i just bought a 1998 Ford Mustang GT and know i want to add a turbo, cams,intake.headers,pistons. but not sure what else to add what i should add first and what kinds of parts to add? thx
I started with easy bolt-ons like cold air intake, under drive pullies, removal of air silencer, etc etc etc... But I most enjoy the exterior, as this is all image and visual. I keep myself clean cut, so ride should like respective. So in addition, new shoes, new hood, and a new wing let me fly down the road! Hey, Why is an opinion valued at "...my two cents worth" but is paid by "... a penny for your thoughts" WHERE DOES THE OTHER PENNY GO? lol
Theres alot of penny chuckers on this site! Ha ha! I think thats the point though.
Just get the basic mods done first - new block and forged internals, twin turbos, fuel injection, nitrous, full suspension kit, 22s and an awesome stereo and custom paint job.
__________________
Quarter Pounder
'93 LX Coupe; 2.3L swap
COBRA CLONE: GT40Ps, 1.7 rollers, Explorer intake & TB; 24 pounders, long tubes; X pipe; dumps; pullies; filter etc.
i have, crane cam (specs are like F 303 cam) rockers, not sure of ratios, valve springs, underdrive pulleys, mac shortty headers, offroad h pipe, flowmasters with dumps (and right side header gasket leak pretty bad, trhowing codes saying running lean) i also have k&n filter, advanced timing to 15*, made a custom ram air threw bumper for k&n, 245/50/16's in the rear, adjustable FPR, msd blaster coil, king cobra clutch, aluminum driveshaft, flex fan, punched out thermo, stock gears , and theres probly little stuff i left out, and i beat out a k20a integra twice, mx3 with klze swap, civic hatch with spray idk what shot, 350 friebird 91ish, 89' turbo civic, 2003 msutang gt from a roll back one, 2002 mustang gt from a dig,2006 wrx non sti and it was a realy close race. and i recently put in a 50 shot wet kit just for a little added punch and i raced an subie STI and he got be by about 1 lenth at about 100mph *from a dig*. i olny went 50 shot becusae i have oil blow by at high rpm, and idk if i have a cracked ring
When I built my motor I said to hell with it and money was no object...thankfully my car is a tax write off :P
I built a 347 stroker went with TFS intake, AFR heads, crane cam, forged pistons, h-beam rods, forged crank, converted to mass air(was 88 GT no mass air stock), windage tray, 75mm throttle body, 75mm MAF, 24lb injectors, new roller rockers, shorty headers, no cats, flowmasters 2.5"exhaust, fluidamper, alum flywheel, 3.73 gears, new tremec tranny, hopefully when I get a chance to throw in on a rear wheel dyno I am impressed...I am actually very anxious to see what kind of power this car actually puts out.
Hey there everyone
I need a little help here.
will a 1993 5.0 valve covers fit 1995 5.0 block
these are trick flow valve covers!
and what kinda HP will the trick flow top and lower intake give
cheers buds
I have a 1986 GT that is still set up for speed density. Any sugestions for converting to mass air?
I origionally got a kit from Summit for my 88 then later found out that Jeg's has a much more complete/better put together kit for about the same price. Someday when I do the update to my 86 I will more likely use Jeg's' kit as opposed to the Summit one. If I recall correctly Jeg's even offers a kit with a recalibrated MAF.
Other option is to find a wrecked 89-93 and get all the mass air parts you need from it. You need the EEC(the computer brain) from the passenger kick panel area, the MAF, the wiring harness for the MAF, and the tubes to connect the intake and the airbox. It's a pretty easy swap.
I have a 1986 GT that is still set up for speed density. Any suggestions for converting to mass air?
you'll have to change the computer i believe cuz the years with maf are different then the ones with the speed density. and then get the wireing harness from a maf engine prolly 89 to 92
5.0 Beginners Guide to Modifications
written by: GTRaptor
New Mustang owners sooner or later will get caught in the MOD MANIA. Most of them will start with cosmetics but others will eventually want to get more performance out of their steeds. In this guide we will try to introduce you not to the most popular but the more bang for the money mods.
SOHC and DOHC owners: Our 4.6 Section is under construction.
1. If your stang is not brand new the number one "mod" is TUNING, yes, you fist need to make your stang perform as expected or better than when it was brand new. We have a complete article about tuning HERE.
