Black Gold 380R's 65 Mustang Build Thread

CobraBob said:

What an awesome project Mustang. Nicely done. Sucks that the motor blew, but she'll come storming back in 2020. Keep us posted.

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Thank you Bob. I've been doing some research. Although I have all the parts for a 302 block, a lot of the things I have will fit a 351W block. So, I'm thinking about stepping up to a 427 this time. I'll have to buy a few extra parts (i.e. intake, oil pan, etc.), but I think it would be worth it in the end.

We shall see...…….

Id look at American powertrain for the tko. I got a quote for a tko 600 from MDL and the MDL wanted $3300 for their streamlined case transmission. American was $2750 plus shipping for their streamlined case so right around $2850. American also takes the warranty from 1 year to 2 year.

I saved a lot money building my own tko swap.

Thanks Mike.

MDL quoted me $2970 for a TKO 600 with slim body.

I just sent a request for quote to American Powertrain. I'll let you know what they say.

Sent from my SM-G950U using the svtperformance.com mobile app

Okay all,

I've been working on getting things prepared for my re-build. I purchased a used 80 gallon air compressor. I need to purchase some plumbing parts (i.e. drain and on/off valve) and then I'll have the electricity hooked up. Then I'll place the tubing along the garage walls in order to set up my connecting points for air hoses.

I also did some major cleaning in my garage this weekend to get the compressor in it's location and then I pulled out some parts I had powder coated and detail painted. I tried to paint the fins on my air cleaner black, but the paint did not come out right. So, I'm probably going to keep it powder coated, but sand the fins down to bare aluminum and run my air cleaner and valve covers with that look.

Baby steps. Still have more cleaning to, but I should make my suspense date of July 2020 to start...…………

Compressor after delivery....


Compressor specs...


Compressor in it's new home.... Had to move my diecast collection around.....(Still have a lot of clean up to do)


Intake for my 347. After looking at this I decided to go back to a 347 and fore go the idea of upgrading to a 427. I'm not going to race it, so a 347 is powerful enough for my needs.


Timing chain cover looks really clean. My air cleaner top needs work, but I'll fix it up.


Water pump is dusty, but good to go.

Okay everyone,

Over the 3 day weekend I got my garage cleaned up a little bit and plumbed my air compressor and installed 3 air stations in my garage. One on each side of the garage and a 50 foot hose reel in between the doors in case I need air outside of the garage.

Car looks great!
Is that 2 stage or 3 stage Laser Red?
Looks like the 2 stage.

I was actually going to recommend you stay with the 347 until I saw you decided that already. And you know that says a lot coming from me. I think fitting the 351W would be tight in the 65 engine bay. The lack of scratches will keep your stress level down.

So think hard about removing the shock towers, they are a major part of the front suspension structure. You will definitely want to add extra bracing if you do. Another option is to look at Street or Track's coilover system. Shaun is a great guy that has put hours upon hours of R and D into his system.

Street or Track Front Bilstein Coilover System

98 svt said:

Car looks great!
Is that 2 stage or 3 stage Laser Red?
Looks like the 2 stage.

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Thank you 98SVT!

Well, after learning that my original paint and body guy was shady I would agree with you. It is "supposed" to have the tint in it and be the 3 stage, but I think my original body guy cut corners and left out the tint. So, it's most likely a 2 stage.

01yellercobra said:

I was actually going to recommend you stay with the 347 until I saw you decided that already. And you know that says a lot coming from me. I think fitting the 351W would be tight in the 65 engine bay. The lack of scratches will keep your stress level down.

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I hear you Bob, but my plans are very fluid when it comes to the motor at this point and keep changing as the wind blows. I talked to my engine builder and the current plan is to run a 351W stroked to a 408 and use as many of my current parts as possible.

I understand your reasoning, but as mentioned below I'm removing the shock towers. So, there will be plenty of room to slide the Windsor motor in the engine bay.

Grabber70Mach said:

So think hard about removing the shock towers, they are a major part of the front suspension structure. You will definitely want to add extra bracing if you do. Another option is to look at Street or Track's coilover system. Shaun is a great guy that has put hours upon hours of R and D into his system.

Street or Track Front Bilstein Coilover System

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Thank you Grabber. However, I have done a ton of research on this subject. I like Street or Track and have ordered from Shaun before. Awesome guy and business, but I think his prices are a tad on the high side. And yes I believe in "you get what you pay for." I also look at the structure and think that 1965 front suspension technology is similar to the Cobra style with the shock tower, but Shaun's is much improved. So, there is something to be said with newer style cars running a shock tower.

I still think there is something to be said for the Mustang II set up. A lot of companies make this kit (TCI. Heidits, Mustangs to Fear, Detroit Speed, etc.). The Detroit Speed Alumaframe is my dream front suspension, but I cannot justify $7K. So, I'm looking at the Mustangs to Fear kit at the moment. They actually have some bracing to go on the car. In the end my car is going to be a street cruiser. No track of any kind. So, I'm sure the Mustang II style suspension will work nicely for my application.

