Farthest you've travelled in your Mustang?

[dabowman]

The longest was during the trip to Vegas for the 50th. A total of 3315 miles round trip. The desert driving included days in the low 90's. No problems with the Mach with a restoration from the mid 90's. I added a Gear Vendors OD before the trip and was a worth while add on. We loved the trip and I was very pleased with the stang's performance.

 

[4Vforever]

73 q-codes are notorious gas-drinkers...even more so thsn the 71 & 72s. Advance your static timing as much as possible without pinging and you will get much better performance and a dramatic improvement in fuel economy.

Very true totally agree with what you've said there. When I first got mine and drove it home from the Gold Coast (80-90 mile trip) I thought that the car had a fuel leak as it drank just over half a tank. The next day I went to the parts store and bought everything I needed to tune it. After replacing plugs, leads, oils, filters and so forth, it was time to check the timing. From memory it was about 6 BTDC and thought I'd give her a bit more. So every time I'd advance it up take it for a run and after every run it just seemed to get better and better. I think back then it was running at about 18 BTDC and total around 40 and ran so sweet and the economy was fair bit better but still not brilliant, so I thought that's just how it was. A couple of months later, a few things went on her, one after another. Firstly the Petronix unit in the dizzy died, put in a new dizzy and off it went again. A few days later the timing gear stripped, in with a new rollmaster set and redid the whole cooling system as well. Well I must say, doing the timing chain set was probably the best thing that happened to the car. Initial timing is around 14-16 BTDC and total around 37 and it's like a totally different car to when I first got the car. It accelerates and cruises along much better, pulls up hills heaps better and the fuel economy improved considerably. I was fairly happy with everything the way it was going, but before Christmas last year the carby started playing up. I fiddled around with it but it wasn't making any difference, so I replaced the Edlebrock 600 cfm it had on it for a new Holley 750 vac and improved everything all round again. As for the longest trip I have taken the car on was just last Sunday, it was a 320 odd mile round trip up to the Sunshine Coast. I serviced the car last Friday and it ran like a Swiss clock. I don't know what it equates to in MPG (really don't care either as long as I'm driving and enjoying it) but the car done about 300 mile from the time I filled up to the time I got home and the gauge is just on a quarter. We drove through all types of different conditions, around 2/3 highway, city, small towns and up decent hills and the hinterland ranges. So for 41 y.o Q code with 89k original miles I'm fairly happy with it's economy, especially considering how terrible it was when we first got it. Anyway if these cars are looked after and tuned and serviced correctly, then there's no reason that you couldn't drive them anywhere you wanted to go in them as has been seen here by quite a few.

 

[Mesozoic]

Unfortunately, my old fastback has been the most unreliable machine I've ever owned. It wasn't until I bought my first "Five-O" that I realized that Mustangs can get great fuel economy and are very well designed, reliable cars. The longest I've driven my old fastback may have been from Troy, NY to Hartford, CT, roughly 118 miles one way.

My '89 5.0, on the otherhand... I've driven it between Tucson, AZ and Vancouver, BC, Canada 20 times. That's about 2000 miles per trip. Always a good time!

Of course, I've done numerous things to improve the reliability of my '71. It was my 1st car so it's been abused a bit. Most of the unreliable issues have been due to age and wear of the vehicle. Things to improve reliability would include the fuel injection and complete replacement of the entire vehicle wiring harness. Serpentine belt upgrade was a big one too. Rollerizing the entire valvetrain might be considered an improvement in durability. Overall, the electrical and wiring harness improvements have made the biggest difference.

 

[73StangCoupe]

So far my trip to Charlotte for the 50th was the longest trip... 241 miles one way. Car drove great on the highway, she was very comfortable at 75...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Kit Sullivan]

In my opinion, the first things I would do to a stock engine ( and especially a 73 CJ!) is:

1) install an electronic ignition of some sort. It doesn't have to be a big-dollar unit with a gigantic "Blaster" coil. That stuff is way overkill for a street-driven mostly stock engine. The Pertronix drop-in electronic ignition modules are cheap, extremely simple to install and dependable. That single addition will make a noticeable improvement.

2) recurve the distributor to achieve maximum dynamic advance by about 1500-1800 rpm. No matter what kind of distributor you have in there, it is a relatively simple procedure if you have basic automotive skills. The internet is loaded with plenty of step-by-step procexures for this. This will net you a better idle, better fuel economy and a dramatic improvement in off-the-line acceleration. It will make a 302 feel like a 351. It will make a 351 feel like 42...well, like a better 351! ( nothing feels like a 429!)

