New Member....first Mustang

[ry94stang50]

Well first let me start off by saying hello...Hello my names ryan I'm newbto the mustang world as I just bought a 94 gt 5.0 convetable 5spd...pretty much stock except intake exhaust a staged racing clutch and a chip....what mods should I make thatvwould give me the best bang for my buck... I don't want to go too crazy and want to stick to bolt ons as I plan on rebuilding my engine down the road....

 

[revhead347]

I always vote for an aftermarket shifter as one of your first mods.

Kurt

 

[JJ95GTID]

Welcome to SN.

A good ole tune up is a good idea.
Cap/rotor, plugs and wires.
Clean the MAF sensor....carefully. If you break the thin sensor wires you're screwed.
Fuel filter ever been changed?

Otherwise concentrate on making it look good interior/exterior.

 

[ry94stang50]

I'm thinking about doing the tune up and instaling the whole MSD ignition set up would this be a good idea and worth the money? I'm also thinking about headers and an h pipe....are the headers doable by myself or should I have a shop do it? Sorry for all the questions its just my first stang I've had camaros before but not a mustang.

 

[ry94stang50]

I have to go through check everything its got high miles at 156k but it runs great....I plan on rebuilding the engine when I have too but would like to have fun with the car untill then I plan on using it as a DD..

 

[ry94stang50]

I'm not even sure what upgrades I have the guy I bought it off of had no clue about the car it was his sons...I bought it as a driving project as I've wanted one for as long as I can remember...all I know aboit is a staged clutch an exhaust system CAI and a chip of some sorts.

 

[ry94stang50]

Last question is there a way I can tell if the car has been geared or not my buddy who has owned mustangs his whole life including a 94 gt coupe and he says my convertable is much faster then his coupe...and what gas should I run on I'm hearing premium but I'm pretty sure the engine is not built for premium?

 

[toyman]

Last question is there a way I can tell if the car has been geared or not my buddy who has owned mustangs his whole life including a 94 gt coupe and he says my convertable is much faster then his coupe...and what gas should I run on I'm hearing premium but I'm pretty sure the engine is not built for premium?

Rear gears are easy to check. Raise the rear, mark the drive shaft and count the d/s revolutions for one turn of the wheel. If the d/s rotates 2 3/4 turns the gear is 2:73, if you count 3 1/4 turns the gear is 3:27. Regular gas is all that's required. Base timing is 10* but you should be able to get to about 14* without pinging. Give yourself a baseline. Do a tune-up, wires, plugs (cheap copper core ones), rotor, cap, air and fuel filters and clean the MAF with MAF cleaner or equivalent. Other than the coil I would stay away from MSD stuff. Get a OBDI code reader for about $25. The diagnostic port is in the engine bay between the firewall and strut tower on the passenger side. It is NOT the one under the dash. You can count flashes but the reader is simpler and is a valuable tool for pinpointing trouble issues.

 

[JJ95GTID]

You said it has a chip. So, I would leave the timing at 10*.
The tune probably has timing built into it and you would not need to manually bump the timing.
The stock ignition components are fine for cars without forced induction or running nitrous oxide.
Some pics of the engine bay may help us to identify your mods.
Headers can be done by you if you have a day, some jack stands and basic tools (ie. socket set, wrenches).

 

[ry94stang50]

Yeah I can do the headers just wasn't sure if they were rwally hard to do or not on a mustang ill get some pics of the engine bay today.

 

[JJ95GTID]

Level of difficulty depends on the person's ability I guess.
There's lots of how-to threads for installing headers.
The equal length short tubes are the most difficult to install so most go with long tubes or regular short tube headers.

 

[ry94stang50]

Thatnks guys which headers would give me the best sound? And here's a pic of the engine bay also.

 

[JJ95GTID]

Other than the cold air intake, battery and security system that engine and engine bay is bone stock.

Make's me wonder why it was chipped.

The MAF sensor housing looks like it is molded into the pipe that goes into the fender-well.

A/C is not working either.
Looks like the compressor's pulley/clutch has been removed.
Might as well just remove all hardware that goes with that and save a few pounds of dead weight off the front end.

I wouldn't do headers until you find out what exactly is done with the rest of the exhaust.
Gonna have to get under the car and see what's been done.
For sound you could change the mufflers or the whole cat-back section.

The best horsepower gains are from upgrading the cylinder heads, intake manifold and the camshaft.
This is also commonly referred to as the H/C/I (heads, cam, intake).

For now though a higher flowing H-pipe or X-pipe section of the exhaust will free up some hp and change the sound too.

Everything else like headers, cat-back systems, fuel injectors, larger fuel pumps, etc. are just supporting mods.

To make the car more fun to drive though gears are the way to go.
You can do nothing to the engine and just put in a lower set of gears (higher numerically) and it will totally change your driving experience.

 

[ry94stang50]

Yeah its got a new cat back exhast on it that's it exhaust wise...so when I do the headers I should throw an h pipe in there too maybe go catless?

 

[ry94stang50]

And I think its a bull chip that goes on the CAI I had one on my camaro its all a scam lol

 

[ry94stang50]

I'm not sure exactly what kind of cat back it is I couldnt see any markings or logos on the mufflers

 

[JJ95GTID]

Yeah its got a new cat back exhast on it that's it exhaust wise...so when I do the headers I should throw an h pipe in there too maybe go catless?

Might as well.
If you can only do one though do the h-pipe.
And get one with cats. Easier to sell down the road if emissions is important to the potential buyer.

 

[JJ95GTID]

And I think its a bull**** chip that goes on the CAI I had one on my camaro its all a scam lol

Then remove that POS.

 

[JJ95GTID]

I'm not sure exactly what kind of cat back it is I couldnt see any markings or logos on the mufflers

If it already has a cat-back chances are it is already has 2.5" piping.
If you don't like the sound then I would wait until I had the H-pipe and/or the headers swap first before changing the cat-back.

 

[5.0 Ford Guy]

I just bought my 94 GT convertible Friday as well, but I have been into Stangs my whole life (42 years old now). So I am in the same place you are Ryan. Sounds like you have been given some good advice so far.

When I had my '90 LX the very first thing I did was a full exhaust because the catalytic converters were completely plugged. The sound was awesome. It may have contributed to me going off the deep end and installing $11,000 in mods the first year I had it.

The way I went about it at first was I started replacing parts that needed replaced with better parts. After the exhaust I needed some new brakes. So I bought some slotted rotors and upgraded the calipers and pads. Then I bought some wheels to show off my new stoppers (because my tires were bad of course).

I also bought a lot of parts in preparation for things to come. I bought my 24lb injectors before I even knew what intake I was going to use. When I did the top end of my 5.0 I had a wheelbarrow load of parts gathered. I stripped the engine down to the block (still in the car) and replaced everything from there up including the cam swap to an F303 (loved that cam). The HP gain making that many changes was unbelievable. The UPS guy showed up delivering my white face gauge kit just as I hit the key. He had been delivering part after part for weeks. He said "Wow that sounds like a race car". Then I showed him all the parts he was delivering

So since I just bought my 94 this is what I plan to do... Tune-up, exhaust, gears (I like the 3.73's on a 5-speed car), under-drive pulleys (March makes some nice ones), then start cleaning things up one part at a time. Maybe get some dress-up items in between the performance mods.