My 1968 Mustang Rustang

[Tiggie]

Clutch you got your wish. Got a little rubber around the block today. Accidentally really since there is not a front end anything other than a hood and latch... not exactly wanting to be drawing attention to it.

That’s right. It drove out of the driveway! And back in!

Got to work on the throttle tip in. Wants to stall.

Got a coolant leak in the timing cover/below thermostat. Not 100% on the source yet.

Need to bleed the brakes a little more. Some air in there yet.

Exhaust is on and leak free! I hid it but it comes out right at the back. Stock two inch pipes. Jones Full Boar FB2041 mufflers, which are an original Flowmaster 40 knockoff.



Here’s a idling video clip if it will let you see it. There’s some smoke on the left but I hope that’s some of the initial carb tuning/ATF in the cylinders during storage burning off. It went away later which I think is a good sign.


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[packman]

That pony is definitely not purring. Very nice!

[massacre]

Car sounds mean, nice job!

[Tiggie]

Thanks guys.

So far easy fixes. Drive about three more miles.

Adjusted the accelerator pump. Improved the stall to a point, but it got MUCH better as I drove it yesterday. It’s still lean IMO but I will continue working on that.

Coolant leak was loose hose clamps. New, very cold when installed hoses apparently need snugged once they warm up the first time.

Brake issue was an adjustment thing, so that was easy.

Today’s project. NASTY whine in all gears while coasting. My initial thought was the trans, since it was cheap Craigslist find and unknown. But it might be the rear gears? It’s consistent all forward gears equally the same pitch at the same road speed. Maybe the old automatic hid a problem with the rear. Going to jack it up and try to hunt down the source. Actually hope it’s the rear. I have a spare for that.

For the record, I love the V6 T5 ratios with the 2.79 rear gear so far.

[Tiggie]

Well it’s the transmission for sure.

Made a post on corral.net and got the typical “it’s a weak ass V6 transmission eating itself.” This is why I don’t post over there. One more helpful post said the problem may be in output shaft which makes sense.

It’s a growl on coasting with engine braking. Present from 2mph on up, changes pitch as you get faster. Speed dependent, any forward gear. Not rpm dependent. Not present in neutral. Not present in gear with clutch in. Not present while accelerating or slight cruise load. I think I’ll be pulling it back out. Was worth a shot. At least I have an idea of what to check carefully when I rebuild it.

I did successfully set the toe today. Temp sender is bad. It was new but it’s bad. Fuel level sensor may or may not be bad. For some reason, the fuel sender wire is getting pulsating voltage. Minor troubleshooting to do there.

[87gtVIC]

Indy is pretty blunt to say the least. I would wait for some others to chime in yet. I am sure more suggestions will come up.

I will say if you have an electrical/engine problem and can take the verbal abuse he can really teach you a thing or three.

[massacre]

In my stock fox body, the fuel sender gets pulsating voltage as well, according to the manual, it is supposed to. It is a 79.
Not sure about the earlier cars though

[Tiggie]

Indy is pretty blunt to say the least. I would wait for some others to chime in yet. I am sure more suggestions will come up.

I will say if you have an electrical/engine problem and can take the verbal abuse he can really teach you a thing or three.

Getting a little more input. I hate that a lot of the forum content and users moved to social media groups. Can’t search it and find posts from 2003 as easily. I know if certain hard parts are bad, then it’s indeed probably not worth rebuilding. I’m hopeful it’s just bearings.

In my stock fox body, the fuel sender gets pulsating voltage as well, according to the manual, it is supposed to. It is a 79.
Not sure about the earlier cars though

Probably the same here. It’s a one wire thing. I grounded the wire and got 1/2 tank on the gauge which I think it should be pegged full. Not sure really.

