Looking For Feedback On What To Do With The Slug In The Bay

whitey68 · Aug 18, 2013

for starters, not trying to build a pavement killer. this is my wifes 89 lx, real nice car with 109k on the clock and an aod rear is a 273. she drives this to cruise ins and shows, its hers and want it tam not looking to do a 400 or 500hp engine, just maybe 300-375 while looking stock under the hood and not having to change fuel systems and all that other stuff absolutely staying with the ford efi. exhaust is flow master americian thunder set up and the stock shorty headers. some guys say go with the 340hp ford crate motor, others say no just get a gt40 others say stroke ours out. well dudes what say you??
whitey

jcgafford · Aug 18, 2013

Same boat. Mine is stock. I would try gears first. If that's not enough for you the gt40 intake and heads might be all you need. These 273 gears are great highway cruisers but lack a lot around town.of course if you Have to be able to say it has x amount of ponies under the hood this probably won't get you there. It will however wake up the car a lot.

A5literMan · Aug 18, 2013

I'd piece together a H/C/I setup,gears,and maybe a torque converter-shift kit set up and drive the crap out of it. If you get the urge for more power later build a stroker short lock to go along with the rest of it. Or put a turbo on it JK.

A5literMan · Aug 18, 2013

And if you go above 325HP you'll want to get a bigger fuel pump and injectors for it to run well. IMO

stykthyn · Aug 18, 2013

I have a gt40 combo. its stockish looking, is a nice bump from stock and was really easy on the wallet. Theres really no wrong answer here. It will all depend on what you really want from the car and how much money you want to drop into it.

reldla1996 · Aug 18, 2013

Sounds like you're looking at a heads, cam, and intake combo. A GT40 combo is the middle ground, while an aftermarket combo, e.g. TF or Edelbrock, would get you to roughly 300 rwhp with a fairly mild cam. You'll want a larger MA sensor and TB with either combo. With the aftermarket combo, you will need to switch to 24# injectors and 110lph (or larger) fuel pump. At 109k miles, assuming good maintenance, I wouldn't replace or rebuild the engine unless you're wanting to hit big hp numbers.

84Ttop · Aug 19, 2013

My last experience with an AOD and HCI did not match up well. 3 weeks after the swap there was no more overdrive. Those AOD's aren't happy with much more horsepower, at least in stock form...

88LX5.Oh · Aug 19, 2013

84Ttop said:
My last experience with an AOD and HCI did not match up well. 3 weeks after the swap there was no more overdrive. Those AOD's aren't happy with much more horsepower, at least in stock form...

Were you doing the AOD shuffle or just putting it in drive and going?
The Shuffle is terrible on the AOD.

OP, I say just do an Explorer top end. Stock cam with 1.7 roller rockers. You'll come out pretty cheap and it'll be a nice bump in power and you won't need to get a bigger fuel pump or injectors. You go with any better of a head you'll need larger injectors and pump as someone already said. Oh and and SN95 MAF since it's bigger than factory. Get a used one and you'll be set

90lxwhite · Aug 20, 2013

I believe I will have to disagree w the explorer topend route unless you're going to do all the machine work yourself on the heads. You'll be into trickflow or another comparable alum head territory price wise. Who wants to run junkyard heads as is or even buy used heads via the web sight unseen? As far as just going with gears, well my experience with gears is that they were meh. I switched from the 2.73 to 3.73 in a 95 gt 5 speed and guess what? She's still slow. 1st gear rediculously short and when in fifth it feels like it needs a 6th, the droan is mind numbing. Don't believe the hype, the 3.73 is not the best bang for buck mod out there. Unless you have some motor infront of those gears you're not gonna be burning up the track or streets, just shifting sooner.

84Ttop · Aug 20, 2013

88LX5.Oh said:
Were you doing the AOD shuffle or just putting it in drive and going?

Like every other responsible Mustang owner there was absolutely no abuse to the car after the HCI . But to answer you, no shuffle. It was replaced with a Trans Specialties AOD and Converter which lasted a good long while, at least until the V3 Si trim....

stykthyn · Aug 20, 2013

I pulled an explorer engine on half price day. payed 150 for it out the door. Sold the block for 75 dollars. So now I am 75 in. Heads decked and cleaned for just shy of 300 dollars. so we will say 350ish. Add another 150 in gaskets and MISC supplies my top end was on for about 500. Shes not a rocket ship but it will OWN a stock 5.0

88LX5.Oh · Aug 20, 2013

84Ttop said:
lasted a good long while, at least until the V3 Si trim....

And there's the full story lol.

90lxwhite · Aug 21, 2013

I don't believe if you go gt40 route you'll be all that close to 300 hp. Probably closer to 250

Looking For Feedback On What To Do With The Slug In The Bay

whitey68

Member

jcgafford

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

stykthyn

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

reldla1996

Member

84Ttop

They make new pistons every day, so why worry?

88LX5.Oh

90lxwhite

I'm kind of a She-Man

84Ttop

They make new pistons every day, so why worry?

stykthyn

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

88LX5.Oh

90lxwhite

I'm kind of a She-Man

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Looking For Feedback On What To Do With The Slug In The Bay

Member

At least it is lumpy...

At least it is lumpy...

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

Member

They make new pistons every day, so why worry?

I'm kind of a She-Man

They make new pistons every day, so why worry?

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

I'm kind of a She-Man

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