New guy, '89 LX questions?

Big Paul · 05-14-2002, 05:00 AM

Hey guys, looks like a great site here.

Well, a friend of mines sister has an '89 LX 5.0 5spd. I was talking to her about selling it, and she said that she wouldn't take less then 5K for it. I'd pay that for how nice the car is.

She takes care of the car, her husband maintains the car like a baby, changes the oil regularly, tune-ups, tires, etc.... He does get on it a little bit, but I expect that being it is a 5-0.

To get on with it, I had some questions. I've been looking for a good performing car. I have been looking at GN's and Camaro's mostly. I'm a GM guy, and didn't have a thing for Fords until I picked up a MM&FF issue and saw what the stang boys were doing. So it got me interested. I figured 5.0's are all over the place and seem to be good performing cars with a low buck agenda. I wanted a GN or 3rd Gen Camaro, but GN's are rare around here, and the only 5spd Camaro I could get is with a 305 and well I don't wanna go there.......

Here are my questions, I hope you can answer them all. Just to let you know, the only real thing I know about the 5.0's is that they started with the MAF in '89.

Okay, what are the A-trim, S-trim, and T-trim (I think) stangs? And would this LX have one of these trims?

How much HP/TQ does this 5.0 make? Is it the same as the same year GT? And what does it run stock in the 1/4?

How easy is it to get into the high 11's low 12's with a mustang?

If I got a Mustang, I wanted to the car to be blown, any suggestions there?

I've seen tons of intake manifolds, from Ford Racing, Edelbrock, Holley, and Trick Flow, which would be the best to get for CA emissions and running an 11 second supercharged car?

What are the first best mods to do to a 5.0? BTW: this car already has headers, dual exhaust with Flows, and a K&N.

I know cam and heads are the performance heart for an engine, what would you guys suggest for CA emissions and best power?

And lastly, what rear gears does this car most likely have? And where will I find the RPO sticker? And find a place to decode my RPO?

Thanks guys, hope this isn't too much for ya. I'm really diggin' what you Ford guys are doing, and would love to have a nice rig. Its gonna be hard for me to jump wagons like this. I really have no clue about Fords, I have been into Chevy for along time now and know em like the back of my hand. Fords are a mystery, but maybe now I can get to know em a little better.

Thanks again!

ChunkFunky · 05-14-2002, 06:05 AM

I'm new to fords as well.... I've been a GM guy all my life, but I picked up my 89 GT convert this weekend, and it's rained ever since.. but that's besides the point, you're going to get a million responses answering all your questions...

but I'll tell ya this, you spend 1 week just reading all the posts that come across here and you'll be well versed on ford 302s.. everywhere from rear ends to fan clutches...

All those S, A, T Trims are vortech blower models
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/units/

The only thing I can say bad about this site, is there's no production figures and available options list for the mustangs, least not that I can find. But the 5.0 in any car came with 225 horse, or so Ford claimed. though alot of people liked the LX cause it was cheaper with the same engine

I;m not going to get into the mods cause I dont know much about moding these EFI engines, I'm a carb guy, my last car was a 72 Olds Cutlass, so I'll let someone else take over... but you mentioned super charging...

there's a bunch of bolt on superchargers for the car, vortech is one company, so is paxton, there's another one out there, i forget the name, that no one on this board seems to care for... but if you wanna learn alot about this car, just go back and read the posts... it doesnt matter if it's not a problem you're having, cause it's good to learn about all the stuff that you can do with the car as well as what to look out for when it does break down...

ok, enough from me
-=as=-

Conman · 05-14-2002, 08:23 AM

there are people around here that know way more than I do but I can answer a few questions

The 89 made 225 HP and 300 ft-lbs at the flywheel. This is the same as the GT.
Stock in the quarter mile is about 14.5 (depending on driver)

The car most likely has 2.73 gears. 3.08's were an option. This is one of the best mods for these stangs, upgrade to 3.73's
if you do alot of highway driving you may only want 3.55's or if you want even more jam outta the hole you could get 4.10's. everyone has their own opinion on which gears to go to but I think everyone here can agree that the gears do need to be upgraded

there are a few little things you can do for free that help out the performance of these cars. Bump the timing to about 16° BTDC and take off the air silencer, it is in the fenderwell at the end of the air intake

another good upgrade is subframe connectors to stiffen the chassis, a good upgrade before you get running too much horsepower and twist the frame

Hope this helps you out some

do you know how to search the forum, I bet every question you have has been answered before, If you can't find something don't be afraid to ask again

Conman

tireburner163 · 05-14-2002, 09:35 AM

as for head/intake, the hot set-up now is a set of AFR 165's and a Holley intake.

