New member. 1988 mustang GT.

[Guccijayda]

Hello I am a new member here. I just got my new garage queen. 1988 mustang gt hatchback 5.0 5spd manual. Says 49k on dash but Im sure couldve rolled over. Body and interior are in excellent shape. All stock as far as bottom end and top end that I know of. My goals for this baby is to become a nice little car to take to car shows and car meets, Im not really into racing anymore but I do wanna show that the power is there lol. I want a Trick Flow top end kit and 3.73s and a tune? I was going the centrifugal supercharger route but i was told i will spend like 8-10grand on parts and labor so a little over my budget. I would love to learn more about my next mods guys? My first 5.0 foxbody. I had a 2011 5.0 coyote full bolt ons with Nitrous and I had a stock 98 cobra in the past. Anyway here is all thats been done from the PO that I know about.

BBK longtubes
BBK offroad H pipe
Flowmasters dumped
Msd distributor w/ aftermarket coils
Shortshifter
6 point roll cage w/ driver side harness
Aluminum radiator
electric fans on a toggle switch.
Weld 15" wheels with drags and skinnies
4" cowl hood
Battery relocation kit to trunk
AC delete
Aluminum driveshaft
New King Cobra clutch
New solid motor mounts


My qualms and questions?
It has electric fans on a switch near the steering wheel. So i have to remember to turn them on and off orelse it will overheat and/or drain battery? How do I convert to automatically like on a thermostat? Feels unsafe. Also horn doesnt work. Maybe he dc fuse because of constant contact? Also the supposed new king cobra clutch the guy put in feels tough. I have to rev and slip the clutch a little when i start in first or else itll stall out. Im used to stick but this feels like a race car clutch or something wrong. I can drive manual good but I cant get a smooth slow roll out in first because itll stall out. Is something wrong? Also sometimes it is a little hard to get the shifter in first gear. I feel i have to push the clutch down allll the way to get in first. Finally also lol. .. Theres a small oil leak i havent really traced yet but all fluid levels pretty good with 100 miles of driving. thanks for all your help sorry for the long post.

 

[General karthief]

Welcome to stangnet
Get over to the fox forums and get acquainted by starting a progress thread with some pics like those only include the engine, post your concerns and your plans and the members will give you some suggestions and I'll give you really bad advice

 

[Guccijayda]

Welcome to stangnet
Get over to the fox forums and get acquainted by starting a progress thread with some pics like those only include the engine, post your concerns and your plans and the members will give you some suggestions and I'll give you really bad advice

Thank you sir! I just started a similar thread to this one in the foxbody general section. I didnt see this one show up

Welcome to stangnet
Get over to the fox forums and get acquainted by starting a progress thread with some pics like those only include the engine, post your concerns and your plans and the members will give you some suggestions and I'll give you really bad advice

Lol thanks for the tip!! I actually posted a intro thread very similar to this one on the foxbody general forums. Can you delete this one? Thanks boss!!!

 

[General karthief]

Nope, I ain't deleating nothin till I get paid!
Oh, and I posted that before I looked to see if you had been anywhere else, all 's good.

 

[Boostedpimp]

Hello I am a new member here. I just got my new garage queen. 1988 mustang gt hatchback 5.0 5spd manual. Says 49k on dash but Im sure couldve rolled over. Body and interior are in excellent shape. All stock as far as bottom end and top end that I know of. My goals for this baby is to become a nice little car to take to car shows and car meets, Im not really into racing anymore but I do wanna show that the power is there lol. I want a Trick Flow top end kit and 3.73s and a tune? I was going the centrifugal supercharger route but i was told i will spend like 8-10grand on parts and labor so a little over my budget. I would love to learn more about my next mods guys? My first 5.0 foxbody. I had a 2011 5.0 coyote full bolt ons with Nitrous and I had a stock 98 cobra in the past. Anyway here is all thats been done from the PO that I know about.

BBK longtubes
BBK offroad H pipe
Flowmasters dumped
Msd distributor w/ aftermarket coils
Shortshifter
6 point roll cage w/ driver side harness
Aluminum radiator
electric fans on a toggle switch
Weld 15" wheels with drags and skinnies
4" cowl hood
Battery relocation kit to trunk
AC delete
Aluminum driveshaft
New King Cobra clutch
New solid motor mounts


My qualms and questions?
It has electric fans on a switch near the steering wheel. So i have to remember to turn them on and off orelse it will overheat and/or drain battery? How do I convert to automatically like on a thermostat? Feels unsafe. Also horn doesnt work. Maybe he dc fuse because of constant contact? Also the supposed new king cobra clutch the guy put in feels tough. I have to rev and slip the clutch a little when i start in first or else itll stall out. Im used to stick but this feels like a race car clutch or something wrong. I can drive manual good but I cant get a smooth slow roll out in first because itll stall out. Is something wrong? Also sometimes it is a little hard to get the shifter in first gear. I feel i have to push the clutch down allll the way to get in first. Finally also lol. .. Theres a small oil leak i havent really traced yet but all fluid levels pretty good with 100 miles of driving. thanks for all your help sorry for the long post.

that's a nice car

I've owned a bunch of cars, some with boost and others without. I've owned now three cars with TFS top end kits or most of the kit intact. They are nice kits. There are some trade offs in terms of budget when you compare the two though, as the HCI would require a good bit more labor cost/time then the supercharger but even if you get the supercharger used cheap you'll still be on the hook for finding a quality shop to tune the car. The hci car would be able to function fine without a tune.

As far as the electric fans, just pickup a good controller so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Not sure what fans you have but I would go with a quality controller that can handle high amp fans that push good air. The Derale 16788 or Flex-a-lite 31149

 

[Guccijayda]

Nope, I ain't deleating nothin till I get paid!
Oh, and I posted that before I looked to see if you had been anywhere else, all 's good.

Lol . sounds good and thanks!!

 

[Guccijayda]

that's a nice car

I've owned a bunch of cars, some with boost and others without. I've owned now three cars with TFS top end kits or most of the kit intact. They are nice kits. There are some trade offs in terms of budget when you compare the two though, as the HCI would require a good bit more labor cost/time then the supercharger but even if you get the supercharger used cheap you'll still be on the hook for finding a quality shop to tune the car. The hci car would be able to function fine without a tune.

As far as the electric fans, just pickup a good controller so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Not sure what fans you have but I would go with a quality controller that can handle high amp fans that push good air. The Derale 16788 or Flex-a-lite 31149

thanks so much for your input. Duly noted on the controller and options for me. Great info definitely eased me up a bit!!