Get a big block Mustang they said , it will be fun they said.......

[fryedaddy]

is a mustang any harder to work on than my comets and fairlanes,i have never had or worked on a fe mustang.

[gregb]

An FE Mustang is a PITA to work on......everything under the hood anyway, lots of specialized parts.  I've had mine since 1982......lots of good times and memories, maybe some new cuss words to boot.....

[cjshaker]

This 70 is the real deal R code so it has these friggin straps on the towers which make things all the more tight It doesnt help that the straps dont even fit tight against the towers so they take up about double the room they need to.

When I built my R-code with a 427 and MR heads, I anticipated the tower brace issue. Mine stuck out a good 1/4", at least. I took a hard piece of 4x4 oak, then a rosebud torch tip and heated the braces up in the areas that needed pushed back. Some good hits with a handheld sledgehammer and that flattened them back against the towers. When I was done, you couldn't tell that anything special had been done. It gained me enough clearance that there was actually space between the braces and header bolts. The engine still "pecked" at the tower at idle, which was really annoying, so I made an engine strap that went down to the sway bar mount on the frame. That took care of that issue.

Not saying it cures all your problems, but any clearance gained in that area is a big help. Only issue is when the car is already painted. I did mine when it was still on the rotisserie.

I guess looking at the picture now, you can tell that the braces are somewhat flattened.

[Falcon67]

If it was drop in/bolt up easy we'd all be driving big block Mustangs.    I'd label what I see as "part of the fun stuff"

[Blueoval77]

Yeah Doug , I was dreaming up some sort of small nylon bushed rod ends to do something similar . I think that would do wonders for the whole situation.. This engine going in there now is really just a temporary deal to get the whole combination worked out so I will get another chance at doing some small modifications when it comes out and before the big one goes in. Im glad you posted that pic  , I was convinced that these mounts set the engine a tad lower. Unless of course you have the same adjustable mounts on that one....

[MeanGene]

When I put my first 427 in my 69 in 1977, young and dumb and had no idea of the real purpose of those shock tower braces, just wow the Shelbys have the Monte Carlo braces that made them magically handle better. So when I put it in, it had an Edelbrock cross ram, so I just left the braces off, and since I was using low riser heads with just the verticle bolts, soon realized that some of the lower bolts were easier from underneath. Has a ball taking the Chebbrainwashed for rides and incinerating tires, so punished it a bit. Had no idea why it was much more difficult getting the header bolts back out later- some could not be removed all the way, tight to the towers. Yeah, the dimensions in the Shop Manual are a big help in fixing past stoopidity lol...

[cjshaker]

Im glad you posted that pic  , I was convinced that these mounts set the engine a tad lower. Unless of course you have the same adjustable mounts on that one....

No, those are factory style mounts. I do have a set of the captured poly mounts that I'll be putting in with the new engine, along with the reinforced, heavy duty lower crossmember for improved rigidity. Hopefully those new mounts do not lower the engine. I've got a pretty good reference spot on the tower to let me know if anything has changed (in other words, peck marks on the tower braces...lol). I've done pretty much the same thing as you; starting out mildly stock/modified, ramping it up as I've gone, with bigger changes coming soon.

You can shim the engine up a little, by elongating certain holes and using spacers or washers. The only drawback to that is the already tight clearance to the hood, and changing driveline angle, both of which can be addressed if you're anticipating the issue.

And you show the precise reason why I don't like pentroof style covers in a Mustang. They just take up way too much valuable space and cause interference issues. Not to mention they make getting your hand in certain places pretty much impossible.