Hey Guys New Lx Upgrade Help

1987lxhatch · Jul 8, 2017

hi guys I recently acquired an 1987 mustang lx (it is converted to mass air flow)
IT has a few mods the bottom end was redone about 10k miles ago
it has keith black 10.25 pistons, comp cams cam (not sure wich one)roller rocker, edelbrock performer rpm heads, 70mm throttle body, 24 lbs injectors, cold air intake, complete 2,5" exhaust with cats, 1 5/8 unequel lenght shortys headers, electric fan. probably forgot to say something.

anyways my BIG QUESTION is... I have the stock upper and lower intake manifold! I know I have to upgrade ASAP!!
But Im reading all kinds of reviews and opinions on what to put! and more I read, more I am confused.
so what should I put considering I want street power mostly in the lower to mid rpms?? thanks a lot

Davedacarpainter · Jul 8, 2017

Welcome to Stangnet.

I'll move your thread over to the fox general talk subforum. That's where we fox guys hang out.

You'll get a number of sharp gearheads to chime in on this one.

Throw in a picture or two of your car when you get a chance, we'd love to see it.

1987lxhatch · Jul 8, 2017

Davedacarpainter said:
Welcome to Stangnet.

I'll move your thread over to the fox general talk subforum. That's where we fox guys hang out.

You'll get a number of sharp gearheads to chime in on this one.

Throw in a picture or two of your car when you get a chance, we'd love to see it.

Thanks how do I put a picture of my ride?

Davedacarpainter · Jul 8, 2017

1987lxhatch said:
Thanks how do I put a picture of my ride?

Look in the lower right corner by the text box. See the "Upload a File" button. Hit that button and choose where you want to retrieve the picture from.

QuietOne · Jul 8, 2017

Holley Systemax II
EdelbrockRPM II
Trick Flow Track Heat
A Legit Cobra or Tubular GT40 for under $400 would be my last choice

IMO in that order.

General karthief · Jul 8, 2017

I just love the intake debate.
My question would be: where is your estimated torque/hp band
What is the rest of the engine built for
Low end torque or high rpm horsepower
Where/how am I driving the car: drags, road course or street
But thats just me.
Its the sum of all the parts. I like fun and reliable, jackstands not included.

Mustang5L5 · Jul 9, 2017

karthief said:
I just love the intake debate.
My question would be: where is your estimated torque/hp band
What is the rest of the engine built for
Low end torque or high rpm horsepower
Where/how am I driving the car: drags, road course or street
But thats just me.
Its the sum of all the parts. I like fun and reliable, jackstands not included.

I think that question needs to be asked a bit more.

What's your intended use? Drag car? Weekend cruiser? What gears are out back? 4:10s? 3.27's?

Everyone chases peak HP numbers but a short runner intake may not be the best if you drive around at 2000rpm with 3.08s out back and don't do WOT blasts that frequently.

A $100 explorer intake with ported lower may give the OP what he wants.

General karthief · Jul 9, 2017

I always liked 'this is what I want' verses 'this is what you need'

jrichker · Jul 9, 2017

My standard post for newbies...

Far too many people put a dab of this and a dollop of that, and then wonder why the car doesn't run worth beans. Then they think off the shelf computer chips will fix their mismatched parts problem. It won't

You have to have a plan for what kind of performance you want: Hot street. Street/Strip, Pure strip, Autocross or Road course. Each one requires a different strategy and a different set of components.. Mismatch the components and you’ll have a car that falls flat on its face when you demand performance.

Everyone thinks HP! HP! HP! and thinks that peak HP is what they need. Peak HP is great for a drag strip car when it has the proper gears and tires to get the car up into the high RPM range where it develops that high peak HP near the finish line. On a street car, that strategy will have Honda Accords outrunning you, because you will never get the engine RPMs high enough without running over everything in your path.

Here’ the strategy: Always remember that there are some tradeoffs in any engine combination. Most of us don’t have enough money to “have it all” as if it was possible by some masterful combination of parts and tuning.

The following recommendations are for 5 Speed Manual transmission cars without NO2 or pressurized induction, stock short block.

