Need some advice..

[f1ux]

Hey everyone. I just registered on this board because I decided it was finally time to investigate and get some information from people who are avid mustang tuners and have a lot of experience (so all opinions are welcome). I have wanted a 5.0 (fox body in the year range of 87-93) for as long as I can remember, and I'm going to be purchasing a mustang next year and am in the process of earning all the funds that are gonna be needed for this project. I'm 16 going on 17 to btw, so I don't have a huge cash flow, but a decent one. Anyways here goes my list of questions for you folks to answer:

1. What year of mustang would you folks recommend to me? (in the range of 87-93).. I'm looking to build a street machine that is running n/a..

2. I'm looking to purchase a 331 stroker kit. What is a well known name for kits such as this and would it really be worth my time to purcahse this..

3. What components would you folks reccomend that I get out of the way first? I feel the motor is what I want to deal with right off the bat but a few opinions would be really helpful..

These are just a few questions that I can think of right now.. In advance I'll thank all the ppl that took the time to read this and an extra special thanks to all the folks who reply to my post.

Thanks,
-f1ux-

[PKRWUD]

Originally posted by f1ux
Need some advice..

Buy low, sell high.

Sorry. It's mostly a matter of opinion, which I try to avoid in this forum. I'm sure you'll get a lot of advice, though.



Take care,
~Chris

[88workcar]

I don't give advice. Here is my opinion
Get a 4/6 cyl car with an automatic. This will be a cheap and solid car. Body style is your choice, notches are more intimidating.
I would gut first, rear end & suspension next, tranny, saftey equipt, then motor. Good luck with what ever decision you make.

[bigblockcoupe]

really it all depends on your budget and your ability to wheel and deal i built my '89 coupe thus far with a total of about $3000 $2000 of which i spent on aftermarket parts heads,cam,intake,nitrous,etc...... i only spent about $1000 on building the car itself i paid $150 for the whole car (4cyl automatic) with a blown motor but it had a straight body. then i traded an '86 5.0 capri, (paid $325 for it a rat had gotten underhood and chewed up a bunch of wiring easy fix. ran and drove great),i had straight across for my buddies '88gt that got t-boned so then i had a motor,trans,wiring, fuel lines,brake lines,interior(black)(the coupes blue factory interior did nothing for me) and a gt nosepiece, rear bumper cover and ground effects(less passsenger side fender and side skirt they got smashed) but i already had these parts lying around. then i bought a theft recovery '94 gt(pretty stripped) for $500 (still had all suspension/brakes and factory 16" wheels and tires)it took alot of haggling to get the guy to let it go for this price but after 3 days he did.so then i had 5 lug wheels and a complete suspension setup and bigger brakes plus 4 wheel discs i traded the rest of the car and the wheels and tires for a set of '95 cobra wheels and tires.so now i had about $1000 and several weekends and late evenings tied up into the car. it runs and drives and has a complete interior now it's time to go fast so i spent about another $2000 on after market parts (all used) and now i have one heck of a car for the money it still needs paint but that's next. what kind of car you end up with really has to do with how much money you have to spend and your own skills i built this car from the ground up and i may not have alot of money into it but i do have alot of time.just a quick list of what i got for $2000 gt-40 aluminum heads $700,custom ground cam .525/.536 lift traded for the 88 gt's hood,bbk full length headers and h-pipe $270,tfs track heat intake w/70mm tb and egr spacer traded for ported and polished stock intake and some work on the ol capri, msd 6 ignition $85 (ebay),msd coil $35 new,2 chamber flowmasters on the 88 gt,d&d upper and lower control arms new $200,cgs subframe connectors $50,nos stage 2 kit complete $350,accel 9mm race wires $45,5"autometer tach $65,water temp oil pressure and voltmeter 2" manual gauges $25,crane 1.7 roller rockers $140,and misc other parts,gaskets,etc.

[f1ux]

Thanks a lot, that really gave me an idea of something that I could do for a project car on a tight budget. Now that I have that type of idea, it's just time to work hard and make some money over the winter.. thanks again

-f1ux-

bigblockcoup, do you have any pics of your car? it sounds sweet.

[HotRoddin]

I've said it a million times and i'll say it again .... planning ... the most important part of a Hot Rod is planning. What do you want to do with it ? Street and occasional strip or strip and occasional street or all strip or all street ? It makes a huge difference what your application will be. Highly modified Hot Rods can be tempermental and frustrating at times, then again so can being outrun by the local rice rocket.
So you have highly modified and barely modified. Once you decide where you want to be on that scale its much easier to make the decision on what you need to buy and what will be a waste of your precious resources.
So make that decision then get hold of bigblockcoupe cause it sounds like he could make Donald Trump blush in the wheelin and dealin dept. lol

Bigblock I want you around the next time i buy a car !!!