3) install the best battery cables you can afford. Store-bought cables and OEM style repros are junk! Our car's electrical systems are substandard and over-tasked, even with a factory level of equipment. Add today's high-power sound systems, phone chargers, halogen headlights etc...and such and it only gets worse. Nice, big battery and ground cables help everything to function easier and more efficiently.

These three changes will help any older pre-74 car run much better.

Additionally, changing out the 73 emissions-friendly timing gear set on a 73 CJ with an earlier non-emissions 0° timing set will wake that lazy smogged-out Cleveland from its slumber. You won't believe it could be the same engine.

Little tweaks here and there, a couple of retrofitted parts and any close-to-stock motor can be a real performer.

 

[kiko619]

15 miles... and the radiator hose ruptured on Hwy 6 south & Hwy 90 (for those who live in Houston) lol

 

[pedstagn71]

2 round trips from Kearney Nebraska to Fort Worth Texas with no problems

 

[adm22]

I bought mine in 93 it had 71 k miles on it now has 473k miles on it. Used to drive back and forth form the People;s Republic of Illinois and Florida several times each winter in the 90s and early 2000s and up until a couple years ago would take it on trips to see the now ex grlfriend who lived a 2 hour drive away at least once a week.


Kit Sullivan you state:

"recurve the distributor to achieve maximum dynamic advance by about 1500-1800 rpm. No matter what kind of distributor you have in there, it is a relatively simple procedure if you have basic automotive skills. The internet is loaded with plenty of step-by-step procexures for this. This will net you a better idle, better fuel economy and a dramatic improvement in off-the-line acceleration. It will make a 302 feel like a 351. It will make a 351 feel like 42...well, like a better 351! ( nothing feels like a 429!)"

I have a Petronix in my car and also have a T5 and have been having a problem of sorts. If I set the timing to where the engine runs the best- it will have problems starting when the engine is hot and I once melted the battery cable. No problems witha cold engone. If I set it ahead so that it starts easily when warm it will often sputter a bit and the MPG goes down.

With the T5 and 2.75 gears the car is only at 2000 revs when doing 70MPH, a lot less when driving on slower 55 MPH roads. MPG has been all over the place from 28 to 17 highway and would like it at the higher numbers was wondering if this would help?

Also put in a fan clutch to prevent fan from dragging the engine when it is not needed.

I think the distributr is one of the few parts on the car that was there when it left the factory.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

Heat soak and higher compression cause a hot engine to be difficult to start, easily melting the junko stock battery cables.

Get a custom set of hi-po battery cables (about $100) and set your timing where you want it and forget it. Your problems will be over.

 

[Mesozoic]

73 q-codes are notorious gas-drinkers...even more so thsn the 71 & 72s. Advance your static timing as much as possible without pinging and you will get much better performance and a dramatic improvement in fuel economy.

Very true totally agree with what you've said there. When I first got mine and drove it home from the Gold Coast (80-90 mile trip) I thought that the car had a fuel leak as it drank just over half a tank. The next day I went to the parts store and bought everything I needed to tune it. After replacing plugs, leads, oils, filters and so forth, it was time to check the timing. From memory it was about 6 BTDC and thought I'd give her a bit more. So every time I'd advance it up take it for a run and after every run it just seemed to get better and better. I think back then it was running at about 18 BTDC and total around 40 and ran so sweet and the economy was fair bit better but still not brilliant, so I thought that's just how it was. A couple of months later, a few things went on her, one after another. Firstly the Petronix unit in the dizzy died, put in a new dizzy and off it went again. A few days later the timing gear stripped, in with a new rollmaster set and redid the whole cooling system as well. Well I must say, doing the timing chain set was probably the best thing that happened to the car. Initial timing is around 14-16 BTDC and total around 37 and it's like a totally different car to when I first got the car. It accelerates and cruises along much better, pulls up hills heaps better and the fuel economy improved considerably. I was fairly happy with everything the way it was going, but before Christmas last year the carby started playing up. I fiddled around with it but it wasn't making any difference, so I replaced the Edlebrock 600 cfm it had on it for a new Holley 750 vac and improved everything all round again. As for the longest trip I have taken the car on was just last Sunday, it was a 320 odd mile round trip up to the Sunshine Coast. I serviced the car last Friday and it ran like a Swiss clock. I don't know what it equates to in MPG (really don't care either as long as I'm driving and enjoying it) but the car done about 300 mile from the time I filled up to the time I got home and the gauge is just on a quarter. We drove through all types of different conditions, around 2/3 highway, city, small towns and up decent hills and the hinterland ranges. So for 41 y.o Q code with 89k original miles I'm fairly happy with it's economy, especially considering how terrible it was when we first got it. Anyway if these cars are looked after and tuned and serviced correctly, then there's no reason that you couldn't drive them anywhere you wanted to go in them as has been seen here by quite a few.

