Add Power To My 88 Mustang GT 5.0

Where are you starting from, stock? What are your long term plans?

Me personally, if I was starting off stock and was looking to make it more fun...I would do the standard drop in filter, headers, exhaust. Then I would work on suspension, subframe connectors, replace worn suspension bushings or upgrade to better rear control arms, new front arms, new shocks if needed.

All the power in the world is pointless if you can't get it to the ground...and on a tight budget, nice suspension upgrades will make your car much more fun to drive...more so than just simple, cheap, power bolt-ons.

One thing you can do that doesnt cost anything......bump your timing anywhere from 13-16 degrees. You can remove anything you dont want ie. Smog pump, a/c...you can remove that. It will free up some power and lose alittle weight. A tune up would prolly help too

how fast do you want to go with how much money?

find an explorer and drop on the gt40s or gt40Ps and the exploder intake. i got a gt40p motor from an exploder that had been in a rollover. the starter positively brute-forced ripped a huge chunk of the block off, but the heads and intake are fine. also got the TB and the 19# fuel injectors. $350 due to the bad block.

on ebay youll buy just a cobra intake for $350...

past that we all need more info to give you the best advice.

you NEED to visit this site....http://home.pon.net/hunnicutt/50must.htm
it is a God send for beginners

Eric

Sorry for posting two in a row, but i forgot something...

I have a BONE STOCK 89 lx and I can break the tires loose in 1st and 1st going into second.

My other 5.0 is a 93 with about 100more HP than my 89 and i have a hard time spinning the tire because of the suspension and chassis stiffening. Food for though.... but read that web page I put up.

Get some gears and get your engine in the right powerband to start things off.

naildriverinnc said:

I got an 88 Mustang GT 5.0 and I'm some what a of a mechanic I want to add some horsepower to my GT any advice or suggestions would really help me out. Also I'm working with some what of a buget. The car is an automatic. Thanks Alot

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Depends on overall want you want out of the car. That aod is gonna need some work to help make some power and put it down to the pavement. A convertor and gears will help the trans out, along with a good shift kit. Look into clickclickracing.com for aod help, they know their stuff. About more hp on the motor? Your options are endless, depends on the $ amount your able to spend. For that auto, low end torque is gonna help out alot, so i would look into using a gt40 style/edel performer intake, and if you can afford it, a set of afr165 58cc heads. If you had the lower ported and matched to the heads, with some 1.7 rockers, the stock cam can do well. This would be an awesome dd.

You can get more attitude with a more aggressive cam and convertor though.

Gears + sticky tires first.

Oh and then there's the free list:


Timing bump (can go to 16 but make sure it doesn't ping going up hills in high gear)
Nix the air baffle
Nix the front sway bar (not recommended personally)
Nix the spare tire
Set the _______ to .99 (Name escapes me- opens butterfly on TB)
Bypass smog pump and or A/C with a short belt

Strype said:

Oh and then there's the free list:


Timing bump (can go to 16 but make sure it doesn't ping going up hills in high gear)
Nix the air baffle
Nix the front sway bar (not recommended personally)
Nix the spare tire
Set the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) to .99 (Name escapes me- opens butterfly on TB)
Bypass smog pump and or A/C with a short belt

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Fixed.

On a budget? do the junkyard upgrade...

Gears - 87-88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe rear axle - disc brakes and 3.55 or 3.73 gears in one package for $125-$300. Add another $100-$200 or so to complete the brake upgrade.

94-95 Mustang GT MAF - $40-$100. It is 70 MM instead of the stock 55 MM on regular stangs built prior to 94. It uses a slip on duct on the side that goes to the throttle body and a 4 bolt flange on the other. You need a flange adapter to fit the stock slip on air ducting that goes to the air box. Wiring plugs right in with no changes. *1 *2

95-97 Ford Explorer intake manifold & throttle body $150-$300. The intake manifold flows 220 CFM +, much better than stock. Throttle body is 65 MM, bigger than the 60 MM on stock stangs. I got a 96 with EGR passages that match the stock setup, so my smog gear works just like factory. You’ll need a 65 MM EGR spacer & new gaskets for $65-$90 so you have a place to mount the EGR & throttle linkage.

3G alternator from 94-95 Mustangs or other Ford. $20-$120. A must have to make the electrical system work like it should. You’ll need a 4 gauge power wire and a 125-135 amp fuse to go with it about $15- $30.

Lincoln MK VIII electric fan -$40-$160. Free up some HP by not having to drive the stock fan. The 3G alternator upgrade is a must have prerequisite before you do the MK VIII fan. You won’t have enough electrical power if you don’t do the 3G upgrade.

Aluminum driveshaft: (courtesy of shawn13) It needs to be from a 92-93-94 Aerostar AWD and you will need the u-joint, part #353 from NAPA. It should bolt right up after the u-joint swap.

*1.) A metal flange adapter is available from: http://www.kustomz.com/cat3.html . Buy the TR70 for $44.95.

*2.) MAF & sensor interchange
The 94-95 Mustang 5.0 MAF & sensor is also found on:
1995-94 Mustang 3.8L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Crown Victoria 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1995-94 Mustang, Mustang Cobra 5.0L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Town Car 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Grand Marquis 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
The A2A, AA, AB, etc, on the end of the part number are minor changes that do not affect the calibration.

mods

Dunno how many miles are on your car, but I'd start with a tune up.

New spark plugs

New spark plug wires

New cap and rotor

New air filter

As far as performance mods go, a catback always gets my vote.

won't add hp, but the first mod i think should ever be done is SFC's, from my experience.
many people may argue, but when i installed my UD pullies, removed AC, and ditched the smog pump all at the same time, it gave a VERY noticeable increase in SOTP feel. and that only cost about $150. I've spent a lot more than that on stuff like my LT's with an x pipe, and didn't notice the same before and after difference.... Gears deffinately help, but are over-rated IMHO

naildriverinnc said:

The car has 70000 original miles and I put a BBK coldair intake and flowmaster that's all that's been done so far

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Gears, shift kit, and a stall convertor will give you the best gains and seat of the pants feel, a good h/c/i, or a power adder would give more, but the cost is more too.