Performance Suggestions?

save up. 500 wont get you very far unless you want to dig some exploder parts out of the JY.
personally I would save up another grand or two and drop a SC in there.

Torque converter. It's the best mod I did for my car.

I dont know all of what you have done.


Stiffen the chassis: subframes, strut brace, and k member brace.

Tranny stuff: TQ converter, shift kit.

Engine: bigger MAF, 65mm tb. Thats about all you can do at this point with out tearing into the engine.

stiffen up that vert chassis for sure! subframe connectors and some upper and lower control arms!

cenok is family said:

stiffen up that vert chassis for sure! subframe connectors and some upper and lower control arms!

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I second that unless...

You don't have a performance exhaust. You didn't mention any exhaust mods in you sig. If not, Bassani BX Cat-Back all the way.

The issue with subframe connectors is that to be worth anything, they HAVE to be welded in. If you can't weld, or don't have a buddy that can, you have to get a shop to do it for you, and they will likely charge 200$ish, as I found out the hard way. Subframe connectors are a MUST for a convertible, so start doing your research now. If you know you have to go the shop route, start calling around, not all places will do aftermarket stuff. I must have had to call 5 places before I found someone who was willing and had the right equipment. Also, you want to buy the good stuff. I have Maximum Motorsports stuff on my car, and those things are SOLID.

I'd say go for subframe connectors. Though it might not be something that you can feel, see, or hear, its really a mod that prolongs the life of your car. I had a buddy that went to long without them, and once his car got to running about 300 HP, he cracked his windshield launching on drag radials. That car was a coupe, too. He since installed a full Kenny Brown suspension. And then shot it with 200+ hp nitrous and proceeded to break other things. That's a different story, though.

On a budget? do the junkyard upgrade...

Gears - 87-88 T-Bird Turbo Coupe rear axle - disc brakes and 3.55 or 3.73 gears in one package for $125-$300. Add another $100-$200 or so to complete the brake upgrade.

94-95 Mustang GT MAF - $40-$100. It is 70 MM instead of the stock 55 MM on regular stangs built prior to 94. It uses a slip on duct on the side that goes to the throttle body and a 4 bolt flange on the other. You need a flange adapter to fit the stock slip on air ducting that goes to the air box. Wiring plugs right in with no changes. *1 *2

95-97 Ford Explorer intake manifold & throttle body $150-$300. The intake manifold flows 220 CFM +, much better than stock. Throttle body is 65 MM, bigger than the 60 MM on stock stangs. I got a 96 with EGR passages that match the stock setup, so my smog gear works just like factory. You’ll need a 65 MM EGR spacer & new gaskets for $65-$90 so you have a place to mount the EGR & throttle linkage.

3G alternator from 94-95 Mustangs or other Ford. $20-$120. A must have to make the electrical system work like it should or if you have an electric fan. You’ll need a 4 gauge power wire and a 125-135 amp fuse to go with it about $15- $30.

Lincoln MK VIII electric fan -$40-$160. Free up some HP by not having to drive the stock fan. The 3G alternator upgrade is a must have prerequisite before you do the MK VIII fan. You won’t have enough electrical power if you don’t do the 3G upgrade.

Aluminum driveshaft: (courtesy of shawn13) It needs to be from a 92-93-94 Aerostar AWD. It measures 45 ½” center of the front U-joint to center of the rear U-joint. You will need the U-joint, part #PUJ353 from NAPA. The Canadian NAPA pat number is 1-0134BF. It should bolt right up after the U-joint swap.
Note: This driveshaft is not an exact duplicate of the Ford Racing part. It is 3” in diameter while the Ford Racing part is 3.5” in diameter.

*1.) Metal flange adapter Kurtz Kustomz Motorsports, Inc. KKM Buy the TR70 for $44.95. Or spend some time on eBay looking for one that may fit.
Try AutoZone and ask for 81413 - Spectre / 3 in. Aluminum Intake Mass Air Flow Sensor Adapter at $12.00. You may have to order it online.

*2.) MAF & sensor interchange
The 94-95 Mustang 5.0 MAF & sensor is also found on:
1995-94 Mustang 3.8L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Crown Victoria 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1995-94 Mustang, Mustang Cobra 5.0L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Town Car 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
1994-92 Grand Marquis 4.6L F2VF-12B579-A2A,
Evidently the –A1A, -A2A, AA, etc. on the end of the part number is a minor variant that did not change the operating specs. You should be able to ignore it and have everything work good.

