1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Ok, this oughta be fun. Let's see who gets closest to the ET and MPH i'm going to run in the 1/4 mile - i have probably a month or two realistically before i run so i'll post when i get a few runs in.

I'm going to run at pacific raceways in Kent, washington (state). approximately 600 feet above sea level.
specs:
full interior and full 2.5" exhaust, no a/c, manual windows
3.73 gears, trac-lock, 4 cyl. springs, 90/10 struts, electric fan, stock rear control arms, 26x8-15 M&H slicks (questionable - bought for $40 used). Stock T-5 transmission
GT40p heads, F-303 cam, 1 5/8 headers, 600 cfm Holley, Weiand Stealth intake manifold, MSD billet distributor, MSD ignition.

Any questions?

Also, bonus is what will it run with a 100 horsepower shot of nitrous?

Assuming nothing goes wrong i'm hoping for at least 12.90 and/or 106 mph.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I figured right around 14 seconds, therefore voted 13.50-13.99 because I hoped it would be slightly below 14.0, say 13.90ish.

Rev

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I give it 13.8 with slicks

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I say mid 13's on slicks (without the giggle gas). The 1st run with nitrous, I think you may grenade your tranny. I hope not, but, watch out for it, T5's arent well known for taking abuse.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I have to be honest, I don't have a clue, but if I would have to guess, I would think upper 90's...I'm not sure if you could make 106, but I'm hoping you do! Good luck! It's nice to meet you!!
I'll be looking forward to hearing how ya did!

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Hi Bigred!!
Love your license plate! It's funny! well, I guess I don't "love" it.. I'm female, so well, you know, tee-hee! It's funny anyway!!

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Hi there Hood Stripe!
Nice car! Is it yours??
nice to meet you! :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I wish I could say that was my liscense plate. Hell, I wish I could say I still had that stang. But, it's not, and I dont. I had a buddy touch up the pic, and he changed the plate for me. But, thanks anyways.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Sure! It's funny anyway!!
We wouldn't be allowed to have that plate here in IL because it's offensive, but I've seen that type of plate in California...
Funny how different states are so different, ain't it??
have a great day!! nice to talk to ya!! :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I think you should be able to hit your goals and with the 100 shot of nitrous you might be able to hit a high 11!

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

You car should run some mid 12's on motor with ease.


All you people saying high 13's, WTF are you smoking????? Give me a break. My car ran 13.5's @ 97 with just slicks, gears, h-pipe, and a shifter. STOCK heads, STOCK cam, STOCK intake, STOCK headers, STOCK maf, STOCK throttle body.....stall I continue? It went high 12's with the mods listed in my sig on motor.

Bottom line is, that if you have a heads/cam/intake car and you can't get out of the 13's take a look at your floor board.........it's the pedel on the right cup cake.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Hi pny-p51... ironic I also have an 01GT identical to the one in BigRed's avatar... just not the plate :p

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

lmao rofl, that's an awesome quote :D

Update: the last three days - Installed electric fan kit, fixed coolant leak and replaced t-stat, installed 90/10 struts and 4 cyl. front springs, removed front sway bar, installed and rewired Ford High-torque starter, removed transmission and clutch - found that bellhousing was cracked, pressure plate distorted and that clutch rivets were worn into flywheel not to mention it was the small 10" clutch anyway. so i have to buy all that for the later model 10.5" clutch setup and i'm also gonna get a short throw shifter (not sure what yet). I also installed a metric canadian speedometer but it's making a clicking noise so i may try to venture into the innards and fix it.
I still need to replace the windshield, install battery hold down, replace rear springs (possibly get new control arms), install new clutch/bellhousing etc., and countless other small things that have been neglected by the previous owner for years.
all in all i think i may have an hour or two more of work :rolleyes: .....wait more like 21 hours more work :(

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

hey man let me know when u race, i live in puyallup would love too see ya, maybe me take a few tries myself.......p.s. anyone here have the mac short tube headers? i just tried to install and the passenger side is lodged ontop of the engine mount any suggestions or concerns? please hurry i need to drive to monmtana next week, in a WORKING car

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I think around a 13 flat all motor, low 12's with the funny gas. Your track is almost at sea level I think thats what is throwing people off. Around here you will be lucky to get mid to high 13's. Albuquerque NM (5400ft)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

The almighty tireburner has spoken. It must be gospel. :rolleyes:

84LX89GT - How much experience do you have at the strip?

