Virgin 1990 5.0 Convertible...suggestions

[straws]

I am brand new to this group, but not new to mechanics. Just to give a quick background, I was an ASE master mechanic, and i have 13 years professional experience until my injury that prevented continued my profession in the automobile field. My last project was a 65 Mustang with a stock 1986 5.0/AOD conversion, Tubbed out with 14.5" tires. So not a real newbie. (several hundred posts on vintage mustang forum).

Now my question. In all of my time working on cars and trucks, I never really modified a stock car to perform better. However, I just bought a 1990 Convertible with 5.0, and I was looking for suggestions to modify.

Honestly, I am looking to turn the key and go, but be able to snap the throttle and the tires erupt in smoke. I do not wish to race anyone. I want to look stock, but have the ability to literally romp the throttle and have smoke. I am quite sure this mustang has Posi right now, because when I try to brake torque it, it starts to go sideways (not enough) then digs in.

I am always on a budget, but looking for the items that matter. What do you experts think?

 

[HISSIN50]

Welcome to the boards.

All 5.0L aero foxes have a Trac lok (LSD) 8.8" rear end.

Do you have a direction you wish to go in the pursuit of additional torque? Are you an HCI guy or nitrous or blower or junkyard TT kind of guy, etc?

More info about what avenue you might wish to pursue can make it easier for the smart peeps on here to make recommendations that fit your tastes.

Good luck.

 

[straws]

I have no real goal. I am now an auditor as a profession, so money is my most serious concern. Skill is not an issue. I would LOVE a blower, I would LOVE nitrous. However, what would bring the biggest bang for a buck.

These engines are tried and true, with tons of advice. I am hoping someone can point me to the right path (power/budget) to get a tire smoker!

I am 34 yo, so I do not need to go fast, but nothing says cool to me like pure tire smoke, and doughnuts! (I am not irresponsible, just a show off) .

 

[srothfuss]

Your first mods should be as follows (my take):

In order of Priority
1) Subframe connectors (SFC's) full length ones are prefered
2) Gears: 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 seem to be the popular choices
3) Buy a K&N panel filter (no CAI kit required) and put it in the stock box
4) Exhuast (headers, hi-flo cats, mufflers)
5) 3G alt upgrade / electric fan
6) Larger MAF, TB (MAF cars: 1988 - california only, 1989 - present day)
7) Fix the weak brakes
8) Bumped timing (stock is 10 degrees)

After those, it's pretty much up to you. There are plenty of Super Chargers or Heads, Cam and Intake packages to choose from.

Also, don't forget about the basic tune up which should include:
1) Changing all of the fluids (oil, coolant, trans, rear end, brake and some of the power steering)
2) Plugs: (non-platnum type) Autolite or Motorcraft
3) Oil filter: Motorcraft or equivalent (not FRAM)
4) Air filter: see above
5) Plug wires: Ford Motorsport (FRPP) 9mm units are great
6) Cap / Rotor
7) Oxygen sensors


Edit: If you are new to the Fox body mustang you can also look at my tips thread to understand all of the common problems associated with these cars. http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=573378

2nd Edit: List modified for ease of use in the future! Thanks guys!

 

[HISSIN50]

You would be hard pressed to beat nitrous in terms of hp/buck, If you dont need to use that power often (or dont mind filling the bottle back up).

Good luck.

 

[Maryland Stang]

If all you want is smoke then it's pretty easy. Since you're power braking it to spin the tires now I'm going to assume you have an auto tranny. 4.10 gears, cheap BF Goodrich Radial anything tires, a line lock and a high stall convertor. Cheap BFG tires smoke like there's no tomorrow, the high stall will allow the engine to rev much higher into the powerband before the tires start spinning and the gears will increase the torque. The line lock is so you don't trash your rear brakes doing power braking. With the light rear end of a Mustang you'll be doing smokey burnouts everywhere. No additonal horsepower is required.

 

[iwashmycar]

Your first mods should be as follows (my take):

In order of Priority
1) Subframe connectors (SFC's) full length ones are prefered
2) Gears: 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 seem to be the popular choices
3) Buy a K&N panel filter (no CAI kit required) and put it in the stock box
4) Exhuast (headers, hi-flo cats, mufflers)
5) 3G alt upgrade / electric fan
6) Larger MAF, TB (your car will be speed density so skip the MAF part of this)
7) Fix the weak brakes

After those, it's pretty much up to you. There are plenty of Super Chargers or Heads, Cam and Intake packages to choose from.

Also, don't forget about the basic tune up which should include:
1) Changing all of the fluids (oil, coolant, trans, rear end, brake and some of the power steering)
2) Plugs: (non-platnum type) Autolite or Motorcraft
3) Oil filter: Motorcraft or equivalent (not FRAM)
4) Air filter: see above
5) Plug wires: Ford Motorsport (FRPP) 9mm units are great
6) Cap / Rotor
7) Oxygen sensors


Edit: If you are new to the Fox body mustang you can also look at my tips thread to understand all of the common problems associated with these cars. http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=573378

This is a good list...take care of the basics and it'll make for a more enjoyable car when you add the big-ticket items someday....dont forget the suspension stuff....it is so great when you get one of these things to really be comfortable on the road and handle well to boot!