My understanding is that 1971 was the last model year where emissions were not a major issue affecting performance. Performance was significantly "retarded" for '72 and '73 until they finally did away with it all and went for the '74-78 Pinto chassis Mustang IIs.

In any case, my only experience with this horrible degradation of performance and focus on emissions has been my '79 Ford Bronco. The vehicle came with a 400M engine, which is literally a tall deck 351C witha 4.0" stroke crank within. Incredibly enough, I believe this engine, despite its displacement wheezed out a whopping 175 hp when brand new. I rebuilt the engine to mainly stock specs, using Federal Mogul bearings, cast pistons, stock heads with fresh valve job, etc. I installed a Cloyes Tru-Roller double row timing chain "straight up." Engine dynoe'd at 300 RWHP and 450 ft-lbs of torque in by 2000 RPM using a Crane flat tappet hydraulic camshaft. Literally made twice as much power as the stocker and I believe it was entirely in the cam and timing chain set. Now that it's sequentially fuel injected using EDIS8, it makes ridiculous amounts of power and torque with brilliant fuel economy (as brilliant as can be for a 5500 lb truck with a slushbox and 35" tires!).

 

[Kit Sullivan]

My point exactly: doing all the "typical" bolt-on hop-up tricks to a stock 73 Cleveland ( aluminum intake, 4 barrel, headers, cold air induction, etc...) will be nothing but an exercise in total frustration. All that time and money spent and the engine will still be a boat anchor.

First thing: change the timing set! And cam if you can afford it.

That single change will net you a tremendous improvement in performance even on a totally stock ( otherwise) engine.

All the other stuff mentioned above will now make a good thing better.

 

[adm22]

BY performance do you mean horsepower o MPG. as I drive my car alot I and often on long trips I have done everything possible to get as much MPG from it as possible.

Have had problems with the timing and looking into adjusting the curve of the ditributor since the enngone now hot about 2k revs while doing 70 MPH. so I have no real need for having it peak performance any higher than taht.

 

[Mesozoic]

BY performance do you mean horsepower o MPG. as I drive my car alot I and often on long trips I have done everything possible to get as much MPG from it as possible.

Have had problems with the timing and looking into adjusting the curve of the ditributor since the enngone now hot about 2k revs while doing 70 MPH. so I have no real need for having it peak performance any higher than taht.

I have some experience tuning engines for efficiency. On my '71, which is equipped with a 351W stroked to 408 @ 10.3:1 compression, I was able to squeeze 28 mpg out of the car while driving 75-80 mph on I-10 with a carburetor, running at 3500 - 4000 RPM (no overdrive... yet). Here's how:

1. I have a WBO2 (wideband oxygen sensor) that I used to tune the Speed Demon 750cfm mechanical secondary carb. I was targeting about 16 AFR when cruising (pretty lean).
   
2. I used to run a Mallory Unilite mechanical advance distributor. When I fuel injected my old Bronco with a 400M (351C tall deck), I no longer needed the distributor since I used a cam sync sensor. The old distributor was also a Mallory Unilite, but with vacuum advance. The distributor gear from the 351W mechanical unit swapped onto the 351C unit. With a little recurve work and making sure the vacuum advance was working, the engine was commanding lots of timing when cruising and low loads.
   

Of course, if you decide to fuel inject it's a lot easier.

 

[Mikes73]

I've driven it many times in the last couple of months and have only managed to put 57 miles on it, this car is going to be my around town daily driver so that number should increase fast. So far max distance has been about 5 miles but the car is getting more dialed in everyday so the trips will get longer.

 

[rpmcarter]

...... till I got there!!!

