69 mustang conversion to V8

[bobo29]

Anyone know where I can get info on converting a 69 Mustang from straight 6 to a V8? Looking for what is involved. Need a tech manual or online article that details all that is required to make this swap. Thanks

[Trinitys]

Anyone know where I can get info on converting a 69 Mustang from straight 6 to a V8? Looking for what is involved. Need a tech manual or online article that details all that is required to make this swap. Thanks


This is one of those things that are very dependant on what you’re putting into the car. Most of it is pretty elementary/bolt up. The biggest problems you gonna encounter are getting the front accessories to live well together, unless you already have the pulleys and stuff. Are you planning on a small block, or a big block?

If you tell us a little about the motor going in, maybe we can help you out some. I did this on my first 69, first to a 302, then to a 351w.....so how about some info on the motor/transmission?

[bobo29]

Thinking about a 351W. Is there a tech manual I can purchase? I figured alot of people have converted these over. I just got the car and want to drop in some power. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Trinitys]

Thinking about a 351W. Is there a tech manual I can purchase? I figured alot of people have converted these over. I just got the car and want to drop in some power. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

A 351w is a good choice. There is no tech manual, sorry. I have looked and looked through the internet for this also. There is plenty of info for you out there though.

What transmission, the original won't work. So you will need to up-grade to one from a v-8 car. If you gonna go for a auto and you intend on actually driving the car, go for an AOD, if it’s a standard, I’d do a t-5.

So the basics are

Motor mounts.........69 v-8 offered at any parts store
The frame mounts are everywhere on e-bay.........here's a combo of both that would work great!............
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2489201004&category=34202&sspagename=WDVW
http://members.aol.com/bigdmustng/framemountkit.jpg

You need a v-8 gage feed...........this will simply plug into the existing plug at the firewall. .........
http://www.canadianmustang.com/store.mv?p=596063

Now the throttle cable will also need to be one for a v-8 car because the throttle on a 6 is on the pass side and the v-8 is on the driver side. This means that the v-8 is shorted the i-6.


Your radiator should be upgraded also. All 69 s/b v-8's we had radiators with both hoses on the passenger side
There were 2 different sizes available, one for a/c and one without. The one with a/c is larger, so it will cool much better. Like this one here.........
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34201&item=2489259650&rd=1
Top radiator bracket......for the wider radiator
http://www.metropartsmarket.com/catalog/Photo/Mustang/Rad_Bracket_Upper_69.jpg
Lower brackets........
http://www.metropartsmarket.com/catalog/Photo/Mustang/Rad_Bracket_Lower_67-70.jpg
So make sure your waterpunp is on the pass. Side Like this one.....
http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/0d/d2/cd_1.JPG

The drive shaft should do just fine as the v-8 and 6 cyl are the same dia.

The front brakes should be up-graded also. If you have drums, it is really not too safe to have that much power and that little stopping power so I suggest you up grade to either factory discs or a good after market type (see FAQ section)

The suspension on 69's with an I-6 is the same as a v-8 with the exception of the sway-bar and the coil springs. these are available from most mustang parts places and there are plenty of choice ranging from mild to wild.....the cheap front sway-bar is the 75ish Granada v-8 sway bar, its 15/16 and bolts straight in. it is a good idea to make sure that all the suspension parts are in good condition, it sucks to have any component fail on you, I KNOW!!! I broke a strut rod, it’s not pretty!

The rear in you car is an 8". This will hold up ok ford put the same rear end behind everything below a 351 including a 302 4v. But if the 351w is healthy, I would go to a 9" or a 8.8(8.8 is more efficient, but harder to get to fit, but easier to find.). Remember though the ford 8" can be made to handle a-lot of HP! It all depends on what you want to do with the car.

Steering is also the same between the 2, so if you current set-up is in good condition, don't worry about it.

If you’ve got power steering, I can go into that also, is pretty detailed also.

Everything you get, alternator belts pullies etc., should be for the engine going in. I would shoot for a 69 block, that way it would mate well with the car. The pullies for the front need to match up. Tell me where you get the motor and the year (important) and we can help with the accessory set-up. There are many different systems for you to choose, most are budget dependant.

So sorry for the bad spelling, and if you have any more questions, we can go into that too, if I can help

[bobo29]

Thanks for all this info. I really appreciate it. I was hoping that the suspension was the same for both. I just had the drums replaced and the front are the 10 inch that are called out for the V8 model. I am planning on going with disc brakes, may be all the way around. Keep checking for my posts because I will definetely want to tap your knowledge again. Thanks for all of your help.

[bnickel]

there were 2 different 6 cyl setups in 69. the light 200 and the heavy duty 250. if the car was originally the 200 it will have the weak 4 lug brakes and suspension and the miserable salisbury 6.5" rearend (pathetic, i destroyed one in my 78 mustang II with a 2.3 4 banger) , if it had the 250 it would get the same 5 lug brakes and suspension as the 302-2v cars, springs will probably spec out different front and rear but should work fine with a v8 it will also have the 8" rear end and beleive it or not traction lok diffs were more common in the 250-6 cars than in the standard v8 cars