SN95 Another 5.Slow from Alberta, Canada

94-5.Slo

Member
Nov 3, 2018
4
2
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Alberta
Hello there! I recently acquired my third mustang, my 1994 mustang GT convertible. My first mustang when I was a teenager was a 391 stroker fox, then my second mustang was a 2014 mustang GT that I wish I kept. I rat bagged my fox body as a kid, when it was all clapped out I was ready to say good bye to that car and move onto bigger and better things. But my 2014 was my baby, and when my wife got pregnant I decided I had to be an adult and sell it and buy a 4 door family car. that decision has haunted me for 2 years now. My budget did not allow me to get into a newer mustang again, but a trade deal came along for my mud truck. I was traded this mustang and 1000 cash for my 1998 f150 on 6 inch lift with lockers, winch, blah blah you dont give a crap, this is a mustang forum.

So anyway, I have the keys to another iconic pony car! Yay! But there is a few problems right off the start. The exhaust was stock, rusty, with holes in the muffler. It sounded like a pissed off John Deere lawnmower tractor. I am a mechanic by trade, and used a connection at a local muffler shop to make a custom x pipe exhaust from the headers back with some flower master mufflers and chrome tips. Problem number 2, the stock wheels weigh more than my pregnant wife, and after a month of searching for cobra replica rims I stumbled upon some "old school" american racing rims for next to nothing so for the time being i put those on there. People seem to be making fun of them a lot, but its my car and I don't mind the look of them until I find the forever rims for this car. I wrapped them up in new BFG Radials, because what else can go on retro AR rims?

Problem number 3, it's teal. ew. I mean, really, eww. Problem solved, for a copious amount of poorly spent money! I have it booked in to my friends body shop for January for a complete color change including engine bay and door jams. I think it will end up competition orange, although there is something to be said for a nice clean white stang too. Lastly, problem 4. It is SLOW, omg, I had to pop the hood and make sure I didn't buy a v6 with gt emblems, it is grossly slow. It cant get out of its own way. My wifes 2005 passat tdi wagon just destroys my car off the line, and all the way through, and that's loaded down with a stroller, baby seat, and 200 lbs of woman junk floating around the car. Its downright embarrassing how damn slow it is. I was thinking of starting with a tune up, i have a cam that came with the car, but its used and I dont know much about choosing a cam so I do not know if its a good fit for the car. It is in the box, so i do know what it is, but I would need some professional help to choose the right cam for my car. after a tune up, i was thinking i would start with rear end gears(my rear pinion seal is leaking anyway) and potentially do a shift kit. I have been a mechanic for 10 years, but fixing and modding are 2 different worlds, so I am in a learning curve as to what I should buy for parts.Alas, here she is when i first picked her up and her now, after I put the rims and tires on a few days ago
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Welcome! I love those SN's, but have to say I would have kept the stock wheels personally. To each their own though. The color isnt all bad, but if the stripes are painted on, then Im glad you are getting paint.

As far as how it runs, have you cleaned the MAF sensor in the intake tract? If its dirty, the car will run night and day better. Also, check your timing. Base timing at 14-16 degrees with the spout connector out is normal for these cars. It may be down at 10 or so, which is giving away power.
 
Hi bluestallion, the stripes are painted on. I have not cleaned the MAF yet, and I too suspect the timing is off. I have been procrastinating a little bit to fix it, because I want to order all new MSD ignition parts next month, or perhaps later this month. I have to be careful spending money before christmas or my wife will kill me. But after christmas, I have permission to go hog wild with my mustang because I just bought her a 2019 jetta lol. Being in canada it is much harder to get parts. CJ Pony parts seems to be the only place I have found that will ship to me without paying massive tariffs or duty or kill me in shipping prices, so I have a large wishlist going on there, and right after christmas I can start amassing goodies while my car is painted.
 
I wouldn't buy MSD ignition stuff. Just do a tune up with new cap/rotor button, Motorcraft plug wires along with Motorcraft or Autolite copper plugs. The MSD hasn't had the greatest reliability rep over the past few years and it's going to add HP. Also swap out the air and fuel filters while you are at it.

Right now the biggest bang for your buck is going to be swapping out the rear gears. I would go with 3.73s. Also consider adding subframe connectors to stiffen up the body some.

After that you're going to want to do H/C/I to get any real performance out it.

I agree with 95blue on the wheels, but hey it's your car. Do what you like.
 
I have to agree with Dan on the ignition stuff. You should be able to save some money by just buying new Motorcraft tune up parts. Coil, distributor cap, rotor, plug wires, autolite plugs... All can be found still, and guys with supercharged/turbocharged set ups run it without fail. No need for an MSD box. Keep it simple, it works! Otherwise you may be one of those guys hating your car because its fighting you with little bugs to keep fixing.
 
fair enough guys, simple is good! Thank you for the tips. Sub frame connectors will be coming with my big first order after christmas for sure, especially being a convertible. I work as a mechanic in a frame and suspension specialty shop, and we straighten lots of pretzeled stangs but the convertibles are pretty damn tough to straighten.
 
fair enough guys, simple is good! Thank you for the tips. Sub frame connectors will be coming with my big first order after christmas for sure, especially being a convertible. I work as a mechanic in a frame and suspension specialty shop, and we straighten lots of pretzeled stangs but the convertibles are pretty damn tough to straighten.
These aren’t quite as important on sn’s, but torque box reinforcements are good to do as well. They’re pretty easy with a helper and pretty cheap too.

As far as performance, the sky’s (budget) the limit with these. A good set of heads and an intake is a good place to start. Explorer intake and gt40 heads can still be had for good prices. I had them in my 96 before doing a 347 and they’re great bang for the buck.

And fwiw I kinda dig the teal with a couple supporting, tastful exterior mods. Starting with deleting the stripes is a good place to start lol.
 
I see so many sn’s that are just all clapped out. Bad paint, :poo:ty mods, just terrible.

I think as the fox bodies become more expensive you’ll see more people building sn95 chassis cars. Shoot they’re really good bases for higher power builds as they’ve got a decent (not great) chassis, the fuel system can flow enough for most anything, and they come with 5 lug and 4 way disc brakes. Also they’ve got a decent seats (imo at least) and are a little more comfortable for longer cruises.

There’s like 4 good looking ones in the Savannah area. Luckily there’s some solid sn builds on here.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. Speaking of seats, i got 200,000 km on my car, thats like 140k miles i think. the driver seat is a big bagged, what has other people done about seats? I am hoping to run into some grey leather seats out of a similar year car, but when I did my apprenticeship at a ford dealership I often took seats apart to replace the heated seat elements that frequently burnt out, so I am not afraid to reskin the seats I have if I could find the skins, and foams for a good price. Maybe add a heated seat element while I am in there, lol. The hardest part would be trying to remember where I put my hog ring pliers lol