Stangs-N-Stuff

By Z Mouradian

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Introduction

Welcome to Z's web page.  First, I would like to let you know that this is my first web page, so don't be so hard on it!  This page started out as a class project and hopefully one day will turn out to be bigger and better.  In this page I will eventually offer plenty of mustang pics, modifying tips, and footage of mustangs drag racing at the local track. Enough of the small talk now lets get to the goodies.

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Contents
  Modifying Tips          Mustang Pics
Stang Multimedia   Parts Pics   Z's Stang

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      Modifying Tips

Modifying Tips Part 1

The following mods are for the 86-95 5.0L Mustangs.  Some of these mods will work on the 96-up 4.6 Sohc Stangs which I will discuss at a latter date.

The first thing a Stang owner should do is remove the air silencer from the air inlet underneath the passenger side fender.  Next, bump up the timing to 12 - 14 degrees TDC. (Caution: Be sure to run 93 octane gas and also listen for detonation after you do this!  If detonation occurs drop the timing back down a couple degrees until you don't detonate.)  The next thing few things aren't mods but they are usually neglected.  Take off the air inlet off the Throttle Body (T.B.), have a friend get in the car and with the ENGINE OFF floor the accelerator while you look in the T.B. and make sure the butterfly is completely open. Some Mustangs from the factory had accelerator cables longer than usual.  Another good thing to check for is the Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) for the correct voltage.  To do this you will need a volt meter.  Turn the ignition on (motor off) pierce the two wires with a needle and check the voltage with the meter.  It should read about .98v.  To adjust, loosen the two screws on top and turn the TPS until you get the correct voltage then tighten them back. Okay, last freebie is to check the battery for tight and clean connections.  Sometimes the computer will not get the right voltage if the terminals are loose or dirty.

Now for the low buck mods! I recommend starting off with the basics, a K&N filter, underdrive pulleys, NGK V-groove spark plugs, and MSD or Ford Motorsport ignition wires. A 5.0L Mustang with 3.08 or better gears should be able to run the 1/4 mile in 13.9 - 14.2 seconds with these mods.

 Next  up are the mid buck mods (under $500). I would start off with aftermarket headers.  This is a subject with lots of different views.  Like the controversy on which brand or what kind (equal or shorty length, long tube or short tube).  I'm going to give you my opinion but don't let this effect your decision.  It all depends on your setup and how far are you going to go with.  I recommend short tube equal lengths, 1 5/8 size for the street.  Unless you have a Strip only car long tubes is out of the question.  The controversy with equal length and shortys is that some people said they had problems burning plug wires.  Well if they touch the header of course their going to burn!  Route them carefully, use clips and make sure their tight on the spark plugs.

Since were on the subject on exhaust lets talk mufflers.  If you don't have the $500 bucks for Borla's I highly recommend the Flowmaster Cat-back 2 1/2 inch.  American Thunder is what I have,  it's a two chamber  muffler.  Pretty loud and throaty at 2000 RPM.  Another recommendation would be a Bassani X-pipe with high flow cats.  However I would hold off on this piece until you further modify you engine.

1. 3.55 or 3.73 Gears
2.       Roller Rockers
3.            65 mm T.B.
4.          Cobra Intake

Did you always wanted to have a picture of your car in a magazine?  Well this isn't a magazine. but you can still have a picture of your stang or fast ford placed on this site!  It's simple, all you have to do is E-mail me a scanned picture in a Jpeg file and write a brief description about your car.  Or you can send me a picture and I will scan it and place it on this site.  Please note:  Photos must be clear for best results. Ladies in a bikini a plus! (Just kidding, well then again maybe not.) Photos will not be returned.
 
 

Stang Multimedia

This is a fairly new Intake, Heads, and Cam package from holley. They claim a total of 350 horsepower on a 5.0L equipped with this package and with a  bigger T.B., Fuel pump, exhaust, and etc.  I would like to see a test done on this product because the price is pretty reasonable (about $2500) and so is the output if this is true.

A FMS (Ford Motorsports) GT-40 intake will handle up to 450 HP.  A very nice piece visually, and very effective performance wise.  Increases horsepower to 27+ over stock. Cost is about $560.  One draw back is that the upper intake can not be ported.  Another good intake is the FMS Cobra (not shown) which is a better value at about $400.  It will handle up to 400 HP and gives you 24+ over stock.  Another benefit is that it has an built in EGR spacer.

The TFS TW heads are made of light weight aluminum, 2.02" intake valve, 1.60" exhaust valve, and a 61cc combustion chamber.  A very popular head for the 5.0 engine.  Expect to pay about $1100.

More to come soon.

Now it's time for me to talk about my stang.  It's not much but at least it's paid for.  I owned it since my senior year of high school, which was back in 1990.   Purchased it for about $10K when it was two years old and had only 18,000 miles on it.  For those who can't do the math (just kidding, don't be so uptight) it's a 1988 GT. When I bought it, I wasn't very experienced driving a stick.  However I was still good enough to smoke the Goodyear Gatorback tires for about a block.  Damn I hated those tires!  Another thing I hated were those hard to clean turbine wheels, not to mention the fact that they were heavy. After I got more experienced shifting I decided to take it to the local 1/4 mile track which was Desoto Speedway.  On a somewhat hot day the car ran a 14.6 @ 96 mph.  Not bad for a fully loaded GT in stock trim with those damn Gatorback tires. Now the car runs 13.80's at anywhere from 99 - 101 mph trap speeds.  Not impressed?  Oh, did I forget to mention that the motor is stock, never been taken apart, and has over 100k miles on it. The car has the following mods as you can see most of the money is in the suspension.

Motor - K&N filter, 12 degrees timing advanced, NGK V-groove plugs, Accel 8.8 wires, and March underdrive pulleys.

Exhaust - Flowmaster 2 1/2" catback system, and Mac 1 5/8 shorty equal length headers.

Rear end - Everything Stock except for Ford Motorsport (FMS)  3.55 gears and Synthetic fluid.

Suspension -  Ford Motorsport springs,  Monroe Formula Gp shocks and struts,  Urethane bushings, RaceCraft rear lower control arms, FMS upper control arms. (For all those that complain about traction get yourself some good Upper /  Lower control combo does wonders for you 60' times.)

Near future moods include the following -
Sub frame connectors, K-brace, Strut tower brace. ( I should of done this a long time ago)  Recommend at least Sub frames for you first mod. Camber/Caster plates, Recaro style seats,  65 mm T.B., Cobra intake,  new carpet, sound system, and a fresh paint job. Which I'm hoping to tackle myself, if I can find a place to do it.
 

Future mods include-
Some kind of Head, Cam, and Intake combo ( not sure what kind yet)
DSS 306 short block, and a supercharger. (Vortech 11 lbs, or ATI 14 lbs inter-cooled)