new here looking for some info on some things

The benefits of mass air is it's ability to adapt to more serious modifications, especially the camshaft. With speed density, you are more limited on camshaft selection than mass air.

As far as the stock E7TE heads, they are worth doing some work to if you're on a budget IMO. I had mine refreshed (valve job, seals, guides, springs, etc) and then bought some carbide bits to port them. I followed the advice from the website below and with a Trick Flow #1 cam, Edelbrock intake, and all the supporting hardware (3.73s, slicks, exhaust, bigger maf, bigger throttle body, etc) my car went 12.80's @ 105. So going 12's with only around $300 invested in cylinder heads aint bad if you ask me. With that being said, I dropped another 1/2 second by just going to some AFR 165 heads, so the stockers will never flow like aftermarket.

Link to porting stock 5.0 heads
http://www.diyporting.com/

...there's nothing wrong with buying used as long as you do your research. There is usually a consistent flow of folks upgrading their current package to make more power, and they just want to offset the cost of buying new stuff. I've seen used TFS TWs go for as little as $750 with only 5k miles on them. They are probably some of the best bolt on heads aside from AFRs. The only *issue* being they need special length pushrods. I haven't seen many AFRs up for sale unless they were being sold for projects because someone hurt the castings after spitting out a rod or burning a head gasket.

Jason has a good point though...if you're only looking for some mild gains and want to maintain the same driveability, porting the stock heads isn't a bad idea. If you don't mind swapping headers and using different wires, you could also buy a set of 40Ps...they're designed to produce better torque anyway and if you can pirate the whole top end off a 96-01 exploder or mountaineer that's another possible direction for a decent price, still get a noticeable power increase and no loss of driveability.

If it were mine I would just enjoy the stock motor and save up for a used set of TW 170's and find a decent used cam and intake. Then throw them on and be done with it. Dumping money in E7's is a waste. And for only a few hundred more than the cost (and machine work) for GT40's you could have a set of used good flowing aluminum heads.

A lopey cam will result in poor driveablity in traffic. If you intend to use the car for anything but short trips to the race track and back, it isn't a good choice.

Here's a book that will get you started with how the Ford electronic engine control or "computer" works.

Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control 1988-1993 by Charles Probst :ISBN 0-8376-0301-3.

It's about $25-$40 from Borders.com see http://www.amazon.com/ . Select books and then select search. Use the ISBN number (without dashes or spaces) to do a search. Try searching using M-1832-Z1 instead of the ISBN number if you don’t get any positive results. You may only be able to find a used one, since the book is as old as the cars it covers. Or you order it from your Ford dealer as SVO part no. M-1832-Z1.


Use the ISBN number and your local library can get you a loaner copy for free. Only thing is you are limited to keeping the book for two weeks. It is very good, and I found it to be very helpful.


OBD1 comes in Speed Density and Mass Air Flow versions. It differs from OBDII in that diagnostic data cannot be streamed through the diagnostic port in a real time mode. The diagnostic data is stored in volatile memory and dumped on command by an external jumper or code reader connected to the computer’s diagnostic port. Watching the Check Engine Light, an external test light or voltmeter are all that is need to dump the codes on an OBDI system. An OBDI code reader can be used, but it isn’t an absolute necessity.

ODBII is capable of streaming data through the diagnostic port in real time mode. It requires a code reader that handles the OBDII data format. No code reader, no way of knowing what the codes are. The plus is you can watch changes in sensor data as they happen, and use the information to plan changes in the computer's program. OBDI requires a laptop & some specialized hardware to do the same thing.

Both OBDI & OBDII have adaptive learning to accommodate changes in sensor output, so as the sensors and airflow values change, the computer adjusts for them. Mass Air systems have a greater range of adaptive learning than Speed Density.

Speed Density uses Manifold vacuum (MAP), Throttle position (TPS) and RPM, Air Temperature (ACT) & Engine Coolant (ECT) to guess how much air the engine is pulling in. Then it uses all of them to calculate the air/fuel mixture. It is dependent on steady manifold vacuum and minimal changes in airflow from the stock engine configuration to maintain the proper air/fuel ratio. Change the airflow or vacuum too much and the computer can't compensate for the changes, and does not run well. Forget about putting a supercharger, turbocharger or monster stroker crank in a Speed Density engine, because the stock computer tune won’t handle it. Every time you seriously change the airflow through the engine, you need a new custom burned chip to make the engine run at peak performance.