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I agree wholehartedly with tireburner. Even though the F cam is a mismatch with the GT40P heads and Stealth intake, the combination should still run a lot better than stock.

The T-5 is suspect as bigredgt pointed out, though I'd happily take a stock Borg Warner T-5 (back before that craphole company known as Tremec bought them out) over a stock Tremec any day. Provided the slicks aren't shot and the car makes it down the track, high 13's would signal some major tuning issues. It should be in the 12's.

An 85GT with very light mods and a good driver can easily pull off mid/low 14s.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I attended for bracket racing 10 times last year (incl. test 'n tune) with a Police Package '97 Crown Victoria
I raced my 89 GT about 3 times, my '87 cherokee about 2 times, my '98 Cobra once (see other post).
I think i do alright, with street tires i got my '98 Cobra to a 13.84@103.41, my '89 GT w/slicks i believe was 13.30 at 102mph - it had stock heads, cam and bottom end. I'm not the best and i'm not the worst, i've never missed a shift and i know how to read the timeslip and adjust what i'm doing.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Aloha... I think that if you leave your gears at 3.73's - you're not going to be taking full advantage of your other mods.

You should really consider 4.11's. 4.56's might be too deep. But the 4.11's will help get you closer to where you want.

JMHO... Mahalo

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I agree, i bought this thing with the mods it has now and i'm probably going to be "fine tuning" this thing. In other words undoing all the half arsed mods that have been done to it. When i first got it, it had lowering springs with KYB struts and shocks and I think someone wanted to use it as a daily driver. The heater core is no longer hooked up, the A/C is gone, the wiring for the MSD and other accessories are horrible, most of the gauges don't work, the ones that do are inaccurate probably because of a ground issue (turn on lights the gauges change values). So i have my work cut out for me, not a big deal though as long as i focus on one thing at a time. Since it has 3.73 gears my 26" diameter slicks should work fine although, i agree it does need more gear. I was hoping to see the mph in the 1/4 with the nitrous on and change gear from there.
I'm a glutton for punishment so i guess this GT is a perfect match for me.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Haha! I've only been doing 10 years so I surely don't know what I'm talking about LOL. :D

I'll give it 13.5 with slicks now that I saw my friend run a 8.9 1/8 without drag radials/gears/heads. He has the f303 (why I dunno) and stock heads with an exploder intake.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

And I say that you've been doing it wrong for 10 years if you can't get a heads, cam, intake car into the 12's.


I ran 13.5's with a basicly stock car. Stock heads, cam, intake, tb, maf, and headers.

The man's own 89 GT ran 13.30's with a soft 1.82 60 foot with stock heads and a stock cam. You telling me that with heads, a cam, and a few bolt ons that he couldn't pick up the .4's needed to run 12's?


I was in the high 12's with the mods in my sig on motor and mid 11's on the kit.......E7 heads...stock cam. Drew Lyons (FiveOhPatrol) was running 12's with E7's and a B-303 cam a few years ago.


The only way this car will run 13's is if he flat out can't drive or the track is a ice rink.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Ummm... Not to be over the top, but I'm sure with your 21 year old W E A L T H of knowlege you're probably correct. :rolleyes:

High 12's... It's possible but not likely, and have you ever even seen a set of gt40p heads? Do you know what they came off of? Do you know how much a car running those heads dyno's at? Do you know that F-cam is probably a slight mis match for that set up? I'm taking into consideration average guy and average car...

