1969 'Stang - Stephen W Nolen

Last Update: 02/20/08
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Latest Update: 2/20/2008 - More B-Quite / Wire Work

...and a little side project... The "GoMo"

Follow the Rebuild
Follow the slow process HERE or clicking on the pic at the right.
The basic plan is: 347 forged piston stroker, 5.0 roller block, Twisted Wedge heads, 1.7 rockers, TrickFlow cam, GT40 EFI intake, 70mm throttle body, C&L 80mm mass air and tube, four wheel disc brakes (stock front, SN95 rear), late model master, TKO 3550 5 speed, 4.11 9", 17 or 18" wheels, lowered back to earth and driven to enjoy.

A Little History
Stang2.jpg (58166 bytes)

Believe it or not, the old Mustang was my FIRST car... and I STILL have it. Purchased in the fall of 1974 while I was still 15 years old, the car had no idea of what it was in for. I distinctly remember the pain of having the car setting there in the driveway but having no (legal) means to enjoy driving it. Originally equipped with a two-barrel 351 Windsor engine, the car was extremely jacked up in the rear with no engine modifications. I spent the next several months cleaning and detailing my new found love in preparation for my 16th birthday. It was probably cleaner then than it ever has been since. Since I worked at an A&W drive-in before I owned the car, I definitely had 'car fever'. For the first year of my ownership, the car was left pretty much alone. I did lower the backend down some by removing the air shocks that were in addition to the re-arched springs.

What Was Next
My 1969 Stang

The summer after my 17th birthday I had a dilemma... I had some extra money I wanted to spend on the car. But what to do? I originally went to purchase some fancy 'side pipes' of the day... those that look like you have full headers exiting behind the front tires and then dumping into a big 4" pipe. (In reality you only had a 2" pipe feeding that big 4" unit but it still looked pretty cool. It definitely wouldn't help performance any though.) Once I got to the store to buy the pipes something happened. I can't remember if they didn't have them stock or I just chickened out.
I ended making a decision that I personally think changed my interest in the car for a long time to come. Instead of buy those 'showy' pipes, I came home with a new set of Appliance brand headers and shorty header mufflers. One of the downfalls of the Ford Windsor engines was it's limited exhaust capabilities and one of the best performance mods you could do to a car back then was headers. So after my friend Tab Marsh and I spent a day and a half trying to get these headers on the car... (it was a real pain since the car had power steering back then) we were ready to 'race'.

Hot Rod Heaven
stang3.jpg (98507 bytes) The reason I say that decision changed my interest in the car is that IF I had bought the side pipes, I feel certain I would have been primarily concerned about the 'showiness' of the car and nothing about performance. By buying the headers I got a taste of increasing performance. I loved tinkering with my dirt bikes looking for that 'extra edge' before I got my car license so I guess it might have been natural to do the same with the car but now I was hooked.

The car became nearly my ONLY interest and I continued to try to get all the performance out of it I could. The next improvement was a new intake manifold. I wanted the Ford 'Shelby' intake for the 351W but at nearly $200 back then, I just couldn't come up with the cash. I settled instead on a 'split port' job which probably was a good choice since it would help provide more low end torque. Of course now I had to have a four-barrel carb too and a new 780cfm Holley was in order.

Performance improved dramatically and now I was ready to get serious (ha ha) about racing. I remember that summer of street racing nearly every night and working on tweaking the car out during the day. By then I had 'moved up' to working at the Humpty-Dumpty grocery store as a sacker. This gave me the whole day to work on the car, work the evening shift, and then go racing after getting off work. The most fun was racing a huge guy we called 'Tiny' in his 440 powered Chrysler. The car was completely stock and would run head-to-head with my modified 'Stang. Of course we would have been lucky if we were running 15 or 16 second quarter mile times but the was fun... and dangerous too. Somebody must have been watching over me all those years since I was never present during any mishaps while street racing.

