Progress Thread Almost ready for the road, Need input for parts!

jpope417

Member
Feb 4, 2007
31
7
19
Hubert NC
Hey Guys,
I have been on here for a little while but I have not been active at all because Ive been so busy. My names Jake and I will probably be on this site a lot now that I'm back to daily wrenching on my 5.0. I am a little more skilled then you avg garage monkey but I am not a master motor builder. This has been along time coming. My teal green 5.0 is a 92 Lx Hatch, I have had since I was 16. I joined the Marine Corps at the age of 18 and sold this car after being in for a few years I wanna say when I was 20. I regretted selling the car the second it left my drive way. About 2 years later my wife tracked down the kid i sold it to and bought it back for $500.00. Mind you I sold it in amazing condition at 97,000 miles for $5200.00 When I got it back the interior was gutted the trans was blown and the motor has a knock..... It sat in my garage with with out it being touched for about 3 or 4 year then I decided to try to get her up and running again. I got a used t-5 slapped it in and just pulled down the top end and realized he messed up a few valves and that's what the knocking was. Either way the old 302 was still tired and in desperate need of a over haul. But i was out of time and had to redeploy again for a 3rd time to Afghanistan and would just buy a light duty short block when I got back. Well life dealt me and my family a card we all had knew was a chance but didn't expect. I am a USMC EOD tech and on Aug 16th 2011 while conducting operations in Helmand Prov I was stuck by a IED while on a foot patrol and lost my left leg from the knee down. Its been just over a year now and I spent about 7 month in Walter Reed Bethesda Naval Hospital learning how to walk and everything. Well now its time to take some Hard earned money and dump it in to the old 5.0. I know for the money I am about to drop in this car I could have a way better car to do it with but its the cars sentimental value. I had this car in HS when I met my wife, lost my license in it a few times as a kid for burn outs and stuff so i know I could find a lot better roller to throw this motor trans combo in but I want THIS CAR. Well first thing first Since the old clutch foot is gone I had to convert over to auto So I got a AOD-E with a Comp-u-shift controller going in the car now (plan on also getting a c4 for drag purpose only, but went with the AOD-E for now for more driver friendly on the roads now) and the motor was pulled and set aside. I started fresh from a Dart Sportsman Block and have done all the work my self except the balancing, I hand delivered the rotating assembly to scat in long beach and picked it up my self. The motor is now done and about to go in the car. The interior was gutted by past owner so I will have to replace some of that, still has the seats and some carpet and dash....the rest is gone. My priorities right now are brakes, suspension then cage. I have a budget of $1000.00 for the brakes and suspension but any dollar saved is more for the future parts. So heres my dilemma, 8 years ago I could have told you every part under the sun and what I should buy, but I have not been following the after market part world for about 7 years and over time better stuff comes out and the "good" stuff sometimes proves to be junk after a few years. These are some Ideas I have but I must say, yes the car is deamed a drag/street car with 185s on the front and 295's on the rear but I want it to still handle good I do not want 90/10 non adjustable shocks...... Heres the cars specs

Just got the motor back from the Dyno guy, 446hp 436 ft/lbs on 92 pump gas
  • 92 5.0 LX Hatch
  • 127,000 on body
  • Dart SHP 4 bolt main block
  • Bored to a 331 and stroked to a final 347 (the safe way to a 347 so the skirts dont drop out to far)
  • Scat Crank and Rods CP Pistons all blue printed and balanced
  • Edelbrock Air-Gap Intake
  • Holly 650
  • all -8 lines from carb to fuel cell
  • BeCool Radiator
  • Felx-a-lite Dual Fan
  • Gen 3 Charging system
  • Fuel Cell
  • Mech Fuel Pump
  • Ford Racing 1 5/8 Headers
  • BBK Off Road H Pipe
  • FlowMaster cat-back
  • AOD-E Trans with Comp-u-shift
  • Converter-Precision Industry 9.5” Multi-Disc Lock-Up 2500 stall
  • Eaton Posi Rear end with 31 splines
  • 3.73 gears
  • Weld Wheels with MT Drag Radials
  • Kenne Bell Welded sub-frame connectors
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Brakes-
LMR 73mm SVO loaded Calipers- 120
Summit bradded lines - 50
LMR Steal sleeves- 60
LMR
Mustang Front Brake Rotor Installation Hardware Kit
-60

Summit slotted calipers- 108
Summit Racing SUM-BKD022 - Summit Racing Equipment® Drum Brake Kits- 75

Total-$473 /
Now what about the Master Cyc? Will I notice an big difference with out it? And if I need to get a new one, Year model, price?
Does any one have a better set up for a CHEAPER price.

