Teach old 5.0 owner new tricks

[DucatiRdr]

Hello all, I am a newbie to Stangnet but not a newbie to the 5.0 scene, although it depends on how you define that.

I bought my 1988 5.0 LX new in 1988 and ordered it with the idea to make it a street weapon: A/C delete, with the only options being premium sound, rear defrost and the 5.0/T-5/3.08 option. Back in 1988 noone really knew what the 5.0 was about and trying to get any modification advice was like pulling teeth. I was able to tweak some things:

cast Hurst shifter
underdrive pulleys
Ford Motorsport (see? I told you this was a while ago!) 1.72 roller rockers
BBK headers, unequal
Ford MAF conversion
65mm throttle body port blended into OEM upper plenum
K&N cone filter mounted directly on the MAF body
polyurethane bushings
Flowmaster 3 chambers w OEM tail pipes
Ford Motorsport wires, Jacobs cap and rotor
MSD 6A ignition

The car ran and looked great from day one until some time back in 1991 when I put it away with 16,000 original miles on the clock. In the mean time I have been distracted by my two great kids, two Ducatis and starting my business practice. I had the car safely put away in a garage owned by a friend of the family and it shared space with an auto body shop. Well, hard times it the body shop and I got a call saying the body guy was going to be evicted and if I cared about the car I should "rescue" it ASAP before anything unfortunate happened to it. SO, except for a brief outing in 1992 to have the cats replaced under a recall, I haven't driven the car. I did rescue it and drove it around my neighborhood (and it ran GREAT) but that has been it. Needless to say it needs some serious help. I have planned/have done the following triage procedures:

> New plug wires (old ones were chewed by mice who made a nest under the upper plenum), cap and rotor
> Oil change
> Radiator fluid change and change belts to Ford Racing blue silicone
> Bleed the brakes
> Change the fuel filter
> Update shifter to Pro 5.0
> Update alternator to PA Performance 130 Amp unit
> Change plugs
> Installed new MSD ignition coil
> Clean and re-oil K&N filter
> Clean MAF sensor
> Change transmission fluid

Is there anything else I may have been missing? Any "while you are in there" tricks? I have done a TON of reading and found Stangnet to be the best forum out there and I am looking forward to having fun here.

Here are some other questions (I did a search but cannot find any specific info):

1) I picked up a set of 1996 Mercury Mountaineer GT-40 heads that need some cleaning but are otherwise in good shape. How do I go about plumbing for the thermactor ports? How much needs to be shaved off of these to maintain my OEM compression?

2) What should it run to have 3.55 gears installed? Way back when I found a brand new Auburn diff for sale and scooped it up. It has been sitting in a box for years and needs a home. A local "differential specialist" quoted me about $700 to install including gears, oil, bearings, shims, tax and labor.

3) Will an SN-95 OEM 70mm MAF fit and work with my OEM computer and 19lb injectors?

4) Can I still comfortably run 19lb injectors with GT-40 heads, 1.72 rockers, OEM cam and an OEM Explorer intake?

5) Is there a reputable machine shop in the Boston area that I can bring the heads to? Way back when everything was experimental and I had to overexplain what I wanted in order for things to turn out right. I am hoping I can bring these somewhere and the shop will know more about what needs to be done than I do.

Sorry for the 1,000 newbie questions! Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Snikt89GT]

2) What should it run to have 3.55 gears installed? Way back when I found a brand new Auburn diff for sale and scooped it up. It has been sitting in a box for years and needs a home. A local "differential specialist" quoted me about $700 to install including gears, oil, bearings, shims, tax and labor.

About 200-300$


4) Can I still comfortably run 19lb injectors with GT-40 heads, 1.72 rockers, OEM cam and an OEM Explorer intake?

Yes

 

[smokin91']

3) Will an SN-95 OEM 70mm MAF fit and work with my OEM computer and 19lb injectors?

YES, 94-95 70mm MAF is a great cheap upgrade.

Thats what I run right now. Just take it to a machine shop and have them machine the flange off so it fits right in the airduct to the airbox. Cost me 25$ to have it machined off.

 

[iwashmycar]

wow...so you havent driven in since '92!??

try and post some pics for us...that is awesome

 

[Nopantz]

How many miles does it exactly have on it?

Cause I'm getting the feeling this car should not be touched and put in a climate controlled garage and locked away. Low mileage stock immaculate 5.0s are very rare now a days....and with time will be worth a great deal of money to those that love these cars....