The Next Step
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Eventually the old Stang became a much healthier horse with a complete replacement of the 351W in favor of a much modified 302 Windsor. Although it sounds funny replacing a 351 with a 302 to improve performance, one has to remember the time frame this was in. The 351W was a lone pony in the mid 70's with hardly any REAL performance parts available for it. The biggest problem was in the bottom end of the engine since the 351 had pretty weak rods and the longer stroke that tended to limit it's reliability at higher RPMs. Additionally I had a friend that was just getting out of the Ford hotrod business and had a complete bottom end and original 289 HiPo heads he wanted to get rid of. Aha! I snatched up the parts including special Ford heavy duty 302 rods, a worked over cast crank, TRW 12.5:1 forged pistons and a solid lifter Ford 289 HiPo cam. I took an existing block I had and did a makeover on it chamfering all the castings and holes, having it bored out to the .030 over, had the whole assembly balanced and rebuilt the 289 heads including a three angle valve job, new springs and aluminum retainers, screw in studs and a few other items. A Edelbrock dual plane manifold toped off the engine and a dual-point Accel distributor and coil provided the spark. With the addition of a 5:43 to 1 Nodular Iron carrier rear end, the little pony felt pretty good on the street. (Of course one couldn't drive anywhere except around town and gas was almost a dollar a gallon but dang it WAS fun). In the early/middle 80's when the car was at it's best performance wise when the 302 was pulled back down and a Boss 302 steel crank added, motor rebalanced and a different cam added. The only 'official' place I ever ran was a 1/8 mile drag strip in Lawton Oklahoma where it turned a best of an 8.02 ET. I've been told that should equate to around a low to mid 12 second quarter but I guess I'll never know.

The Way It Is
Today the car sits in the garage in the middle of a long, long rebuild project... in fact it's being going on now for nearly 10 years and it's not much further along than it was when it began. I have a plan but time, money and commitment are hard to come by today. I have not idea what type of engine configuration I would like to use and even if I'll go back with the automatic or look at a 5 speed option. Initially I thought I really wanted to drop a later model EFI motor in the thing but nostalgia keeps pulling on me to keep it carbureted and fun to drive but still capable on the highway. Of course I don't have to worry about that for some time to come since there is so much work to do.

(Update 08/28/2001)
With my son Austin just about 6 years old he is getting interested in the old Stang and things are starting to happen again. Since moving to our New House, the car has finally made it into the garage for some father and son car fun. Austin is now crawling under it, wanting to sit in it and ready to help 'put it back together'. Of course he doesn't quite understand the long time and effort it takes to make this happen yet but hey, we've still got 10 years until he's 16.. :-)

(Update 08/13/2005)
Wow.. four years ago I was going to do something with this car. The fever is here again and this time it's do or never do. The plan is updated and a page for progress has been put up under Follow the Rebuild... so follow the rebuild! And BUG ME if it doesn't appear I'm getting anything done.

