Our Pride and Joy

One of the main goals of my mustang is to keep it updated with today's technology and yet still retain that classic muscle car appeal. Just because the car is 37 years old doesn't mean one can't enjoy some of today's automotive advances. The drivetrain and improved suspension are just some of the advances the mustang enjoys.

Drivetrain:
347 Stroker Ford Small Block
1998 Tremec TKO 5 speed
1970 Ford 9" rearend (narrowed)
1969 20 Gallon Gas Tank
Moser 31 spline Axles
Detroit Locker Differential
Richmond 4.11 Ring & Pinion
Drive-shaft custom built
Lakewood Scattershield
Dark Horse Tranny Crossmember
McLeod Billet Flywheel
McLeod Diaphram Pressure Plate
McLeod Dual Friction Clutch Disc
4-Point Roll bar
CE Subframe Connectors
Driveshaft Loop
Trunk mounted Battery

Fiberglass Parts:
Shelby GT 350 Hood
Front Bumper
Rear Bumper
Lower Valence
Stone Deflector

Steering/Handling:
Manual Steering
- 16:1 Power Steering Gear Box
Granada Front Disc Brakes
Upper Control Arms Lowered
- Shelby 1" drop
KYB Gas Shocks
Monte Carlo bar
Export Brace
1 1/8" front swaybar
ž" adjustable rear sway bar
Polyurethene Bushings
620 Front coil springs
4˝ Rear leaf springs
Shelby Under-ride Traction Bars

Wheels:
Craigar Aluminum Drag Star Rims:
Front: 15 x 5 (3˝" backspacing)
205 65 R15 Dunlop Sport 4000

Rear: 15 x 7 (3˝" backspacing *)
255 60 R15 Dunlop GT Qualifer

* Shortened rear end housing requires less backspacing.
Most 65-66 owners will need 4˝" backspacing

Interior:
Original "Pony Interior"
Simpson 5-point Seatbelt Harness
4-Point Roll Bar
Factory Radio Block-Off Plate

Autometer Gauges:
3ž" 10,000 rpm tack
2" Oil pressure
2" Water temperature
2" Vacuum pressure
2" Fuel pressure w/Isolator
2" Volts
2" Fuel level

What's it like?
The addition of a 5-speed to a Classic Muscle car provides a whole new angle to streetability. Highway driving and cruising is pure pleasure as the motor churns a mellow 2200 RPM at 75 MPH (w/3.50 gear). We highly recommend this modification (or AOD for you slush box guys) to any classic mustang owner, especially if driven daily. Even with the current 4.11 gears on the Arizona freeways, cruising is still a reasonable 2700 RPM at 75 MPH. Fuel milage varies on the lead foot, but is typically 15-16 MPG on the freeway and 12 MPG in town. Not too bad for 4.11 gears, single plane intake and a big double pumper carburetor.

The new upgraded suspension out-classes the orginal to such an extent that I can't even describe it. In addition to the rebuilt suspension, I removed the power steering to gain a much better feel for the road (while still retaining the 16:1 gear box). The addition of unidirectional radials up front has also made a significant improvement to the car's handling as well as reducing the steering effort at slow speed and works well with the lowered upper control arms. Corners now have become a joy with minimal understeer and almost no body roll. This is especially noticable at high speeds were power steering tends to typically overcompensate. Both front and rear sway bars keep the car flat in the corners while the rollbar and subframe connectors eliminates any body flex. The result is an impressive handling machine, easily taking on late model cars. Add a built V8 to the situation, and now you're talking about one intense ride!

Recent News:
3/7/03
We raced Kingsford today at Firebird Internation Raceway tonight. Managed a 109.48 MPH with a very traction impared 13.6 ET. With a little tuning and some traction there's a lot of optimism for better numbers in the future. The 109 MPH trap speed is a good indicator of the power the 347 is making.

2/9/03
The new 347 is running great. Oil consumption is good, power is incredible and fuel milage hasn't suffered too bad. Couple hundred more miles and a dyno session is in order. Definitely glad we didn't go with the 331. Looking to add a 6 gauge instrument cluster sometime this summer. Our 10,000 rpm tach is a bit over kill as well since the 347 doesn't need the RPM that the old solid cam 289 did. A matching speedometer will finish the deal.

5/29/02
The taller tires seems to improved fuel milage a tad. RPMs at 75 mph dropped a noticable 200 RPM; from 2700 to 2500 RPM.

5/21/02
We're running a wide set of 255 tires on the back now. The Dunlop tires are hooking quite well for a street tire. So far no rubbing, that shortened 9" rear end is nice to have.

5/29/01
Added new photos of the car at the body shop. Decided to get rid of the fiberglass trunk lid and go back to steel. The weight savings were quite mininal (at best) and the fit wasn't great.

2/6/01
Had the car detailed over the weekend and does it look sharp! We posted two new photos of the car today as well.

