ignition boxes

Lots of questions!

What's the reasoning behind the ignition? The stock ignition is no lame beast.

What year, mods etc. you have would be helpful.

Is the car entirely stock? If you're looking to do a tune up you can replace the cap/rotor, and wires if you so desire, but you don't need pricey high end pieces for the stock motor.

If your motor is stock and you don't have any big future plans, you could use a MSD cap/rotor kit (~$25 at local parts stores), your choice of coil and wires. You might pick up a tiny bit if your old parts are old and tired, but it should be nothing drastic. Plugs are a good idea too.

The cam is possibly the least restrictive of the factory H/C/I. An intake, a set of heads (even GT40's are an improvement), or some long tube headers are a step in the right direction for moderately inexpensive pep.

I'm not all knowledgeable about foxes, what year did Ford start putting MAF's on the cars from speed density?

rebelcowboy said:

my year 89 is the first year to have mass air rather than speed density.thanks for all ur help and everything HGFireHazard.

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No problem man

Come up with a game plan and systematically start modding, rather than shotgunning parts in batches.

As HGFH said, a box is not going to do much for you. The stock ignition is good for about 400 NA HP.

No need to upgrade injectors on a stock set up. A 94-95 MAF is a cheap way to upgrade the MAF (the SN95 MAF is larger).

If you havent already done so, consider things like gears, SFC's and other items which will give good bang for the buck and will help with the fast-bug.

Good luck.

You don't need an ignotion till you start doing major mods.

I like the explorer ignition. just my 2 cent

rebelcowboy said:

my year 89 is the first year to have mass air rather than speed density.thanks for all ur help and everything HGFireHazard.

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FYI, California got mass air mustangs in 88

Like HISSIN50 said you should really decide what you want the car to be in the end, in other words, what kind of driving you want to do? A cruiser, a drag race car, an autocrossing car etc. because modifications may differ (especially with respect to suspension) between them. Then decide on your budget and make a list of all the modifications you will need to get you there.

There are some mods that work well regardless of what type of driving you do.

First make sure you have a good distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires and spark plugs. Then bump your timing from the stock 10 deg. to 12-14 degrees this is certainly worth a few hp. But, like others have said the aftermarket ignition boxes won't help at this point.

Next, if you are just looking for some mods that will make more power, I would probably start with the exhaust. The stock exhaust is fairly restrictive and any changes you make to it will give you some power now and make any future modifications more effective. Plus it gives your car some personality. With the exhaust consider the noise level when getting mufflers and if you are going to be doing street driving get an H-Pipe or X-Pipe with catalytic converters.

Then, you can get a larger MAF and Air inlet tube like the one C&L offers. The MAF is easily modified for different fuel injector sizes if you change those in the future.

As far as cams go make your decision carefully. The stock cam is actually pretty good. And if you go with a higher lift cam it can effect idle quality. As in you may need to turn up the idle speed to about 1000rpm to keep it from surging at idle and eventually dying. Many (including me) have had this problem with the E303 cam ford sells.

As for the rest suspension and wheels/tires are highly dependant on the type of driving you will do. Better heads, and intake manifold will make you some good power but again the exact ones are dependant on the final goal of your car.

a used msd 6 box is a good option, as msd rebuilds them cheap and its about a 2 week turn around. and if you use the pig tail adapter, if it does croke you can just plug the coil back in and bypass the box in go.

the summit box is a rebranded mallory and seems to be a good peice as well.

As said a used MSD would be good IF it was made in the US. the newer models that are made in China, well their made in china.

Don't know what year they started.

Or, just get the Mallory.

I think if u bump your timming from 10(factory) to 12-14 u will lose your factory rev limiter.someone correct me if im wrong. I run a msd 6al btm w/supercharger tho if u gonna buy an ignition id go with msd.my suggestion 1st mods should be 373 gears,exhaust,and a good shifter.

ybrik said:

I think if u bump your timming from 10(factory) to 12-14 u will lose your factory rev limiter.someone correct me if im wrong.

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Your gut telling you that this might not be correct was good. It's not correct.

HISSIN50 said:

Your gut telling you that this might not be correct was good. It's not correct.

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That's right. I have my timing at 15 advanced with the stock ignition, and have hit the rev limiter in the 1/4 mile trying to run it out in 3rd. The limiter still works.


1993 GT Mustang / Ford Racing GT-40 Crate Motor B-303 Cam / 24 lb. Injectors / Stock Ignition / MSD EFI Blaster Coil / Edelbrock 5.0 Upper and Lower Intake with BBK Phelonic Spacer / Professional Products 70mm Throttle Body / C&L C.A.I. w/76mm MAF / Stock Air Box w/K&N Panel Filter / Holley Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator / Electric Fan / BBK Underdrive Pulley's / A.C. Removed / BBK Short Headers / Flowmaster Exhaust / Tremec T-5Z / B&M Short Throw Shifter / Alum. Driveshaft / 3.73 Gears / Eaton H.D. Posi / Moser 31 Spline Axles/ Subframe Connectors / Line Lock / Driveshaft Loop / B&M Short Throw Shifter / BMR Upper and Lower Control Arms / Lakewood Adjustable Drag Shocks/ Holley 190 lph Fuel Pump /