 

[adm22]

Mesozoic

I briefly looked inot fuel injection and deciedde that it was too expnsive an endeavour and as all the kits I have seen are aftermarket they might prove difficult to get worked on or repair myslef when thengs go bad. I am not mechanically incompetent but some complex prohects are beyond my skill level and the tools I have on hand. Although it seems i am constantly buying new tools that get used once then put in an ever growing pile. But I digress.

My car has a 351c that is nothing special- it is a NAPA rebuild that I am guessing is as close to stock as one is going to get these days. The rear end is the 2.75 highway gear.

ThingsI have done to improve the cars efficency:

1) Petronix to replace points. Did this a long time ago (20th century) liked this over the other elctronic ignition systems I saw since it can be converted back to points easily should the need arise. It has not and has lasted 300k miles give or take.

2) replaced the 3 speed with a T5 overdrive- this made the biggest difference.

3) Put a thermally activated cluth on the engine fan. Thus fan is not running at full torque unless it gets hot- something it will rarely do when air is coming through the radiator at 70MPH.

I have no clue what either a WBO2 (wideband oxygen sensor) is, where it would go or what exactly a secondary carb is or does

.

Would getting this Mallory Unilite mechanical advance distributor. Help with the problmes I am having with mine in that either the car runs good and has hard starting when warm or else does nto get as good of MPG but will easily start.

I had a mechancic who sometimes does work for me tell me I should get a compuerised fuel inhection engine from a newer car and drop it in but things with compters tend to cause a lot of problems in my experience. Although this would be something I would have to pay himfor he of course likes the idea.

He also told me that I should replce the 2V carb with a 4V one- no need to change tha manifold get an adaptor plate. With thsi set up he said the two front barrels would have better MPG when cruising donw the highway and when the back ones also engaged I would get more power when I need it. I was alwys under the impression that 4v carbs were less fuel friendly but I ahve ben worng about things in the past.

 

[Mikes73]

If you are going to upgrade to a 4 barrel then swap the intake manifold also, I would question any mechanic that recommended an adapter plate when doing this swap. I would also only use a distributor with vacuum advance if halfway decent fuel economy is what you want, mechanical only distributors are intended more toward race or very high performance street applications where the gas pedal is always floored so vacuum advance wouldn't be used or needed.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

I agree: Any mechanic who claims a 4 barrell carb should be on a 2-barrell intake is not one i would take advice from for anything.

Distributor? Definitely use a vacuum advance model. And get an adjustable vacuum unit for it so it can be fine-tuned even further.

The vacuum advance allows slightly less-advanced static setting for the timing, which assists higher-compression engines to start more easily. Once running, the vacuum pulls the breakerplate, advancing the timing so you get good off-idle performance.

As your RPM increases, manifold vacuum drops off, and the vacuum advance then no longer advances the tiiming...however, the centrifugal weights in the distributor then provide mechanical advance due to higher RPM which still gives good performance.

A stock distributor with a pertronix unit, or a later-year Duraspark distributor can both be easily recurved to provide outstanding performance and dramatically improved fuel economy.

The stock centrifugal weights in a Ford distributor (called "reluctor arms" by Ford for some stupid reason) are factory-set to provide a limited amount of total advance and to keep the advance from reaching total until higher RPM, all in the name of lower emissions. This unfortunately is at the expense of higher performance and fuel economy.

The reluctor arms have two spring-mounting holes in each one (there are two reluctor arms), and the hole the spring is mounted to determines the total advance obtained. By simply removing the reluctor arms, turning them upside down and locating them each on the opposite side of the center shaft and then mounting the return springs in the seconday holes, you gain tremendous performance and economy advantages.

Additionally, there are aftermarket reluctor arms and springs of varying weights and tension available to fine tune it even further.

Combine that with a quality adjustable vacuum advance unit that lets you dial in the maximum advance your particular engine can tolerate from 1000 to about 2000-2500 RPM and you will get much better performance and mileage.

My 71 429 CJ origianlly got a consistent 12-13 MPG when stock. Now, it gets about 16 in the city, and about 19 on the highway cruising at 70 MPH.

I have done other things to the engine, but recurving the distributor was a major contributor to the improvement.

NOTE: It has been a litle over 20 years since I actually worked on the distributor, so some of my descriptions may be a little off... but the basic facts are sound.

