How do you spend $15k and not go as fast? Quite easily actually. Don't put every last dime back into the engine.
Actually the f-body DOES have a superior
suspension setup with an SLA style double wishbone front
suspension setup and a 3 point rear. The 3 point is actually better as it allows the rear more articulaion before becoming bound. The same reason why the S197 cars switched to a center pivot 3 link. A 4 link will actually bind at a point esp if you run a poly bushing. Yes, there are watts links but still...
Braking being even near equal in a mustang? Unless you got a cobra I'm jut going to pretend I didn't hear it for the sake of filling half a page with 'HAHAHAHAHA'. If you've driven anything other than the LS1 cars, I might say they are near equal (LT1 brakes) with the edge to the fbody. Just something else you don't have to spend $500 on upgrading for saftey.
To really get back on the $ point; how nice was your car when you bought it? Did it need any body work? Did you change any body work? What does your paint look like? I will park mine next to ANY mustang for comparison, and to get it to look decent wasn't free. Last I checked most decent setups near require a hood....$500 + paint. Like the cobra look but didn't buy one? Add that to the list. Love those nice faded rocker extensions you're rocking around with your soon to be matching rear bumper? Check.
Now that we've invested @ 2k back into our car so it doesn't equate to some hillbilly POS that has every dollar under the hood, lets move on.
Brakes and
suspension. I like my cars to stop and turn. Start adding these things up: Upper/
lower control arms, springs, caster
camber plates, bumpsteer kit, poly sway bar mounts and endlinks, subframe connectors, 98-03
control arms, steeda x2 balljoints, strut tower brace, poly engine mounts, poly trans mount, carrier ear bushings, adjustable shocks...
Oh, you DID buy the $$$ cobra brake package? Great upgrade for sure (no BS)...OOPS, your wheels don't fit anymore!!
Better get out that wallet.
Where are we now with our $? Ready to start tackling that aneamic v8 under the hood?
Let's go...and go down the list of the usuals and where I put $ round one.
LT headers, x pipe, catback exhaust system, underdrive pullies, aftermarket camshaft, new timing gear, new lifters, new hardened, pushrods, $1300 aluminum heads, aftermarket stud mount rockers, upper/lower aftermarket intake manifold, 24# injectors, adj regulator, bigger matched MAF, CIA, throttle body, valvecovers to fit your new heads, gaskets, arp hardware, fuel pump, new ignition components like plugs, wires, dizzy cap/rotor, and a coil....fresh harmonic balancer as your old one is coming apart.
Lets not forget to upgrade that clutch while we are at it! Might as well change the clutch cable and crappy plastic prawl quadrant....add a firewall adjuster too. Shifter time unless you like replacing t-5s all the time and lets add an aluminum driveshaft to replace the nice shakey factory one
Time for a dyno tune session! Oh, you need to have something to tune with? Well then, better buy a burnable ROM chip for the ECU
296/315 at the mustang dyno....... not bad you say
Oops we forgot our gears! Can't do any running with those 2:73s now can we. Better buy your gears, your install kit, new clutches, and have them setup or drop more $$ on pinion tools and hope you get it right the first time.
Hey we're looking sharp now! Nice looking car....around 300rwhp....not bad.
Let's see how it does next to your little brothers 99 M6 z28 with a lid and a catback only.....WHOA. Hold the ***$%$(%$ phone! Why am I just hanging with this next to stock camaro with all this $ invested into my car? Holy Crap! I'm actually getting edged on the top-end!
Camaro runs a 13.1 at 108 on it's crappy 60' streettire pass....your h/c/i car can't seem to muster over 105......awesome.
Well time for round #2 of the $ train/mods
You say you don't like filling bottles? Neither do I. I want my car to perform all the time.
Man, blowers are expensive......good thing I get a slight discount through work...I'd like it polished though so it doesn't look like **** and we can save $ with the tuner kit vs the normal that's only setup to run 24# injectors on a stock car . OK, well that was like $2800. Oh....well we aren't done, that sucks. Lets add a power pipe....those are cheap lol. Time to add the inline t-rex pump...and the 42# injectors......and the new MAF. Well we can't just wing it driving around. Better grab that wideband 02, and a boost gauge and something to mount them in.