1.) Hot street: Broad flat torque curve, high velocity airflow in the intake and heads for best throttle response. Gears suitable for reasonable gas mileage and long road trips without excessive engine RPMs. Stand on the gas pedal from a rolling start to squeeze into that gap in traffic in front of you, and it jumps quick and hard to get you there. Max RPM’s are 5200-5500 RPM for best power. Lopey cams may sound cool, but run poorly in a low RPM street environment.
Use stock cam, stock, GT40 or mildly ported stock heads, Cobra or Explorer/GT40 intake, advanced timing, stock 19 lb injectors, stock fuel pump. Use some good 1.6 or 1.7 ratio roller rockers for extra punch. Use a King Cobra clutch, with stock iron or steel billet flywheel. MAF cars can use a 65 MM TB from the Explorer intake manifold and a 70MM MAF from a 94-95 Mustang. Drive train: 3:55 gears with soft tread compound tires. Use some Ford Racing unequal length headers, stock 2 1/4” cat pipe and some mufflers that don’t drone or get too much attention from the law enforcement or neighbors. The stock computer will handle all this with no problems and doesn’t need any help in 90% of the cases. No skinny or grossly undersize tires for the front: remember you still have to stop quickly in traffic. Make sure all the rubber bushings in the front and rear suspensions are in first class shape. Leave the emissions equipment intact and working. Removing or disabling it won’t get you any more HP or performance. Do not convert to carb or remove A/C: either one will reduce the resale value. Carb conversions cannot be titled for street use or get tags in some places. They definitely won’t pass smog inspections.

Street/strip: A little more slope to the torque curve with a gently sloping peak. Use slightly larger port volumes on intake and heads for more peak HP. Uses 3.55 or 3.73 gears to get the RPM’s up into a higher range quicker. Be prepared to sacrifice some low RPM throttle response in exchange for high RPM power. This by necessity will be a Mass Air or Mass Air conversion on 86-88 5.0 Mustangs, since stock speed density will not run well with the changes in engine airflow. Don’t get too crazy on any one engine part since you still have to drive the car on the street, and a mismatch can make street driving miserable.
Use stock or mild aftermarket cam, Ported GT 40, or 165-180 CC port volume aftermarket aluminum heads. Use a Trick Flow, Edelbrock Performer or equal intake manifold. Take a 73 MM aftermarket MAF calibrated for 24 lb injectors, and 24 lb injectors, 155 LPH fuel pump, Kirban adjustable fuel pressure regulator. Be prepared to shell out some $$$ for a custom burned chip using data gathered from a dyno run. Mass market chips will not get the job done. Use some Ford Racing unequal length headers, aftermarket 2 1/2” cat pipe and some mufflers that don’t drone or get too much attention from the law enforcement or neighbors. Drivetrain: expect the stock T5 to fail, so save your money for a super duty 5 speed trans. Tremec 3550, TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices. Different gears in a stock T5 case work for some, but there is only so much power you can pass through a T5 in race mode before it breaks, even with stronger gears. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Carry spare tires and wheels for the drag strip: skinnys for the front and drag radials for the rear. No skinnys for street driving! Over 85% of the breaking power is generated by the front tires, so skinnys won’t do the job in a panic stop situation. Disconnect the front anti-roll bar at the strip; reconnect it before you drive home. Leave the emissions equipment intact and working. Removing or disabling it won’t get you any more HP or performance. Do not convert to carb or remove A/C: either one will reduce the resale value. Carb conversions cannot be titled for street use or get tags in some places. They definitely won’t pass smog inspections.

Strip only: High RPM, High flow heads (185-215 CC port volume), wild cam, high flow intake manifold, 70 MM or larger TB, 80 MM or lager MAF, strip everything out of the car that doesn’t make it go faster. Carbs are OK if that’s what you want, but remember that as the temp/humidity/ barometric pressure/altitude changes, you have to re-jet and readjust the carb. EFI eliminates most of that with its built in compensation or you can tune of the fly with a high end Motes or Tweecer system combined with a wide band air/fuel ratio meter. Use custom headers, dumps and minimal mufflers. How fast you can go on 5 liters is a function of the skill level of the driver/mechanic and the size of your wallet.

TRAILER the car to the race track since it won’t be legal to drive it on the street. Drag slicks in the rear, skinnys up front, use 3.73 or bigger gears (4.xx) in the rear axle. Since you won’t be driving on long trips, the big gears with work with the high RPM power curve to get the best results. Drivetrain: TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices. Different gears in a stock T5 case work for some, but there is only so much power you can pass through a T5 in race mode before it breaks, even with stronger gears. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Remove the front sway bar, put an airbag in the rear spring of the side that spins the tire the most. Plan on a roll cage if you are truly serious about going fast: most strips will require it once you get to a certain ET range.