[Brown_Muscle]

Did you open the case and inspect inside? My T5 has been sitting a while and the reverse gear was pitted, and made some nasty sounds when coasting off the gas. if all your gears were pitted it’s A possibility. Although a remote one. More likely though some bearing is bad allowing play that makes the gears mesh against each other in some undesirable way. Not hard to check... but that’s with the transmission out of the car

[Tiggie]

Did you open the case and inspect inside? My T5 has been sitting a while and the reverse gear was pitted, and made some nasty sounds when coasting off the gas. if all your gears were pitted it’s A possibility. Although a remote one. More likely though some bearing is bad allowing play that makes the gears mesh against each other in some undesirable way. Not hard to check... but that’s with the transmission out of the car

Didn’t open anything up other than the input shaft. Didn’t really want to pull the tail shaft to take the top cover off. But I guess it get to now! I honestly planned to rebuild this thing anyway but figured it was worth a chance it might work, plus now I have a better idea of what to check carefully.

[tbear853]

This Mustang thread caught my eye as when I was in my youngunhood, a family friend/coworker with Dad bought a new '68 GT fastback 4 speed, red with C stripes, he just sold it in '19 after a second mild restore. He had 3 sons and all wanted it, so he sold it rather than have them fall out over it. He liked the 4 speed because he said he liked to have it in a go gear when merging on the expressway on his way to work at GE. Another friend whom we knew through him worked at Good Year in Danville, he seen us a few times a year as we gathered at Ruffin in NC to go to Rockingham or Charlotte for the races, he had a exact same red '68 GT with same C stripes but his was an automatic, then in '69 he showed up driving a new yellow '69 428 Cobra Jet Mach I 4 speed. When asked what happened to the red '68, he said it just grew old when leaving work and another buddy with a new Road Runner and another with a GTX would leave.

Good times remembered.

I get long winded .... sorry.

[Brown_Muscle]

The V-6 T5 is that different from the V-8 version? I was able to pull mine off with a few bolts. If you open it up and end up replacing things be sure to replace the shaft shaft bushing’s. They are a little plastic tabs and most likely several of them have broken off

[Tiggie]

This Mustang thread caught my eye as when I was in my youngunhood, a family friend/coworker with Dad bought a new '68 GT fastback 4 speed, red with C stripes, he just sold it in '19 after a second mild restore. He had 3 sons and all wanted it, so he sold it rather than have them fall out over it. He liked the 4 speed because he said he liked to have it in a go gear when merging on the expressway on his way to work at GE. Another friend whom we knew through him worked at Good Year in Danville, he seen us a few times a year as we gathered at Ruffin in NC to go to Rockingham or Charlotte for the races, he had a exact same red '68 GT with same C stripes but his was an automatic, then in '69 he showed up driving a new yellow '69 428 Cobra Jet Mach I 4 speed. When asked what happened to the red '68, he said it just grew old when leaving work and another buddy with a new Road Runner and another with a GTX would leave.

Good times remembered.

I get long winded .... sorry.

Mustang stories are always good to share. I originally intended to dress this as a GT look-alike. Not sure why I changed my mind. Still like the GT stripe and emblem appearance.


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[Tiggie]

The V-6 T5 is that different from the V-8 version? I was able to pull mine off with a few bolts. If you open it up and end up replacing things be sure to replace the shaft shaft bushing’s. They are a little plastic tabs and most likely several of them have broken off

I will find out shortly. I think I had to pull the tail shaft housing off to get a look inside but maybe not. They should be similar. I will be digging into this in about a month to six weeks. Gonna do an inspection to see if I can find a problem before ordering the rebuild kit and any other parts.

Put the fenders on last week. Got a chip on the left door. Right side fit flawless. Left fit crappy as it always has. It’s a Ford fender but I swear Ford replacement sheet metal is not as good as the stuff that was on the assembly line. Also got the eyeballs back in it. A/C condenser went in as well.






Waiting on horns for that last condenser bolt on the top left.

The fender extension on the left side was again a Ford part but not original. It fits poorly also. Had to cut out an access hole that should have been open the whole time so the headlight bucket would fit.




Working on the grille. Need to media blast it. Then the outside will all come together like a real car...


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[P72Ford]

That sucks the tranny is noisy. T5s are a fairly simple beast in my experience, and no doubt in your wheelhouse.

If you have to rebuild... whether you plan to run it hard or not, the steel bearing retainer, bronze shift fork pads, billet keys, and cluster support are fairly inexpensive and worth while upgrades. Those modifications, combined with a Pro 5.0 shifter and a Hurst stick (the Pro 5.0 stub is a joke) made a night and day difference in my '90 LX.

