Fox Need Opinions On Upgrades

[Great88]

Okay so im back looking to get some idea for upgrades since summer is coming up fast. So my current 88 automatic convertible set up is as so: 4.10 gears, mac long tube headers, mac o/r prochamber mid pipe, flomaster american thunder catback with super 44 mufflers, 3G alternator, subframe connectors, bbk cold air intake, aluminum driveshaft. There may be a few more im forgetting. Now im on a bit of a budget like ive said before but i really do need some ideas. A major one im thinking about is swapping for an electric fan and aluminum radiator combo because im running stock and would like to free up some horsepower and what not. I need opinions on peoples experiences with mishimoto dual fan and radiators and also flex a lite black magic or any other fans and rads they have had good or bad experiences with. Ive heard from some about old taurus fans but i was hoping to maybe go new rather than used. keep in my mind i live in Ontario Canada so picking up junkyard parts is a little harder and not much selection. Please let me know any other good upgrades i should do and possibly the average cost. Any help is very appreciated. Please and thanks

 

[Boosted92LX]

Okay so im back looking to get some idea for upgrades since summer is coming up fast. So my current 88 automatic convertible set up is as so: 4.10 gears, mac long tube headers, mac o/r prochamber mid pipe, flomaster american thunder catback with super 44 mufflers, 3G alternator, subframe connectors, bbk cold air intake, aluminum driveshaft. There may be a few more im forgetting. Now im on a bit of a budget like ive said before but i really do need some ideas. A major one im thinking about is swapping for an electric fan and aluminum radiator combo because im running stock and would like to free up some horsepower and what not. I need opinions on peoples experiences with mishimoto dual fan and radiators and also flex a lite black magic or any other fans and rads they have had good or bad experiences with. Ive heard from some about old taurus fans but i was hoping to maybe go new rather than used. keep in my mind i live in Ontario Canada so picking up junkyard parts is a little harder and not much selection. Please let me know any other good upgrades i should do and possibly the average cost. Any help is very appreciated. Please and thanks

I bought mishimoto fans and rad and wound up selling the fans because they didn't move enough air to cool the engine. Bought a brand new set of v6 contour fans from rock auto, made brackets, installed, and never looked back. Do youself a favor and buy the contour fans. They move twice the air and cost half as much.

 

[stykthyn]

Unless you need the room I would stick with the stock clutch fan. An e fan doesn't free up as much HP as you would think. If you aren't having cooling issues there is no need to change, especially since you are running a stock motor.

 

[mikestang63]

Don't go through the time and money of swapping to an E fan if you are doing it solely to free up hp. The stock clutch fan does a great job when it works and uses maybe 10-15 hp, plus you need a 3G alternator to support the fan, You are looking at around $300-800 for the radiator fan, alternator, fan controller, and wiring for both the fan and alternator. Not worth it for 10-hp.

Now that being said, I have always swapped out the stock clutch fan for an E fan for other reasons- either the stock clutch fan went bad or I wanted to clean up the engine bay. It is a great upgrade but IMO not a performance one. Same for the radiator. A stock copper radiator does a fine job for mildly modified cars. Unless you are experiencing overheating or the parts are damaged, I would leave them as is.

THe same amount of money could be spent on a good Nitrous kit that will get you 50-100 hp and when not in use,, you car will act as it does now, However, I WOULD recommend upgrading the 2g to a 3G alernator simply because the 2g is inadequate for a stock mustang and is a fire hazard. Go to a jy and get one from any 94-2000 mustang and then go on ebay or the corral and for $35 get the upgraded wiring kit. For less than $100 you are set. I would also highly recommend the following for your AOD. These will wake up the car and increase the life of your AOD

• plate sylte trans cooler
• Silver Fox Valve body

 

[stykthyn]

Don't go through the time and money of swapping to an E fan if you are doing it solely to free up hp. The stock clutch fan does a great job when it works and uses maybe 10-15 hp, plus you need a 3G alternator to support the fan, You are looking at around $300-800 for the radiator fan, alternator, fan controller, and wiring for both the fan and alternator. Not worth it for 10-hp.

Now that being said, I have always swapped out the stock clutch fan for an E fan for other reasons- either the stock clutch fan went bad or I wanted to clean up the engine bay. It is a great upgrade but IMO not a performance one. Same for the radiator. A stock copper radiator does a fine job for mildly modified cars. Unless you are experiencing overheating or the parts are damaged, I would leave them as is.

THe same amount of money could be spent on a good Nitrous kit that will get you 50-100 hp and when not in use,, you car will act as it does now, However, I WOULD recommend upgrading the 2g to a 3G alernator simply because the 2g is inadequate for a stock mustang and is a fire hazard. Go to a jy and get one from any 94-2000 mustang and then go on ebay or the corral and for $35 get the upgraded wiring kit. For less than $100 you are set. I would also highly recommend the following for your AOD. These will wake up the car and increase the life of your AOD

• plate sylte trans cooler
• Silver Fox Valve body

Point of reference. I have a mild gt40 hci and the stock single core radiator and clutch fan keep the engine below 200* even on triple digit days. I have a Taurus fan waiting in the wings and I've already done the 3g upgrade for other reasons but HP was never a factor in these purchases.

 

[Boosted92LX]

Point of reference. I have a mild gt40 hci and the stock single core radiator and clutch fan keep the engine below 200* even on triple digit days. I have a Taurus fan waiting in the wings and I've already done the 3g upgrade for other reasons but HP was never a factor in these purchases.