Autocross is a combination of Hot street engine and street strip chassis prep. The engine must accelerate quickly from low RPM and needs a broad, flat torque curve. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Most of the time you’ll never hit third gear, so some 3.73 or bigger gears (4.xx) may help a lot. You’ll have to spend some more money on brakes since it kills brakes quickly. Rear disks, larger rotors up front, stainless steel brake lines, different brake pads. A 87-88 T Bird Turbo Coupe or SN 95 rear axle will be your best bet. Autocross will severely strain 1st & 2nd gears, so your T5 may take a premature dump. Save your money for a super duty 5 speed trans. Tremec 3550, TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices.

All out road race is the most difficult of all: an engine that will run at high rpm hour after hour and never fail, yet pull hard out of the hairpin turns that will require a lot of torque at lower RPMs. In my opinion, guys that can successfully build a winning road race engine are the cream of the crop. Top this off with a chassis built for strip only duty, but with changes to the settings of springs, tires, roll bars brakes and shocks. It’s a whole other world of racing.
You’ll have to spend lots more money on brakes since it kills brakes quickly. Rear disks, larger rotors up front, stainless steel brake lines, different brake pads. Air ducting to cool the brake rotors will be a must. The brake rotors of cars on a high speed road course glow red after several hard laps of racing. Drivetrain: TKO 500 & TKO 600, and T56 close ratio are the best transmission choices.

See http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/engine/mufp-0610-engine-building-mistakes/ for some excellent engine building advice.

nelzfoxes · Jul 10, 2017

I say go efi 351! That's my future plan! Haha!

1987lxhatch · Jul 10, 2017

jrichker said:
My standard post for newbies...

Far too many people put a dab of this and a dollop of that, and then wonder why the car doesn't run worth beans. Then they think off the shelf computer chips will fix their mismatched parts problem. It won't

You have to have a plan for what kind of performance you want: Hot street. Street/Strip, Pure strip, Autocross or Road course. Each one requires a different strategy and a different set of components.. Mismatch the components and you’ll have a car that falls flat on its face when you demand performance.

Everyone thinks HP! HP! HP! and thinks that peak HP is what they need. Peak HP is great for a drag strip car when it has the proper gears and tires to get the car up into the high RPM range where it develops that high peak HP near the finish line. On a street car, that strategy will have Honda Accords outrunning you, because you will never get the engine RPMs high enough without running over everything in your path.

Here’ the strategy: Always remember that there are some tradeoffs in any engine combination. Most of us don’t have enough money to “have it all” as if it was possible by some masterful combination of parts and tuning.

The following recommendations are for 5 Speed Manual transmission cars without NO2 or pressurized induction, stock short block.

1.) Hot street: Broad flat torque curve, high velocity airflow in the intake and heads for best throttle response. Gears suitable for reasonable gas mileage and long road trips without excessive engine RPMs. Stand on the gas pedal from a rolling start to squeeze into that gap in traffic in front of you, and it jumps quick and hard to get you there. Max RPM’s are 5200-5500 RPM for best power. Lopey cams may sound cool, but run poorly in a low RPM street environment.
Use stock cam, stock, GT40 or mildly ported stock heads, Cobra or Explorer/GT40 intake, advanced timing, stock 19 lb injectors, stock fuel pump. Use some good 1.6 or 1.7 ratio roller rockers for extra punch. Use a King Cobra clutch, with stock iron or steel billet flywheel. MAF cars can use a 65 MM TB from the Explorer intake manifold and a 70MM MAF from a 94-95 Mustang. Drive train: 3:55 gears with soft tread compound tires. Use some Ford Racing unequal length headers, stock 2 1/4” cat pipe and some mufflers that don’t drone or get too much attention from the law enforcement or neighbors. The stock computer will handle all this with no problems and doesn’t need any help in 90% of the cases. No skinny or grossly undersize tires for the front: remember you still have to stop quickly in traffic. Make sure all the rubber bushings in the front and rear suspensions are in first class shape. Leave the emissions equipment intact and working. Removing or disabling it won’t get you any more HP or performance. Do not convert to carb or remove A/C: either one will reduce the resale value. Carb conversions cannot be titled for street use or get tags in some places. They definitely won’t pass smog inspections.