This is a super nice car, BTW. You are skilled well beyond a typical "backyard resto" guy. Can't wait until you get it wrapped up and take some pictures of it all together.

[clutch47]

Had a chance to catch up on your progress.
You're doing nice work, and your car shows it. Wasn't sure how your carb issues panned out. I'm a huge fan of the Autolite carbs.
When rebuilt and set up correctly they work very well, in both the 2V and 4V configurations.
The transmission could be a multitude of things. If you like the ratios, I'd be inclined to rebuild it entirely.
I've had 3 different T-5s over the years but never behind big power, and never had one problem.

[87gtVIC]

That one chip you have is now a memory....I have lots of memories from the reassembly of my car not to mention the scars from working on it which also leaves one with memories every time you lay eyes on em. Guys shelling out cash to have a nice car will never have those memories.

[Tiggie]

That sucks the tranny is noisy. T5s are a fairly simple beast in my experience, and no doubt in your wheelhouse.

If you have to rebuild... whether you plan to run it hard or not, the steel bearing retainer, bronze shift fork pads, billet keys, and cluster support are fairly inexpensive and worth while upgrades. Those modifications, combined with a Pro 5.0 shifter and a Hurst stick (the Pro 5.0 stub is a joke) made a night and day difference in my '90 LX.

This is a super nice car, BTW. You are skilled well beyond a typical "backyard resto" guy. Can't wait until you get it wrapped up and take some pictures of it all together.

Thank ya. It’s been one heck of a project. I don’t ever want to go into one this deep for a long time. Takes too much time! If I decide to change careers and go into the restoration field, I think I this can be a good resume. As for the T5, I’ll definitely consider those parts. I put the steel bearing retainer in when I did the input shaft, so that’s a start.

Had a chance to catch up on your progress.
You're doing nice work, and your car shows it. Wasn't sure how your carb issues panned out. I'm a huge fan of the Autolite carbs.
When rebuilt and set up correctly they work very well, in both the 2V and 4V configurations.
The transmission could be a multitude of things. If you like the ratios, I'd be inclined to rebuild it entirely.
I've had 3 different T-5s over the years but never behind big power, and never had one problem.

Gonna give the old trans a look over and see what I can see. My dad swears (in a good way) on the Autolite carbs. I will try to get this one sorted once I can get some more road time. Seems to just have a lean condition at tip in. Will know more once I get some miles on it. It had 66 jets in the primaries! I swapped those to 54 or 57 in the rebuild which I thought would still be rich but maybe not. Or maybe it’s the big block boosters not liking the loss of 90ish cubic inches.

That one chip you have is now a memory....I have lots of memories from the reassembly of my car not to mention the scars from working on it which also leaves one with memories every time you lay eyes on em. Guys shelling out cash to have a nice car will never have those memories.

Nailed it. It doesn’t bother me too much. I wish it wasn’t there but it is, and touch up paint will make it much better. I’d never get over it if I paid someone to do it and that happened. But since I screwed up... not as bad.

[Tiggie]

Front metal work almost back together. Need a few little things. Pics soon.

Drove it to the gas station! Drove it on the highway. Long time since 60mph.

Dad rode with me. Well kinda laid out in the floor since there are no seats. He needed out of the house. From that vantage point of being basically laying down, he says the the rear axle howling. I leaned back as far as I safely could and indeed I think he’s right. He’s got some spare 8” pumpkins. Going to swap one in and see if it changes.

Heater valve leaks under. Boo. It’s a pretty looking original valve. Pretty or not, leaking is no good. Ordered a new old reproduction stock (NORS?) replacement to hopefully be functional, non-leaking, yet better in appearance than any of the current reproductions.

Bigger primary jets coming for the 4100.

Little things to do!

Crossing fingers for a good transmission. It shifts awesome and having OD is very nice. I am used to riding in these old things with the engine howling. To just be able to grab another gear is amazing.

[massacre]

Glad to hear you took her for a drive. And good for you for taking your dad.
You’ll get everything sorted out