73 mustang auto with a 351 cleveland ????

hi im looking into buying this mustang for $1800.00 the only things wrong with it is it needs a new carb ($123.00 at the most with my discount at Carquest) and it heats a little the guy said so ill need to service the cooling system and a very small ding on the driver door and now for the good things it has a new dash board new door panels and a new rear bumper tires are good it has ac (needs a belt)no dents other than the driver door the interior is in good condition but the front seats have small cuts from over the years and the carb is a two barell (less power but good for gas prices) and its red and has a vinyl top tis is everything he told me over the phone. Now what do i look for (rust,engine,underneath)help? and it has the 351 cleveland is this a good engine? my dad has a 69 mustang with the strait six 250 engine, that engine, tranny whole damm car is original (even the paint:) )except for the starter and radiator but nothings ever been rebuilt and runs perfect!and its a daily driver well what i want to know is is this motor and tranny dependable ill eventually rebuild both but will they give me any problems or now? he said in the ad......... fast car with 351,runs very good.......sorry to write a story but i need to explain everything

Seems to be a pretty cheap price. If its recently been painted chances are he is hiding something. But as for things to check, bondo is one. Rust is another. Check window seals (extremely hard to fix if they are rusted), floor pans, check real good around the passenger side floor pan and firewall. Check the trunk, quarter panels, and wheel wells for rust as well. Also make sure the fram is good and sturdy, as well as shock towers. Take a flashlight with you when you go to look at it so you can be sure you dont miss anything. Bondo can be very hard to find if someone did a good job on it. But alot of times you can feel the ripples it can leave with a poor sanding job even if you cant see them. Try to park it somewhere in the sun when you are looking at it so you can stand back and look down the sides of the car to make sure its good and straight. This can sometimes be a good way to see bondo.
As for the drivetrain, you pretty much just have to take the guys word for it unless you really know what you are doing under the hood. Check the oil, tranny fluid idleing in park when hot (if its an automatic), check the antifreeze level, ect, ect. Do everything you can think of to make sure the car is good and solid. If you find some defects be sure you are ready and willing to fix them after you buy it. After you look at it you may want to talk to a mechanic or body man to get a few more opinions. Also its best to take someone with you for a second set of eyes.
Best of luck to you, I just bought my '66 and found some bondo when I got home with it. It had rained the day I bought it so the water hid a few spots. Nothing that cant be fixed though.

it has the 351 cleveland is this a good engine?

Good would be a BIIIIG understatement. :naughty:

i think the cleveland is one of the best engines ford ever made. if you care about a/c you might want to spin the a/c compressor to make sure it isnt locked up and thats why the belt is off. check the floor boardsand trunk wells . of course check the engine for water in case of head gasket . other than that sign the check turn the key and have fun.

I know a guy who ran around a 6.18 1/8th mile, N/A, with a cleveland in a 2850lb car. 6.18 is roughly equal to a low-mid 9 in the 1/4. He ran a stock block, stock crank, stock rods, and stock home ported 4v heads. Estimates put it around 650hp. No alcohol, gas only. Not stroked, no huge bore. I think it was .030 over which is 357ci. Your average thorough garage ported 4v head will flow in the 300-325cfm range. Professionally ported 4v heads will flow upwards of 375cfm. Your typical NASCAR/Yates SBF head is based on a 351c head, and can be made to flow well over 400cfm.
A few examples of cleveland based race heads:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7917394686&category=33623&sspagename=WDVW
Incredible flowing exhaust ports, if you could find another(its only 1 head), that would be perfect for a blower motor.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7916813041&category=33617
Another fine example.
As for street aftermarket heads, you have your choice of AFD(http://www.airflowdynamics.com.au/cleve2V.html) heads or CHI heads(http://www.chiheads.com/heads_02.html).
Both are great, flowing around 330cfm intake/225cfm exh out of the box. Or if you want to get really crazy you can get a pair of these bad boys:
http://www.araoengineering.com/Ford/clevelnd.htm
Out of the box, they flow nearly 400cfm intake and over 300cfm on the exhaust. The ultimate cleveland head...
Besides these, there are also race entries from Blue Thunder, which you don't see too often.
Basically, clevelands had great heads back when they were designed in the late 60s(first cleveland head appeared on the '69 Boss 302), and 35 years have given engineers plenty of time to improve the design to result in some of the the best 2 valve per chamber heads ever. Basically, clevelands kick ass. Oh, and Cleveland based engines have won more championships for Ford than any other engine they have produced. Although I think in time the Modulars will dethrone the mighty cleveland.

351W Stang did a pretty nice job of summing up what needs to be checked. Of course though, I have a few to add. Thoroughly check under trunk matt, and also feel the inner part of rear fender for damage. This way even if Bondo is covering the outside, you will be sure to see it from the inside. It isn't that Bondo is the devil, most all older cars have at least some. The real problem is when paper towels are shoved into rusted holes and then puttied over. Next run your hand on the inside lip of all four fenders to check if it has been wrecked and fixed improperly, or replaced. A replaced fender may sound like a good thing, right? New, good metal, but that isn't always the case. Many times it is super thin jap crap. Even if it isn't a cheap replacement, other damged may have happened from that wreck that were not fixed, and could be more serious, like a bent frame(slight exaggeration, but possible). What you are looking for in the inner fender lips is a nice uniform ripple which was factory. If you feel a piece jetting out in the middle of the lip, then more than likely a piece has been scabbed on to cover something. I think thats all I wanted to add... if I think of anything I'll post it. Good luck! Hope you become a proud new owner of a Ford Mustang!!