Street/strip: A little more slope to the torque curve with a gently sloping peak. Use slightly larger port volumes on intake and heads for more peak HP. Uses 3.55 or 3.73 gears to get the RPM’s up into a higher range quicker. Be prepared to sacrifice some low RPM throttle response in exchange for high RPM power. This by necessity will be a Mass Air or Mass Air conversion on 86-88 5.0 Mustangs, since stock speed density will not run well with the changes in engine airflow. Don’t get too crazy on any one engine part since you still have to drive the car on the street, and a mismatch can make street driving miserable.
Use stock or mild aftermarket cam, Ported GT 40, or 165-180 CC port volume aftermarket aluminum heads. Use a Trick Flow, Edelbrock Performer or equal intake manifold. Take a 73 MM aftermarket MAF calibrated for 24 lb injectors, and 24 lb injectors, 155 LPH fuel pump, Kirban adjustable fuel pressure regulator. Be prepared to shell out some $$$ for a custom burned chip using data gathered from a dyno run. Mass market chips will not get the job done. Use some Ford Racing unequal length headers, aftermarket 2 1/2” cat pipe and some mufflers that don’t drone or get too much attention from the law enforcement or neighbors. Drivetrain: expect the stock T5 to fail, so save your money for a super duty 5 speed trans. Tremec 3550, TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices. Different gears in a stock T5 case work for some, but there is only so much power you can pass through a T5 in race mode before it breaks, even with stronger gears. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Carry spare tires and wheels for the drag strip: skinnys for the front and drag radials for the rear. No skinnys for street driving! Over 85% of the breaking power is generated by the front tires, so skinnys won’t do the job in a panic stop situation. Disconnect the front anti-roll bar at the strip; reconnect it before you drive home. Leave the emissions equipment intact and working. Removing or disabling it won’t get you any more HP or performance. Do not convert to carb or remove A/C: either one will reduce the resale value. Carb conversions cannot be titled for street use or get tags in some places. They definitely won’t pass smog inspections.

Strip only: High RPM, High flow heads (185-215 CC port volume), wild cam, high flow intake manifold, 70 MM or larger TB, 80 MM or lager MAF, strip everything out of the car that doesn’t make it go faster. Carbs are OK if that’s what you want, but remember that as the temp/humidity/ barometric pressure/altitude changes, you have to re-jet and readjust the carb. EFI eliminates most of that with its built in compensation or you can tune of the fly with a high end Motes or Tweecer system combined with a wide band air/fuel ratio meter. Use custom headers, dumps and minimal mufflers. How fast you can go on 5 liters is a function of the skill level of the driver/mechanic and the size of your wallet.

TRAILER the car to the race track since it won’t be legal to drive it on the street. Drag slicks in the rear, skinnys up front, use 3.73 or bigger gears (4.xx) in the rear axle. Since you won’t be driving on long trips, the big gears with work with the high RPM power curve to get the best results. Drivetrain: TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices. Different gears in a stock T5 case work for some, but there is only so much power you can pass through a T5 in race mode before it breaks, even with stronger gears. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Remove the front sway bar, put an airbag in the rear spring of the side that spins the tire the most. Plan on a roll cage if you are truly serious about going fast: most strips will require it once you get to a certain ET range.

Autocross is a combination of Hot street engine and street strip chassis prep. The engine must accelerate quickly from low RPM and needs a broad, flat torque curve. Next are the Chassis mods: full length subframe connectors, different springs, different shocks, aftermarket lower and upper control arms with rubber or urethane bushings. Buy all the parts from someplace like Maximum Motorsports, Griggs or Steeda as a kit so that you know that all the parts fit and don’t argue with each other. Most of the time you’ll never hit third gear, so some 3.73 or bigger gears (4.xx) may help a lot. You’ll have to spend some more money on brakes since it kills brakes quickly. Rear disks, larger rotors up front, stainless steel brake lines, different brake pads. A 87-88 T Bird Turbo Coupe or SN 95 rear axle will be your best bet. Autocross will severely strain 1st & 2nd gears, so your T5 may take a premature dump. Save your money for a super duty 5 speed trans. Tremec 3550, TKO 500 & TKO 600 are the best choices.

All out road race is the most difficult of all: an engine that will run at high rpm hour after hour and never fail, yet pull hard out of the hairpin turns that will require a lot of torque at lower RPMs. In my opinion, guys that can successfully build a winning road race engine are the cream of the crop. Top this off with a chassis built for strip only duty, but with changes to the settings of springs, tires, roll bars brakes and shocks. It’s a whole other world of racing.
You’ll have to spend lots more money on brakes since it kills brakes quickly. Rear disks, larger rotors up front, stainless steel brake lines, different brake pads. Air ducting to cool the brake rotors will be a must. The brake rotors of cars on a high speed road course glow red after several hard laps of racing. Drivetrain: TKO 500 & TKO 600, and T56 close ratio are the best transmission choices.

