Basic Mods

86bluecobra said:

A kid just showed up on my door step asking what kinda mods he should do to his 95 5.0L. Right now it is stock. I told him to do a header, off road h-pipe and a flowmaster american thunder cat back (he wants a loud exhaust). Also I suggested getting a set of 3.73's installed. Of course i mentioned bumping his timing maybe an electric fan and Under drive pullies. Now i know the 94-95's are 5.0L's but what would you guys suggest as far as basic mods. Assume under 1000 bucks spent. Oh yah I told him to loose the air silencer and get a panel k&n for his stock air box.

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Well we already have e-fans...but pullies, gears, and exhaust should be good.

nitrous

86bluecobra said:

see now this is why I posted here I had no idea you had electric fans on those cars. (i never owned that year stang)

What are the bottle necks in the design of this car? BTW he is a 5 spd.

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Well the intake manifold just like yours is pretty restrictive...that plus the other bolt ons should be a pretty big gain, without tearing the heads off.

Gears + full exhaust + pullies + intake are all the little bolt ons that can be done.
What am I missing guys?

pullies, gears, exhaust, short shifter, drag radials, intake manifold

$1000 dollars - Full exhaust (ceramic coating) can add up pretty quick and pretty much take that $1,000 out of the equation. Exhaust and gears is what I would say for $1000...

Yeah, already a stock e-fan, and it's good

Leave the stock headers for now until he can get better flowing heads. But, the 4 catted stock H-pipe is a restriction that needs to be replaced.

An Explorer intake is also great intake for a budget minded person.

Underdrive pulleys are a good gain as well.

A CAI from ebay will work fine. But, it will not help performance much if at all. Same goes for larger MAFs and throttle bodies until the heads are done.
The more expensive CAIs from BBK, MacPerformance, K&N won't be any better than the ebay units. A CAI does clean up the engine bay nicely and makes it easier to get to the SPOUT for timing adjustments.

Gears make a Mustang more fun to drive that's for sure.

I agree - there are lots of neat things to do. It just comes down to what works for him (if you asked all of us, our lists would all be different for personal or environmental reasons).

Gears is one thing I think we'd all agree on.

Being a kid, he will want the exhaust. If having to hold back on anything, as Joe said, the stock headers would be what I leave stock for now (he needs the X/H, and the kid will want the catback for acoustics).

For the CAI, have him look up Grady's CAI (there was just a thread started a couple days ago by Chickstang). It's a nice way to do it on the cheap, and frankly, it is easier to work around than some of the prefabbed metal CAI's. I've not actually seen a stock 94-95 airbox in person but in pics, it looks like a real POS (86BC, it's not quite like our foxes where we can toss a filter in and call it good).

How does it feel to have a little admirer?

so the factory intake is a real choking point? What's a good CARB legal intake for stock heads/stock cam/stock headers?

Fopar said:

so the factory intake is a real choking point? What's a good CARB legal intake for stock heads/stock cam/stock headers?

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edelbrock performer, explorer, cobra

GEARS and nitro

A thought or two for a fellow just starting out in this hobby

Please allow me to be very specific with my info and say it is focused on mods
that will give the most gain in power for the buck spent.

We must talk exhaust because it is ... almost always ... the first thing one
wants to do to a Stang.

Having said that ... Exhaust mods are the worst mods one can do
again
We are talking about smallest amount of money for most power

Now .. if the sound of things is a critical issue ... then get the sound
with mufflers.

Like JT and the others said ... on a stock Stang headers are not gonna
yield much gain at all.

While talking exhaust ... The 4 cat mid pipe is the most restrictive part
of the whole system ... so ... that is where the real power gain is
gonna be found.

CAI's are not gonna give much of a gain unless the air is cool. I say
the way to find a nice horsepower gain to dollar spent is to simply
build it yourself as it can be done for less than 25 bucks.

Roller rockers and even 1.7 ratios are not all that great of a mod IMHO
as the cost to power gain ratio is poor

Throttle bodies and meters ...........
they fall in that same poor power gain ratio as well

Staying with the power gain focus and on a stock Stang with stick trans
and doing the mods over time as money allows.

One of the first things I'd do would be mid pipe or intake manifold
I'd also look at a home made cai and a set of pulleys

Now ... without a doubt ... steeper gears will be the most noticable
gain he could do and 373's are the best all around ratio for a street
car with a stick trans IMHO.

Don't get suckered with spending money for some chip or a fancy
aftermarket ignition as you will get no gain or next to no gain
with mods of this type.

At this point in time with the gears, intake, mid pipe, pulleys, cai,
and exhaust he should SOUND and BE faster

Here is where most peeps make a mistake with with spending
their money as I've seen it.

With the mods above you have not made a commitment that limits
you all that much with the exception of the mid pipe.

If the guy has become really bitten by the horsepower bug .......
he needs to stop spending money and do some research for a
long term plan.

He is gonna go NA or Forced

If NA you are gonna go with stock block or 306 - 347 or Windsor block

Most stay with the OEM block so I will stay focused there

He's gonna go with OEM stuff for around 265-285 rwhp
or
If aftermarket stuff a bit higher at say 285 to 315 rwhp

Now if Forced ... you got cent or screw blowers or turbo

Most importantly is this guy's goals for his car :Word:
and
His budget and ability to do the work himself or not

Summing up here with final thoughts

If this guy is not mechnical inclined .........
a forced combo ... well ... it might not be all that wise

heck fire

If the truth be told .......
a h/c/i combo at 300 or better to the wheels will be more of a hassle
for a guy that only has his Stang as a daily driver.

You D O N' T wanna go too radical
if
You only got the Stang as a daily driver

A wise Stanger who is young grasshopper just starting out with his
journey of making more horsepower should seek the guideance of
those who have done what he desires B E F O R E spending his hard
earned money

Grady

From my own exp. this is what I did and the gain. Starting with a bone stock 94. I saw no real gain from the catback and a K&N. It was louder and gave me the sound I was looking for though.

At the track with just bumped timing to 14*, tune up. I ran a 14.9

Next trip I had 3.73's and ran a 14.7. Gears were a b-day gift and I paid for the install at around $200.

Next trip was with under drives and ran a 14.3. Mac pullies cost around $60-70.

I bought a shifter somewere in there as well. I do not think it made me any faster but gave some added insurance of better shifts/protection with the shift stops.

Pieced together a wet n2o kit (all compucar parts) for $200 and bought a MSD digital6+ for right at $300. Went 13.1 @107 with the 125 jets.

All runs on street tires at around 22-25psi leaving the line at 2k rpm. With a best 60ft of low 1.9. IIRC track elev. is around 800-900ft. In under the 1k budget as well.

Getting an intake will help remove the bottle neck until you get to the heads. I would say either get the stocker ported by Tmoss or get an exploder.

After that point it is more of how much do you want to spend and how fast do you want to go.

for the first mod, i would start with just the basic tune up before doing anything else like changing the oil and stuff.
advanced timing, cai, full exhaust, t-stat, pulleys, gears. now if he has more remaining cash, i would get a set of motor mounts. youll feel them SOTP if you worn out mounts. that in edition, better wider tires. thats said if he does work by himself ( except gears) that remaing $$$$$ could go to gas