2. The stock mustang intake is pretty restrictive, to reduce its limitations install a K&N filter. For about $35 you can replace the ORIGINAL filter with a OEM fit K&N. If you can afford to spend a little more then get a COLD AIR SETUP, this you can buy or fabricate by following the steps in our ColdAir tech article.
3. This is where it gets interesting, most people will say get headers, others to get mufflers, X pipes or H pipes, etc. The main thing at this point is to improve exhaust without hurting performance which can happen if you select to big and exhaust system for your almost STOCK car. Our advice here is simple, get a set of free flowing mufflers, this is one of the most restrictive parts on the exhaust system and will free some hidden horsepower. Bigger headers, Xpipes or catbacks will cost you several hundreds and will not give the results you expect.
4. HEADS....are we nuts? you bet, we are nuts about power, heads are the BIGGEST restriction on the 5.0 HO. Changing to better flowing heads will net you gains close to 40horsepower. No other collection of "bolt-ons" can do this for the same amount of money. Just check this numbers:
Heads ------------------- Price ------------ HP
Iron GT40 ---------------- $850 ------------ 40
Alum GT40 Y ------------- $990 ------------ 50
Alum GT40 X ------------- $1,100 ---------- 60
Alum Edelbrock ----------- $1,100 ---------- 55
Alum TFS ---------------- $950 ------------ 55
Avg. -------------------- $998 ------------ 52
Avg. Per HP ------------ $19.90 ---------- 1 HP
As you can see in the table the price performance ratio of the heads is way better than that of the most popular bolt ons, the HP figures of the heads are an AVERAGE of several numbers found on some magazines and manufacturers websites, and we think they are pretty close to the real thing. Even a 40HP increase from heads alone is enough to justify their price.
Not considered in the table above is INSTALL PRICE, which will be almost the same for installing heads compared to all the bolt ons.
5. Next in our list is EXHAUST, after the heads are done the most restrictive exhaust part is the stock headers. In the OEM units the pipes are severely compressed where they are soldered to the flanges. This severely restricts exhaust flow (backpressure). The rest of the exhaust system is still OK for the amount of HP you have right now, probably a bit above 260 HP at the crank if your car is a 5 speed and about 250 if its an automatic.
6. Now we have to take care of the most restrictive part of the intake, the UPPER and LOWER manifolds. Here you will find lots of choices such as Long and Short runner manifolds of different brands such as FMS, Edelbrock, TFS, Saleen, Holley to name the most popular.
Our #1 Choice is the FMS Cobra intake, it has a good price/performance ratio and is the least expensive of all. But most of the other brands are pretty good and some offer more potential than the Cobra intake. If i were to choose another one i will surely consider the TFS and Holley units. The Edelbrock is also a nice intake, but in my opinion its damn ugly hehe.
7. Now that you took care of the U/L intake its time to get rid of the restrictive Throttle body. A larger TB will increase performance as much as 15 HP with all the mods installed.
8. At this point your stock 19 pound INJECTORS are in their HP limit, a good choice is getting 30 pounders and a new fuel pump and MAF OR CUSTOM CHIP. These additions will help you calibrate your new combo to the new injectors. We recommend getting a chip tuned to your current setup instead of the new MAF. A good chip manufacturer will put your car on a Dyno to calibrate the new computer to get the most out of your combination of parts.
9. The Ignition system is now one of the weak links in the equation, with the added HP and fuel, a better coil will help you to make a bigger spark to burn the added fuel.
10. Last in our beginners guide is to replace the rest of the exhaust system, an H or X pipe here will free a few more horses and will get you ready for the next mods...probably a supercharger? turbo?
Here the choice is yours, the X will increase power about 5-8 HP more than and H pipe but it is also more expensive. X and H pipes can be bought for OFF ROAD use which means they don't have cat converters or street legal versions with high flow cats. The later are about twice as expensive but might be required in some states.
At this point, you 5.0 HO Mustang is close to 300 rear wheel horsepower, and of course it is more fun to step on the pedal but there are still things to consider. The suspension will need modifications, the same as the brakes to keep those horses under control.
Also, don't take this guide as your bible but consult others about their experiences, this guide is just a collection of steps WE think you could follow. But in reality you might want to skip some of the mods or NEED to skip because of money restricions.