I am very big into a car was built to be driven so drive it, but 5.0s are becoming a rare breed in stock perfect form...Good luck with her and make us proud

oh yea and

 

[IntenseBlue]

What difference did you notice when you swapped it over to MAF

 

[postalbunny]

What difference did you notice when you swapped it over to MAF

Did the same maf swap, didn't notice any increase in hp but my idle seem seems to be nicer on cold startup.

 

[86bluecobra]

you should go with 3.73's they are such a nice gear. I didn't notice you say you bumped your timing up. intial timing that is. I guess the next mod should be H/C/I.

 

[FastDriver]

First, hello and welcome to Stangnet. It's always nice to see a new member, and you've got a pretty neat story.

I'd suggest gears for the car; they make a night and day difference. 4.10s might be a little much if you like to cruise at a low RPM, but they didn't bother me when I had an n/a 5.0. 3.73s are a little more reasonable on rpm, but not quite as quick off of the line.

 

[DucatiRdr]

HUGE thanks to everyone who replied. I appreciate your help

wow...so you havent driven in since '92!?? try and post some pics for us...that is awesome

That's right. Virtually nothing since 1992. Interesting thing is that it started right up every time I visited it...and there have been times when I had not visited the car in YEARS! When I went to the garage to rescue it I fully didn't expect it to run, but 5 gallons of gas and a fresh battery was all it took. It's a black hatch with NO dings, scratches, dents, etc. The only body damage is some dimples behind the hood from when I opened it in a wind storm back in 1990 and the hood blew out of my hands. I will try to get pics once I give the car a wash.

How many miles does it exactly have on it?

About 16,300. It still has the original Goodyear Eagle Gatorbacks!

Not exactly stock. I remembered a few tweaks after I posted the above list. All of these were done before 1992:

Koni adjustable shocks and struts
Ford Motorsport C springs
Timing to 13*

What difference did you notice when you swapped it over to MAF

Same as PostalBunny - virtually none. Of course we are going back a number of years, like 1990 or so. I did it as a preemptive strike. At that time the limitations of speed density were not really known by tuners and Ford Racing (then Motorsport) was pitching the conversion as the way to go if you were doing anything more than swapping in a K&N panel filter. Looking back I am glad I did it so it is one more thing I don't have to worry about now.

you should go with 3.73's they are such a nice gear.

Hmmm...I drove a car with 3.55 gears and it was great, but I have never tried 3.73s. I have the stock T-5 and really don't want to lose first gear. It is a road car after all and will see mixed driving. What are your experiences with the 3.73s? I don't see myself spending any time at the track. Track days are for my Ducatis. Once you go that route straight line tracks are not as much fun.

Thanks again for your replies!

Here is an update. I started looking over the GT-40 Explorer heads I picked up at the junk yard this AM. I pulled all the plugs out except one, which sheared cleanly at the head. I tried heating it up and twisting the plug from the chamber end, but it just stripped out. Now I have a "sleeve" in the thread/plug hole that is rusted solid. I'm wondering if I should fight with it or return the heads to the junky who talked me into them saying they were in great shape.

 

[86bluecobra]

My car was a 2.73 geared car when i bought it. I went right to 3.73's. They are an awesome street car gear i think. Yes first gear is a little short but really not that bad. I have no problem with it in stop and go traffic.

 

[RBRANDX]

You and I have similar issues...I too had my car in storage for 5 years after being totally rebuilt ( drove me nuts!) but I have finally rescued it, and it seems like a whole new car again! what I woul reccomend for you to reignite your enthusiasm for this car would be....3:73 gears ( best overall for a street driven stang with a man. trans. IMO) 5lug/4wheel big disc upgrade...takes driving the car to another level since you can actualy stop! and opens up a ton of wheel options to "update" the 90's look! next I would opt for a good free flowing induction setup( tons aval nowadays) go ahead and slap a 70mm tb on it Accufab probbably makes the best one but from what I hear Pro. Prod. makes a nice piece on the cheap! ...then top it off with a good exhaust headers back ( dont know where you live, but go with on off road h or x if no emmissions ) now you have a solid foundation for future upgrades and these parts will never need upgraded, even if you slap a supercharger on it ( like I did) all of the above upgrades will work fine with it..I have a ton of parts laying around...let me know if you need anything I will be glad to help you out!