12/11/00
Looks like maintence is the key word for the month of December. ALL of the alignment shims on the passenger's side have fallen out, giving more play in the upper control arm than I'd like to talk about. I've also broken one of the welds on my traction bars. So much for saving money :)

10/15/00
Took Kingsford to the Dyno the other day. Found 265 RWHP and 275 ft/lbs of torque with the 289. That's good enough for low 13 to high 12 second runs in the quarter mile with good traction.

8/13/00
Purchased some new parts for the Holley (accelerator pump kit and adjust-a-jet for the secondaries) Also bought a G-Tech. Should be fun to play with, as well as a valuable test-n-tune tool.

The Granada Disc brakes are been working great! I am very pleased with the results. I'll be showing the car off in CA this weekend at the Peterson Museum.

6/27/00
Rear tires are getting thin, I'm thinking of a set of BFG drag radials for some traction (235 60 R15). We'd prefer to run Nittos, but they don't make a practical size for a '66 mustang. With some good weather last week, I was able to get 4th gear rubber!

5/5/00
Updated the pictures of Kingsford and the Engine the other day. The new 3 core radiator has been working great! I've already had it tested in 105ş weather. The Holley Adjust-a-Jet also works great. I can adjust the jet size while the engine is running! Talk about saving time at the track :)

4/19/00
Installed a Hi-efficiency 3 core radiator today. Also got a new gas cap, rear view mirror, and my favorite, a 5 speed shifter knob. Kingsford should be looking good at the car show! Look for some new pictures in a few weeks.

4/16/00
Oh boy, the Carter carb wasn't running because I left the primary jets out, Doh! As for the Holley, it might be the adjust-a-jets. Holley has a totally different jet setting listed on their website than what came with the instructions. I'll be looking into this first. At least the car is drivable for now :)

4/9/00
I think I have a dead distributor on my hands. There is a loud miss coming from the exhaust pipes and a bad shake with throttle. The Carb is definately not to blame, as the old Carters are doing the same thing. Stay tuned for more info...

3/28/00
Purchased a Holley 4150 carb today, rated at 700 CFM. I've been playing with several borrowed carbs, seeing what the motor likes best & I think this will be ideal. I also got Holley's Adjust-A-Jet to easy in tuning. What a time saver!

3/25/00
Installed a ž" rear sway bar today. Made quite an improvement in handling. The back of the car is definately loosened up a bit and eager to take on the twisties!

2/6/00
Finally, after many months of waiting, the single plane Edelbrock Victor Jr. is on! Look for new engine pictures soon...

1/18/00
After a lot of parts scrambling, Kingsford is finally back on the road! It turns out my roller pilot bearing came out of the crank and was preventing the clutch from releasing. I've gone back to a pilot bushing to prevent this expensive mishap.

12/30/99
Well, the car has been siting for a while...
But parts have been accumulating. I've picked up a ž" adjustable rear sway bar, an Edelbrock Vic Jr. intake manifold and sent the Comp 9000 distributor to Mallory to be recurved. Things should be getting done soon.

12/7/99
After a lot of time inspecting the whole clutch setup, it looks like the tranny is going to have to come out. Either the pressure plate cracked or the pilot bearing seized, as it won't disengage :(

11/16/99
Look for some new pictures of Kingsford coming soon! I've got pictures from both the Auto-X event and the October car show to put up soon.

After the trip to Tucson, AZ this weekend, I've ran into a clutch problem. It feels like something in the pressure plate or input shaft on the tranny. Hopefully I can find time this week to see what's up...

11/1/99
Should be getting to the installation of the front disc brakes soon (Finally!). After some research it seems the upper control arms by Global West are not compatable with the Granada spindles so I'll be lowering my stock control arms instead.

Oh ya, those 4.11s I installed a while back... They ROCK!
I can't wait to see the improvements at the track.

9/25/99
Picked up Kingsford from Gemini Racing Systems this morning after having both the 4 point roll bar and subframe installed. About an hour later that morning I was racing in my first ever Auto cross event! The roll bar and subframe really stiffened things up as my lap times were right with late model mustangs.

9/9/99
Bought a set of '78 Granada front spindles. Can't wait to install!

8/16/99
I'm installing a 4.11 ring and pinon gear in the back of the 9" rear end. The 3.50s are ideal for daily use but...

7/22/99
After a leakdown and compression test, its time to freshen up the topend. Look for some changes coming soon!

6/12/99
New license plate is in!
"2BAV8" will be riding proudly on the back of Kingsford

5/18/99
Added new pictures of the car and interior

5/12/99
I've just acquired an original factory radio block off plate (Ford Part# C6ZB-6504371). I also just installed the 4 speed shifter arm onto the Tremec today. It looks sweet!

How to install Front Disc Brakes

Details about the T-5 and Tremec swap

A brief history on our Mmustang & why we named it Kingsford.

For the curious, We have posted the expenses to build Kingsford.

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