The Next Warhorse: 1993 Mustang LX Autocross Build

[Warhorse Racing]

It’s time to build THE NEXT WARHORSE!

I’ve been autocrossing my 1992 GT, 2000 GT, and 2004 V6 for years, and I’ve been sharing my experience on my Warhorse Racing YouTube channel. I’ve made it my mission to prove that any 79-04 Mustang can be built into a capable and competitive autocross car.

I’ve been fortunate to win several local championships in my V8 and V6 cars. When it came time to decide on a new long-term project, I wanted a challenge. So, I thought outside the box when choosing this Fox Body.

The tips and tech in this series will help anyone building a 79-04 Mustang for autocross. If you have any questions, please ask here or in the comments on YouTube. I’m always happy to help.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7TEuftCP1U&t

 

[7991LXnSHO]

Thanks for the time you put in to share!

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Thanks for the time you put in to share!

I really enjoy making the videos. I just hope they're helping people.

 

[Cheapskate207]

Looks like a clean car! Calypso Green is my favorite foxbody color. I subscribed to you channel and will follow along.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Looks like a clean car! Calypso Green is my favorite foxbody color. I subscribed to you channel and will follow along.

The car is in pretty good shape with relatively low miles. There's some faded paint and a few mechanical issues, but it's a solid car. Thanks for subscribing! I've got some cool mods in store for this long-term project, and I hope people will enjoy watching its progress!

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Before I start tearing into my 1993 2.3L Mustang autocross project, I want to go over what I’m starting with. This video shows all the good and bad aspects of my new pony.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B52g1iJM4Mw

 

[General karthief]

Crazy like a fox on quaaludes!!

 

[ChillPhatCat]

Very cool, I am interested in the outcome. I've been solidly focusing on what I need to do to make mine handle better and weigh less first before any consideration for engine stuff... 351, 302, LS? ( ), Turbo... stay NA? Not 100% which way to go but...

Staying NA is the easiest and letting this just be a fun top down cruiser that can go around a corner is very tempting. At some point I also asked myself why does everything I build have to be "fast"? The only motivator at this point to put in a V8 would be the exhaust note.

 

[Boostedpimp]

This is pretty neat and can't wait to see where it goes

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Very cool, I am interested in the outcome. I've been solidly focusing on what I need to do to make mine handle better and weigh less first before any consideration for engine stuff... 351, 302, LS? ( ), Turbo... stay NA? Not 100% which way to go but...

Staying NA is the easiest and letting this just be a fun top down cruiser that can go around a corner is very tempting. At some point I also asked myself why does everything I build have to be "fast"? The only motivator at this point to put in a V8 would be the exhaust note.

The first phase of my 2.3L project will be weight reduction. I'm hoping to get about 500 lbs. out of the car before adding the major suspension mods (they will add weight). My next few videos should help you decide what you're willing to remove from your car to get it lighter.

If you watch the "Budget Autocross" playlist and the "ThoroughbRED" Suspension videos on my channel, you'll get a good start on making your car handle better. If you ever have any questions about suspension, I'm always happy to help.

Horsepower doesn't matter as much for autocross. My 220 hp 2004 V6 was faster than a lot of V8 Mustangs at my local events. A car with the right suspension and proper suspension adjustments can be very competitive.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

This is pretty neat and can't wait to see where it goes

Thanks! It's going to be a fun project.

 

[ChillPhatCat]

The first phase of my 2.3L project will be weight reduction. I'm hoping to get about 500 lbs. out of the car before adding the major suspension mods (they will add weight). My next few videos should help you decide what you're willing to remove from your car to get it lighter.

If you watch the "Budget Autocross" playlist and the "ThoroughbRED" Suspension videos on my channel, you'll get a good start on making your car handle better. If you ever have any questions about suspension, I'm always happy to help.

Horsepower doesn't matter as much for autocross. My 220 hp 2004 V6 was faster than a lot of V8 Mustangs at my local events. A car with the right suspension and proper suspension adjustments can be very competitive.

Oh yeah absolutely. My previous stang was a geared ‘00 GT… It moved out quite well. But I took it to an AutoX event just to see what it was about and there was a Miata and a NA MR2 mopping up. It was an eye opener for sure.

So far I’ve pulled out the defunct AC stuff from under the hood and it’s got a cylindrical air filter straight on the TB instead of that big huge air box. And when I bought it already didn’t have the jack or spare. I’d say it’s a good 80 lb lighter than stock at the moment.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Oh yeah absolutely. My previous stang was a geared ‘00 GT… It moved out quite well. But I took it to an AutoX event just to see what it was about and there was a Miata and a NA MR2 mopping up. It was an eye opener for sure.

So far I’ve pulled out the defunct AC stuff from under the hood and it’s got a cylindrical air filter straight on the TB instead of that big huge air box. And when I bought it already didn’t have the jack or spare. I’d say it’s a good 80 lb lighter than stock at the moment.

It's amazing how much weight is hiding in these cars. And there are so many lightweight parts available. I'm really excited to see how light I can get mine, and how it feels out on course.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

It’s time to start taking weight out of my 1993 2.3L Mustang autocross car. There’s a lot of weight hiding in the interior of Fox Body Mustangs that’s free or inexpensive to remove. In this video, I strip out the interior pieces that won’t be going back into the car and weigh the OEM interior parts that can be swapped for lighter alternatives.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lgAEjurJ1o&t

 

[ChillPhatCat]

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the zone 1 info. I just acquired a Ranger header for my car... piece one of the exhaust. Supposed to be worlds lighter than the OEM iron manifold. My car was already stripped of everything but the carpet in the trunk so I've already got zone 3 taken care of.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

Thank you! The Ranger header should be about 14 lbs. lighter than the OEM manifold. I've started taking weight out of Zone 1 and I will put together a video about what parts I removed and how much they weigh soon.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

Thank you! The Ranger header should be about 14 lbs. lighter than the OEM manifold. I've started taking weight out of Zone 1 and I will put together a video about what parts I removed and how much they weigh soon.

14 lbs. seems like a lot. I did that swap on mine. It is lighter, but I'd estimate 5 lbs difference at most.

 

[Warhorse Racing]

14 lbs. seems like a lot. I did that swap on mine. It is lighter, but I'd estimate 5 lbs difference at most.

I've been working on removing weight from under the hood for an upcoming video. According to my digital scale, the Ranger header is 13.9 lbs. lighter than the OEM manifold. I always weigh everything 3 times to make certain I'm providing an accurate weight. The OEM header on my car weighs 22.9 lbs., the Ranger header weighs 9 lbs.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

I'd be interested to see that video when you post it. For reference, swapping from a steel hatch to a fiberglass hatch was about a 20 lbs. weight savings on a pretty large part when I measured it.

Still, I'll be interested to see your data on it.

 

[ChillPhatCat]

For what it’s worth there appear to be several variants of the ranger “header”. Some are probably heavier than others. I bought the thing mainly to clean up the engine compartment cheaply… Any weight out of the front is just an added bonus.