QuestionI'm looking at a 66 Mustang Fastback with a 289 3/speed in the floor. The owner states that the oil pressure drops and believes it's due to bearings. He "thinks" it's the bearings since the car has sat for long periods of time between driving.
What would be the best case (cost) scenario and worst case ($) scenario in having this fixed. I'm good at light engine work but better at body work. Any thoughts or "guesses" are appreciated.
THNX
AnswerIf the seller admits that the oil pressure is low, you have to assume that not only the main and rod bearings will need to be replaced, but also the camshaft bearings, and that the crankshaft will need to be ground and polished to a standard undersize. If the engine has that much wear, it is almost certain to need a complete head rebuild, and new timing hardware etc, plus an oil pump. Most likely it will also need to be bored and new pistons fitted.
The good news is that if you have a good set of tools including a torque wrench, and a clean well lit place to work, you can do most of the work yourself. You will have to rent an engine hoist to get the engine out, and buy an engine stand to support it while you work on it. You also need to get a book on rebuiding small block Fords, but that should not be hard to find.
You can disassemble the engine completely, then take the pieces to an auto machine shop for the head, block and crank work, which will cost you somewhere around $1000 to $1500, depending on what has to be done. Be sure to have the machinist install the new cam bearings for you - they are tricky! Let the machinist order the bearings, pistons, rings, oil pump and timing parts for you (they get a better price, and it makes them responsible for getting the right sizes) and the gasket set. That will cost another $500 to $800, depending on what has to be replaced.
While that is all going on, you can clean and paint under the hood, and have the other engine parts rebuilt (water pump, carburetor, distributor, starter, alternator). Add another $300 to $400 for all that.
Now, you get to put it all back together and back into the car. Pay a LOT of attention to the step by step order of doing things. When you are all done, you get to enjoy one of the major thrills of playing with old cars - starting up and breaking in a "new" engine. Personally, this is exactly the way I do it (except I do some of my one machine work), and it is one of the high points of my day when I get to fire up a fresh engine.
There is another way to go - that is to take it to an auto mechanic and get him to do it for you - but that takes all the fun out of it in my opinion, and it will cost more. Doing it yourself will cost you between $2000 and $3000 - a shop will not do as good a job, most likely - but I can't guess what they will charge - that depends on where you live. Out here in California, shop labor rates are around $80 an hour, and there is at least 40 hours of work in rebuilding an engine - so the labor charge can be outrageous. In your area, it could be half of that.
You will have a lot of other decisions to make: Replace the clutch and pressure plate? (I'd advise yes). Convert the heads to run on unleaded gas? ((again, yes). Rod out and flow check the radiator? (yes)
I know this is all hard to listen to, and I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. The reward is: you will have a powerful, reliable, good sounding and driving car for many years to come (assuming the suspension, body etc are all in good shape now). The penalty is you will be poorer by about $5000 before you are done with it!
The final point to make about buying an old car is: Buy the absolutely best example you can find - it is always cheaper to let the last owner go through all the expense of fixing a car - it always costs much more to do it this year than it did last year, and if it is all done, you can see if it was done well enough to satisfy you before you buy it.
Dick
