Opinions wanted on what to do on notchback

[ProZaK567]

I bought an 89 Notchback last year from a dealer that they got in on trade. They just wanted to get rid of it, so i grabbed it for 1300$ bucks and drove it home. I drove it all summer had fun with it. This is my 4th mustang, but ive never really heavily modded them, exhaust, intake.. bolt ons.. nothing major.

So I've got this car, its not my daily driver, Its going to be a weekend warrior as i live close to new englad drag way, but its going to be register and driven street.
the car has a couple things done to it such as an off road H pipe, flowmasters, fiberglass hood, cold air intake, short throw shifter, spec 6 puck clutch, and 373's
its loaded and i want to keep my AC on when i run down the track...

well my question is what approach should i take because this car has 200k on it..

should i start buying go fast parts, or should i start with a fresh short block.. my end goal is to have a power adder most likely turbo ( i have nitrous now,but rather go turbo)
I have a feeling this motor is going to go kaboom if i start adding power to it

My goal is to have around an 11-12 second car with AC and power windows i can drive around town. should i leave this motor in till it dies or go straight for a new shortblock ? I want around 350- 400 whp and i know the 302 can handle it, just worried about the mileage. any thoughts or comments are welcome. maybe turbo is not the way to go ??? I have a great mustang dyno tuner miles from my house to which is a plus..

 

[Modular2v]

I bought an 89 Notchback last year from a dealer that they got in on trade. They just wanted to get rid of it, so i grabbed it for 1300$ bucks and drove it home. I drove it all summer had fun with it. This is my 4th mustang, but ive never really heavily modded them, exhaust, intake.. bolt ons.. nothing major.

So I've got this car, its not my daily driver, Its going to be a weekend warrior as i live close to new englad drag way, but its going to be register and driven street.
the car has a couple things done to it such as an off road H pipe, flowmasters, fiberglass hood, cold air intake, short throw shifter, spec 6 puck clutch, and 373's
its loaded and i want to keep my AC on when i run down the track...

well my question is what approach should i take because this car has 200k on it..

should i start buying go fast parts, or should i start with a fresh block.. my end goal is to have a power adder most likely turbo ( i have nitrous now,but rather go turbo)
I have a feeling this motor is going to go kaboom if i start adding power to it

My goal is to have an 11-12 second car with AC and power windows i can drive around town. should i leave this motor in till it dies or go straight for a new block ? I want around 400 whp

You dont need 400rwhp to run 11s.

 

[ProZaK567]

I know you dont, that has alot more to do with tires and suspension, this car is on 17s, im not going to be running drag radials. its not just for the track its for around town to. anyway these are just goals.. but thanks for that great answer.. it helped me out so much

 

[TomCat]

I say build up a fresh engine... nice new shortblock (stroker? I'm in a stroker mood hah), add gofast goodies on to that. When it's all said and done, drop it in. If you're looking for forced induction and 400+hp, I don't think a 200k shortblock is a good place to start lol. If it's either rebuilding the shortblock or bolt ons, I vote to save up.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do

 

[bubba-dough]

I wouldn't do a power-adder on a 200k engine. I wouldn't wait for the kaboom either. I would rebuild when I had the budget to do so. You can be close to your rwhp goals with a n/a stroker motor. Or do a mild stroker and add forced induction. Just set your goals before you start. It will save you lots of time, headache, and money. We don't know your budget, so its hard to give real good direction. If money is tight. Build a stroker shortblock with your ultimate goals in mind and do what you can up top and then upgrade as the $ is there.

 

[parrish5o]

I would start with a fresh stroker shortblock. You know it's going to be replaced soon and then you have a strong foundation to build on.

 

[claytucc3]

I don't think that a 200k stocker will handle a power adder. I am surprised it hasn't blown with the NOS yet. I would strongly suggest to buy a motor stand and a 347 stroker and set it up with lower compression so you can add a blower in the future and build that motor little by little while you drive your car. While you are driving your car you can work on the suspension and address all of the other issues the car will have. You said that you are not going to do drag radials or slicks, so a rear end upgrade is not needed but doesn't hurt. if you are planning on doing launches on slicks you will destroy the stocker diff real quick (I know, I have done this a few times..lol). If your main goal is drag racing that gear your suspension towards that. If money is tight, just build the motor for now. Work on it out of the car and you will have much more pleasant experience. Get some aluminum heads and a decent intake and you will have a sick car.....have fun bro and happy modding.....also let us know what your budget is so we can adjust our recommendations...

 

[Jaym14]

I'll have to second what the others have said. Start with a fresh stroker... 331/347 or a 306 which ever you like. Just keep in mind what your long time goals are..... i.e. if your going n/a then go high compression or stick with lower compression if a supercharger/turbo will eventually be added to the mix.

 

[strtrcr50]

its loaded and i want to keep my AC on when i run down the track...

Please do not do that. You will drip water down the track that might present a problem for someone else.
Ohyeah, stroker gets you to your goal easily. From looking into it, I think you can not build a stroker chortblock as cheaply as you can buy one. Check out fordstrokers.com

 

[ProZaK567]

Alright guys thanks for the advice... engine stand and fresh shortblock it is.