Ice the crap out of the intake, have a 40 degree night with no humidity and pray the strip sprays lots of track bite and I'll show you high 12's with that combo.

PS: please don't PM me with how you've been drag racing since you rode a tricycle, how you're an ASE certified tire technician, how you're dad used to hang out with Ozzy Osbourne or anything else... I don't argue on websites because there is no point to it and I have to go back to work now building a database :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I ran 12.80's @ 107 with Gt40P heads, on drag radials with a 1.8 60 ft. And I don't have anything that is even close to drag suspension, with suspension and slicks theirs probably almost another half second or so.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Nice attempt at a cheap shot.

You’re associating age with experience. They don’t always go hand in hand.

What kind of mods do you have on your car? How many of them did you do yourself?

I completely removed the motor, transmission, rear-end, and suspension from my car (see updated sig) and upgraded or replaced just about every part. This is my 3rd mustang I’ve done this to.

How many AOD to 5-speed swaps have you done? I’ve done four.

How man H/C/I swaps have you done? I’ve done many?

How many nitrous installs have you done? I’ve done ten or eleven?

How many blower installs? I’ve done five.

I would say I know myself around a mustang pretty well.



Also how often do you race your car at the drag strip? My car is there a bare minimum of once a week, often times two.



And I ask you, have you ever see a set of E7 heads??? They flow a dismal 150cfm intake at .500 lift and 123 on the exhaust.

Oh the other hand GT-40P heads flow 195cfm intake and 142 exhaust at .500 lift.

I would say that 45cfm on the intake, and 19 cfm on the exhaust was worth some serious horsepower over the stock heads.

True the F-cam IS a mis-match, however it does more good than harm in this case. It's still going to make more power than the stock cam.

My car ran mid 13.5 @ 97 mph with only tires, gears, a shifter, a h-pipe, and roller rockers.

Suggesting that a car with much better heads, intake, cam, ignition, and a drag orientated suspension can only run mid 13's is crazy to say the least.

I'm not saying you can baby the car down the track can run 12's. You're going to have to launch it fairly hard and power shift it, but 12's should be easily attainable.



Do that and I'll show you a mid 12 second car.

I also try to refrain from arguing over the internet. I end up spending much of my time explaining things to amateurs such as yourself.


Have a nice day :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

bs......it takes a supercharged 347 stroker to run those kinds of numbers :rolleyes:

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I'm going to set up a redundant note here... but what gears are you guys talking about running...??? It makes a difference... I have to say this, because it's about the only thing I've done and can do... already updated my '06 GT rear with 4.10's and an Eaton E-locker... I would have liked to go with the 4.30's, but couldn't get a decent locker/limslip unless I went 4.10's or 4.56's.

Once I break the 8.8... I'll go BIGGER>...... :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Tireburner, Your posts are stupid and rude and have been for 5 years. Look at the one here that 69Bronco started for ex. There is no need to post about how long you've ridden a tricycle, most people here are very experienced and sometimes we disagree. I don't know everything dude and when someone calls me on it I don't write out a thesis... no one cares. Enough. Over. :D

Soooo, okay, back to the subject at hand, 84LX89GT when ya gonna run that bad boy??? I reread back where ya doing some suspension work :cool:

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Yea, I can tell you contribute a lot to the site.....all 371 post of wisdom. My thousands of posts in the tech forums have been of no use :(


It's not my fault the guy can't spell Cobra for god's sake. If you can't spell a simple word like Cobra, I'm sorry, your not going to get a lot of respect from me.


I didn't write a thesis, I simply argue facts and points. You said the car would only run mid 13's I offered flow numbers and examples of cars that had run mid 13's or faster with less mods. You see to just like to point out that I am "young" and that I am "stupid" or "rude." People with baseless arguments often do this.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Was :rolleyes:


Okay you win tireburner163. You know what you're talking about and your 1000's of posts aren't stupid... I'm but an amateur with a measily 370 posts and need to have things explained to me, by you, my hero and demigod. Let's hold hands, sing Kumbaya :D

Can we move on now?

