Stock No More

[Mr 5 0]

I agree with Chris's definition of the term 'stock' but you'll also see some disagreement about the word 'mods'.

Some hard-core guys get annoyed when a newbie adds a K&N or upgraded plug wires and calls them a 'mod' (modification).

I hold the opinion that anything other than stock is a 'mod', including a K&N, plug wires, even synthetic oil.

As for stock 5.0's running 13's; it can be done but not with the car in factory condition. This requires lots of tricks like an iced intake, advanced timing, etc and killer driving skills in cool air.

Heres some interesting background on 13-second Mustang 5.0's:

A guy named Tony DeFeo did it with a new LX in January 1987 at EnglishTown in N.J.

He had a (then) new '87 Mustang (his personal car - not a factory loaner) stripped (radio delete, no A/C) with a 5-speed and the 3.08 rear. The car magazine he worked for (Cars Illustrated - now Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords) paid for four hours of track time in the dead of winter - in New Jersey.

Tony - a long-time hard-core street racer - went with a photo crew to Englishtown with 600 miles on the new 'Stang. Pumped up the front tires, advanced the timing, removed the air cleaner then made about 20 runs down the 1320. His best et was a 13.7.

Lots of witnesses and photos of the board as well as timeslips to prove it. No con.
In 1987, a 13.7 was a 'Vette-killer et and this from a factory stock Mustang.

Point is that a stock SD 5.0 could see a 13-second et in 'stock' form under the right conditions and with the right driver. That article sold me on the Mustang 5.0 and I bought a new one three years later.