Ford Mustang Forum banner

Essential Fox Mustang Mods

149923 Views 93 Replies 75 Participants Last post by  ccoppola
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.
PA Performance - You Only Buy Quality Once ! 1.877.471.8010

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. Maximum Motorsports :: The Leader In Mustang Performance Suspension these guys only sell good products. or 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.
Maximum Motorsports :: The Leader In Mustang Performance Suspension .:. Brothers Performance Warehouse .:.
Mustang Parts & Performance - American Muscle
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.:bigthumbsup
See less See more
  • Like
Reactions: 1
81 - 94 of 94 Posts
yes well worth the diff in $$ the plastic ones dont hold up that well
The new radiator has been working perfectly. It's twice as wide as the original, uses more fluid, and it took some sweat to get it in. But DAMN, it works and looks great!!!
This is awesome. Most kids just go intake, and flowmasters and think they have the fastest car in the world. Then they get their butts handed to them by an K20 civic. Ahhh, the good old days!
HAHA i agree, all of my friends went with that setup and get smoke by tuners all the time, which is why i took the time to do a few other things, and look at this post which is amazing btw!
See less See more
Have a question guys, what difference would a 76mm maf. And a 65MM throttlebody. Make on my 88 lx 5.0 with its stock throttle body & maf???
hi everyone, I'm new to this site. My name Is AJ, I Have A 90 LX With Pretty Much Nothing Done To It. I Had A Question About The SVO Brake Swap, For The Front Is Swap Out The Rotors/Calipers/Pads? Or Do I Have To Do Anything Else To It, Obviously New Bearing Too. Sorry About The Caps, Phone Was Acting Stupid. Thanks!
See less See more
Have a question guys, what difference would a 76mm maf. And a 65MM throttlebody. Make on my 88 lx 5.0 with its stock throttle body & maf???
The C'n'L 76mm MAM and discharge tube was worth a little over a tenth at the track, and 1mph on my car when it was stock.
I never ran a 65mm TB stock, but I am certain it will not hurt you any.
See less See more
Trying to make a nice combo for my 302

Okay...havent signed on this site in a few years dont know if i am in the right thread but im looking to go with AFR 165 pedestal mount heads, with a Anderson N21 cam which is the same as the n41 but uses 1.7 rockers which i have already..and i also converted to carb...car is too slow for me...the bottom end i got rebuilt which came from a 93fox..he had all the paper work showing me what was done...now i know ive been reading a **** load about these heads and that cam working on a stock block...my pistons have the relief also..crank was cut and balanced new bearing rods everything...it sucks i put e7te heads that were done up and a summit cam only because i wanted to keep my speed density setup..this is on a 85 T-bird..right before they came out with the HO setup fuel injection..but it didnt workout and i went right to carb..so i built a slow motor hahaha...Has anyone had this setup before? and also will prob put a 2800 stall converter..i do have 3.73 gears too..tranny is a aod with a tci valvebody and shifts nice and hard
See less See more
What about upgrading my 79 pace car to a 8.8 rearend? I think there is some differences in mounting points on my 79 pace cars 7.5 and the late model 8.8 rearends. I would like to upgrade to a 8.8 with reardisc or maybe even an IRS. How hard is this to do? will the 8.8 have different mounting points? What about difference in width between 7.5 4 lug with drums, to a 8.8 with 5 lug and disc?
Thanks guyz! I would like to know how many different routes i can go, to upgrade my pace cars drivetrain. I plan on changing the crappy SROD for a T5 and the 302 for a warmed over 351 :grin:
Thanks again!
See less See more
I guess it depends on what you want it to do and how much money you have. I got my 88 LX to be a track day car and maybe road race some day. SVE lowering springs with matching KYB shocks, caster camber plates, weld in frame stiffeners and shock tower braces, foxes flex. MM panhard bar helps foxes snap oversteer. Still have four lugs and stock brakes just put some carbon metallic pads on front. GT40p heads, must upgrade valve springs, and intake off junkyard explorer, E cam, short headers and exhaust upgrade. https://youtu.be/ldrDFD59NQU
See less See more
Stock 87 Mustang

I got the car with dry rotted tires with plenty of trad, so I wen't to a private parking lot and commenced doing billowing burn outs to "get the most" out of the tires. Funny thing though, only the passenger side spins.

Is only the passenger side wheel on stock 87 5.0 GT's supposed to spin or sis something not right where both wheels should spin?

If I need to do a swap I don't want a locker, so what is the best streetable posi? and what were the stock 5.0 GT gears? I hear2.73's, is this true?
See less See more
Both are supposed to spin. Rebuild the clutch pack in the Trak-loc in the rear axle.
With that said, since both should spin, what is the advantage to those thousand dollar non-locker differentials besides obviously being stronger?
Ones such as the T-2 torsen, use a set of nifty gearing and have no clutch's. They wont ever wear out and you wont ever do a one wheel peel.
I'm new to the forum and just purchased an all original 95 Mustang GT convertible. The first that I think of are mods. I've read and taken most of the info and have made notes. My question is top end kits. I've looked at Trick Flow and Edelbrock kits. Is there a combination, from a parts bin, that works well together in terms of power and reliability. Street use and not necessarily for the track. In other words which cam works well with which heads, intake, throttle body etc. What are your experiences? Any feedback would be great.
See less See more
81 - 94 of 94 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top