New from SoDak

[1988redstang]

I bought my 88 LX back in 09. It had roller rockers, shorty headers, and stiffed frame. I ran it that way for awhile. In 2020 I put Edelbrock E-Street heads on. (I found out later that those heads shouldn't be put on my motor. I was careful to not go over 5k rpm to avoid valve float.) In Oct. 2021 the gaskets needed to be replaced as it was badly leaking oil. So we pulled the motor, replaced all the gaskets, clutch, radiator, headers, and since we had it apart... we put in a Ford performance 303e cam, (careful to not go above .50" lift, because of the heads). It ran horrible after we got it back together. Decided to buy a mass flow kit from IST. It helped a lot. but had a problem with it when it hit 3K rpm. It would spit and sputter. I took it to a local mechanic who put a new OEM distributor on which helped a bit but still had the 3K problem. Took it to another mechanic who put a higher pressure fuel pump... didn't help. took it to three more shops who didn't want to touch it. They all recommended I take ti to a performance shop who, (I simply emailed my problems) told me it needs aa new computer for $1000 and tuning. Anyway, after all of that we bought a house and I've been doing house repairs and renovations, so haven't been able to play with it. If you guys have any thoughts, I would like to hear them. Oh by the way, all the mods I've done have cost $5000 and my wife is not wanting me to put more money in my baby, so there's that too.

 

[90sickfox]

With the e303 camshaft and the heads I'm sure you need a tune. With the age of these xara computers I'd recommend sending the computer out to ECUExchange.com. They can be found on FB. Huge reviews here and everywhere else. The cheaper tuning options " moates QH " are non existent now. Best bang for the buck is DIYautotune.com with mspnp2 or ms3. Another place that has huge reviews. No matter how you slice or dice it the wife will be unhappy. Whether you nickle amd dine your way or spend the money and have it done right the first time.

You can try to use some electrical parts cleaner and clean the black and white 10 pin connectors behind the upper intake. The center red part pops out and you can slide the wires out individually to clean the ends and add new dielectric grease. Helps to squeeze the female connectors just a tiny bit to help make better contact. Often overlooked and the cause of many driveability issues. If there is a 6 inch extension harness on yours remove it. That was the dealers way of dealing with it before the issue was really understood.