Buying used parts is good if you are on a budget, but buy only if you are 100% sure the part for sale comes from a reliable source. Headers, intakes, exhaust components are good used buys, you can easily tell if they are damaged. Heads are a bit harder to buy used cause some damage might not be aparent to the untrained eye.
Also remember that the SUM of HP gains for each part will not give you your total HP GAINS. Each part works in conjunction with the others. Think of the engine as a SYSTEM in which every part you install increases efficiency in relation to the other parts.
And last, have fun and by all means ASK ASK ASK others about their experiences.
Thanks for your time.
AFM - Staff
As far as exhaust is concerned, before running any off-road pipes be advised and check with your local state emissions. Check to see if they still do emissions testing on OBD1 vehicles, if so don't waste your money. If you go with a good X pipe with free flow cats, like Magnaflow, or Basani, you'll gain more than any off road H pipe. If you have the money, and you want some real gains without any power adders. Yank the motor, go to any reputible machine shop. For starters, have them bore the block .030 over = 306 cu.in. have the block filled with all forged internals. I'll tell you this, I have a 1989 Mustang LX Notchback, weight : 2,786 with driver, 306 cu.in. w/Eagle crank and rods, JE Pistons, TFS Track Heat, upper and lower intake w/1" phenolic spacer, 30lb. injectors, aeromotive 255 lph in tank fuel pump, and another 255 lph aeromotive in line fuel pump, connected in line right after the fuel filter, you want to connect your in line pump as close to the tank as possible it's easier on the pump to push the fuel than to pull it. Ford Racing shorty headers, Magnaflow stainless steel X pipe WITH CATS, all 2.5", Magnaflow stainless steel cat back, the rest I really don't have the room to lay it all out, but I can tell you this much : Best ET 10.80 @ 133.271 mph, 60ft. 1.47 w/MT 26X10.5 drag radials. As for the heads, their also TFS Track Heat 205cc, w/205intake, and 1.60 exhaust valves. Lunati custom ground camshaft, not bad for a N/A car. I've smoked more 5.0's with power adders, and Terminators, with pulley swaps that thinking by adding a couple of pounds of boost is really going to help them a great deal with the pulley swap, and a Predator Tune. Point is, if you do your home work, and put the right combo together you'll gain more than what you expect, ITLRUN.
Hey guys, just purchased a 1974 351 motor. I suspect the heads are low performance emission heads, and it has a 2 barrel autolite, with a cast iron ford intake. I will replace the intake, probably with a RPM air gap, and add a 4 barrel carb. As for heads.... it seems AFR's are hard to beat. I was planning on installing this engine in an old mustang, but having it in a factory five cobra, would be a blast. Anyway, I would like a good dependable 450hp, out of my 351. Any suggestions, on which components would best get me there?
Thanks guys...
Mach
well if your talking stock internals too, crank and such, most places dont recommend over 400. not over 350 without a crank support that keeps your mains in place.
hey i have a question:
how much horsepower would you say I'm pushing with my setup:
-302 bored over to a 306
-forged dome pistons,
-aluminum edelbrock block
-aluminum trickflow heads
-comp cam with 273 duration
-1.6 rockers
-comp springs
-edelbrock lower intake
-trickflow upper intake
-75 mm throttle body
-bbk cold air intake
-high flow maf
-30 pound injecters
-billet underdrive pullies
-a/c elliminated
-msd 6al ignition box with manual rev. limiter
-msd distributer
-msd superconducter blaster coil
-2500 stall converter
-c4 streetfighter trans
-3:73's in the rear
-drag launch suspension
thats what i have, but i feel as if i should be getting more power, doesnt feel like anything exciting, but i still haven't gotten it tuned yet, so can you help me out, and give me an idea of what kind of power i should be getting?
, and theres probly little stuff i left out, and i beat out a k20a integra twice, mx3 with klze swap, civic hatch with spray idk what shot, 350 friebird 91ish, 89' turbo civic, 2003 msutang gt from a roll back one, 2002 mustang gt from a dig,2006 wrx non sti and it was a realy close race. and i recently put in a 50 shot wet kit just for a little added punch and i raced an subie STI and he got be by about 1 lenth at about 100mph *from a dig*. i olny went 50 shot becusae i have oil blow by at high rpm, and idk if i have a cracked ring 
