Thread: My first build

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W2zero- Nice ride, gotta love those fairlanes!

Thanks all for the comments. Now for the dumb newbie question. Standard bore on a 289 is 4" ? correct? I am ready to send the block to the machine shop, but need to have the new pistons in hand so it is an exact bore (going 30 over) and not a rough bore. Want to make sure this motor has never been rebuilt or machined before. so I measured the cylinder and came out with 4 inches. But using a small ruler, really do not have a micrometer, and ofcourse harbour freight was closed here yesterday, and advacned and discount autoparts did not have one. Want to order the parts, but do not want to order the wrong thing. Again, an ingnorant question, but bare with me I am learning one step at a time. Thank you

The car looks really solid and is a great car to restore. I don't see those Fairlanes very often. The claw hammer scared me a bit though. Just kidding. It will be good to follow your progress.

Looks like you have some good help there, but I think the car needs a few more horns. Nice to see you are making good headway.

As for the pistons, I wouldn't buy them until the machine shop does their thing because he may find he only has to go 10, 20, or maybe out to 40 to get it straight. Then you would be stuck with 30 over pistons. On a stock rebuild I just let the machine shop get me the pistons and bearings. The price is usually close and it makes him feel good because you spent some more money with him rather than giving it to someone else.

Don

And to add to Pop's commentary on the machine shop, if you have them responsible for all of the measuring and definition of what's required you don't run into the potential problem of something being the wrong size/fit (assuming a quality/responsible shop). Not many things worse than having a problem and the shop getting off the hook by saying something like "we did it the way YOU wanted it, not the way we would have done it! It's YOUR problem"

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

And to add to Pop's commentary on the machine shop, if you have them responsible for all of the measuring and definition of what's required you don't run into the potential problem of something being the wrong size/fit (assuming a quality/responsible shop). Not many things worse than having a problem and the shop getting off the hook by saying something like "we did it the way YOU wanted it, not the way we would have done it! It's YOUR problem"

Some very good advice from Uncle Bob!!!! Possibly some of that "been there, done that" advice????

The one thing I would add is to find a machine shop that can do all the machine work, balancing, cylinder heads, etc that will be necessary for the build... Also seems to work best when the outside machine work is all done in the same facility!!!

Hi,

I'm new here but, I've played with early mustangs for a while. I went through the rust repair and rebuild on my the front end of my first mustang. I ended up with a "new" 40 year old suspension. If I were to do another one in that condition I would cut off the front end and replace in with a MII type front clip. You will pick-up better handling, steering, more brake options, and more room. It sounds like a big step for a first build but I think it is worth considering.

Chuck