It’s no longer a dream. It’s a reality. Your car is now fully assembled and ready for the road. Well, not quite ready for the road. It’s important to remember that the entire car was disassembled down to the last nut, bolt and clip.

The engine has been completely rebuilt along with the transmission and rear end. As much as you desperately want to just jump in and go cruising Muscle Car Restorations first will insist on testing everything.

Above: The 340 was rebuilt mostly factory stock. The only real major deviation is the Sniper 2 EFI throttle body (seen under the air cleaner base) in place of the factory Carter 600 CFM 4bbl carb. The Sniper won’t really improve max power over the carb but John will notice better cold starting, idle and a general increase in overall drivability. Gas mileage may improve slightly also but who really cares about that when you’re driving a car like this.

The first phase of that testing is done on MCR’s Mustang chassis dyno. During the initial start up everything can be closely monitored and checked. Yes, the engine has had some break in time on an engine dyno to set up the initial tune but that’s not the same as running it in the car.

On the chassis dyno, the car can be “driven” through a number of simulated conditions while all systems are being closely monitored. Eventually, a few full power pulls will be done not just to get some horsepower and torque numbers but also to confirm that the final tune is working as expected.

Above left: The transmission choice is a 4-speed of course. While MCR could fit any number of aftermarket 5 or 6-speed manual transmissions into this car, John choose to stick with the classic A-833 to keep the stock driving experience. Above right: There’s no need for anything other than the stock 8 ¾-inch differential. It’s more than tough enough for a 350 HP 340. John chose a moderate 3.55 ratio for a nice balance between cruising performance and gentle highway RPM.

Of course it’s not just the engine that’s being tested but also the transmission and rear end as well which can only really be properly function tested under varying load conditions. Once the car passes the dyno testing it’s time to take it out on the road where the suspension and brakes can be evaluated. MCR will put some road miles on the car to get a feel for it under actual driving conditions.

The goal of course is to make sure that once delivered, the car is ready for not just cruise night but even an extended road trip if you just can’t tear yourself away from it.

Above left: The beauty of a chassis dyno is that it allows the car to be driven under normal or even extreme load conditions in the safety of the shop where everything can be closely monitored. Above right: MCR’s Mustang Dyno measures rear wheel horse power so of course the numbers will be somewhat less than those from an engine dyno but that in no way reduces the value of a chassis dyno’s ability to test and tune. With 318 pounds of torque and 293 HP measured at the rear wheels, John will have more than enough power to enjoy pretending like he’s twenty years old again.

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