NikwoaC said:

I had a buddy that went to long without them, and once his car got to running about 300 HP, he cracked his windshield launching on drag radials.

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That's pretty bad ass.

200$ is a lot!, I thought it'd be cheaper than that.

magnj said:

That's pretty bad ass.

200$ is a lot!, I thought it'd be cheaper than that.

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Yea, I had someone tell me 100$ max. I believe the shop guy said "maybe 150 but no more than 200". He ended up charging me 200 anyway, and I had to wait 2 days past when he said it would be done. Maybe it was just a bad experience, but I'm sure I'm not the only one to pay 200$ and get slow service for sub frame connector installation.

I paid with a 12pack of Coronas and of course I drank like 6..LOL

i didn't have access to my cousin's shop and welder so i had to take my car to a random shop to have my sub's welded in. friggin 4 hours and $300 later, i got my car back. i had urethane upper control arm axle bushings pressed in as well. that's what made it go so high. the shop that did it (able racing in midwest city, ok) was a bunch of tool sheds. they didnt even install the lower torque box plate reinforcements that came with my full length subframe connectors because they considered it a seperate part! even though they came with the connectors! not only that, they had to remove my uppers completely to press in the bushings...when reinstalling my uppers, they wouldn't put my UPR uppers in for me! they were trying to charge me extra even though they had the uppers completely out already! never taking my car to them again! sorry for the ramble, that just got me mad again...

magnj said:

That's pretty bad ass.

200$ is a lot!, I thought it'd be cheaper than that.

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That's because it is cheaper than that. Somebody must have saw that other guy coming. Before I took mine to a shop I loosely bolted up the subs and grinded where the welds would be needed. Then I tightened up the bolts and drove the car into the shop. They charged me $60 to weld them up.

First off, the shop needs to have a hoist you can drive onto that lifts the car from under the tires. This will prevent the chassis from twisting before installing them. Secondly the shop needs to have a mig welder.

When shopping for subs, since you have a convertible, look past the standard length connectors and go straight for the full length subframe connectors.

That's all I have to say about subframe connectors.

Is your car a daily driver? If not, my guess is you don't plan to put many miles, if any, on it this winter. So throw on a cat-back exhaust and maybe some unequal length shorty headers if you have any money left over and do the subframe connectors this spring.

shootshescores said:

That's because it is cheaper than that. Somebody must have saw that other guy coming. Before I took mine to a shop I loosely bolted up the subs and grinded where the welds would be needed. Then I tightened up the bolts and drove the car into the shop. They charged me $60 to weld them up.

First off, the shop needs to have a hoist you can drive onto that lifts the car from under the tires. This will prevent the chassis from twisting before installing them. Secondly the shop needs to have a mig welder.

When shopping for subs, since you have a convertible, look past the standard length connectors and go straight for the full length subframe connectors.

That's all I have to say about subframe connectors.

Is your car a daily driver? If not, my guess is you don't plan to put many miles, if any, on it this winter. So throw on a cat-back exhaust and maybe some unequal length shorty headers if you have any money left over and do the subframe connectors this spring.

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Man, I shopped around and did research, so don't act like I went into it blind. The shop where I got my work done was very meticulous and thorough, but they did charge me quite a bit. Like you can see above, I’m not the only one to pay 200+ to have SFCs welded in. The shop where I had mine done was slow, but they showed me the car after one was welded in to see if I liked it, they put it on a special chassis lift to make sure it (the car) was straight before they welded them in, and then chased the whole job with an underbody coating to make sure their welds didn’t rust. Yea, I didn’t do any prep work for the shop, but maybe you also just got lucky on the price…

get some subframes fo sho!!! they really do make the car feel more like a "car" and not a sheet of plywood with a 302..

$500 wont get you much. buy a case of beer and take it easy

DEFINITELY go with some subframes. IMO, that should be one of the first things done to ANY Fox body, and even more so with a convertible.

As others have said, stiffen that twist-o-flex chassis up!

Subframes (welded), K-member brace, and then strut tower brace. Car will feel tremendously different. Plus you'll be prolonging its life (as far as gaps and cracks, etc.).

Gotta be done before anything else.