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'89 Mustang


excell

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I call it "Project not quite a mid life crisis" but it should be "Project thought I was gonna go turbo a mostly stock motor but decided to go motor for now instead including a cam thanks to Hoblick". Decided to set the car up for boost as I go, so I can still add a turbo or blower later.

 

1989 Mustang vert, 98k miles, not mint/original but pretty nice condition. When I bought it two summers ago, it was clear it was re-painted once, and the front bumper cover and hood used to be red so I suspect a minor collision. The dash used to be white but was painted. It was a Florida car, so I am sure the dash was replaced for sun fade. The interior had recently been totally re-upholstered, new carpet, new top, new windshield, etc. so all in all, a nice car but I'm not worried about every little scratch or my kids dropping ice cream in it or anything. That was goal, didn't want something perfect and I don't care if it's perfect.

 

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Car had weld-on subframe connectors (that need to be re-welded...), BBK catless H pipe, Flowmasters, and at some point someone hogged all of the metal out of the passenger fender by the airbox so I assume a cold air intake setup of some kind. Car also had a cheater 134a conversion kit installed, but the A/C did not work. Shocks and struts recently replaced with Sensatrac's (blech). The timing cover has definitely been off the engine and a new timing set installed, no idea why. The rest of the engine is definitely factory and the heads had not been off of it, further feeding the curiosity of why the timing set was replaced... maybe a gasket leak, and they figured why not if you're already in there?

 

A short list of the project... from front to back ha:

One piece head/turn/signal light housings

Full 134a conversion kit (all new components)

Aluminum raditor and all new hoses

Electric fan conversion

Remove smog and EGR and associated bullshit

130A alternator upgrade

F303 cam, new timing set and all that jazz

Trick Flow TW170 heads

Fel Pro MLS head gaskets with copper spray

Trick Flow 1.6 adjustable roller rockers

New lifters/pushrods/etc.

PDI hot forged distributor and Screamin' Demon coil

Explorer GT40 intake with ported lower by Tom Moss

BBK ceramic shorties

47lb injectors, Pro-M meter, 340lph fuel pump, pump re-wiring kit.

Eibach sway bars

Steel brake lines

Pro 5.0 shifter

Bunch of other minor resto parts -- motor mounts, battery tray, balancer, fuel lines, yadda yadda... shit you replace on a 100k 30 year old car.

 

Here it sat, 98k miles.

 

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Tearing into it, and then the final product down to the shortblock. The lower intake was FULL of mouse shit. Some little mouse family fucked for generations in there. Must have sat a while.

 

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Pile of most of the parts I pulled off:

 

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Next step is to clean the shit out of the block, do some minor engine bay cleanup and rust prep/cleanup, and then I can start measuring clearances for the heads and pushrods. :) Hopefully this Sunday I can get all the cleanup and prep done, and get ready for measuring.

 

Still have to get the rear brake drums off to see if the wheel cylinders need replaced (I suspect they do), and still deciding if I install the 340lph fuel pump, or step back to a 255lph as I have heard some rumors a 340 cycles the fuel too much too fast on stock fuel lines and causes it to heat up. Not sure if that's bullshit. Keeping the stock lines, except for the engine-side lines...

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Nice. Leave the smog shit off of it. Makes it much easier to get to everything. Spark plugs especially.

 

Yea, no way that's going back on. I have historical designation and in PA, that means no emissions check and a permanent plate. It was very satisfying just hacking the smog tube in half to remove the heads instead of fucking with the bolts and brackets in the back. :)

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Nah the 5.0L vacuum lines aren't all that complicated for a late 80's/early 90's car thankfully. Most are the same size, and only run through the firewall for the controls. I would plumb the ones to the heater controls now while you have the block tore down since its easier to access.
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Nah the 5.0L vacuum lines aren't all that complicated for a late 80's/early 90's car thankfully. Most are the same size, and only run through the firewall for the controls. I would plumb the ones to the heater controls now while you have the block tore down since its easier to access.

