MeanMachine

I like them too, they actually look a lot like the wheels the Hot Rod magazine Crusher Camaro received on a recent episode. What are your backspacing specs?

I've rebuilt, tuned and modified Holley and Holley-design carbs in various applications over the years, but have recently decided to try another tuning tool in one of my Mustangs. I recently had a full exhaust done on my Mach 1, complete with X-pipe, mated to my Patriot headers and, at the time, added a header collector with provisions for an O2 sensor, with the intent that I would add an A/F gauge later on. Well, I've finally got around to it. I'm going to install a basic narrowband setup using a one-wire Denso oxygen sensor and a mounted AFR gauge. The gauge consists of ten LEDs that represents 0.1V each (since the sensor wire sends a 0-1V reading) and displays red, yellow and green lights. While the gauge itself does not display an actual number, the instructions do indicate what lights represent a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. I've also found what I believe to be a fairly accurate graphing of A/F ratio-to-sensor voltage for narrowband that hopefully will allow me to not only adjust the carb for idle and cruising, but WOT as well. If the narrowband approach doesn't work well for me I can always upgrade to a wideband and change the sensor and gauge. Has anybody else had experience with using a narrowband O2 for tuning their carburetor, and if so what were your thoughts?

I've actually considered Toyota's Spruce Green Mica...pops in the sun and the hue looks like it could fit in as a color option of the '70s. -I'm a fan of green

Looks like the topic of port size difference is addressed at Summit Racing, posted under the Q&A section of this manifold.

Thanks Don, being that I wasn't under a time constraint meant I could work one port at a time and pay attention to detail and symmetry.

While this isn't a topic specifically about 71-73 Mustangs, it does share some DNA as it revolves around porting my 302 heads 🙂 My father and I are resto-modding a '73 Maverick and decided to build a stout 302 to set between the shock towers. I have two early model 302s in my workshop/garage, and since this Maverick was originally a factory 302 car, and we prefer the early seasoned blocks and beefier cranks, we selected one of those engines. Both engines I have came with C9TE ('69) model heads, which I thought would be a good head to work because they have the smaller combustion chambers and were in good shape. Besides, I liked the idea of porting the factory iron heads to find "free" hidden horsepower. Being that we want a street engine with limited drag strip use, my goals were not to just hog everything out as big as possible, but rather increase flow and keep port velocity. I felt confident that there were areas to improve on, so while we were waiting on other aspects of the build, I took my Dremel, accessories, carbide bits and safety gear and went to work. Once the porting was complete and I had the springs for the new cam, I sent the heads to the machine shop where they were milled, fitted with bronze guides and screw-in studs, hardened seats, viton seals, and a 3-angle valve job. Overall I'm pleased with the end results, and while I don't have flowbench numbers, I do feel confident I made improvements. The pics show the difference between one of my untouched heads and a ported one. If a conservative estimate is an increase of head flow somewhere between 10-15 cfm, then according to the formula (HP = .25714 x cfm gain x No. of cylinders), I could see a 20-30 horsepower gain. I spent considerable time on the exhaust ports since, in my opinion, Ford 289/302 cast iron heads leave a lot to be desired and we will use Hooker long tubes and a free flowing exhaust. I worked the port, eliminating the thermactor bump, shaping the guide boss and addressing ridges, flash, etc., then polished to a smooth finish, with the intent to give carbon less to latch on to. The intake port didn't require as much time, but I addressed it as well, paying attention to the roof and pushrod wall, hoping for better flow to the valve. I also gasket matched and spent a lot of time aligning the intake manifold runners to the head intake ports, by using a bore scope and making small changes at a time. The intake port is not polished, since I didn't want to hurt atomization of the fuel from the carb. All in all, I went slow and easy; and while it wasn't my first time porting, I still enjoyed seeing the results take shape and gaining more experience.