[f1ux]

Well when it comes to application, I have already planned some of that out but never mentioned it in my earlier posts.. I want the car mainly for street and cruising and I'llt ake it to the strip occasionally when nice weather prevails.. I don't want it to be all done up on the exterior, maybe just an accent kit, lowered like an inch and have it sit on some 18" 5 spokers.. I want to build this car both for show, pleasure, and for the experience I will gain out of it..

-f1ux-

[84LX89GT]

If you're looking to buy something to tear down and build up from the ground as a drag race car a 4 banger mustang is the way to go.
If you're looking for a street machine my opinion is that a '89 to '93 Mustang 5.0 is your best bet. This is because it already has the better braking, suspension, cooling, and heavy duty drivetrain and go 14's stock. Alot of people would say don't go for '93's because they have hypereutectic pistons rather than forged, but it really doesn't matter since you want to go naturally aspirated.
Also the '89 to '93 stangs has the mass air air metering system which adapts much better to modifications than the speed density.
The fastest mustangs go from LX coupe, LX hatchback, GT hatchback, LX convertible, GT convertible because of their weight and rigidity.
5 speed mustangs are from what i hear about .5 seconds faster in the 1/4 mile (considering everything equal stock) than the automatic mustangs.
i believe the '90+ 5.0L 5 speeds have the higher torque rated "world class T-5" transmission which has a higher torque rating than the non-world class transmissions (put up to more abuse before you need to upgrade).

I got my '89 for $1500 total and was already partially modified and in decent shape so you should be able to find a good deal.

[f1ux]

Thanks a lot man.. that little bit that you wrote there really helped me out.. that is exactly the type of information I need to know.. so now I can add to my list the details of what you wrote..
CHEEERS!

-f1ux-

[f1ux]

Originally posted by 84LX89GT
Alot of people would say don't go for '93's because they have hypereutectic pistons rather than forged, but it really doesn't matter since you want to go naturally aspirated.

what is the difference? Do those types of pistons have something to do with higer and lower compression and would conflict if I wanted to purcahse a blower??

-f1ux-

[HotRoddin]

Here ya go f1ux, your education begins. In particular read the bench racing and piston comparison & nitrous oxide articles under the "technical stuff" heading.

http://www.kb-silvolite.com/1toc.htm

there will be a quiz

lots of very good, although sometimes kinda technical information out there. Read all you can ... listen to the folks on this message forum ... think about it logically add it all together and you can start to come to your own conclusions, which is very important since a large part of hotrodding is opinion.

[f1ux]

thanks man.. material like this is greatly appreciated.. I just really need to learn how to do stuff on my own. I'm just going to do some of the stuff on my own and seek professional help when it comes to big jobs like stroker kits.. thanks again man I really appreciate this stuff..
-f1ux-

OTHER MATERIAL SUCH AS THIS IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

[2FastLX]

Buy a 5.0L with a 5 speed, get a notch (coupe), try to find either a 91 or 92.

I have gone through this bolt-on nightmare once and am in the process of doing it all again. So, my advice would be:

After the free upgrades like timing and removing the air silencer, etc, start with stiffening the chassis with sub frame connectors and torque box reinforcements.

I'd buy gears next. 3.73 is a good gear for everyday use.

From there upgrade the exhaust from front to back with a good 2 1/2" system. I prefer long tube headers, but you'll get conflicting advice on this matter.

From there add underdrive pulleys, a 130amp alternator and electric fan. This will make a very noticable difference.

That should get you started.

[WheelsUp]

As has been stated definitely have a plan,but I will say this,if you are going to use a carburetor get a 4 cylinder coupe,reason for a 4 cylinder they do not have enough torque to bend anything.

If you are staying fuel injection and smog is an issue get a V8 and have that aspect of it done.

Now for how to go about getting the project kicked off,I say do the engine first,reason being it will be less of a headache later,after you have the engine you dial the rest of the car into the engine,to me nothing sucks more than have the wrong suspension under the car,with the engine done you dial the car into the engine.

If you go with a 4 cylinder coupe I would not bother with a 302 go straight for a 351W that way you will always have a ton of torque on hand,now you see why I say do the engine first,that way the rest of the car comes to the engine.

[2FastLX]

Doing the engine first is not a bad idea, but at least do the sub frames and reinforce the torque boxes before you get too crazy. That will keep the high hp of a beefed up engine from twisting the chassis, or tearing out the torque boxes.