Adding more HP?

Bullitt66 · Oct 22, 2004

mustang2 said:
Why is this? I don't understand the need for the H or X, instead of two straight pipes. Please enlighten me.

The H or X pipe goes just after the headers and their function is to eliminate backpressure caused by firing order variations between each bank of the engine

Due to firing order pressure differences, when two neighboring cylinders fire counsecutively, their exhaust pulses fight each other to get out. An X pipe or H pipe allows these pressure to cross over into the other pipe, improving the flow of spent gases and boosting engine performance.

gp001 · Oct 22, 2004

mustang2 said:
Why is this? I don't understand the need for the H or X, instead of two straight pipes. Please enlighten me.

http://www.drgas.com/art-sync.asp

gp001 · Oct 22, 2004

Yellwstang21 said:
I do have headers, They are hookers. My dual exhaust is an X pipe.

As for upgrading the performance on my car, I am in college so money is a little harder to come by. I do work to pay for college so it does not leave me a whole lot of left over money for the car. So I have to do the upgrades in bits and pieces.

I know that my parts dont match up exactly but for being my first time through at the age of 18, Its what I came up with. I learn as I go. I know better now than I did before and so I will eventually do it the right way.

So for the time being, thats why I look for cheap individual upgrades that I can get my hands on, like a set of used heads or something. Should I go to junkyards, etc... to find the GT40 heads or are they pretty cheap (not $1000+) new, then just have them worked until I can afford better ones at a later date. What would the price to have them worked be also, an estimate?

Cheapest upgrade would be to wait, save your money, find out exactly what you currently have, then come up with a solid plan based on your budget. In your first post you say you don't know what cam you have, then in a later post you guess at which one it is. That would be a fairly significant piece of the puzzle when asking about upgrades. You kinda want to match the heads, induction, etc to the cam. Who knows, the gears you are installing may put you outside your power band. We'll never know without cam specs. Guessing about which one you have could prove to be disastrous. Also, I am confused. You say

I have dual exhaust (The right way, not the H pipe) with headers and flowmaster 50s.

Then in the same post you say

My engine is a 78 302, So my first guess would be to get headers. Do any of you guys have some ideas on some headers to buy?

Then in another post you say

I do have headers, They are hookers. My dual exhaust is an X pipe.

I think your best bet would be to research what components you actually have on the car.

Anyone who would start giving you suggestions on performance upgrades without knowing these basics is doing you a great dis-service. Heads, exhaust, gears, superchargers are all suggestions that should never be made without knowing the particular specs (CR, head specs, Cam specs, piston specs, ignition sys, fuel sys, etc), ESPECIALLY TO SOMEONE LEARNING !!! That's why I made my first post so sarcastic. To get you to think about the question you were asking. You can take my advice or laugh it off, but I wouldn't do one thing suggested in this thread until you know what you have and understand the consequences of every change you are contemplating.

So, since you are on quest for HP I guess you have already addressed things like the braking system, steering and suspension components, etc..? And I'm not talking new, high dollar parts. Have you rebuilt the front end with at least all new bushings and wearable parts? Have you rebuilt your braking system with new parts, flushed the lines, etc? These are all fairly cheap things that can be done in preparation for HP.

Kinda silly to build a fast car that can't handle or stop, unless you like death machines that is

Good Luck

Yellwstang21 · Oct 23, 2004

Haha, ok first off; I didnt realize I typed headers, I meant that I should get heads for an upgrade. Yes I do have headers and for some stupid reason I put that I think I should buy headers when I really meant heads. I figured this because I thought that it was pretty much the only non-stock part besides the crankshaft and pistons.

Yes I have changed that suspension as well as the brake lines, etc. My car was originally a 6cylinder so I had to change everything out anyways. I have front disk brakes and am not going to upgrade the rears to disk at this time. I thought about buying a 9inch with disk brakes but the $$ was a factor =(

And for the cam,yes it is a guess, an educated one, but still a guess. I know for a fact that its a melling and for which one I kind of just was trying to remember what sounded familier as to what my friend told me the cam matched up with (like edelbrock performer, etc. Not the exact specs but close ya know?)

I have a new distributor with an Accel ignition, new starter, flywheel, etc. I mean I talk to other mustang people around that I meet to help give me an idea of what I need to do.

I am planning on getting a new cam, I just couldnt pass up a free one at the time that was better than a stock one. I know that obviously you want your system to match up for best results but I do what I can with the money that I have.

I love my car, and being 18, I jump at the chance to add something better to it. Maybe a mistake (haha most likely) because I only learned so much in auto-shop about engines. You learn the basics but I really never considered matching everything up perfectly. I will get around to it completely when I am out of college but for now I just want a car that cruises but it still pretty quick.

Which brings me back around to the reason I was asking about a set of heads that I could throw on to add some more HP. I know that my car is nowhere near 300HP but any little bit to get closer right now would make me happy until I can actually work full-time and probably just save up and have a whole engine built at once.

Anyways, I appreciate your help everyone and especially you "gp." Sorry if I didnt explain myself enough or correctly in my first post. Hopefully we didnt get off on too bad of a foot lol. Please post a reply or suggestions if you have anything left.

Yellwstang21 · Oct 23, 2004

BTW. I have manual steering on my car and manual brakes. I was thinking about upgrading both to power. Is this a good idea, atleast for brakes (I would think so).

My steering wheel has some play in it, is there a way to eliminate this. I dont know if this is natural to all old Mustangs or if it might be from going to 17inch wheels, etc.

Also, I have a picture of the outside of my car and one of the seats on the inside. I cannot find the memory stick with the rest of them. How could I possible post these just to give ya a look at my car?

John Z · Oct 23, 2004

I understand the typo about heads vs headers. I thought it was strange that you would do that much work to the car and still have a stock manifold. It is clear that the main limitation to your engine is the heads and maybe the cam. Have you considered home porting your heads?
See
http://www.jason.fletcher.net/tech/ccnov2000/ccnov2000.htm
http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.shtm

There is a good article on ford-muscle, but you have to suscribe
http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2000/07/homeporting/index.shtml

This is also an interesting article:
http://www.jason.fletcher.net/tech/freetips/freetips.htm

Power brakes will not stop the car faster, just reduce pedal force required. The power steering on the classics is really sloppy and requires "perfection" to avoid leaking. As an old man with a wife that wants to drive a mustang, I'm going to add it. When I was a college student driving a 67 Mustang (the car was only 4 years old when I bought it for less than $1000) I did not understand why anyone would want power steering.
In the Ford shop manual (you have one right?) there is a procedure for adjusting the steering box that will reduce slop. I do not have it handy and do not want to post potentially incorrect information. Perhaps others....

gp001 · Oct 23, 2004

Yellwstang21 said:
Anyways, I appreciate your help everyone and especially you "gp." Sorry if I didnt explain myself enough or correctly in my first post. Hopefully we didnt get off on too bad of a foot lol. Please post a reply or suggestions if you have anything left.

I have no problems with you. We all understand the quest for speed. You wouldn't be the first person in automotive history, or even the first to come to this board, looking for a type of "recipe" for hp. Many have found out the hard that bolting on suggested components without knowing the particulars sometimes makes the engine weaker, is more costly, or is just disastrous. Just as you are going to college to learn a profession/trade/skill before entering the "real world", I suggest that you do some research on engines before just "bolting" stuff on. Maybe even try to incorporate you engine research into some of your college classes, especially if you are taking any engineering/technical classes.

You will be much happier if you saved your pennies, gained the knowledge, and did it right.

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