Best mods for immediate improvement?
 

I have a stock '88 GT.

Where should I start to improve the acceleration of my car? Since it is winter I'll have a few months to get somethings done before I race a friend of mine in his '55 Chevy with a 409 in it.

Oh, my car is an automatic so anything that will help get me off the line would be great.


KG88GT

Start with gears and exhaust (at least 3.73 gears).

Definitely gears. With the AOD you want at least 3.73's. Then go for exhaust (cat back, h-pipe and headers).

More suggestions
 

After the gears and exhaust, go for at least a shift kit for your AOD, bump timing to 14 degrees, a decent fenderwell cold air kit and of course, a total tune up including new plugs, cap/rotor, new hi-po wires, gas filter, etc.

A 409 in a '55 Chevy is probably a 13-second car but every set-up is different and it could be a 12-second car - or a 14-second car. Depends on the 409's mods as well as driver skills.

You really need better heads and intake to get into the 13's but gears, exhaust and tweaking what you have will give you a solid 14-second Mustang and it might be enough. Gotta start somewhere.

I have an 88 GT also and what helped me the most was......I purchased some steeda underdrive pullies and installed an off-road X-pipe....These two mods knocked 6 tenths off my 1/4 mile time and I picked up 4 mph.

I think that a shift kit and a good stall converter is where I would start and then move on to some 3.73 or 4.10 gears and then pullies and off-road x-pipe and you should see 13's..

You would be surprised how good the 87-88 mustangs run with just bolt ons.

If I had to narrow it down to just 3 mods I would say

1.gears
2.off-road x-pipe
3.shift kit

I had another 91 GT with and AOD. A K&N, electric fan, and MSD dropped me 3 tenths in the 1/8. Switching from the 2.73 to a 3.73 gear dropped me another 3 tenths. A 2800 stall converter dropped another 2 tenths. I tried the underdrive pullies and couldn't keep a good charge, so I got rid of them.

I would go with the gear and a converter first, and definately a shift kit.

Out of what Ford vehicle do 3.73 gears come from? will it still be a limited slip?
Who has good prices on exaust parts?

Thanks for the info
KG88GT

Stock GT Upgrade
 

First and formost you should consider that there are a few things you should do that are completely free or very very cheap. Get those out of the way in your spare time.

1. block EGR port between upper and lower manifold.
Makes the air that comes in colder. The EGR port pumps hot
gases into your upper plenum to recycle the nasty fumes. You
can do the job with 2 freeze plugs from the autostore. $5
You'll need two 3/4 inch plugs but you should use a vise and
stretch them out to fit snugly in the EGR port. I used a
hacksaw to cut a cross patern in the flange of the plugs.
2. Bypass the EGR plate coolant lines. Without the EGR gases
passing through the plate you don't need the coolant lines.
That will ensure only cold air is entering the intake manifold.
3. Block the crankcase ventilation tube at the throttle body, cap
it with a vacum seal and ring clip. $2 now put a small filter over
the stem that comes directly out of the oil cap tube. It should
be facing the distributor.
4. Make a RAMAIR Shute that travels from your fog lamp hole to
your airbox. You'll have to remove the factory airbox silencer
and saw about 4 inches off the entry hole to fit a 4 or 5 inch
diameter a/c tubing section in it. You should use only the
aluminum flex pipe. All the stuff needed to dream up a good
RamAir system can be purchased at Home Depot for $15.

* The steps above will allow you to advance your timing safetly to
at least 14 deg TDC and in alot of cases even higher. COLD AIR
is the key to power with the mustang EEC-IV computer. The
Stock timing on a 88GT is 10 deg TDC. You should gain a solid
10 HP minimum by this tweak.

So... 3 mods? I would have to say:

1. Gear. 3:55 or 3:73
No horsepower gain but will greatly increase torque
2. Exhaust. 2 chamber flowmaster and headers for 15 HP
free up some backpressure and allows more head flow
3. Electric fan. pull a 94 - 95 mustang electric fan for 10 HP
this will free up some drag created by the massive clutch fan
shipped in the 87-88 GT's.

with this combo you're looking at a 35 horsepower gain and alot of low end torque (off the line power and pull). Here's a few other simple garage it yourself mods you should consider.
Ignition kit, crank pully, wireset, K&N filtercharger, performance driveshaft, 130AMP alternator, positive stop shifter mechanism or new shifter.
Have Fun!

I agree with everything rick8750 said except the headers dont put headers on stock heads I did and I got 2 tenths slower......5.0 HO motors need some backpressure to make torque.

Rick 8750............your car runs damn impressive for your mods ............especially for a vert..I learned some stuff by reading your post very informative.....Do you run that time with speed density.

what ford vehiclehas 3.73's
 

Ford explorers have a 3.73 gear ratio.....or check e-bay

does blocking the egr port on a cobra intake show the same type of gains? because it doesnt have the egr spacer. what do i do with the egr valve so it doesnt throw codes to the computer?

if so im out to the garage right now to pull the upper right now!

let me know, i would do it in a heartbeat!

thanks
adam

KG88GT:

Don't buy used rear gears.
It's risky and with the labor involved in the installation and setting them up it just isn't worth it. Bad gears (or poor installation) can be a nightmare. Get new gears and have the installation done by a pro, unless you have the tools and experience to do the job yourself.

A set of brand new Ford Racing/Motorsport gears (any ratio) is about $200. I suggest the 3.73 ratio. Your Traction-Lok (limited-slip) clutch-pak may be worn out so this would be a great time to replace the clutches, too.

Underdrive pullies are good for some easy HP through lower engine drag BUT you need a healthy alternator, a very good battery and no big amp drains such as a huge stereo system, otherrwise you may have low-RPM charging problems, especially at night.

Are we having fun yet?

OH PLEASE! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I agree, don't buy used gears. If they aren't set up exactly the same as they came out, which is pretty tough to do, you will be buying new gears shortly after anyhow and the used gears will whine pretty bad if the pattern isn't exactly the same. save yourself some trouble and buy new gears. I got Richmond 4.10 street gears for mine a long time ago. that was probably the second mod i did to my car after the exhaust and OF COURSE the free removal of the air silencer. I really liked the 4.10 gears, it really helped out the AOD.......for all 15 miles that the aod lasted. I no longer have the AOD or the t-5 that i swapped to. But i would definately say the best bang for the buck mod i did were the gears. but of course switching from 2.73's to 4.10 is a jump, but it made it a whole different car. Good luck

Ummm.....Trust me I was there I went from a 15.35 @89 to a 14.79 @93.3.

If I was gonna lie I could come up with better stuff than that, I was hoping to run a 15 flat so I was very pleased with the 14.79.

I also installed a steada tri-ax shifter at the same time.


ANYWAYS.....Thanks for caring:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
......I purchased some steeda underdrive pullies and installed an off-road X-pipe....These two mods knocked 6 tenths off my 1/4 mile time and I picked up 4 mph.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOU DID NOT PICK UP .6(SIX TENTHS) FROM YOUR PULLIES AND O/R X-PIPE. FROM YOUR DRIVINGMAYBE, BUT NOT FROM THOSE MOD'S.

If you say so......................

Dark_5.0, 1BAD89:

Knock it off.