So you just bought your 5.0 and love it. Its fast and it was cheap, and now they are starting to stand out more and more the older they get. Everyone is so obsessed with engine mods though so often times more important stuff is overlooked till later, or till your car starts over heating and breaking from the added power and headlights dimming after under drive pulleys, or the first time you try to stop quickly and it doesn't happen. Then you put in amps and a stereo, because you cant cruise properly in the 5.0 without music right? Of course not! Till your alternator dies, and the car doesn't run.
These are the suggested mods assuming the regular tuneup and maintenance is already performed and the vehicle is already in good running order (almost necessary given the age of all Foxes) before the engine is dipped into.
Brakes- get rid of the rear drums, and get better front calipers (five lug conversion) you may need wheels depending on which front brakes you go with or if you go with five lug. Here is a site that explains all you need to know.
87-93 Mustang 5.0 Brake upgrade pages. Improve your 60-0 times! or
Mustangmotorsport - Mustangs and a whole lot more! good prices on brake stuff
Ford Racing Parts and Accessories at great prices lots of stuff can be found in local classifieds (my favorite) or ebay
Alternator- get rid of the stock one and go for a 3G 130 or more amp unit.
Ford Fuel Injection » Installing a 3G alternator you will need the pulley from a 94 mustang GT. If you already have underdrive pulleys, you can no longer use the alternator pulley on the 3G.
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Chassis- Subframe connectors, weld them in! and good set of shocks and struts will completely transform the ride of your car. new Front and rear lower control arms Ford racing offers these parts new for less than you will spend getting new bushings and ball joints. New rear lower control arms will help to eliminate any wheel hop you may be experiencing, and the fronts will help with potential alignment problems. A new rack and pinion if you have high mileage, and if the tie rod ends are loose.
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Ford Racing Parts and Accessories at great prices Clutch/transmission- Steel front bearing retainer (where throwout bearing rides) on T5s, the stock aluminum one by this time is likely all chewed up and makes for a rough engagement with clutch application. A New Ford clutch cable with quadrant and firewall adjuster will further make for the smoothest clutch operation you have ever felt. The Factory quadrant is ok for factory applications, but if you have any power and you install a heavy pressure plate, then thats when the aluminum quadrant becomes a necessity. Got an automatic? no problem, do a flush and install a shift kit. Despite what you may hear from uneducated people, the AOD is a good transmission, and is stronger than a T5 in most all applications.
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the steel front bearing retainer is a 93 cobra piece, so if you go to the dealer, order one for that.
Performance mods- even before you go into the engine, there is still stuff you can do to improve performance, primarily differential gears, which personally i think is the best thing you can do to your car is torque multiplication mods. There are many ring and pinion choices, but for a street and sometimes track car, the choice is usually 3.55s, 3.73's, 3.90's, or 4.10s. The higher the number the lower the gear.(inversely proportional) also the higher the number, the lower your top speed is, the faster you accelerate, and the higher your cruise rpm will be in overdrive. My car has 3.73s with a T5 and its right at 3K rpm at 90 mph in overdrive.
with different gears comes the need to calibrate your speedo with proper driven or drive gears use this table to decide which gear to use.
Speedometer Gear Selector Automatics- if you have an automatic, you get the same effect as gears without the decreased top speed or higher cruise rpm, with a higher stall torque converter. If you go this route, a stacked plate type cooler is necessary especially if you eliminate the direct drive in your converter. Your stall speed should be determined by your gear ratio and engine combination (where the power band is at). other than that a shift kit will do you right. get one from Baumann. If you are mechanically inclined or do your own work, then there is the 4R70W gear swap into the AOD case, but that is expensive to buy and you need experience with automatics to perform this mod. Visit
Click Click Racing or
TCCoA Tech Articles for more auto
trans tech.
feel free to add to this if you see something that i may have forgotten.
Essential Fox Mustang Mods 
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