Skyman on this board run's low-mid 12's with a heads/cam/intake setup.

Definatly the best first mod you could do would be gears. I would suggest 3.73's.

89lxinwky · 05-15-2002, 04:03 AM

First of all, you've got to decide if you want the car or not before you start modifying it. That's where this site will come in handy. $5k is on the high end but might be a good price if the car has low miles and is in good condition and is exactly what you want. I would shop around and see what else you can compare to. Next, to get this car to safely and reliably break into the 11's will take a considerable amount of money. It looks like from your post you want to go with heads,cam,intake, supercharger to do this. This could easily run you another $5k by the time you get everything to support the above. You could find a car with the parts you've mentioned already installed and be out less money in the long run. I've personally gone the route of buying a stock car and doing all the work myself which I think is a lot more fun. Although it is more expensive and a lot more work. I used to own a '68 Camaro, so I made the Chevy-to-Ford switch. 11 years and three 5.0's later and I'm glad I did. Regardless, if you want to go fast and have plenty of aftermarket parts to choose from, 5.0 Mustangs are one of the cheapest/easiest ways to do it.

05-14-2002, 05:00 AM	#1
Big Paul Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Turlock, CA, USA Posts: 4	New guy, '89 LX questions? Hey guys, looks like a great site here. Well, a friend of mines sister has an '89 LX 5.0 5spd. I was talking to her about selling it, and she said that she wouldn't take less then 5K for it. I'd pay that for how nice the car is. She takes care of the car, her husband maintains the car like a baby, changes the oil regularly, tune-ups, tires, etc.... He does get on it a little bit, but I expect that being it is a 5-0. To get on with it, I had some questions. I've been looking for a good performing car. I have been looking at GN's and Camaro's mostly. I'm a GM guy, and didn't have a thing for Fords until I picked up a MM&FF issue and saw what the stang boys were doing. So it got me interested. I figured 5.0's are all over the place and seem to be good performing cars with a low buck agenda. I wanted a GN or 3rd Gen Camaro, but GN's are rare around here, and the only 5spd Camaro I could get is with a 305 and well I don't wanna go there....... Here are my questions, I hope you can answer them all. Just to let you know, the only real thing I know about the 5.0's is that they started with the MAF in '89. Okay, what are the A-trim, S-trim, and T-trim (I think) stangs? And would this LX have one of these trims? How much HP/TQ does this 5.0 make? Is it the same as the same year GT? And what does it run stock in the 1/4? How easy is it to get into the high 11's low 12's with a mustang? If I got a Mustang, I wanted to the car to be blown, any suggestions there? I've seen tons of intake manifolds, from Ford Racing, Edelbrock, Holley, and Trick Flow, which would be the best to get for CA emissions and running an 11 second supercharged car? What are the first best mods to do to a 5.0? BTW: this car already has headers, dual exhaust with Flows, and a K&N. I know cam and heads are the performance heart for an engine, what would you guys suggest for CA emissions and best power? And lastly, what rear gears does this car most likely have? And where will I find the RPO sticker? And find a place to decode my RPO? Thanks guys, hope this isn't too much for ya. I'm really diggin' what you Ford guys are doing, and would love to have a nice rig. Its gonna be hard for me to jump wagons like this. I really have no clue about Fords, I have been into Chevy for along time now and know em like the back of my hand. Fords are a mystery, but maybe now I can get to know em a little better. Thanks again! __________________ ~Paul~ '87 S-10: 2.8L V6 Needin' something fast!

