhile. I wouldn't say it's something that 'must' be done with any urgency, but is definitely worthwhile for a daily driver. More than likely you'll never have a problem where you lose all hydraulic pressure, but in the event you do, you'll appreciate the dual reservoir system. Cory >Subject: Re: '66 mustang - help! >From: deadcarnahans@aol.com (Deadcarnahans) >Date: 11/13/04 10:26 PM Eastern Standard Time >Message-id: >Drum brakes do suck. The 66s brakes should be upgraded. You can retrofit some >Granada front discs onto it yourself or buy one of the available kits on the >aftermarket. >At the bare minimum the single reservoir master cylinder should be replaced >with a dual unit from a 67 or later for piece of mind. Excellent advice. In addition to the Granada conversion, there are now companies that sell adapter brackets that utilize the original drum spindles and adapt later model Cadillac caliper and discs for cheap. Excellent mod. Larger rear drums can be easily adapted from late model Crown Vics to upgrade the rear to match the upgraded fronts. In addition to the dual master cylinder, power assist can now be added to the dual conversion. Make sure that every inch of brake line is replaced, or at least carefully checked. John 66 2+2 >>Subject: Re: '66 mustang - help! >>From: deadcarnahans@aol.com (Deadcarnahans) [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >Larger rear drums can be easily adapted from late model Crown Vics to upgrade >the rear to match the upgraded fronts. Good advice is often annoying, bad advice never. >In addition to the dual master cylinder, power assist can now be added to the >dual conversion. There is one example of a theory involving "time shells" progressing in size and intensity around a gravitational point from all matter. The more massive the object, the larger and more influential the time shells around it (like an onion). Another offshoot of this theory is that kinetic energy is actually the conversion of stored energy in the atom as it passes through time shells in a gravitational field. John Titor spoke of this when he last visited. >Make sure t A graceful taunt is worth a thousand insults. >John >66 2 2 When they needed a system to "debug" various legacy computer programs in 2036, John Titor traveled to 1975. UNIX has a problem in 2038. -- Lady Chatterly "None of you soc.men seem to recover gracelully when a class lady like Lady Chatterly smacks you around." -- Daedalus > >>I would never consider giving a car with such > >>outdated technology and such primitive safety features to an 18-year-old. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > -- > Cut "to the chase" for my email address. > >>I would never consider giving a car with such > >>outdated technology and such primitive safety features to an 18-year-old. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > suck. Is it just because I'm used to power assist, or are they really > that bad? Power assist does nothing to make the car stop more quickly. If you can't lock the wheels, or the back wheels lock before the front then there is a problem. Otherwise, as long as the pedal is firm and the brakes engage at an appropriate height on the pedal and you have enough 'reserve' pedal travel all is well. The limiting factor in stopping a car is usually the traction of the tires (hence if you can't lock the wheels there is a problem). Cory > Power assist does nothing to make the car stop more quickly. If you can't > lock the wheels, or the back wheels lock before the front then there is a > problem. This is puzzling to me. I'm a bicyclist, and I know that on a bike if the back wheel locks before the front wheel it's no big deal, but if the front wheel locks first, your face will be on the pavement. I'm definitely getting the dual reservoir master cylinder. Thanks to this newsgroup for suggesting that. Finally, can anyone recommend a good vintage Mustang mechanic in the SF Bay Area? I used to be a shade-tree mechanic, years ago, but I don't trust myself to work on the brakes of my daughter's car. SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. > > Power assist does nothing to make the car stop more quickly. If you can't > > lock the wheels, or the back wheels lock before the front then there is a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the back wheel locks before the front wheel it's no big deal, but if the > front wheel locks first, your face will be on the pavement. Drive the Mustang, or any car without ABS. Get moving well and good, and in a safe spot decellerate rapidly, then lock the wheels. You will feel yourself stopping, the g-forces on your body, as the car stops hard. Then when you lock the wheels you will notice a difference, right when the wheels lock you feel the car move forward more quickly. That is to say, your rate of decelleration slows. The limitation of _any_ properly setup brake system is the tires. A tire has the most traction when it is rolling, and the least traction when it sliding. Therefore, a sliding tire (locked wheel) will move faster (decellerate slower) than a non-locked braking wheel. Think about that for a second. What happens if you front wheels lock first? Well the car will take longer to stop if you keep the wheels locked. What about if the back lcoks first? If the back locks first the rear end of the car will not have the same rate of deceleration as the front, and will be trying to move faster than the front of the car and have little side to side traction. The end result is that the rear end of the car will try to move ahead of the front end of the car, which will manifest itself with the back end sliding out to one side or the other and putting the car into a skid if the driver does not know what he/she is doing. On a bicycle I believe it's worse to lock the front wheel first because you onyl have to wheels. The front steers and helps keep your stability more than the rear. If you lose side