^^^ This is what needs to be done before an efan. Spend the money on hp. When you make so much you can't cool it, then upgrade cooling. Heads and intake are always better places to start for power.... and DON'T buy underdrive pullies.

 

[Great88]

I have upgraded to a 3G alternator already so it seems as that is a plus which i like to hear. As far as cooling yes it seems as though i dont cross over the 180 degree mark so i guess thats fine then. It just looks very tacky having the stock parts in my opinion. As far as performance upgrades any affordable ways to get good horsepower? And lol i will definitely stay away from underdrive pulleys

 

[A5literMan]

Cheapest bolt on hp for the buck = nitrous kit. You can add 100hp easily for around 550-750$ with a complete system. I will mention though that it's not really recommended for street use though. The instant nature of the power tends to just spin the tires but it's great for straight line performance. Bottle refills do add up though. If you want access to the power all the time you're looking at a more in depth investment of money(forced induction-h/c/i etc).

Small power gains can be obtained by using the elec fan,maybe some 1.7 roller rockers,timing-tune up,and some exhaust upgrades. They aren't cost effective but they do add up to small increases. It really depends on what you want and budget.

Edit: I see you already did the exhaust

 

[Great88]

So it seems like i have almost all the usual upgrades other than heads,cam and intake. Any suggestions on that? I had looked at possibly getting a trickflow top end kit but the cost is waayyy out of my price range currently. And i feel like im really just missing and electric fan and rad upgrade for basically all te bolt on upgrades. Any other suggestions for h/c/i wouldbe great. And of course any experiences good or bad with different brands. All opinions matter thanks

 

[Great88]

Also id preferto stay away from niteous as it not only is a street car but i agree that it would add up

 

[Boosted92LX]

So it seems like i have almost all the usual upgrades other than heads,cam and intake. Any suggestions on that? I had looked at possibly getting a trickflow top end kit but the cost is waayyy out of my price range currently. And i feel like im really just missing and electric fan and rad upgrade for basically all te bolt on upgrades. Any other suggestions for h/c/i wouldbe great. And of course any experiences good or bad with different brands. All opinions matter thanks

Find a v8 explorer in a junk yard and rob the top end. Or, the whole motor as @mikestang63 will tell you.

Wow. Did I really just say that???? Somebody check my temperature...

 

[stykthyn]

Find a v8 explorer in a junk yard and rob the top end. Or, the whole motor as @mikestang63 will tell you.

Wow. Did I really just say that???? Somebody check my temperature...

I snagged an explorer engine for a grand total of 175 at the u-pull. They are getting harder to come by through. Cash for clunkers really did a number on them. My advice is to keep an eye on the classifieds. A ported explorer or trick flow intake doesn't cost much. Trick flow makes great parts but I prefer Afr heads. Put the feelers out. I bet you can piece something together.

 

[Great88]

ill definitely keep an eye out. hard to come by in Ontario especially. Haven't seen any in the classifieds for a while. The only other bolt on i was missing was a throttle body which i forgot to ask about as well. I know stock is 56mm approximately so my question is what size should i be looking for if i wasnt doing h/c/i right away and then of course if i was doing h/c/i. i would assume there is a change in size based on application

 

[stykthyn]

Depends on your intake opening. 60mm is about as large as you can go without having to machine your intake.

 

[Great88]

so stock intake currently largest should be 60mm? and then if i were to move up and get a trickflow 70 or 75mm? or would that be too big?

 

[Great88]

another question of mine is regarding cams. i definitely want to keep the muscle car sound like lumpy and what not but i also want to have an increase in power of course. Now ive heard from a few people youll get a nice sound from ford e303 but the technology so to speak is a little behind its time compared to others on the market. suggestions?

 

[A5literMan]

Ultimately would do you want out of the car? Is it going to just be a street car with a little extra oomph? You can find a lot of good parts on the used market. Especially things like intake manifolds,throttle bodies,etc.

 

[Great88]

im definitely looking to keep it a street car but with a good amount of power i can enjoy id definitely take it to the 1/4 mile every so often just to get a good rip and test times. As far as used parts go i wouldnt know what to be looking for damage wise on some parts so i wouldnt know 100% if the part would still be usable or not. ive been searching on all the classifieds we have in my province but im literally finding nothing. everyone is just looking for parts never any selling them.

 

[A5literMan]

im definitely looking to keep it a street car but with a good amount of power i can enjoy id definitely take it to the 1/4 mile every so often just to get a good rip and test times. As far as used parts go i wouldnt know what to be looking for damage wise on some parts so i wouldnt know 100% if the part would still be usable or not. ive been searching on all the classifieds we have in my province but im literally finding nothing. everyone is just looking for parts never any selling them.

Check out corral.net classifieds. It's almost impossible to get a bad manifold(for example-hard to damage-and/or easy the see if there is). Also if you use PayPal for example there are built in transaction protections. Just a FYI.

I get it with certain things, even with some experience with parts, it's better to see them in person. Your best option IMO is a Vortech blower kit with the proper options. It's basically bolt on,you don't have to open up the engine,and with a proper tune you can gain 100-200hp. It will cost some money but remember these things....fast,reliable,cheap...you can only pick two.

 

[mikestang63]

Find a v8 explorer in a junk yard and rob the top end. Or, the whole motor as @mikestang63 will tell you.

Wow. Did I really just say that???? Somebody check my temperature...

saw 3 epxloder V8 motors in the local LKQ this weekend. Kills me to not pull them all and store them in my garage.