Mass Air uses a Mass Air Flow meter (MAF) to actually measure how much air is being pulled in and uses the inputs from the TPS, ACT, ECT, RPM and Barometric Pressure sensor (Baro) to calculate the proper air/fuel ratio. It is very tolerant of changes in airflow, and vacuum and tolerates wild cams, high flowing heads, and changes in displacement with minimal difficulties. Larger injectors can be used with an aftermarket calibrated MAF or a custom dyno tune. This makes it possible to use the stock computer with engine displacements from 302-408 cu in, and make many modifications without a custom dyno tune chip. Put a new intake manifold on your 331 stroker and the computer figures out how much more fuel to deliver without having to have a new chip burned to accommodate the extra airflow[/url].

these links may answer some questions and give you some ideas.

http://www.mustang50magazine.com/te...993_ford_mustang_bolt_on_buildup/viewall.html

http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/fox-talks-really-common-questions-thread.825480/

http://www.musclemustangfastfords.com/tech/mmfp_1112_1993_lx_intake_upgrade_bolt_on_power/index.html

89GT50HATCH said:

... I have an 89 hatch with a 5.0 manual trans, all neoprene bushings lowereed with the cobra suspension. Thats what it came with. Now here are some things id like to know;​

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1. From what i know the motor is stock. It is not the motor with mass air on it...​

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2.Because the motor is stock.. Also theres alot of different intakes and throttle body setups with different sizes... ​

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Really nice find!!
Bushings would be polyurethane not neoprene.
As far as the picture shows, that's a GT, not a hatchback. PO tried to make it look like a Cobra, which for Fox body was '93 only. '93 Cobra wheels are completely different. Looks like a Cervini fiberglass hood.
1. '89's all had mass air, yours must have it, too.
2. 3.55 gears & catback exhaust & headers if not already installed.
Before you do any mods, find out what's already been done. Detailed pics might help.

If it were my car i'd be curious as to where the mass air setup went.
Check the computer in the P side kick panel and get us the model number off it.
I know it may not sound like a big deal, but it is.

If you change the cam and add aluminum heads you will need the mass air setup.
The cam will cause the car to run poorly, which can be worked around with an SD friendly cam, but the aluminum heads will put the car past 19lb injectors and SD does not work well with 24's.

89GT50HATCH said:

Well im 100% sure there's no mass air the car was converted to a v8 from a 4 cyl, and i guess when they did the swap they never put the mass air on it. and injectors and all that are a given now that im going this far. once i get the details over the next couple days ill be looking for some opinions on some combos to put together.

Click to expand...

That would explain it. If it is a SEFI-HO Mustang engine, it probably came from an '86-'88, which were Speed Density (except for '88 California). Not all 5.0's from those years are HO's, so the firing order is not the same.
FYI: http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-for...port-maf-conversion-kit-for-86-88-5-0.851874/

I had a feeling it was a 4cyl conversion, just didn't think anyone would go through so much trouble as to swap the engine then convert the body to a gt.

For a budget build, I would go for a set of gt40 heads off a 96-97,5 explorer. The spark plug angle is the same so you can use your current exhaust. Headers are nice but you really won't see a difference till you get past 300hp. As for intake, Edelbrock/typhoon(knock off edelbrock) or a cobra/explorer/gt40 intake will do the trick. As always, AL heads are ideal because it will take 50 lbs off the front tires. For a cam, an e303 or tfs stage 1 is about as large as you will want to go. TFS being a tad more aggressive and lopey. Throttle body, 70 or 75mm but some intakes need to be opened up to actually use the 75mm... otherwise its just a waste. Exhaust is always a waste IMO unless you go with long tubes. You can spend 1k on a full exhaust and gain 2% power or spend 1k on heads and get 20%(if you already have an aftermarket intake).
Kevin