Back to the dyno! $$
Bad news! Your MSD coil has been intermittent and causing irregular spark problems under boost, and your only oxygen sensor you didn't replace on the car doesn't really want to come online correctly. We replaced them cheaply for you with some we had at the shop and a new coil. Unfortunately once your car started to make some #s, your older shortblock wasn't the happiest and your rear main seal went....thanks for oiling our shop floor up! Haha, j/k but seriously now your clutch is soaked in oil and you should look into replacing that driveshaft as it's giving some vibrations at speed.
(my ebrake bracket had torn from the chassis and come down rubbing and slicing (ruining) my old aluminum driveshaft earlier in the year.....it was on the to-do list but I rarely drove the car at speed to notice. Chalk it up to the '$hit happns' list)
Well at least you are cool with the dyno guys and your bill+parts weren't 'terrible' for the copious time they spent on it bout a $500 bill. Time to order a new clutch disk for your Ford Racing HD assembly. A new driveshaft, a new rear main seal and lets toss a new oil pan on it while we are at it as this old one tried to tear while tapping our oil return. Only another $500 shopping trip lol
Lets get it all back together....yeah no leaks. Take the time and put 500 easy miles on that new clutch to really get it seated. Time to go to the track! Let's enjoy the fruits of our labor and all this $. Thank God I do all my own wrench work haha.
What the?! This clutch isn't barking 3rd or 4th anymore after a few trial passes. "Hello? Ford Racing....tech dept please"...explians... "Oh, so basically the HD pressure plate is junk? "Yea, honestly I'm not sure why we offer it, but I wouldn't put it in my own car" "The King Cobra pressure plate is decent and some have pretty good luck with it, but I wouldn't trust it tooo far with an heavier S/C'd car on a sticky tire" "Sorry bout your luck man"
Well F____.
Few more passes....I've got oil leaking out of my air filter...that can't be good. My air fuel ratios seem inconsistant. Crap I've wet the MAF.
HELLO BLOW BY!!!!!
GOOD BYE RINGS!!!!
....mumbles explicatives under his breath.....
A catch can, a steeda oil accumulator and some heavy drinking later....
Car finally makes an 'ok pass' considering the cashed bottom end. 12.62 at 114 with a lack luster 1.87 60'. Transmission isn't the happeiest with this power though
Not near the entire norm for a blower car...faster than the usual stuff around town, lightyears better than h/c/i. Runs around the same as a bolt on only LS1 car (non cammed) lol
Hey I still have to buy a new clutch that doesn't suck and replace/rebuild the shortblock, and go through the trans! AWESOME.
PLEASE tell me how this was cost effective, or a better idea than the terminator or vette? How did I not spend a ton of money on an old car again? Are we not adding our reciepts or are we lying to ourselves? Have we looked at the going rates for these two cars? I could get a terminator or a z06 ALL DAY for $18-20.
How is either better? Other than retaining value, being newer, and nicer. Each is purpose built, either for boost and handling it, a strong trans, already sick looking and working together factory and accepting of cheap boltons to go extremely fast; or much of the same with the vette, a world class car that runs strong as **** out of the box, handles like it's on rails etc etc.
Screw your insurance BS. I'd much rather pay for something worth owning.
Get out of your shells step away from your keyboards and go try and build a complete car from your tired turds of 15 sec ET stock madness.
Why do you think the newer games are so popular? People get by buying someone elses project ie: my own car when I sell it for a huge loss, and make out somewhat ahead. Cars that are sorted to the bone because they have to be. Not hack job POS's. Then you can go fast 'relitively' cheap with a mustang unless you toss a huge shot on an old fox and count your blessings till it pops.
It's stupid. I'm even worse for not even keeping my LT1 trans am (a car I bought in the middle of my mustang build to have fun in and SO regretted spending on dime on my stang after just driving that and enjoying the looks, feel, t-tops, difference etc.) and shouldve sold my car when I had the chance last season.
Ever price a new shortblock to add on? A new clutch and flywheel and some axles, DR's and a fresh tune?
You will be driving your car to your grave for how much you had to put back in. You will still likely break the block lol.
I'm fixing my issues and I'm OUT. PEACE.
//rant.
-Tom
p.s. you aren't getting cliffs.