New from UK - Camming my 1990 GT

Tom77

Member
Nov 15, 2024
67
16
18
UK
Hi there, I just bought a convertible 1990 GT Fox Body and am having a little mechanical touching up done etc. Next project in the New Year is Camming it. The engine is completely stock at the moment and I was hoping for some guidance on what camming options I might have? Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
 
So really only for sound? As a cam swap on a stock engine really won't do much for power. If anything more will move the torque band up slightly higher. You'd likely want some shorter rear end gearing to compensate.

I dont really have a good recommendation here for a good cam for a stock car because the OEM cam is probably the best cam for a stock engine. If you throw a cam in a stock motor, there are tradeoffs. It might not make power until 3K rpm, which is terrible if your car is an AOD driving around at 2000-2500 most of the time. Now you are throwing a $800+ set of rear axle gears to compensate. Depending on cam specs, you might be swapping out the tired OE springs for a $300 aftermarket set to avoid floating valves at high RPM. Then you might have some potential loss of drivability requiring a $400+ tune. So a simple cam swap turns into a $1500-2K job for virtually no power gain.

Do you have plans for other mods? Heads?
 
  • PlusOne
Reactions: General karthief
Sorry just saw the end of your reply. In essence happy to do the 'right' mods to make the camming worthwhile. Yes I'd like the sound from camming and am very happy to have more power too!
 
So most do a head, cam, and intake (H/C/I) swap and with that you also typically see a full 2.5" exhaust put on the car to take advantage of the better breathing on the intake side of things. You can piece the H/C/I together or get one that is already put together by a manufacturer.


When doing this you also need to look at fuel delivery. Stock pump is 88 lph so most upgrade to a minimum of 155 lph. You may want to move up in injector size and to keep from having to tune the ECU most just opt for "calibrated" mass air meters and one of the most popular is Pro-M.

Lots of decisions to make when moving up in power on these cars as you can surpass the OEM air and fuel delivery abilities.

Anymore I would just put a blower or turbo kit on it and call it a day.
 
Thank you very much. As you say a lot to consider! One more question if I may: do you also have to consider the stock auto gearbox and rear drivetrain capabilities when upping the power?
 
For a warm weather cruiser you should be fine with the stock drivetrain even with H/C/I, or stock engine with a blower. You may however, want to look at beefing up your braking system if you plan on frequently doing some 'spirited' driving.
 
For a warm weather cruiser you should be fine with the stock drivetrain even with H/C/I, or stock engine with a blower. You may however, want to look at beefing up your braking system if you plan on frequently doing some 'spirited' driving.
Ha, thanks. Yes I was thinking the rear drums might not cut it with a power increase!
 
For what you're wanting to do... Find an exhaust system you like the sound of and just drive the thing.

Oh, and...

:worthlesb
Thanks, have just got the mufflers I want delivered from ebay (used original FlowMaster 40s. They sound better when already have some miles on them and prefer them to the Magnaflows that it came with)
 

Attachments

  • 1990-ford-mustang-666a4e2dc90c4.webp
    1990-ford-mustang-666a4e2dc90c4.webp
    324.4 KB · Views: 68
Hell man... I know I sound like a broken record to these guys that have been here a long time but...


This and the supporting mods are the [only] addon your car needs:


Keep your stock gears, everything. The long skinny pedal on the right determines your level on the [FUN <---------> FUEL ECONOMY] scale. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: gkomo
Hell man... I know I sound like a broken record to these guys that have been here a long time but...


This and the supporting mods are the [only] addon your car needs:


Keep your stock gears, everything. The long skinny pedal on the right determines your level on the [FUN <---------> FUEL ECONOMY] scale. :D
What is the actual rwhp one could expect from a stock/mostly stock Fox with one of these on it? I looked on their website but don't really see a number.
 
What is the actual rwhp one could expect from a stock/mostly stock Fox with one of these on it? I looked on their website but don't really see a number.

The [most] I got from it on my stock block was 360/460 with a Flowzilla/Blowzilla at a bit over 10 lbs. and a torque curve that looks like a wall.

That torque number is what makes it fun.