 

Yea, I've done them before. I labeled everything and took good notes on what I can eliminate. I usually get the extra length kit, re-do everything at the firewall, then tuck it all aside over the fender and assemble the engine. Then, run, loom, and cut to length. Cars...

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Did you get an adjustable fuel pressure regulator yet? If not, you should :)

 

Yep. Kit came with an Aeromotive regulator and I bought an oil filled on-rail pressure gauge. Still undecided if I buy new rails, leaning toward keeping the stock rails. They're in good shape and I like how they look.

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Yep. Kit came with an APR and I bought an oil filled on-rail pressure gauge. Still undecided if I buy new rails, leaning toward keeping the stock rails. They're in good shape and I like how they look.

 

As long as the seals are goon the the stock rails, I would leave them. They will have plenty of flow for what you are gonna be doing.

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Electric fan conversion

Remove smog and EGR and associated bullshit

130A alternator upgrade

F303 cam, new timing set and all that jazz

Trick Flow TW170 heads

Fel Pro MLS head gaskets with copper spray

Trick Flow 1.6 adjustable roller rockers

New lifters/pushrods/etc.

PDI hot forged distributor and Screamin' Demon coil

Explorer GT40 intake with ported lower by Tom Moss

BBK ceramic shorties

47lb injectors, Pro-M meter, 340lph fuel pump, pump re-wiring kit.

 

This is a very specific list of good hop-up parts for the 5.0L. How did you get around to this specific combo? Any ideas on expected output?

 

I was looking at 5.0-swapping my E36 BMW but got off of that bandwagon for the time being due to budget and time constraints...but something I'm still considering in the future.

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This is a very specific list of good hop-up parts for the 5.0L. How did you get around to this specific combo? Any ideas on expected output?

 

I was looking at 5.0-swapping my E36 BMW but got off of that bandwagon for the time being due to budget and time constraints...but something I'm still considering in the future.

 

Honestly started as a "budget" build to add 75-100HP. I knew the car needed the A/C and engine fan redone and that's how it started. I wanted to convert fully to 134a, and I wanted to do electric fans vs the mechanical fan. Since I was gonna have all that cooling equipment removed, I figured it would be simple to install an intercooler and turbo stuff so I was going to go with a base On3 turbo kit and otherwise stock engine. I was reminded in my other thread to run more than a few pounds of boost I'd need to replace the head gaskets and switch to head studs. Figured if I'm going spelunking into the engine, I'm not putting stock components back on. So I decided I would go ahead and upgrade the motor components, as well as set it up for boost later on.

 

The Explorer GT40 is a known good performer, and with the Tom Moss ported lower is known to flow as well as pretty much all of the high-end intakes. Total cost was a few hundred bucks less than buying one of the other intakes, and I prefer the way the GT40 looks.

 

The F303 cam is a known performer, especially on boost, so that was an easy choice.

 

I initially had chosen SVE aluminum heads which are off-brand, not super great heads but they were on sale for $800 so I figured what the hell. They ran out and backordered them until May, so they made me a stellar deal on a set of the Twisted Wedge 170's and that's how I ended up with those. In hindsight, it's a good thing that happened and will make for a more rounded build.

 

The rest of the shit may all not be needed, but I am a firm believer in doing things right and once. If you're that far in, there is no reason not to replace lifters, the distributor, water pump, etc. since they're 30 years old. I bought all ARP fasteners for everything, a new timing cover, etc. The only things going back on are the original brackets and the PS pump (and I gotta replace the lines...). The rest is all new.

 

Still hoping for around a 75-100 whp bump. I'd like to dyno around +-315. We'll see. :)

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That combo and a proper tune/timing should hit that with ease. Plus removing the factory smog, mechanical fan, etc, there will be less power loss. So were you didn't gain it, you are at least feeling it more lol.

 

That's the idea. Once I get it built and put a couple easy hours on it, I'm gonna trailer it to Brian Turner for a tune. Already spoke with him. :)

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