Old Meets New

"Matt Nichelson" (whoismatt)
04/18/2016 at 10:00 • Filed to: Mustanglopnik

This past weekend I had the opportunity to do something that I have been itching to do for a while.

My mother owns Scarlett, a 1966 Mustang. It started life as a normal 6 cylinder, but now has a 302, disk brakes, upgraded suspension, new radiator, etc. When Ford came out with their redesign for the 2015 model year, I thought it would be a cool thing to do to put her ‘66 next to a ‘16 when they came out to showcase 50 years between the two.

I wanted to find one in Race Red since that color is a little closer to the red on the ‘66, but the dealer only had this one in Ruby Red, so it had to do.

I was a bit surprised to see how close the two are length-wise. I took Scarlett to this same dealer when the new body style first came out to do some pictures, but I didn’t really do a size comparison then.

I know the Mustang has been given a bad rep as of late, so at least this post is something good for a change.

If you have any questions about Scarlett, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer. Thanks for looking!

DISCUSSION (14)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 10:08

Wonderful, how about an engine pic on Scarlett?

What front suspension set up did you go with? Just rip one out of a Mustang II? What year did you go to for the 302? (1968 302 owner here)

Matt Nichelson > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/18/2016 at 10:15

I’ll have to get one when I go back to her house. Didn’t think to do that while I had it.

Not sure about the suspension, I will ask my stepdad about it since he did most of the work. The motor is from an 80's Thunderbird actually and has a Holley 4 barrel carb. My stepdad and his dad did the swap on it last year. I wasn’t able to help much with it due to working all the time.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 10:40

Interesting, pretty modern 5.0 for that car. Did they remove all the emissions gear? My 68 didn’t have any kind of smog control on it so it’s a super simple motor. I’m actually wondering if they took it out from under the T-Bird if they were ripping it apart any how.

I upped mine to a Holley 4 barrel as well, it was originally a 2 barrel. I put on an Edelbrock Performer RPM intake to match.

(this is on my 68 Montego btw)

She has a great looking Mustang by the way!

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 10:43

This looks like a murderous rampage waiting to happen.

gawdzillla > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 11:08

the GT350R is the only one i care about

Chasaboo > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 11:29

Funny, the original Mustang was built for secretaries to buy. The new one, not so much.

Matt Nichelson > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/18/2016 at 11:37

Yeah I will agree. It wouldn’t have been my choice, but it isn’t my car so I didn’t have any say in it. Same with this one as far as simplicity goes. The motor was already out of the T-Bird when it was bought. I can only assume the car itself was being sold off for parts at the time.

This one started with a 2 barrel as well. It was a used one and gave us nothing but problems, so my stepdad made the decision to get rid of it and put a 4 on.

Thanks! I wish she would actually drive it and enjoy it more, but there are still a couple of things that need to be worked out. the floats needed adjusting and I believe that was finally handled 2 weeks ago. It has an oil leak that needs to be addressed and a couple of other small things that need to be done, but otherwise it is pretty fun to just cruise around in.

Matt Nichelson > Chasaboo
04/18/2016 at 11:39

Correct. It was marketed as a secretary’s car when they were first produced. It has come a long way since then for sure.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 11:45

yeah it’s a 60's car there’s always going to be a few small things that need addressing, that never ends.

the 4 barrel was the smart choice, the 2's make these 302's anemic/fuel starved.

I mean for the block if he stripped the emissions gear and any electronic control he’s back to the 60's, I mean I almost bolted heads on to mine that came off a 92 GT Mustang haha, it’s all still plug and play. You can just clog up some of the emission ports and you’re good.

302's have been 302's for a looooong time. I’m more interested in the suspension swap than the engine actually haha

Matt Nichelson > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/18/2016 at 11:53

Indeed. The work is never done for sure. I’ll try to find out what he did on the suspension and send you a reply on it. It may not be anything fancy at all, I just know it isn’t what was originally on the car.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 12:04

Yeah I don’t know that t-bird suspension (fox platform) would match up underneath, I know mustang II is the most common swap, it even bolts onto my car

PatBateman > Matt Nichelson
04/18/2016 at 12:08

How many people died in this event?

;)

Matt Nichelson > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
04/18/2016 at 13:57

Yeah. The motor was the only thing that came from the T-Bird.

Matt Nichelson > PatBateman
04/18/2016 at 13:58

Har har har ;)