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Dude... you're way off base here, and you're digging yourself a hole. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but you don't have much of a chance of legitimately debating this.

GT-40P heads are VERY good heads if you're not trying to get your weekend warrior above 110mph or run mid 12's in the quarter. They respond very well to a port job, and the flow more than enough to be matched up to a nice low lift aftermarket cam. As everybody has pointed out, the F-303 cam (which is the best of the alphabet cams in general) probably has too much lift for the GT-40P heads to truly use at maximum efficiency (GT40-P heads actually drop a little flow between .500 and .550 lift from the factory), but that doesn't negate the fact they are far better than stock.

I don't know what you have/haven't seen, and I don't care. There are people on this site that have put E7 headed cars into the 12's without any forced induction or nitrous. There are witnesses to stock fox bodies running high 13's right off the factory floor with bumped timing (not that more than a very few can duplicate that)

Good driving can mean more than a lot of boltons, but eventually, even an average driver with enough go-fast parts will be faster than a great driver with no go fast goodies.

Posts don't mean much to me these days, but I have been a member of this site since 1999, which is a lot longer than most here can say. Even though I don't know as much about the latest Mustang parts available or even necessarily as much as I did when I was an active member, I do still have more than enough knowledge to spot the correct assumptions in this debate.

I like how you start your "can we just move on" thread with a few jabs... yeah, that always works, lol.

Oh, and btw, Jeff Chambers was running 10's on a N/A unported GT-40P headed car, if I remember right.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Right now i'm waiting for the old summit parts pile to arrive from ordering it on the 10th of march :rolleyes:

The process is taking a bit longer than i thought because the bellhousing was cracked almost 1/2 way around and the clutch was shot so i'm on parts hold right now. I got the bellhousing and 10.5" clutch ready flywheel instead of the now toast stock 10" clutch.
Also the weather in washington is sucking pretty bad so i've worked in 30* weather, rain, and mixes in between :(
For suspension, i may or may not replace the rear control arms, but i've installed the 90/10 struts and 4 cyl. front springs and need to install the rear springs. Also the front sway bar has been removed.

I'm trying to get this pile on the road but every time i fix it, something else breaks or "needs improvement". Luckily i'm doing all this work now in the bad weather because the track is closed during rain anyway.

Thanks to everyone following along, i promise that this thing will run in the next few months, but i'm optimistic it'll run in the next few weeks. I took my Cobra out, now it's time i run the trash can.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I was going to guess mid 13s but... you already ran 13.30s? Hmm.. you have since removed the a/c? Honestly, I thought low 13s was the best you would see but if you have already seen 13.3 then I'm going to have to guess a 13 flat. I think you are a much better driver than you give yourself credit.

As far as guessing at times with bolt ons, I believe Bob Cosby was running high 11s with a bolt-on 98 cobra. If your looking for a drag slip hero... there you go. I don't think I could pull that off.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Quote: "The more you stir it, the more it stinks"

Dude quit trying to start crap. Let's relax.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...84/smile21.gif

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I'm more than relaxed. If you think that was me trying to start crap, then you really don't know me very well, which is surprising considering how long we've been registered here.

If I meant to insult you, you'd know it.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I'd know it... hahaha lmao! C'mon... http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...te84/susel.gif


guys you spend to much time and too much writing to try to get to me. It's all opinion, and jeez it's the internet... don't get mistaken for e-thugz!!! Chill out! Life's short :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

The clutch is in, I got a short throw shifter installed, drive shaft loop is in, new front brake lines are in, and my new rear control arms just showed up (in time). I just gotta bleed the brakes and road test this thing then i'll tear it apart again :rolleyes:
I got granatelli upper/lower control arms, 4 cyl. springs. to go in rear and some minor engine tuning (gonna change MSD distributor advance curve/total advance).