to side traction on the front wheel it amkes the bike very unstable and much ahrder to control than when the back wheel locks. > I'm definitely getting the dual reservoir master cylinder. Thanks to > this newsgroup for suggesting that. Good. I drive a '68 Galaxie 500 (first car was a '67 Galaxie 500, a few years ago). In '67 Ford made dual reservoir master cylinders on all their cars standard. My girlfriend wants a '65-'66 Mustang (will be her first car). A friend from work has one he has had sitting in his garage for several years he probably sin't going to do anything with. So we may end up getting that car for her. If that's the case, since it's been sitting for nearly 10 years one of the things I'm going to do to it is to replace all teh wheel cylinders and the master cylinder. While I'm replacing the master cylinder I'll put in a dual reservoir master cylinder and distribution block from a '67 or later model car. Just one of those things that would probably never be a problem, but if I'm in there I'm definitely gonna upgrade it because I don't wanna take any chances with the girl I love over a relatively cheap and easy conversion. > Finally, can anyone recommend a good vintage Mustang mechanic in the SF > Bay Area? I used to be a shade-tree mechanic, years ago, but I don't > trust myself to work on the brakes of my daughter's car. Brake work is pretty easy and straightforward, but if you don't trust your work it's always best to have someone who knows what they are doing do the work. If you don't know for sure about the carb or something it's no big deal, the worst that happens is you won't go, but it gets real bad very quickly when you can't stop! Emergency brakes don't stop cars very quickly at all. Anyhow, I'm from the east coast, so I can't help you with a good mechanic. >>Finally, can anyone recommend a good vintage Mustang mechanic in the SF >>Bay Area? I used to be a shade-tree mechanic, years ago, but I don't [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > at all. Anyhow, I'm from the east coast, so I can't help you with a good > mechanic. Once again, I'll ask whether anyone can recommend a reliable and honest Mustang mechanic in the SF Bay Area, preferably on the Peninsula. I'm starting to get desperate. SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. One thing I don't like about this car is that it's an automatic. On modern cars I prefer automatic to manual, but not on this one. The 289 engine is so powerful and the transmission is so crude that I feel like I have to keep extreme pressure on the brakes to avoid running into something from a dead stop. Maybe the transmission is not right. I don't know. Is it a really big deal to convert it to a manual transmission? SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. I owned a 65 back in 1970-71, 289 2v auto, which I street raced in Seattle, and was quite happy with it's performance. It does sound like something is not set up right. But it had power brakes. Generally, as I recall, at idle, the drivetrain should hold the car in place on an incline (like in SF), not advance (though in SF you might want it to advance slightly due to the steepness of the hills) or roll back. Brakes DO make a difference in feel. What you describe I never experienced with that 65FB. The 66FB I sold a while back, did have that feel. It was a 289 2v auto with manual drum brakes all around. >One thing I don't like about this car is that it's an automatic. On >modern cars I prefer automatic to manual, but not on this one. The 289 [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Is it a really big deal to convert it to a manual transmission? Hey! Spikey Likes IT! 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8" w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16 >Subject: Re: '66 mustang - help! >From: rw rw56_to_the_chase@earthlink.net >Date: 11/17/04 3:26 PM Eastern Standard Time >Message-id: <GtOmd.1540$Tq6.960@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net> The 289 >engine is so powerful and the transmission is so crude that I feel like >I have to keep extreme pressure on the brakes to avoid running into >something from a dead stop. Your car has the Ford C4, a very good automatic transmission even by today's standards (except only three forward speeds and no lockup converter of course). The torque converter on these cars seem to have a very low stall speed, so excessive idle speed can cause difficulty in holding the car still with drum brakes in need of attention. I had the exact same problem, and the transmission wasn't the problem. After rebuilding the carb (so it would idle on it's own) and brakes, the problem was gone. John 66 2+2 > The torque converter on these cars seem to have a very low stall speed, so > excessive idle speed can cause difficulty in holding the car still with drum > brakes in need of attention. Drum brakes actually take less affort to hold a car still. the design of drum brakes naturally aides in braking effort. The only downside to drum brakes is that they will hold in heat, and water if they are submerged. call a local Mustang club either for help or for references in the SF area. I know there is at least one in the Oakland/Vallejo area, and in the Marin area as well. >>>Finally, can anyone recommend a good vintage Mustang mechanic in the SF >>>Bay Area? I used to be a shade-tree mechanic, years ago, but I don't [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >Mustang mechanic in the SF Bay Area, preferably on the Peninsula. I'm >starting to get desperate. Hey! Spikey Likes IT! 