Really appreciate your guys comments and feedback. Always nice to have another point of view and perspective.

I will say that Rich at MTF definitely has some nice products and builds some top notch cars. I'm planning on using his minitubs on my 70. Looking forward to watching your progress on yours.

Grabber70Mach said:

I will say that Rich at MTF definitely has some nice products and builds some top notch cars. I'm planning on using his minitubs on my 70. Looking forward to watching your progress on yours.

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I have never purchased from them, but I like their front suspension set up.

Thank you and I plan on buying parts starting in July, but may start the manual labor process a little earlier. Such as sanding the engine bay and cutting out the shock towers.

So, June or July is when pictures of the progress may begin.

Sent from my SM-G950U using the svtperformance.com mobile app

Did a little upgrade to my compressor while getting things ready for this build.

Added a new sight glass and put an extension with a ball valve to make it easier to drain the compressor oil.

It originally just had a plug. So, once it was removed oil would run all over the side of the tank. Makes no sense from a design stand point, but probably sense from a money stand point as it seems they want you to buy more parts after your purchase of the compressor itself LOL.

Couldn't help but your collection of John Force funny cars. 1:18 scale? I had a few myself back 20 or so years ago, but they were are 1:24 scale (Action RCCA).

CobraBob said:

Couldn't help but your collection of John Force funny cars. 1:18 scale? I had a few myself back 20 or so years ago, but they were are 1:24 scale (Action RCCA).

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They are the same as what you had Bob. 1/24 RCAA. I tried to collect all the paint schemes he had while driving a "Mustang." Once he switched to Chevy my collection stopped lol.

Those are great compressor mods. I'm stealing those ideas. Didn't know the sight glass was even a thing.

Cool to see how far you've brought that car. Looks and sounded great. I'm a big 408 fan, so I'd vote for that.

Hello All,

Well, I used this 3 day weekend to officially start Project 65. The initial part will not cost any money as it will mainly be manual labor. I'll probably order parts in June and start some assembly in July. My first project will be to install the new front suspensions set up from Mustangs to Fear.

So away we go...……

Here is the car as it has sat for the past 4 years. I built my own home made dolly so I can move the car around easily.



I parked my Cobra in the rear of the house as I have a covered car part that can fit 3 cars. So, My Cobra, Vert and Roush are under the car port with car covers. Then I moved the 65 sideways to fit in the garage in order to give me 360 degree access to work on the car.








Once the car was positioned, I removed the front end, fenders, and hood. Next will be the removal of the front suspension and items in the engine bay (i.e. master cylinder, brake lines, and radiator overflow. Once that's done I will cut out the shock towers to make room for the Mustangs to Fear front suspension.

Nice. Are your FB now and 95 Cobras? If so what are your plans for them? Glad to see your getting started on it. Ever thought about joining VMF and posting your project?

Grabber70Mach said:

Nice. Are your FB now and 95 Cobras? If so what are your plans for them? Glad to see your getting started on it. Ever thought about joining VMF and posting your project?

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Hello Grabber. I don't understand what your asking with the "FB" and "95 Cobra's" question? I don't have any 95 Cobra's.

I'm already registered with the VMF under the same screen name. However, I haven't been over the in years. I thought about posting over there again. I will probably post my build as I go here. Then once my build is completed I'll post all my pictures over there. I know when I look at build threads I want to see everything from start to finish LOL. I don't like waiting for the next set of progression pictures.

I figured most here won't be too worried about update pictures of my progress. Over on VMF they will probably want the updates fast and often LOL.

Thanks for looking at my thread and commenting. Greatly appreciated.

Sorry FB = Front Brakes

Don't know where the 95 came from, I don't remember typing it. Wondered if the brakes were from a Cobra mustang or Mach 1. 03-04 were the bigger bores at I think 40mm compared to 36mm for earlier Cobra's.

They have quite a few project threads over there and most are pretty friendly. I know of several build threads going on.

Grabber70Mach said:

Sorry FB = Front Brakes

Don't know where the 95 came from, I don't remember typing it. Wondered if the brakes were from a Cobra mustang or Mach 1. 03-04 were the bigger bores at I think 40mm compared to 36mm for earlier Cobra's.

They have quite a few project threads over there and most are pretty friendly. I know of several build threads going on.

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Oh okay. Yes, my front brakes were off an 03 Cobra. I used an adapter kit from Mustang Steve or Street or Track (Can't remember) to get everything to fit. However I needed to put a spacer on to push the wheel out about a 1/4 inch to clear the caliper.

I agree with you people over there are great (Sorry if I implied otherwise). I just don't want to post over there until it's all done. Just want to post everything at once.