Quote:
Originally posted by Mach 1:
The 86' heads were especialy weak, so that would be a great mod for you to make.
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Mach 1 is absolutely correct. The '86 heads are CRAP! Although they have a higher compression ratio (i believe 9.3:1 compared to later 9:1 Compression ratio) the heads flow like crap and were designed as "high swirl" heads, which means more restrictions to make the "swirl" that they were after. You'll get better gas mileage and LOTS more power with some good aftermarket heads. You can get some stock looking Ford Motorsport GT-40 heads or any of the MANY available cast iron or aluminum heads. The reason i recommend this pretty high on the list is because you'll get probably 30-40 more horsepower, probably better gas mileage and a much fatter power band.
The intake manifold is very restrictive and you already replaced the very restrictive throttle body (the '86 had smaller runners in the intake manifold, smaller throttle body, worse heads, and smaller injectors -i think-) so at least an '87+ intake manifold will help out alot and will look stock on your vehicle. Another option is that you can get a Ford Performance stock Cobra intake manifold for $400 for both the upper and lower and it was also a factory piece on the '93 Cobra and it looks good as well.
This is what i'd do (but i'm not you or anyone else so people may not agree with me):
1. Subframe connectors (full length)
2. upper and lower control arms
3. Cylinder heads and intake manifold
4. Transmission stuff (like shift kit, converter, tranny cooler, etc.)
5. maybe pulleys (i'm in a tossup about this mod as well because i like being able to have all accessories on without the lights dimming). I took the belt off of my '84 and took off without any accessories being driven and i could definately notice a difference in power. Pulleys may be worth their price but may also cause problems, i don't have any so i can't confirm any of this.
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previous name: 84stangLX
'84 Mustang 5.0 LX
my LX
'89 Mustang GT
my GT