 

[Mesozoic]

1) Petronix to replace points. Did this a long time ago (20th century) liked this over the other elctronic ignition systems I saw since it can be converted back to points easily should the need arise. It has not and has lasted 300k miles give or take.

Does it have vacuum advance? You can easily run the engine up past 40 degrees advance during low load and cruise conditions, seriously improving the fuel efficiency. Under high loads when the vacuum signal is 0, the advance returns to whatever the curve has been setup for mechanically.

2) replaced the 3 speed with a T5 overdrive- this made the biggest difference.

Can't wait to drop in a 4R70W into mine!

3) Put a thermally activated cluth on the engine fan. Thus fan is not running at full torque unless it gets hot- something it will rarely do when air is coming through the radiator at 70MPH.

I'm a proponent of if it ain't broke, leave it be, but having owned some newer cars I really like electric cooling fans, especially the computer controlled stuff. When you're cruising down the highway at 80 mph, there's no need for the fan to be on at all and all Ford EEC systems can control that. Saves a bit of power as well, further improving efficiency.

I have no clue what either a WBO2 (wideband oxygen sensor) is, where it would go or what exactly a secondary carb is or does

A wideband oxygen sensor is a tuning device that plugs into a standard oxygen sensor port in the exhaust. It lets you see what the air/fuel ratio (AFR) is during various conditions. Knowing when you're too rich or too lean can help tune your jetting. They used to be very expensive, but they've come down in price significantly to the point where you can own one for a few hundred dollars.

I believe what we're talking about when we refer to "secondaries" is the secondary set of throttle plates in a 4V carb. They're only opened during high load and WOT conditions. Generally, there's 2 types of secondary actuation: vacuum trigger and mechanical trigger. Big performance engines like mechanical secondaries and if fuel economy is more of a concern then vacuum secondaries.

.

Would getting this Mallory Unilite mechanical advance distributor. Help with the problmes I am having with mine in that either the car runs good and has hard starting when warm or else does nto get as good of MPG but will easily start.

I've had great luck with the Mallory Unilite distributors as there's an optical trigger that has no parts to wear out and they're upgradeable with HEI caps, retainers, look good, and are billet aluminum machined. The newer ones I believe allow you to adjust the advance curve with a smartphone or laptop, the older ones required changing springs and bending tabs. Vacuum advance is the biggest factor in improving low load fuel efficiency.

I had a mechancic who sometimes does work for me tell me I should get a compuerised fuel inhection engine from a newer car and drop it in but things with compters tend to cause a lot of problems in my experience. Although this would be something I would have to pay himfor he of course likes the idea.

I wouldn't jump into a fuel injection conversion without buying into it on personal level and being really motivated to do it. It's just not worth the hassle if you're not 100% sure what needs to be done and also if you're unable to do it yourself. I wouldn't trust anyone other than myself to setup the injection on my engine!

 

[adm22]

I want best possibly MPG that I can get without making the car a real dog. I live in the middle of nowhere and unless I am driving he car just to test a recently made repair- the shortest trip I will take in it is going to be 45 miles.

I am not really wanting to put in a 4v carb as I replaced the 2v one in the car a few years ago so it should still be good for a few more years. I sort of look at it as cost vs. future savings and they sort of hae to balance out.

I would rather have better performance and fuel economy than lower emissions.

Recurving the existing distributor does not sound all that hard of a thing to do. Also sounds a lot cheaper than getting a new albeit better one.

I have seen that you can buy new springs for these and wondering if that is something I should get and put in since it has already been taken all apart?

If it has been over 20 years since you have done this and it still works I am guessing it did not do anyting bad to the engine. As I hear there are some things that you do that have bad side efects- like overinflating tyres gets better MPG but makes them wear bad.

My car got 20MPG on the highway consistently when I bought it (1992) using leaded gas that was at the time till availabel when you looked . It got about 2 MPG less on unleaded, and even when using the lead additiveit eventually wore out the valves and ! replaced and engine with one from AutoZone. After about 300k miles that one started burning oil and I replaced it with a NAPA one someoe had bought about 10 years ealier and wrecked his car before he got it in. BOth of these only got unleaded gas and until I started trying to up the MPG a few years ago they nver did better than 17-18.

I had the Petronixc in it for about 2 years and noticed the biggest savinsg on thsi were that the spark pugs did not wear out every 12 to 15k miles and instead were lasting 50-60- so paid for itself just there.My biggest noticeable savings were from the t5.