I have a 1966 6cyl coupe, that has 85,000 miles and all #'s match and title is clear. Should I keep everything original or should i modify? engine, brakes, etc...
I would really only consider making it concourse quality stock if you wanted to show it. Personally, I like the stock look except for wheels and anything that can be hidden under the car or the hood
peresonally i think you should send that junk POS to me here in va and let me deal with it it depends on what you want to do with the car. if you want more performance, but maintaint he mileage of the six, you can hop up the six fairly easily. i would upgrade the chassis with better brakes(front disc/good rear drums), subframe connectors, slightly stiffer springs front and rear(use the stock GT front spring, and stock V8 rear springs). add a 1" front sway bar, and a decent wheel and tire combo and the chassis is set. for the engine, i would freshen up the rings and bearings, add a mild cam ( www.fordsixparts.com has a few good ones to use), and have the log intake modifed so you can bolt on a decent 2bbl carb, i prefer the autolite 2100, but the holley 2300 is good also. add a header, again fordsixparts has a few different ones, and a decent exhaust and that is done. for the rest of the drivetrain, i would use a T5 conversion, and add an 8" rear end with 3.50 gears. this combo would be economical to drive daily, but would surprise many V8 guys, and would take down ricers by the dozen.
theres someone on here with a souped up 200 ci engine. carb, intake, header, ect. i'd keep that one stock. its got decently low miles (mines getting close to 150. it will probably be worth more stock.
I agree with the others, if it is in good shape, keep it stock and just freshen it up. upgrade a few things on it that won't be real visible.
Good shape just means you have an excellent car to modify. You don't need to do a bunch of repair work to get started. It probably still needs new suspension, brakes, etc. Just replace it with v8 stuff while you are at it. I doubt there is any reason to replace it with original stuff. Only if the I6 is really rare or unique are you going to be wrecking the value of the car.
Tim, what part of OK are you in? What is your age? What is your intended end use of the car? Do you have a picture gallery somewhere? Is it a daily driver? Your only source of transportation? Or is it a nice day only car? Does the price of gas concern you? Condition of the car would have a bearing on my opinion. I live north of Edmond, if you were close, I could look at the car and give a more informed opinion. Other things would have a bearing on it as well such as, how did you acquire the car? If it is a family original, I'd try to keep it original. Ultimately, it's your car and you can do whatever you want to with it, such as put a LS1 or a turbo'd 4 cyl Nissan engine (in reference to previous posts that have gotten out of hand) or send it to the crusher. If you've just gotten the car, I'd drive it for now, over the summer, and then make a decision based on your experience with the car. I will make one important suggestion. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT take the car all apart for the intended transformation since it's a running vehicle. Ask me how I know? How about car down for 12 years? I'd enjoy it for right now, repair the little things that need taken care of, you'll find that with a 40 year old car, these will be fairly often, but usually can be done by the owner. You gotta remember, you can pretty much take the car apart with 7/16" thru 5/8" wrenches, a flat head and Phillips screwdriver and a pair of pliers, LOL!!!
You gotta remember there were over a million coupes sold. Not to mention it is a six cylinder. I personally would modify it, not like you are carrying a shelby or california special, no offense, if you do a concourse car it still won't be worth that much. So I would modify it.
I live in Hugo, southeastern part of Ok, I'm 29 .I put some pics in here some were. I drive the car a little but it needs a little work. its missing an alternator bracket, just bought one on Ebay. The alt. bolt is broke of in the water pump.It has some rust. But i was told today that it wasnt that much but would cost a lot to fix, floor pan, bottom corner of door has a little rust. When i got the car it already had hooker headers and dual exhaust, but only a single barrell card. I was told a dbl barrell would drown it. Not for sure what i want to do with the car yet, I'm really wanting a fastback.
I personally think it all should stay stock unless you can cut it off or unbolt it! Seriously do what I did, only customize things which can be undone fairly easily and keep all of the original parts. I have a shelf in my garage which holds all the stock parts from my completely numbers matching 66 fastback. That way if I ever change my mind or if classic stangs start bringing more than a Restomods I basically have both. Not to mention, I think my car will certainly bring more money when the new buyer can choose which way he/she wants the car...original or Restomod. Just a thought.
Not to be picky but if it's a 6cyl it would only have one header. I agree with rbohm. If you're driving it then the suspension mods will make the car that much safer to drive for you and everyone around you. Even if you don't do anything else to the car, making it stop and handle better is a good idea.
2bbls can wake up I6s, not drown them. Swap a holley 5200 on that thing. If its a stick, swap in a T5 5spd and a 3.20:1 axle. Between the header, carb, T5 and gears, it'll feel like a whole new car Suspension upgrades are a must. Scarebird has a $300 4-lug front disc setup, add a 1" front swaybar, export brace, montecarlo bar, and V8 springs all 'round.
Wow, Hugo is a ways away from me. My brother-in-law is from Hugo, his dad still lives down there. Show us pics of the problem areas, use Photobucket or some type of photo hosting service, but put your posts in Tech, not Talk as many don't come over into here. Besides, you're now getting into tech anyway.
Go for it Do what you want to with the car. Make it what you want. There are too many coupes out there to worry about matching numbers etc.