I agree. The artwork and detail is great but every Mustang appears "stock", like so many other shirts and posters I see of our years. Don't get me wrong, our Mustangs do look good in factory appearance but IMO they look great when resto-modded too, accentuating their 'muscularity'. I always see late model Mustangs modified/customized on posters and such, why can't classics do the same? I wouldn't mind a "stock" shirt and a 'restomod' shirt option.

Good luck with the channel. Nice car (who doesn't like a 4-speed 351 Cleveland car?) -I'd like to have seen more with the new wheels. Any pics? Was the offset custom or off the shelf?

I had a 460 in a '71 Mustang that I was building in the 90s, this 400 reminded me much of that engine when it came to space....or the lack thereof I should say

Wanted to pass this along in case it may be helpful, though I know a 400 engine is not a popular swap for 71-73 Mustangs. So last spring we purchased a '72 Mach 1 that was in need of TLC but had good bones. It was originally a 302/3-speed manual vehicle that, at some point, someone had converted to a 400/C6. I had almost passed on the car because of the drivetrain change....but didn't. The car was not drivable but started right up and would go into gear. The owner couldn't tell me anything about the engine except for it's size, as the swap was done by a previous owner before them. But it was more than just a stock engine, as the 400 sported an Edlebrock carb, aluminum intake, a Miloden oil pan, Accel billet distributor and dual exhaust. Upon startup, the sound of an aftermarket cam was apparent. After some further examination of the overall car, we made a deal. Once home, we dove right in and examined the engine further to reveal what looked like Harland roller rockerarms and double roller timing chain. The car showed other "upgrades" with suspension and drivetrain too, but what was odd to me was that, given all the engine mods, it still breathed through factory exhaust manifolds. Seemed apparent someone was trying to extract additional power from this 400. For those that don't know, the 400 (some call it 400M) engine looks remarkably like its 351C brethren and shares many components. Research found this engine is both taller and wider than a 351C and this probably explained why the engine still sported cast manifolds. The exhaust was a tight fit to say the least! As we worked further on the engine and the engine bay, updating, going through it and replacing what needed and tuning what didn't, I felt the desire to try finding headers that would help the engine breathe a bit better and take advantage of the other "additions". I read 351C & 400 heads are interchangeable, so I decided to try a set of what looked like Hedman 351C long tubes that I found for sale in the classifieds. Unfortunately, after many tries, even removal of the steering gear box, we weren't able to sandwich the headers to fit between the shock towers, steering box and transmission bellhousing. Just as we were about to revert back to manifolds, I discovered that Patriot made a set of 1 3/4" shorty headers for 351Cs that looked (at least from the pictures) like they would work. We took a chance and ordered the new headers (in raw finish), hoping our guess was right. As it turns out, we were! While still a tight fit, we were able to maneuver these headers into place (PN H8435) with success. Finally, the missing piece to help our engine was found. After mockup, I took the headers back off, sprayed them with a quality hi-temp coating, baked them and re-installed. They have now been on the car for several months without issue and the 400 is breathing better than it ever did with manifolds. We had new exhaust run from the headers back, including an x-pipe crossover, and 4" tips. I'm very satisfied with the build quality, fit and design of these Patriot headers. They were the answer we needed, are a great accent to our engine bay and I'm sure added horsepower to our 400 as well. Here are pictures from the day of final install and our progress with the car.

So no big-n-little tires, 6-71 blower and wheelie bars??? LOL

Thanks, to some degree, that was my inspiration. I wanted to do something that looked period correct and might be what Ford would have done with our ram air hoods

I must have got lucky, because mine have worked great for years now and provide a crisp white, luminous light, far better than my originals. ::thumb::

And take a $3.5M car to about $20k. Hardly, I wouldn't do anything to the car that couldn't be returned to stock. But if it were mine, I'd enjoy the car by building to look like the Bullitt in its heyday and enjoy driving it...with some subtle modern conveniences. It's not like I said I'd add a fiberglass body kit, coyote engine and a wing from a top fuel dragster. LOL

I actually like the way my LED lights aid to darken the grill arena...until they're lit, obviously.