Project Idea

With the sale of my current Mustang almost immenent I have been thinking what I what to do as my next project. I have been toying with this one idea and I'm posting it up here for you my peers to tell me if you think it would be a cool idea.

My idea is based on the arguement of wether or a not a stock 5.0 Stang can run 13's 1/4 mile. I know I have seen it said in MM&FF, 5.0 etc.., But I have never seen this nor do I think anyone else has either. My belief is this can be done but by the time I had my license the newest Fox-stang was already 5 years old and had many miles on the motor.

So my plan is to buy a 87 or 88 5.0 cause of SD(5-speed preferably). Pull the motor out and do nothing more than blueprint and balance it. Make sure everything is running perfect and tip-top. And try to assualt 13 seconds through nothing more than timing, tire pressure, and simple wieght reduction tricks like said in the magazines.

I would with the help of HiFlow like to carefully document this process step by step and put it on on AF. I think it would be cool for all you Mustang lovers here to see and if we can accomplish it it will shut a lot of people up who talk trash about the 5.0 and it would be more than just magazine talk.

I think this project has room to grow if the eventual goal of 13's is reached. Also I think it is more challenging than just going fast with a 5.0 these days which basically equates to how deep are your pockets. That's all let me know what you guys all think negative or positive opinion are all welcome.

sounds like a damn good idea, but my n00bness is killing me....what exactly does blueprint and balance mean, ive heard these terms before but i never really knew what they meant. could you explain this to me?

Sounds like a plan to me! Let me know where I can help, and I'll be there. I think this is a very good idea, it would be a great idea for an "AF project car" of sorts. I too believe it is possible when set up right for a stock motored 5.0 to hit 13's. Now I do have one question for you? When you say stock, I know you'll B&B the motor, but what about port work, and the possibility of P heads and intake? Would you consider that to be stock too? I know some racing classes allow certain things like that, but would that be too much in achieving your goal?

Blueprint and balance means weighing everything in the rotating assembly inside of the engine to ensure that the there is no out of balance parts. Any weight that is out of balance, be it the rod, crank, piston, etc it will rob HP.


GTStang,

MY first thought was why? And thats a big waste of time? And I thought GTStang was smart, boy was I wrong :grinno: :p

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. Its a true way to measure ones capabilities. If you are going for a true stock, you have have to mean true stock. Not, well you can get this part, or that part from Ford, so when I install it, its still stock. That is a cop out, of sorts. Stock is stock.

I really do like the idea. I could not do it. My hat is off to you.

that is a sick ass idea i'm so for it i bet you can do it.

sounds like fun. i'lll be backing you 100% just wish i could be of service. do you know what year you will be looking in getting?

And i think skyline is right. Stock is Stock. if you are changing the timing or anything like that, it isn't stock anymore. it may not be put money into it, but that doesn't mean its stock.

Well so far I think you guys get my vision and reasoning for the project. Like I said making a 5.0 Mustang go fast these days is merely a matter of deep pockets. I kind of like this idea cause it challenges me in a lot of different ways.

As far as what is stock and what is not stock. My vision is to build a motor and car which would be exactly as if you drove it off a Ford dealership back in 87-88 and went striaght to the dragstrip. So I will get 8 stock pistons spec'ed out and re-ring em, stock rods, stock crank, stock E7 heads just making sure they good but no P&P, no 3/5 angle valve job, no milling, just checked out and restored to specs. I think you all get the idea.

Run the car like that and them from thier play with timing, tire pressure, wieght reduction. But all within reason of what some1 normally does with a new car when they head to the strip to get lil ET drops.

what kind of tires are you gonna be running? slicks? DR's?

Well I'm gonna start with street tires but will prob use dr and slicks at some point too.

i think you should definitely get a notchback. i have a feeling that you're gonna need every pound you can get, and one of them will give you 2-3 hundred pounds right off the bat. i assume that you will be doing the 10 minute tune up (seats, etc). this is sweet, hope it all works out.

oh yeah... my buddy knows a local guy who's selling an 86 notchback like mine with some racing mods (easily removed), $600. lemme know =)

What about Gears. Are you adding them and if not, are you going to check if they have been added prior to you aquiring the car?

i see what you are doing. It sounds cool, experimenting is cool (get your minds out of the gutter..)

Go for it and see what happens. whats the factory claimed 1/4mile?

The notchback/LX/ GT question has been on my mind. I'm going to get the best car/deal combination for what I'm looking for. Most preferable would be a 5-speed notchback. I do not want to have to do a 4cyl V-8 swap so if it ends up being a GT so be it. Yes I know I'm pulling the motor but think of all the other work involved to make it exactly like a V8 equipped stang. I want to try to simulate a showroom new 5.0 stang as much as possible but that would be too much work.