Suspension-(mainly just looking socks and struts)

Option 1
KYB Gas Adjust kit from LMR- 265
Aftermarket control arms?

Total ?

Option 2
Strange adjustable struts
Strange Engineering S6001EM - 240 for the Pair

KYB Gas adjust quad shocks and KYB rear- 160

Total- $400.00

Option 3-
You tell me!!!!
 
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I was thinking that 2 but I got the axels for free so I was thinking go with the SVO calipers in the front and switch the rear over later, then even further down the road (when I use the C4 and trans brake with slicks) and snap and axel I figured I would buy the front end conversion and the rear axels. Just trying to go piece by piece and get the best performance I can with what the car has. I spent so much money on the motor that I shorted my self on the rest my build which is fine and some what intentional because suspension and brakes I can replace slowly down the road and still enjoy the car. But I can't just go put better rods in the bottom end like I can calipers on the rear in 2 hours..... But you do pose a good point man!
 
Thanks for your service buddy, really appreciate it and sorry to hear about your injuries. You seem to be on the right track raceholic has the best idea, its actually what I'm planning on doing for mine.....sometime. Maybe I missed it, but what heads are you going to run?
 
IMO, don't mess with the calipers. Get the sleeves and braided lines.
I don't think those calipers don't have a matching MC when they aren't used with rear discs, you may never get the pressure right.
Just not worth the headache for just a couple of MM bigger pistons.

When you are ready, do a pbr cobra setup with junkyard parts, you will only spend a few more bucks and get more for your money.
At the same time you can go five lug.

For shocks, i personally love the koni red adjustables. Not a fan of anything KYB as for they don't last from my experience.
Strange and qa1 are good too.
 
Thanks for your service buddy, really appreciate it and sorry to hear about your injuries. You seem to be on the right track raceholic has the best idea, its actually what I'm planning on doing for mine.....sometime. Maybe I missed it, but what heads are you going to run?
The heads are AFR 185's like I said the motor is completely done just getting ready to finish putting in the AOD-E and program the comp-u-shift. The just have to run the -8 fuel line from the fuel cell to engine bay and drop it in.... They Dyno pulls turned out as expected 446hp 436ft lbs
 
IMO, don't mess with the calipers. Get the sleeves and braided lines.
I don't think those calipers don't have a matching MC when they aren't used with rear discs, you may never get the pressure right.
Just not worth the headache for just a couple of MM bigger pistons.

When you are ready, do a pbr cobra setup with junkyard parts, you will only spend a few more bucks and get more for your money.
At the same time you can go five lug.

For shocks, i personally love the koni red adjustables. Not a fan of anything KYB as for they don't last from my experience.
Strange and qa1 are good too.
I need more stoping power, ive seen fox bodys with the svo 73mm with a stronger master cyc and an adjustable proportioning valve stop on a dime..... Plus I'm going to do rears calipers down the road just not a priority right now, front gives ,ost the stoping power so that's what I. Doing first.... And I don't see a point I dropping the coin on read adjust shocks, most guys run 50/50 I. The ready any ways with the quad shocks still on unless they got a real wheel stander. And all forums sat for fox body's the koni adj strut suck..... That they have the least adjustment and can't firm up enough for good handling
 
I need more stoping power, ive seen fox bodys with the svo 73mm with a stronger master cyc and an adjustable proportioning valve stop on a dime..... Plus I'm going to do rears calipers down the road just not a priority right now, front gives ,ost the stoping power so that's what I. Doing first.... And I don't see a point I dropping the coin on read adjust shocks, most guys run 50/50 I. The ready any ways with the quad shocks still on unless they got a real wheel stander. And all forums sat for fox body's the koni adj strut suck..... That they have the least adjustment and can't firm up enough for good handling

I've used the larger calipers, took them out didn't work right (do a search for lincoln mark VII, they are the same calipers, works for almost no one), there is no way to get the MC correct with the drums. 20mm on a single piston caliper without expanding the contact patch or enlarging the rotor doesn't do much anyway.
You also shouldn't use an adjustable proportioning valve with drums in the rear.
If you so choose, try it, just don't freak out when your pedal goes all the way to the floor and the car doesn't stop.
BTW, when tested back in the day, stock brakes were only 10 feet worse than baer brakes for the first few panic stops, when the stock rotors and pads overheated that's when the benfits of the better brakes showed.
Clamping power, contact patch and heat dissappation (sp) make great brakes, the 73's pretty much add none of that.