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8" w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16 > I used to have a '66 Mustang. I got it from my dad, who bought it new, in > '74, and I drove it for most of the next 16 years. How did your dad buy a '66 car new in '74? SignatureCut "to the chase" for my email address. >How did your dad buy a '66 car new in '74? He got it from his dad in '74, his dad bought it new in '56 DC >>How did your dad buy a '66 car new in '74? > >He got it from his dad in '74, his dad bought it new in '56 > >DC Wow-- that's even better, buying a car 10 years before it comes out. heh heh >Wow-- that's even better, buying a car 10 years before it comes out. You can save a lot of money by buying cars on the futures market... DC I bought a 65 FB in Tacoma in 1970 (5 yr old in mint $1000). My runnin' partner a few months later was out looking and found a 67FB never sold by the dealer. Dealer got it as a stripped 6 cyl plain jane.... when Dale bought it it has 294 4v, custom paint, headers, dual exhaust, custom wheels and skins, custom sound and custom interior (not just upgraded to pony, but taken to a custome upholstry shop). Total price.. $2700.... and still under factory warrantee because all the upgrades were done by the dealer. Two weeks later Dale had orders to Vietnam... said it was going on blocks until he got back. Those specials deals are out there.... I just never seem to be the one to find them... LOL... The 66FB I sold a few months ago cost (rounded off) $14,000. The 65FB I later bought cost $9000 before restorations (estimate is around $26,000 by the time I have it all done). But this owner has more luck than Henry Ford! Who wouldn't want to find a car that will be a run away hit for four decades, a decade before it even apprears as a portotype..... >>>How did your dad buy a '66 car new in '74? >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >heh heh Hey! Spikey Likes IT! 1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8" w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16 > Let's see -- drum brakes, lap belts only, no air bags, poorly protected gas > tank... And you're giving it to your 18-year-old daughter? As a second car, > I hope, although I can't imagine what any 18-year-old would need with two > cars. What does age have to do with that? Technically no one needs more than one car, and many people don't even need a car at all. > I used to have a '66 Mustang. I got it from my dad, who bought it new, in > '74, and I drove it for most of the next 16 years. I loved that car, but I > finally had to conclude that it wasn't really safe to be driving my two > young sons around in it. I would never consider giving a car with such > outdated technology and such primitive safety features to an 18-year-old. Now I've never driven a Mustang, but my first car was a '67 Galaxie 500. That was a very safe car. I got it a couple years ago when I was 17. I drove it for two years then sold it and got a '68 Galaxie 500. That '67 stopped quickly, handled well, and accelerated quickly. It did well enough for what it was and was safe. The only accident I ever got in with that car was when I was sitting at a red light, completely stopped. I was t-boned by an old hag who claimed that I hit her. Damage to my car was limited to cosmetic damage to the door. Had I been driving some econo-box my passenger likely would have been hurt and the car would have suffered mechanical damage. So what if it doesn't stop like some fancy modern s**t-box car? It makes no difference. My Galaxie stopped very well, not quite as quickly as your typical modern car, but very well nonetheless. You drive accordingly to what your vehicle is capable of. I never had any trouble. Just like driving any car, you don't overdrive the cars handling or braking and you won't have any trouble. Lap belts keep you in your seat. A good driver will avoid getting into an accident in the first place, so whiplash won't be an issue from no shoulder belt or head restraint. The only significant thing a pre-68 Mustang would be down on safety with regards to is a solid steering column. That could hurt you in a high speed head on collision. Mustangs are compact unibody cars, same as the Falcon. They _will_ crumple in high speed impacts just like any compact unibody car. That and the single reservoir brake setup. A dual reservoir setup is a cheap and worthwhile investment. Yeah, it's a long shot it'll ever come in handy, but if one of your rear wheel cylidners ever blows a seal you'll be very happy to have front brakes instead of using just the e-brake. Any Car is only as safe as the driver...??? Hmmmmm SUVs will roll over if you make hard turn at 65 or 70 mph on any road condition (seen it done on a dry four lane freeway... My 93 Explorer caught fire under the dash while driving down the road..seen a Pinto get rear ended at about 50 mph and the driver of the Pinto walked away and there was no explosion of the gas tank... and just a few months ago I saw a newer Volvo (safest car on the road ) So they claim... get hit on the right front fender when a Chevy S10 ran a light moving about 30 mph or so and the driver of the Volvo was transported with massive head injuries ...seat belts ? My 16 year old daughters 89 Cadi Fleetwood ( No Bags ) was totaled when hit on the right front fender by a full size Bronco, her nor her 3 friends had seat belts on (Already put FOOT to a.s for that one ) they only had minor bumps and bruises.... She took her insurance money and bought a 73 Mustang Grande... Big, Real Steel, (I mounted the front seats of a 96 ford Probe and new seat belt system) but other than that I feel she's safer in it than a little Jap inspired car, like the ones I drive. TEACH YOUR KIDS HOW TO DRIVE ... Wide angle vision...always know what's around you and keep your distance Drive safe............................... > I've just returned from a long trip to find that my wife bought my > soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter a '66 mustang for her upcoming birthday. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > very cool car. My best friend had one just like it in college, and we > had the hood open a lot, so I know it's possible. :-) |
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