Fox Upgrades

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

Just bought an 89 Fox, curious as to what I should upgrade first. Any suggestions?

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

Steven Pech said:
Just bought an 89 Fox, curious as to what I should upgrade first. Any suggestions?

Every one will probably say to get gears. I have 355 in mine and they are nice. My old one had 373s and I planned on putting 410s in my old auto 95 but never got around to it. Is it a 5 speed or auto?

Even though it wont make you faster, short throws make the car fun to drive. I recently changed out my old worn out hurst shifter for a pro 5.0 and the firm and notchy shifts makes the transmission feel "solid". I got mine used and you could probably get one for cheap too.

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

OneWheelPeel said:
Every one will probably say to get gears. I have 355 in mine and they are nice. My old one had 373s and I planned on putting 410s in my old auto 95 but never got around to it. Is it a 5 speed or auto?

Even though it wont make you faster, short throws make the car fun to drive. I recently changed out my old worn out hurst shifter for a pro 5.0 and the firm and notchy shifts makes the transmission feel "solid". I got mine used and you could probably get one for cheap too.

Right on right on. It's a 5 speed

90sickfox · Dec 28, 2015

What kind of car do you want to have....street...strip...mild...?

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

90sickfox said:
What kind of car do you want to have....street...strip...mild...?

What's the difference between the 3

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

Street = daily driver
Strip = drag car
mild = somewhere in between

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

Definitely mild

90sickfox · Dec 28, 2015

Street is for daily driver type builds....strip would be drag car....mild would be near stock. The first thing I usually do is decide what purpose I need the car to perform in. Suspension set ups and spring rates differ between the three. Anytime I buy a new used car the first thing I do is change all the fluids....antifreeze...oil...power steering....rear diff. and trans...depending on mileage. Upgrading the alternator to 3g is a great first mod. Full length subframe connectors with seat brackets is also a great first mod. Everything else really depends on what you want out of your car.

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

I'd go with 373s. I wish I would of went with those. Also look up heads, cams, and intakes for these cars.

For heads you could look into used explorer/gt40 heads. These are essentially the same heads of 93 cobras and can be found at junkyards for cheap. For more power you could look into new aluminum heads like sve heads from latemodel restoration or trickflows heads. I hear alot about afr heads too.

For intakes you could again find the explore/gt40/cobra intake at a junkyard or you could look into trickflow, holley, or edelbrock intakes.

For cams you can look into the "alphabet cams". These are ford racing cams. They have an e303, b303, f303, ect.
trickflow and anderson also have cams you look into.

Also you could look into headers. You could get short tube or longtubes. Longtubes are supposed to help with torque but require more work to fit them in sometimes.

Hopefully all of this can get you looking in the right direction so you can decide what you want!

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

90sickfox said:
Street is for daily driver type builds....strip would be drag car....mild would be near stock. The first thing I usually do is decide what purpose I need the car to perform in. Suspension set ups and spring rates differ between the three. Anytime I buy a new used car the first thing I do is change all the fluids....antifreeze...oil...power steering....rear diff. and trans...depending on mileage. Upgrading the alternator to 3g is a great first mod. Full length subframe connectors with seat brackets is also a great first mod. Everything else really depends on what you want out of your car.

I feel you man, speaking of the alternator, I just put in a new battery and the meter is still reading in the red. Could it be the alternator?

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

90sickfox said:
Street is for daily driver type builds....strip would be drag car....mild would be near stock. The first thing I usually do is decide what purpose I need the car to perform in. Suspension set ups and spring rates differ between the three. Anytime I buy a new used car the first thing I do is change all the fluids....antifreeze...oil...power steering....rear diff. and trans...depending on mileage. Upgrading the alternator to 3g is a great first mod. Full length subframe connectors with seat brackets is also a great first mod. Everything else really depends on what you want out of your car.

Along with the subframes I would reinforce your torque box. The previous owner ripped mine out with drag radials and that was not a cheap fix... Reinforce it now for insurance!

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

Is there any welding involved with the reinforcement

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

Yes and no. Some kits you can bolt in and give you the option to weld it. Personally I'd weld it to get its full strength.

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

Right on, I'll look into that

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

Steven Pech said:
Right on, I'll look into that

Mustang Torque Box Reinforcement Kit - Upper & Lower (79-04)
This is what im talking about.

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

The price isn't bad man.

Steven Pech · Dec 28, 2015

What site was that off of?

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

And if you had to pay someone to weld them in it probably wouldn't be too expensive. especially if you bolt it on first then had them weld it up. Then after that you could run a sticky tire and not worry about damaging them.

OneWheelPeel · Dec 28, 2015

Steven Pech said:
What site was that off of?

late model restoration Ford Mustang Performance Parts & Restoration – LMR.com

A5literMan · Dec 28, 2015

LMR also offers a Stangnet members discount. 6% off. Go to the front page of this site and look up vendors. Find late model restoration and the discount details are in there. Also word(s) of advise-concentrate on chassis reinforcements,brakes,suspension, etc first before going for more power. These cars were lacking in those areas with stock level performance. Adding power just increases the "problem" areas.

Fox Upgrades

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Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

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Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

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At least it is lumpy...

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