I have about 4k right now to play with, and money tied up in other toys if i need to get rid of them for some more.. and im sure ill blow through 4k pretty quick...

so everyone is partial to the stroker kits i see.. it would be pretty easy to hit my goals with a 347 thats almost cheating.. haha

i guess ill have to decide which route to go after some more homework

anyone want to throw out their numbers with a 347 or 331 stroker and what heads / mods you have ? im thinking probably 42# injectors ? ive got a 190lph fuel pump
but im guessing ill need a 255 ?

as for the rear end, i was thinking a mini spool ? cheap way to lock it up

 

[ProZaK567]

Please do not do that. You will drip water down the track that might present a problem for someone else.

Fine ill shut it off while i make my pass, but it will be on while im waiting in line

 

[ProZaK567]

Ohyeah, stroker gets you to your goal easily. From looking into it, I think you can not build a stroker chortblock as cheaply as you can buy one. Check out fordstrokers.com

Ok i looked at that site... WOW... "Our 347 Liberator shortblock is aimed directly at the guys that want a 400-500hp street car that runs pump gas, can drive to the track, rip off a few 10 second passes and drive home."

where do i sign??!! for only 1800 bucks??!! thats not bad at all maybe i wont even need a power adder.. oh boy..

 

[claytucc3]

4k is a reasonable amount for the motor.....I would start selling toys if you want to play with the diff and suspension.....

 

[strtrcr50]

Ok i looked at that site... WOW... "Our 347 Liberator shortblock is aimed directly at the guys that want a 400-500hp street car that runs pump gas, can drive to the track, rip off a few 10 second passes and drive home."

where do i sign??!! for only 1800 bucks??!! thats not bad at all maybe i wont even need a power adder.. oh boy..

I have heard nothing but good things about Woody and fordstrokers.com. I believe that I have read that if you send him your cam, he will degree it in while assembling your motor too. Keep in mind that there are a lot of other parts you will need to get to support a 400-500 hp motor. The 1800 just gets you the shortblock. Do you already have heads? Most will tell you to get AFR heads and they are great heads. I personally like twisted wedge. To get a good idea of what you are looking at, you might want to call/email Ed Curtis at Flowtech induction and see what top end combo he recommends. This would be another case of always hearing good things about his custom cams. However, from what I've heard, Ed is a VERY busy man and can be short on the phone. You prob would be better off emailing him.
Remember, it gets expensive quick. For me, I ran across a deal on a vortech s trim and a gt40 tubular intake I could not turn down. I convinced myself it wouldn't be worth it to put that on a 120k motor. So, while I was trying to figure out where I was going to build a shortblock, I got a $100 summit gift card. Might as well buy heads, right? That way I'm saving $100. Got the heads and realized I needed roller rockers. When doing my research, I found that on twisted wedge heads, most roller rockers are a compromise. However, Harland Sharp makes rockers with specific geometry for TW heads. Made a call to Trick Flow and they told me their rockers will work ok, but the Harland Sharp ones are the proper geometry and much better. In for another $350. Now I find out that the trick flow length pushrods I have are wrong because of the rockers. Rather than hope TF and Harland Sharp are right, I have to get a adjustable pushrod length checker and get the proper length rods. Might as well get a blower cam too. In for another $300. Long story short, I have a room full of parts to put this motor together and a stock mustang. Also, at this point, I have a combo that even at 302 displacement will put me into factory splitting block territory so where do I go? For the time, I'm thinking go 302/keeping the boost down and hope if the block splits, it doesn't take out the heads or cam. I am in no position to get a dart/boss block. To save time and money, go with a naturally aspirated 347(much less front loading on the crank and no parasitic loss from the blower), keep the revs down, and have a good game plan on the rest of the motor(Ed Curtis). Good Luck.

PS. I see Woody sells Jay Allen's custom cams. These are just as good as Ed Curtis's. I'm sure Woody can work with you and Jay to get a top end setup that will exceed your goals too.

 

[strtrcr50]

Fine ill shut it off while i make my pass, but it will be on while im waiting in line

Still not recommended. While you are in line running your a/c, condensation is building up in the climate control system. If the people at the line see your car dripping, they will pull you out of line. I know you're just playing around, but a/c is for the ride there and back. Rolling through the lines, I want my windows down so I can smell the cars running race gas. My wife will never understand track etiquette as far as I know it. Hell, she can't understand why I get up at 6-7 am without an alarm when I'm going to the track.

 

[90lxcoupe]

I know you dont, that has alot more to do with tires and suspension, this car is on 17s, im not going to be running drag radials. its not just for the track its for around town to. anyway these are just goals.. but thanks for that great answer.. it helped me out so much

if you arent gonna run drag radials, have funn trying to make an 11 second pass, its going to be near impossible. if it is a weekend car pick up a set of 275/40/17 mickey thompson drag radials.

as for the rear end, i was thinking a mini spool ? cheap way to lock it up

Spool is a terrible idea for a street driven car, go with an auburn or eaton posi. The spool is race car stuff

 

[rd]

From my 10 year buildup of Old Paint, I would recommend doing the body and chassis stuff first. Put the axles, gears, traction lok, suspension stuff in first. Do the fuel tank pump and line upgrades, etc, and consider adding the roll bar or cage.

I find the engine to be the easiest part to do, and since now I have to do some of the other, I wish I had it already done. That stuff once set up, will support a bunch of engine and power setups.

 

[claytucc3]

I would normaly agree with RD. However, with 200k miles I would have to suggest a motor or at least leave some money laying around for one.