-adam

 

[7-UP BILL]

Your first mods should be as follows (my take):

In order of Priority
1) Subframe connectors (SFC's) full length ones are prefered
2) Gears: 3.73:1 or 4.10:1 seem to be the popular choices
3) Buy a K&N panel filter (no CAI kit required) and put it in the stock box
4) Exhuast (headers, hi-flo cats, mufflers)
5) 3G alt upgrade / electric fan
6) Larger MAF, TB (your car will be speed density so skip the MAF part of this)
7) Fix the weak brakes

After those, it's pretty much up to you. There are plenty of Super Chargers or Heads, Cam and Intake packages to choose from.

Also, don't forget about the basic tune up which should include:
1) Changing all of the fluids (oil, coolant, trans, rear end, brake and some of the power steering)
2) Plugs: (non-platnum type) Autolite or Motorcraft
3) Oil filter: Motorcraft or equivalent (not FRAM)
4) Air filter: see above
5) Plug wires: Ford Motorsport (FRPP) 9mm units are great
6) Cap / Rotor
7) Oxygen sensors


Edit: If you are new to the Fox body mustang you can also look at my tips thread to understand all of the common problems associated with these cars. http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=573378

I agree with most of this, but as the owner of a '90 vert, I can say that the car DOES have MAF (mass-air flow). It's the grey metal cylinder w/sensor midway from the air filter box to the throttle body. MAF cars (88 Cali, 89-93 other 49) take to HCI mods like a duck to water. These engines also have forged aluminum pistons to handle Nitrous or a Blower. The real bottle neck with these engines is the heads. The exhaust side leaves a lot to be desired. The E7TE (truck) heads are abismal to say the least. The cam is not bad (by stock standards, ground by Crane), the rocker arms are quite s**tty along with the pushrods. (When I did my motor w/10K on it, 2 pushrods were bent). Brakes are an issue. A low buck upgrade to the front is using '90 Lincoln LSC ( Mark VII) 73mm calipers and installing the aluminum caliper bushings from Steeda. The AOD will benefit from installing a shift kit along with the "A" servo from the T-Bird Super Coupe. Like someone said earlier, a higher stall converter is an option. Installing any gears larger than 3.73 will play havoc on your speedo. The trans in '90 came with an 8 tooth driven gear that is machined into the tailshaft. 89 and older have 7 tooth. Biggest speedo cable gear available is 23 tooth and works for 3.73's w/ 8 tooth. My Tremec TKO has the 7 tooth driven gear and my cable gear is 19 tooth w/3.73's. Hope these few tidbits helped and welcome to the boards.

 

[srothfuss]

I agree with most of this, but as the owner of a '90 vert, I can say that the car DOES have MAF (mass-air flow). It's the grey metal cylinder w/sensor midway from the air filter box to the throttle body.

Opps, sorry guy's. My list is a Copy/Paste. I saw the 1986 part of the thread and didn't continue to read past. I'll edit the list to include the dates for MAF next time and go from there..... That will take the confusion out of it.

 

[TheDog]

nawsssss... NOS Nitrous! You can buy a stage 1 for less than $500 or a stage 2 for around $750. Stage 1 is instant 75HP and stage 2 is about 150HP. With the stage 2 they add an aditional fuel pump but my god that extra HP took 2 seconds off my 1/4 mile!

 

[straws]

Thanks for all the info. Sounds like a plan of attack will be to not forget the basics....tune-up. I almost forgot that. I will have to find suitable 3:73's for it, and a minor torque converter stall upgrade. Then I think I will replace the already rusty exhaust from the manifolds back.

Now what i heard was there is a speedometer gear problem? I understand that i would be changing the speedo gear in the tranny, but 7-UP Bill says that there is no gear available for lower ratio than 3:73? So with my current plan of attack I should be ok?

 

[Michael Yount]

Keep in mind straws - the fox body unibodies are notoriously flexible even with the tops on! They're like limp pasta with the top cut off. The very first thing you should (on the lists above) is get the best/stiffest set of sub-frame connectors you can find and have them welded in. That's an important foundation for anything else you want to do to the car. The increased structural integrity will help reduce rattles/squeaks and reduce cowl shake in the car. Do those before you do anything else on a vert.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

I had the black 23 tooth gear in my 91 with 3.73s and it was still a little off. But that's really the best you can do.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

Keep in mind straws - the fox body unibodies are notoriously flexible even with the tops on! They're like limp pasta with the top cut off. The very first thing you should (on the lists above) is get the best/stiffest set of sub-frame connectors you can find and have them welded in. That's an important foundation for anything else you want to do to the car. The increased structural integrity will help reduce rattles/squeaks and reduce cowl shake in the car. Do those before you do anything else on a vert.

Good point Michael. If you keep doing donuts in that car without stiffening it up, you are going to rip the rear end right out at the control arms.

 

[srothfuss]

...The very first thing you should (on the lists above) is get the best/stiffest set of sub-frame connectors you can find and have them welded in....Do those before you do anything else on a vert.

Even with the connectors you have to be careful. Over the past summer, I was making a hard left corner and cracked my windshield from the flex in the body....

It's very very important to start with the Subframe Connectors and possibly a strut tower brace for the front half of the car.

 

[5.0 Nostalgia]

Even with the connectors you have to be careful. Over the past summer, I was making a hard left corner and cracked my windshield from the flex in the body....

It's very very important to start with the Subframe Connectors and possibly a strut tower brace for the front half of the car.

That's crazy. I can't believe how flexible the convertibles are. I remember hearing cracks and things when driving my car too.