The end is drawing near :D

I'm gonna update my profile to include my '85 GT so if anyone wants to browse that, go ahead :)

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

You want to keep the V-8 rear springs.


The 4 banger rear springs are too soft, the suspension ends up having too much travel. It absorbs all your launch energy instead of planting the tires.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

i would say 13.00 with out the bottle on a good day with the bottle 12.50 ish.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I think nitrous is going to add a lot more than 1/2 a second. My old car ran 13.5's on motor and 12.1 on a 150 shot. My coupe ran high 12's on motor and 11.60's on a 150 hp shot.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I have heard the opposite. The 4 cyl rear springs help the ass end squat, allowing for greater weight distribution to the rear of the car, giving better traction and a harder launch. I'm no expert, but this is common practice.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

If your springs allow for "too much" squat, you waste energy lifting wheels off the ground rather than applying it to forward acceleration.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Exactly what I was thinking when I read it.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I'm just curious, how much time have you spent at the drag strip?

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

Rear springs should be a little stiffer for a drag car but many people think that the car should "squat" during the launch so they install softer rear springs on the car to accomplish this. The only cars that should be squatting during the launch are those cars that shock the tires very hard (5-speed cars) and with enough power where the car will overpower the tires. Prostock cars actually squat during launch because they develop enough torque and hit the tires so hard that the squatting helps absorb some of the shock and keeps from overpowering the tires. But, setting up the car to squat is not a function of the springs. It is the position of the Instant Center (IC) that determines how the car squats. The STOCK mounting points for the control arms already cause the car to squat which can unload the tires. So in order to compensate for this squatting the springs need to be stiff to transfer the force to the tires.
If the rear end squats that means that the rear springs/shocks are not pushing the rear tires into the ground. They are just compressing. For the most part you don't want the rear to squat because you want some resistance from the springs/shocks to transfer the force/weight to the tires.

Example:
Make a coil spring out of a coat hanger and place it on a bathroom scale. Push on the spring. The scale is not going to read much because you are not transferring any force to the scale through the softer spring. Now take the spring out of your car and place it on the scale and do the same thing. The scale will read more pressure because it IS transferring more force through the spring.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I ask the same question to you, sir.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I used to go a few times a year. The first time I went you probably weren't too far out of diapers. I do have a good friend that ran Pro 5.0 though and it seems to me he said the cars should have 4 cyl springs all around. Any other questions? I'm about to get the 89 running again.. I guess you might wanna run it.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

So what your saying is that you USED to go a couple times a year.......but now you don't. So basicly you spend little time at the drag strip. Just because I didn't even have a drivers license when you first started drag racing, doesn't mean you know any more than me. Times change, GT-40 intakes and E-303 cams used to be the shit.........not anymore.

Who was your buddy that ran Pro 5.0?

I'm just going buy what a few people say about how to set up a suspension. I mean really...what do a couple of people like David Wolfe know about suspension stuff anyway.

Glad do see your getting the 89 running again.

I'd be glad to run you, I'm always up for a little fun.

Re: 1985 GT - Test your mustang knowledge, guess how fast i'll run 1/4 mile
 

I know things change quickly when it comes to racing. Actually I USED to go quite a bit. Life changes and so does interests.. I changed job description, got a new car and got into the stock market and so on.. I'm not saying I know anymore than you, I'm not a mechanic and never really got deep into an engine but.. 4 cyl springs on the back is almost a given.

My friend was sponsered by Holcomb. He drove the car in their ad. I don't even know if they still use that picture but he is still working on mustangs.

Names don't really impress me much anymore. I thought I was being smart by ordering a chip off a well known guy by the name of Chris Johnson. The Diablo had just came out but I thought I would go ahead and get a custom chip by the legendary Chris Johnson. The chip never did work and he really didn't seem to care. Though he said he would look at it if I drove many hours out of my way for $75 an hour.

I do miss it.


When I get it going again I'll let you know.