The Plan - Updated 11/2006

FOLLOW THE REBUILD HERE!!
SubFrame Connectors
Lacking from previous rebuilds, sub connectors will be used this time around. I am going to install them before finalizing the floor pans to make it easier to get to the mounts points to clean/weld.
1. Sub Frame connectors - $156.00 from YearOne.com - PURCHASED/INSTALLED 2/2006
Replace full floor plans with repro units
02/12/2006 - Change of plans - the 3/4 length pans were going to require another weld since I cut the full pan out. Going to order a full pan kit with both pans, seat platforms, and plugs - DONE 1/21/2008
Rebuild front end assembly
The front end of this car has always been a problem and with everything being apart, now is the time to get it right. Plans call for a complete rebuild/replace of front end components and dropping the mounting points for the upper a-arms to make it handle somewhat better. New lower control arms, bushing, upper spring mounts, etc are planned. Also some welding and reinforcement is needed in the shock tower areas.
1. Chrome Export Brace - $49-60 PURCHASED/INSTALLED 10/2005
  Just keeping a standard brace here. The old singles were chromed, might as well do it again. This should work if I use the 1994-95 intake, otherwise will have order something different.
2. EFI Export Brace - Ended up buying an 'EFI Brace' but cut it up and will make my own from the parts.
3. Shock tower Reinforcement kit - $170 PURCHASED 03/2006 - Installed
  This car has had one tower welded up due to when a lady pulled out in front of me nearly 30 years ago. While it's completely down I plan on re-enforcing/welding things up for good. Here's a good story on how to do this.
4. Right Hand Shock Tower - $109 - PURCHASED 7/2006 - Installed
5. Right Front Fender (Battery) Apron - $54 - PURCHASED 7/2006 - Installed
6. Suspension rebuild kit - $279-$325 Ended up getting MOOG/TRW Parts locally - Better quality
7. Adjustable Eccentric Eliminator Kit - $50 PURCHASED 06/2006 - Installed 11/2006
8. Opentracker Roller Perches - $40 for Bearings/Journals - PURCHASED 06/2006 - Done
Replace/Rebuild Steering and Brakes
The car has a worn out steering box from the many miles and originally had power steering. Although I currently do not plan on putting the power steering back in, I do need to replace the steering box or have it rebuilt to remove the slack. Additionally I need to rebuild the brake lines since they have been modified over the years. I have a double flaring tool so I will most likely be doing the brake runs my self and include the residual valve in the process. The power brake booster needs to be replaced as it has always been somewhat of a problem with the cams I've used and the low vacuum. An electric vacuum pump may be needed depending on what my final engine decision is.
1. Steering rebuild kit - $165
  This was a power steer car from the factory but I swapped out the idler and center section years ago. Needs a new one to last the rest of my life.
2. Fire River Steering Box - $450+
  The original power based box is just plain worn out. I hate to spend that much on a steering box but need to get rid of the slop. It appears a simple rebuild with bearing etc would not resolve this.
3. ~~Poly based coupler - $20~~
  --- OR --- not sure yet
4. ~~Randalls Rack and Pinion Kit - This is the best way to go, will use PS pump from the '87 302 parts truck~~
5. UniSteer Manual Rack - Changed plans due to nice deal on the UniSteer version - Purchased 11/2006, Install 01/2007
6. Power Brake Booster - Purchased 08/2006 from Oreilly's - included master cylinder for $109.
7. Master Cylinder - With Booster above
8. Adjustable Proportioning Valve - Purchased 8/2006 - Installed - Used 'Summit' version which is Wilwood
9. Brake Line Kit - Purchased/Installed 09/2006
10. Front Disc Brake Rotors $80.00 - Purchased 3/2006 - ProStop Slots
11. Rear Disc Brakes
  Using SN95 (94-2004) Mustang V6/GT rear disc using UltraStang's brackets. Although the Cobra version would be nice the rotors would be bigger than the fronts which I do not want. Plan on picking up Prostop slotted rotors and new or rebuilt calipers and hardware.
  1. Ultrastang brackets - Purchased 11/2006
  2. ProStop Rotors - Purchase 10/2006
  3. Rear SN95 Calipers - Purchased 09/2006 and 11/2006
Reassemble Rear Section
This involves cleaning/sanding/painting the rear tail light panel and splash pan black again (I just like what it looks like in black), doing some minor welding repair behind the bumper and re-assembling the tail lights, splash pan, bumper, etc. Also included is a cleanup/repaint of the trunk area.
Rear Window Replacement
The rear window was removed due to a failed weather strip which will be replaced when the window is re-installed. Additionally the rear window trim will be painted black and re-installed.
Finalize Rear Suspension
Involves finalizing the rear brake lines, checking the rear break setups, re-installing the old slapper style traction bars and installing the Boss 302 rear anti-sway bar.
Re-assemble Dash Area
The interior is completely removed from the car for now to allow floor pan replacement and dash area cleanup and rebuild. I will be completely rebuilding the header core/unit as well as planning the installation of the factory add on air condition unit I have. I plan on using the Deluxe dash (wood grain finished) inserts and instrument cluster when it goes back together as well as a new steering wheel to replace the small one I used for years. Updated - No wood grain - I like the black standard look/feel better myself
Recover Seats and Door Panels
In the early 80's I replaced both front seats with high back seats from a '72 model mustang and they need recovering at this point. Since the back seat is in good shape I plan on recovering the fronts to match the rolled pattern of the back. I also will be rebuilding the door panels since the original board is bowed from storage. I had covered them years ago in a 'button' pattern and will build new boards and cover them to match the rest of the interior.
Rebuild All Window Regulators
The '69 model Stangs were well know for window problems and mine is no exception. The windows were glued into the regulator mounts and as such nearly always failed. The 70 model went to a bolted designed if I remember correctly which made things much better. I'm stuck with my units I guess so I will be rebuilding them all to withstand occasional use for years to come and hopefully will not have to mess with them again.
Misc Electrical
Although I have had the battery in the trunk for ages, this is a nice 'relocate kit': http://www.madelectrical.com/catalog/tm-1.shtml
Engine
1. Stock EFI Upper/Lower Intake (For now) - Purchased
2. Stock EFI Throttle Body (for now) - Purchased
3. Stock EFI Mass Air Sensor (for now) - Purchased
4. Ford C3W1 Computer - Purchased
5. Modified EFI harness and wiring - Purchased
6. ~~Boss 302 Forged Steel crank - Already have but likely not going to use~~
7. ~~Ford Heavy Duty (football head) rods - Already have~~
8. Scat 347 Stroker kit - Forged pistons/capscrew rods / cast crank
9. Ford COBRA T-Pan - Already have
10. Ford COBRA valve covers - Already have (but need EFI version)
11. Ford FMS-M-12029-E351 Coil - See Summit
12. Likely one of the Ford 303 roller cams
  Looking at Trick Flow Stage I at this time
13. ARP Head and Main Studs - Already have
14. Heads? - Either built 289 HiPo's, 351W - have both, or purchased ARF 185's
  Purchased Trick Flow Twisted Wedge Heads
15. Belt setup -Debating on using the serp belts off my parts truck or stick with v-belts
More to come...