wake up a 94 5.0

[irishale]

Just went and looked at a '94 5.0, 5 speed. body and interior are in great shape. running gear is great too, but it seems VERY anemic compared to my '88 gt convertible 5 speed (stock).

How hard/easy is it to wake one of these puppies up to run like my '88? Need to know soon before this deal gets away.

Thanks!

 

[nmcgrawj]

Unless something is wrong with the 94....there is not a night and day difference between it and the 88 GT to "wake up" to.

That said, $500 for an explorer motor from car-part.com (gt40p heads/explorer intake = cobra intake) plus a new cam will give you a pretty decent runner for the $ spent.

 

[Adam95GT]

Just went and looked at a '94 5.0, 5 speed. body and interior are in great shape. running gear is great too, but it seems VERY anemic compared to my '88 gt convertible 5 speed (stock).

How hard/easy is it to wake one of these puppies up to run like my '88? Need to know soon before this deal gets away.

Thanks!

Buy it and clean the maf...

 

[Chythar]

Adam is probably right - there are several common issues that are really easy to fix and "wake up" a 94-95 Mustang. One of those is the MAF sensor, which can get dirty over time and then the car will run like crap. This can happen if the car has a K&N filter and the current owner over-oiled the filter.

I remember reading somewhere that the 94-95 GT tune was a bit more conservative than the fox 'Stangs. I think it was done to reduce warranty claims or something like that. Re-tune the computer and the only advantage a fox will have is a bit less weight in the chassis.

 

[RIO5.0]

Change the mid pipe, gear it and do an intake...it'll wake it right up...
Stock gearing is the biggest reason its a mutt.

 

[BlackVert]

gears and a good lower intake will wake it right up

 

[revhead347]

Rip out the donkey dick, and bump the timing to 16 degrees.

Kurt

 

[irishale]

Thanks for the input... what's wild is the car no longer has cats, it has bbk headers, an H pipe, KN filter, and SLP loudmouths with resonators.... my stock '88 has the 3.08 rear end, and the only mod is the air silencer removed, it's a way faster car. SOTP-wise, anyway, it's not even close.

Timing was my first thought, but not sure they'd let me wrench on it for a few minutes to see if that's it. The body and interior are awesome, though. Hard decision to make, because I'd have to live with the engine for a couple of years until it's turn in the project list.

 

[revhead347]

If it's a little low on steam, it's likely to just be a minor issue. The only thing that I could recommend is a compression test before buying. That will limit out any major engine problems. But they are unlikely. Old 5.0s and SNs both put down about 190rwhp pretty reliably. The only major difference is that the timing curve is less aggressive on the SN, and the car weighs about 150lbs more.

Kurt

 

[irishale]

Thanks again for the input. I've driven 4 SN95 Gt's now, and they all have been more than a little sluggish compared to my '88... almost to the point of feeling like a V6.

Again, thank you for the input... got a decision to make now.

 

[GTA_V6_Mustang]

Thanks again for the input. I've driven 4 SN95 Gt's now, and they all have been more than a little sluggish compared to my '88... almost to the point of feeling like a V6.

Again, thank you for the input... got a decision to make now.

As stated more then a few times its probably just a maintenance issue because with my old 94 I would pull on foxes equal to mine mod for mod. Even some geared foxes. And funny thing was those people who would drive mine would say they didnt understand because mine didnt feel as fast but it was when we would race. If you like it and the drivetrain is solid get it. You also have to remember the SN is a much better riding car. Much stiffer and quieter and solid so its not going to feel like golf kart on steroids. Its much more refined.

 

[Adam95GT]

Thanks again for the input. I've driven 4 SN95 Gt's now, and they all have been more than a little sluggish compared to my '88... almost to the point of feeling like a V6.

Again, thank you for the input... got a decision to make now.

Stick with the faster fox save the slow SN95's for us!

 

[nmcgrawj]

Thanks again for the input. I've driven 4 SN95 Gt's now, and they all have been more than a little sluggish compared to my '88... almost to the point of feeling like a V6.

Again, thank you for the input... got a decision to make now.

lol, as most commented on.... your sn95s must have something wrong with them. There is NO way a stock 88 GT vert (the absolute heaviest fox you could buy) makes a stock 5.0 sn95 feel like a v6.


Mod for mod...stock for stock....its a drivers race. My buddy had a 89 GT. We both were stock. Both were sticks. Whoever launched better, shifted better....won. He got gears. He started winning a LOT more lol. I got gears...back to being a drivers race.


There is just nothing about a 5.0 sn95 or a 88 GT that makes it that much faster. Same motor. Same trans. And the weights are going to be very close...i cant see the 88 vert having an advantage there.



So again, you may not want to decide on what car to buy based on the cars performance that are 15+ years old. None of them, unless they are cared for, are going to run how they "should". And in this today and age....how fast your stock 88 vert was, or how fast the sn95s are....doesnt matter. The new 4 cylinders are gonna spank both of them And the new v6s wont even race.


Buy on looks....they both have pretty much an identical potential of where the mods can take them.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

SPARK

It's all in the spark calibraiton, and some added functionality for '94/'95's which adds a tip-in spark retard. The intent was to reducte warrenty on T5's. The result is when you stab the throttle, it pulls a bunch of spark to reduce torque, then it ramps back in. Keep in mind this happens during every gear shift if you lift on the gas pedal. It gives the car a sluggish feel and generates a poor pedal response, with sort of a spongey rev up. Depending on the gear, that spark retard can be held through the torque peak which really slows you down. Both of these can be fixed with the right tuner (TWEECER or similar) or a chip, and will improve the driveability considerably. The base spark is also on the conservative side, and uses a more complex spark strategy than the infamous A9L. It's not hard to fix or improve, but it's a bit more delicate than the older 5.0's and their simpler ECU strategy.

 

[Black Stampede]

As others have said do NOT overlook cleaning the MAF. When I got my car years and years ago it was slow as dirty. My brother kicked my butt with his chipped VW golf 1.8t. I could dump the clutch and it would spin like 7 feet and hook. I eventually cleaned the maf and I am serious when I say it literally felt like 50 horsepower it was that noticeable.

 

[Chern_889]

Buy it and clean the maf...

What he said

Adam is probably right - there are several common issues that are really easy to fix and "wake up" a 94-95 Mustang. One of those is the MAF sensor, which can get dirty over time and then the car will run like crap. This can happen if the car has a K&N filter and the current owner over-oiled the filter.

I remember reading somewhere that the 94-95 GT tune was a bit more conservative than the fox 'Stangs. I think it was done to reduce warranty claims or something like that. Re-tune the computer and the only advantage a fox will have is a bit less weight in the chassis.

The dirty/oily K&N will get you every time

As others have said do NOT overlook cleaning the MAF. When I got my car years and years ago it was slow as dirty. My brother kicked my butt with his chipped VW golf 1.8t. I could dump the clutch and it would spin like 7 feet and hook. I eventually cleaned the maf and I am serious when I say it literally felt like 50 horsepower it was that noticeable.

exact same thing happened to me when i first bought my car, got worked by a buddys 2.2l cavalier! thought originally the cats where plugged shut, turned out they where gutted, so did some reading, cleaned the 1/4" of oily, girtty dirt ***** off of the MAF wires and it literally felt like over 100HP on the butt dyno. mine was bad enough it was setting off the CE light for "lean on left/right 02 bank"


Buy the car, you'll never wanna drive in the old styled 88 again!