See http://www.mustangandfords.com/how-to/engine/mufp-0610-engine-building-mistakes/ for some excellent engine building advice.

WOW thanks for the reply. yes I am a beginer its my first 5.0 and it was already modified when I bought it from an old lady . she put tons of cash in it and did a lot of research. the only part that I dont understand and i think she missed was the fact that she is still using the stock upper lower intake... I said in the description what I wanted lower to mid rpm mainly street car with a run or 2 at the strip. its an 1987 and it was converted to mass air flow I guess ill go for a edelbrock performer intake I can get one used for cheap. and then its of to the dyno for a custom tune there is a great guy for that in my region who knows them like nobody else

1987lxhatch · Jul 10, 2017

Mustang5L5 said:
I think that question needs to be asked a bit more.

What's your intended use? Drag car? Weekend cruiser? What gears are out back? 4:10s? 3.27's?

Everyone chases peak HP numbers but a short runner intake may not be the best if you drive around at 2000rpm with 3.08s out back and don't do WOT blasts that frequently.

A $100 explorer intake with ported lower may give the OP what he wants.

hey actually I said for street mostly but I like to feel the power! the gears are stock I have no idea wich one when doing 75 mph on freeway im under 2500rpm. the car was suposedly built for low and mid rpm torque .

1987lxhatch · Jul 10, 2017

QuietOne said:
Holley Systemax II
EdelbrockRPM II
Trick Flow Track Heat
A Legit Cobra or Tubular GT40 for under $400 would be my last choice

IMO in that order.

arent those intakes more for high rpm application not to good down low ?

FoxMustangLvr · Jul 10, 2017

1987lxhatch said:
arent those intakes more for high rpm application not to good down low ?

Could you post a picture of your engine? Are you sure, since you're new to Mustangs, that you don't have an Explorer intake already? Explorer/GT40 intakes are a factory upgrade for our 5.0's.

FoxMustangLvr · Jul 10, 2017

Also an easy way to figure out was rearend gear ratio you have is to jack the rear wheels off the ground, use jack stands for safety, put a piece of tape on the drive shaft and one piece of tape on one tire, put vehicle in neutral, rotate the tire using the tape and a marker one rotation while counting the drive shaft rotations. How many times the driveshaft spins per one revolution of the tire is your rear end gear. So, if the dive shaft spins 3 times you have stock 3.08 gears, 3 1/2 spins is 3.55 gears, etc

QuietOne · Jul 10, 2017

1987lxhatch said:
arent those intakes more for high rpm application not to good down low ?

The Holley and rpm II are long runner intakes which helps down low

They don't do as "good" as the cobra/gt40 (5-15hp) from idle to 3k rpms, Cobra/gt40 don't do as well from 3-6k rpm. You already have heads, cam, and supporting mods the only thing you are missing is an intake. Every I listed will do a lot better than what you have.

Trickflow R, elderbrock victor, Box intakes, single plane Efi are what you want to stay away from.

GroverDill · Jul 10, 2017

Ok I have to ask do you have proof of what was done to the bottom end? I dont see someone doing all that stuff and then tossing on a stock intake.

I hope you didnt get scammed.

1987lxhatch · Jul 11, 2017

This is the intake

GroverDill said:
Ok I have to ask do you have proof of what was done to the bottom end? I dont see someone doing all that stuff and then tossing on a stock intake.

I hope you didnt get scammed.

Oh yes there is more then 12k $$ of bills of what was done I bougt the car from a crazy lady lol. I still dont understand why she didnt install the intake even the mod shop recommended it. Anyways thats that. So thats why ill be putting an intake very shortly.

1987lxhatch · Jul 11, 2017

Hey guys I found a edelbrock performer for a good price locally! I think I will pick this up. Anyways anything is better then stock! I will need to order gaskets my question is what gaskets do I need to do the job?? I dont want to order twice? Keep in mind I have edelbrock performer heads if that changes anything .
Thank you

Ps: if anybody can include the part number it would be verrrry apreciated cheers

Mustang5L5 · Jul 11, 2017

Stock intake, but aftermarket EGR spacer and Throttle body? Strange.

When you yank that off, check to see if the lower has been ported.

Hey Guys New Lx Upgrade Help

1987lxhatch

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Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

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Chicks can make things hard if they’re inspired...

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

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