Koni's suck? Not sure where you heard that, but literally they are among the best.
This coming from someone that used kyb, monroe formulas, bilstein and qa1
There is also a reason Maximum Motorsports makes their coil overs to work with koni.
Many of the hardcore road racers here even use koni.

Use what you like, it's your car, realize i've been doing this a long time, experimented with thousands in parts, and it's incredibly difficult to make a drag racing car that handles well.
 
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I've used the larger calipers, took them out didn't work right (do a search for lincoln mark VII, they are the same calipers, works for almost no one), there is no way to get the MC correct with the drums. 20mm on a single piston caliper without expanding the contact patch or enlarging the rotor doesn't do much anyway.
You also shouldn't use an adjustable proportioning valve with drums in the rear.
If you so choose, try it, just don't freak out when your pedal goes all the way to the floor and the car doesn't stop.
BTW, when tested back in the day, stock brakes were only 10 feet worse than baer brakes for the first few panic stops, when the stock rotors and pads overheated that's when the benfits of the better brakes showed.
Clamping power, contact patch and heat dissappation (sp) make great brakes, the 73's pretty much add none of that.

Koni's suck? Not sure where you heard that, but literally they are among the best.
This coming from someone that used kyb, monroe formulas, bilstein and qa1
There is also a reason Maximum Motorsports makes their coil overs to work with koni.
Many of the hardcore road racers here even use koni.

Use what you like, it's your car, realize i've been doing this a long time, experimented with thousands in parts, and it's incredibly difficult to make a drag racing car that handles well.


Hey man thanks for the info. I am a motor guy, spend my spare time porting heads and decking blocks.... I've had a drag only car spent most of its days in the 11s and evenly got in to the 10s. Just never tried it with a street car like I a, now. With that being said that's why I asked for the input. You make a great point with the 73's vs stock. That's what I was looking for, something I was not think about or missing. Also I ran Konis once, had a seal go out in the first 3 months just left a bad feeling.... Most likely some thing a quality control guy should have caught but didn't.... Trust me I would go QA1 in a heart beat if I had the money. But serious thanks for the input
 
The solution i found best for handling and straight line performance is to run a handling style suspension with low profile drag radials.

Just may not work well with pony wheels, because at 16 inches they will require a taller tire. And if you plan on running the welds you list, you can pretty much forget about handling entirely.

Even the best products have failure rates, it's what the company does about it that matters.

What do you plan on using for springs? That's going to be a major factor in how the car handles.
 
The solution i found best for handling and straight line performance is to run a handling style suspension with low profile drag radials.

Just may not work well with pony wheels, because at 16 inches they will require a taller tire. And if you plan on running the welds you list, you can pretty much forget about handling entirely.

Even the best products have failure rates, it's what the company does about it that matters.

What do you plan on using for springs? That's going to be a major factor in how the car handles.
Springs is another part I still need to research rate and or progressive...... And brand to go with. I have the set of welds but those will be put on for the track mostly, I picked up a set of the Saleen SC wheels that will be on there for street driving.
 
I just put on the rear a set of 10" 150# springs i think the front itls 12" 175# if you want call Upr products up and talk to them they will help you make a decision
 
Sitting here this morning having coffee, only reading the first portion of the life story in theis post - turning to the wife to tell her about the other wife that found this guys high school car, where the car was repurchased and i'm hit by a BRICK as I roll into the rest of this post.... Thanks you!!!

Trying to recover emotionally, will come back in a while to see what I might add to the build ideas.
 
Before you get into springs you really need to know what you want from them.

Ride Height?
Coil overs?
Handling or drag (the springs mike suggest are drag springs)?
Ride quality?

The simplest solution for lowering and handling is to just use the eibach pro lowering kit. It's a good well proven set of springs.

Lowering usually compromises ride quality.
Drag makes for horrific handling
Coil overs are great but you are going to pay quite a bit to get them up and running, especially if you buy one of the better sets.