05-14-2002, 08:23 AM	#3
Conman Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Kingston, Ontario Posts: 351	there are people around here that know way more than I do but I can answer a few questions The 89 made 225 HP and 300 ft-lbs at the flywheel. This is the same as the GT. Stock in the quarter mile is about 14.5 (depending on driver) The car most likely has 2.73 gears. 3.08's were an option. This is one of the best mods for these stangs, upgrade to 3.73's if you do alot of highway driving you may only want 3.55's or if you want even more jam outta the hole you could get 4.10's. everyone has their own opinion on which gears to go to but I think everyone here can agree that the gears do need to be upgraded there are a few little things you can do for free that help out the performance of these cars. Bump the timing to about 16° BTDC and take off the air silencer, it is in the fenderwell at the end of the air intake another good upgrade is subframe connectors to stiffen the chassis, a good upgrade before you get running too much horsepower and twist the frame Hope this helps you out some do you know how to search the forum, I bet every question you have has been answered before, If you can't find something don't be afraid to ask again Conman __________________ '88 lx, Black on Black, check it out here Spent all my money on school, what a dumb mistake I'm old enough to know better, but still too young to care.

05-14-2002, 09:35 AM	#4
tireburner163 It's a lot like a race car Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Meridian, MS Posts: 4,130	as for head/intake, the hot set-up now is a set of AFR 165's and a Holley intake. Skyman on this board run's low-mid 12's with a heads/cam/intake setup. Definatly the best first mod you could do would be gears. I would suggest 3.73's. __________________ 1987 Buick T-type 1998 HD Electra Elide

05-15-2002, 04:03 AM	#5
89lxinwky Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: KY Posts: 59	First of all, you've got to decide if you want the car or not before you start modifying it. That's where this site will come in handy. $5k is on the high end but might be a good price if the car has low miles and is in good condition and is exactly what you want. I would shop around and see what else you can compare to. Next, to get this car to safely and reliably break into the 11's will take a considerable amount of money. It looks like from your post you want to go with heads,cam,intake, supercharger to do this. This could easily run you another $5k by the time you get everything to support the above. You could find a car with the parts you've mentioned already installed and be out less money in the long run. I've personally gone the route of buying a stock car and doing all the work myself which I think is a lot more fun. Although it is more expensive and a lot more work. I used to own a '68 Camaro, so I made the Chevy-to-Ford switch. 11 years and three 5.0's later and I'm glad I did. Regardless, if you want to go fast and have plenty of aftermarket parts to choose from, 5.0 Mustangs are one of the cheapest/easiest ways to do it. __________________ '89 LX 5spd w/ 65k miles Ported stock heads, TFS Stage1 cam, GT-40 intake, 70mm TB, 76mm MAF, MAC headers, Flowmasters, 3.73 gears, Steeda Tri-AX, Mickey ET Streets, Vortech V1-SC, 38# injectors, Crane InterceptorII 7.9's @92mph (traction enhancement devices needed)

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05-14-2002, 06:05 AM	#2
ChunkFunky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Tustin, CA Posts: 465	I'm new to fords as well.... I've been a GM guy all my life, but I picked up my 89 GT convert this weekend, and it's rained ever since.. but that's besides the point, you're going to get a million responses answering all your questions... but I'll tell ya this, you spend 1 week just reading all the posts that come across here and you'll be well versed on ford 302s.. everywhere from rear ends to fan clutches... All those S, A, T Trims are vortech blower models http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/units/ The only thing I can say bad about this site, is there's no production figures and available options list for the mustangs, least not that I can find. But the 5.0 in any car came with 225 horse, or so Ford claimed. though alot of people liked the LX cause it was cheaper with the same engine I;m not going to get into the mods cause I dont know much about moding these EFI engines, I'm a carb guy, my last car was a 72 Olds Cutlass, so I'll let someone else take over... but you mentioned super charging... there's a bunch of bolt on superchargers for the car, vortech is one company, so is paxton, there's another one out there, i forget the name, that no one on this board seems to care for... but if you wanna learn alot about this car, just go back and read the posts... it doesnt matter if it's not a problem you're having, cause it's good to learn about all the stuff that you can do with the car as well as what to look out for when it does break down... ok, enough from me -=as=-