Also if the test car is a 5-speed I will be installing 3.08's if it's an auto 3.27 will be checked for and installed if needed. This isn't a big deal cause the Trac-Loc was going to be pulled and rebuilt to ensure a new like status. And yes the 10 minute tune-up will be done in stages.

Thinking of the notchback huh? I thought you hated the way they looked?

Thinking of the notchback huh? I thought you hated the way they looked?

I do hate the way they look... but it does give me the best chance to achieve my goal of 13's. This is very important to me cause next time anyone on here gets into an arguement about it wether it can be done or it's just Ford BS can always send some1 to AF for proof, if I can accomplish it.

Also I don't see many 5.0/ 5-speed/ Notches for sale so I may be doing it in a hatch either way. I've started my search as of yesterday. My baby is gone after this weekend. Hopefully the roads are clear enough I can rip it up one more day before it goes to it's new home.

Are you going to weld up your torque boxes. With that amount of power, you might want to think about it :biggrin:

I'm going to assume you meant to post that in a different thread Skyline. Unless I'm wrong.

I do hate the way they look... but it does give me the best chance to achieve my goal of 13's. This is very important to me cause next time anyone on here gets into an arguement about it wether it can be done or it's just Ford BS can always send some1 to AF for proof, if I can accomplish it.

Also I don't see many 5.0/ 5-speed/ Notches for sale so I may be doing it in a hatch either way. I've started my search as of yesterday. My baby is gone after this weekend. Hopefully the roads are clear enough I can rip it up one more day before it goes to it's new home.
I know of two GT's for sale around here. One is an auto though, but its 100% bone stock, might be able to get it for $2400. The other is slightly modded, but at a cheap price, around $2000 I think.

I so wanted to go for a ride in your car before you sold, Damnit it all to hell!!

I'm going to assume you meant to post that in a different thread Skyline. Unless I'm wrong.

I think its an art form I will never master over the internet.... sarcasim :)

LMAO!!! Wait, was that a joke too?
:screwy:

I think its an art form I will never master over the internet.... sarcasim :)

Haha I'm sorry man I didn't get that post about torque boxes was a joke man. I figured you just meant to post it in another thread and put it in this one by accident. LoL I'm sorry it was wasted on me man cause that is a good joke. I usually just throw up a LoL or smily in case some1 might not get my feciousness.

I've been racing Mustangs for 18 years now- 13s are not difficult with a stock car.As long as you don't have 2.73s of course.Driver skill is what you need to work on,not the car.A stock 5.0 coupe,stripper(no a/c,pw,pdl,and no damn boom box) on a decent set of DRs can pretty easily hit 13s as long as you can launch reliably and hit the shifts fast and where you want them.My own car with ET streets and skinnies,nothing but a cheap set of used unequal-length shortys,14 degrees,a short belt and the front sway pulled off was good for 13.88 @ 97.52 mph at a near sea level track.This was a speed density '88 coupe-SDs are definitely faster out of the box.A set of 3.73s and a Mac control arm setup got it down to 13.52 @ 98.91 after a lot of practice.Of course,I also had the pass seat pulled for the run...

All shifts were at 55-5600 rpm,no higher.LOTS of time practicing.Like two years.

Good luck-it'll be nice to hear about a car that's NOT a rolling tribute to the aftermarket

How wide were the tires that came with the 5.0's stock? 225's? Are you gonna run those?? How about short belt? Will that count as stock still? Does K&N drop in filter keep the car stock or nah?

Also, isn't the GT considerably slower stock cuz of the body kit and suspension or something?


But ya, your project sounds pretty awesome! I'm excited.

Let's see I think I can answer these now, since having discussed this matter with GTStang.

Stock 5.0's came with Goodyear 225's, so a similar street will be used to simulate the exact time used at time of purchase.

K&N was not stock, so the first runs will done on a completely bone stock vehicle, right down to the filter and silencer. But I'm positive, that the basic freebie's will be utilized after a base run has been acquired.

A short belt will not be used at first, but I can see it being a possibility after a few runs to see what kinda gains are achieved from this freebie. Although there is the option that the vehicle being purchased comes stock without AC, so that's one less power robbing accessory.

The only Difference between the GT, LX 5.0, and Coupe 5.0 is the ground FX and style. No suspension components differ. So the goal is to find a Notch, cause of it's lightest weight.

Be assured this is going to be well thought out, and an extensive search for the "right" vehicle will be done.

Oh and GTStang, that guy wants 2g's for that coupe I was telling you about. Interested?

thats a tight project, i hope all goes well