[mattdesmond]

Anyone have experience with 1985-1993 mustang 5.0s? I was trying to decide what kind of car to get for my next project and thought this could be a relatively cheap and easy project. Any input would be great, thanks. My dub would be my daily driver and the stang would be for strip use mainly, but I would still want it to be streetable.

 

[sar4497]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (mattdesmond)

what do you want to know?
most 85s are carb'd. 86 has fuel injection and one-year-only cylinder heads. style/interior changed in 1987. you will probably want an '89+ or update an old one with a mass air flow system. it's better than the older speed density setups when it comes to modifying. stay away from a 93 engine if you're looking for boost or nitrous, because the pistons are cast instead of forged, and therefore not as strong.
any specific questions? i can tell you pretty much anything you need to know about mustangs from 1979-1993.

 

[mattdesmond]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (sar4497)

Cool man, thanks for the info, you're helpful already.

I have a question about the easiest way to make the car seriously fast, which would be the best route, all motor, supercharging/turboing, or nitrous? I don't think I'll want to go the nitrous route though. I really don't know what the cars are capable with minor to middleweight mods, just looking into them.

 

[Mr.Gerbik]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (mattdesmond)

if i had a 5.0, the first thing id do is order a summit catalogue, or maybe a PAW, and go though and order the "hp kits" as they are called. most of the time they consist of a set of heads and a cam and intake manifold, then you can slapa vortech on it and have yourself an easy 500 hp.

 

[sar4497]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (gti32)

with something as simple as headers, exhaust, gears, k&n, and tires, you may very well have a 13 second car. you will pull better times if you shift before redline, at least when near-stock. i would always start a mustang 5.0 with gears and exhaust. do all the regular bolt-ons. cylinder heads are expensive so grab the gt40-style heads from an explorer. then get a supercharger and appropriate cam and you will have a very fast car.

 

[VW-BMW]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (sar4497)

To reiterate someone else: Don't buy it if it's not MAF equipped.

 

[gtivr4]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (VW-BMW)

There was a really good writeup on a 5.0 stang in Grass Roots Motorsports a few months back.
Heres the latest on their project car:
http://www.grmotorsports.com/mustanggt.html

 

[mattdesmond]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (gtivr4)

Thanks for the information everyone. Looks like this could be a great project car, now I just need to find one for cheap.

 

[MadCat]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (mattdesmond)

go to http://www.corral.net and read the Windsor tech forums. it's not as technically rich as it used to be but there are still some of the brightest and fastest racers on there. I would not recommend going with a "catalog" setup.. instead figure out precisely what you want out of the car and lay out a plan. The Mustang aftermarket is huge and it's easy to throw together a horrible combination of expensive parts.

 

[gtivr4]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (MadCat)

Would it make more sense to buy a 4 cylinder mustang and then throw in a crate engine/tranny that would have more power originally? Or is it just cheaper to modify a 5.0 GT/LX?

 

[MGQ]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (gtivr4)

An original 5.0 Mustang will also come with the right motor mounts, heavy duty suspension, proper radiator, and other things you need to support a high performance engine, such as the rear end.
don't forget the domino effect.
If you can find a cheap 4/6 cyl, it might be worth it, but much more work.

 

[AKADriver]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (gtivr4)

A V8 car will already have stronger transmission, diff, and brakes.

 

[sar4497]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (AKADriver)

speaking of brakes! the factory fox body brakes are barely adequate even on a stock car. personally i would do a 5 lug conversion with sn95 GT or Cobra (or equivalent) rotors up front. i don't know the intimate details of it but i think it's fairly easy to update to the sn95 suspension/brakes.
and as far as putting a a v8 in a 4 cylinder car, you might as well if you are going all out on the car, since you'll be replacing everything no matter what you start with. example: 5.8L block, tremec or c-4 transmission, 9" rear, race springs, etc. 4 cylinder hatchbacks/notchbacks are EVERYWHERE. there's like 8 on my street.

 

[mattdesmond]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (sar4497)

I'll probably end up starting with a V8 car, as I'd like to have the 5.0 power off the bat, even before I modify it much. Having to deal with an engine swap from 4cyl to V8 is definitely not the 1st thing I want to deal with. I don't even mind doing a rebuild, but I'd have to pay a shop to do a swap as I have just basic tools.

 

[mattdesmond]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (mattdesmond)

Oh yeah, and are there any specific problems I should look for when shopping for these cars? I'll obviously look for major stuff, but don't really know my way around them yet. Thanks.

 

[Chris V]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (sar4497)

quote:[HR][/HR]speaking of brakes! the factory fox body brakes are barely adequate even on a stock car. personally i would do a 5 lug conversion with sn95 GT or Cobra (or equivalent) rotors up front. i don't know the intimate details of it but i think it's fairly easy to update to the sn95 suspension/brakes.
and as far as putting a a v8 in a 4 cylinder car, you might as well if you are going all out on the car, since you'll be replacing everything no matter what you start with. example: 5.8L block, tremec or c-4 transmission, 9" rear, race springs, etc. 4 cylinder hatchbacks/notchbacks are EVERYWHERE. there's like 8 on my street.[HR][/HR]​

Exactly. The 4 cyls use the same front structure as the V8 cars. The V6s are different and are difficult to change over. The 4 cyl cars are almost perfectly suited to the job of becoming V8 race cars...

I've put 460s into the 4 cyl cars. As was said, you're going to want to change the trans and springs/shocks/swaybars anyways (if you want it to handle, a call to Griggs, Global West, or MM is in order regardless of what you start with). And, also as was said, the brakes need to be changed regardless, too. Motor mounts? $15. Big deal.
If you're budgeting for fun, it's way cheaper to start with a 4 cyl car and add only the parts you want than pay extra for a V8 car and replace most of it anyway.
Of course, much can be said for having V8 power to start with until you can afford to do the upgrades.

 

[Hardcore]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (Chris V)

You could slip a tuned 5.0l into an old volvo for a sweet sleeper. Paul Newman and Letterman each have one of these. Apparently it is a direct bolt in.

 

[Me109]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (Hardcore)

I'm thinking of getting one too, they're great fun. Absolutely, positively, the first thing you should do is a rear end gear swap. Go for a 3.73 or maybe a 3.55 if you're worried about mileage. It's silly to spend money on heads, cam, whatever, without changing the gears. Thing is, these cars came with 2.73s and 3.08s, which SUCK! Swapping a 3.73 gear will feel like a 100 hp gain, I'm serious!
Oh yeah, Fords sound great with flowmasters and h-pipes. Unlike GM's F-body, they came with true dual exhaust. They cut a NASTY lick with a cam.
If you want something a bit different in a fox-body, go for one of the SVO turbo mustangs. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

 

[mattdesmond]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (mattdesmond)

I may have found a donor 4cyl body! I'm not sure of the details but it's an LX possibly 1990-91 and it's a 4cyl. Don't even know if it runs or anything, waiting to hear back from the woman owner. She's asking 1,200 for it but I'll try to talk her down. Sweet!!!

 

[Clean97GTi]

Re: Project car, thinking about a 5.0 (mattdesmond)

The old 5.0 is a very good motor and with a little work (which can be done cheaply) they can be very quick. Go with some sort of cross-pipe/H-pipe, a hotter cam, PnP the cylinder heads (not much though) headers and a better gear ratio.