mustang GTs (big newbie)

[iceiso]

hello, i'm a big newbie in anything over a v6, hahaha. so far, i've been a import person, i own an I4 95 accord, and after i drove my friend's v6 maxima, i was hooked on torque. i can only imagine what a V8 would be like=)

anyways, to my question. i am planning on keeping my accord for gas efficiency and as a daily driver. initially, i wanted to get a rwd import to mess around with, maybe learn a little drifting, but i realized my budget was somewhat low. then i read on another forum that old 5.0 v8 GT mustangs can reach low 13's with boltons? i talk to a friend, and he said that the standard i/h/e can yield some impressive numbers, just as long as you let the engine breathe. this is a good change from the maximum of 15 hp you get from I4's.

i saw some 90-91 GT mustangs for under 5K, what is the usual price for this vehicle? any general information would be greatly appreciated; any sites would also be very helpful. what's the easiest way to get power out of this engine? typical engine swaps? what are some expected times? what about boosting? any common problems and what year do you like the best?

ANY help would be GREATLY appreciated! thanks!

300 lb/tq @ 3200-*droooooool*

[iceiso]

oh, also, the car i will get will be worked on by me. it'll be my custom/learning/tweaking car.

i know that this is a ford mustang forum, but please try to avoid biases, but which one would be better. an older (94 and under) camaro or mustang?

[DiggerStang]

Which is better? I won't even touch that. We all (in the Mustang Forum) know which one is better.

Don't get too hung up on GT's. To the best of my knowledge, all 5.0 fox body 'Stangs (of the same model year) have the same HP/Torque. There's nothing wrong with GT's of course. They're great. They're just not any faster than an LX 5.0 in a straight line.

The price of a 'Stang will vary wildly, depending on the condition of the car, what (if any) mods have been done, the size of the owner's ego, is his girlfriend suddenly pregnant, and what-not. I bought my 5.0 donor car for $700 CDN, which is a good deal for an '88 LX. But it's a rust bucket. I've also seen '88 LX 5.0's for $10000 CDN. Just make sure the frame is solid, especially if the car has seen road salt. Anything can be fixed, but if the frame is about to disintegrate, the car is a shitbox. Period.

Typical engine swaps? You don't need an engine swap, that's the beauty of it! Still, some people swap in 351's, some people with serious power fetishes even swap in 460's. (Of course, if you get a 4-banger, you'll definitely end up doing an engine swap, like me.)

[BigDanTheMan]

yo - i didn't know anything at all when i got my 5.0. i still don't know much, but i feel comfortable making repairs and performance choices. you'll learn fast on a ford - very simple cars.

[JohnnyWash1]

For reliability and quality reasons, the Mustang is better than the Camaro. It is also faster, during those years. As for price, pay no more than $4K. The cars are fast, easy to work on, and need no engine swap. A LX with the 5.0 will weigh less than a GT, so the LX is the faster car. As for times, expect to get about 14.0-14.5 stock with some practice...but mid 13s will be easy with a few bolt ons (intake manifold, exhaust, pulleys, gears). If you want to go crazy, you can get new heads, cam (yes, that's TWO heads and only ONE cam) and venture into the 12s. Or go forced induction and the sky's the limit. Enjoy.

Jon

[iceiso]

thank you for the very quick and informative replies.

what's the difference between the GT and LX 5.0?
sorry, but i am incompetent when it comes to domestics. what are the 351 and 460? i am only familiar with honda/acura engine codes! haha.

how much can the bottom end handle before it needs to be bulletproofed? forced induction sounds very appetizing...

i saw this on autotrader for 5k...
1991 Mustang GT (5.0, V8). Mustang enthusiast's dream. Dynomax Performance Exhaust, 3.73 Gears, King Cobra Clutch, Short Shifter Kit, Cervini Auto Designs Ram Air Hood, Saleen Wing, Corbeau Race Seats (w/harnesses), Autometer Tachometer (w/shift light), MTX Sound System (2 X 10 Inch Subwoofers). (703) 791-4767. Also included: original hood, seats (Driver side is power), spoiler, and Mac Off Road H-pipes (only used for short time).

is that a good deal assuming that the frame is in good condition? also, what is an H-Pipe?

thanks again for the great replies and the ones to come!

[rerun]

i shouldn't say anything but..

torque and v-6? thats an oxiemoron my friend

[quiktsi]

There is a difference in the 93 and older mustangs when it comes to weight and valve train. The GT's came with roller rocker arms and alot more weight due to body kit. The Lx's are my weapon of choice they are bout 350 lighter plus you can see those shiny 2.5 pipes crackin the whip A$$ once you get on it. Go for a 92 to 89 lx. the 93 lx's come with 205hp rather than the 225 that the 89-92 have plus you will be lighter.

[DiggerStang]

Seeing as how you are mostly an import guy (so far), I'm not surprised you think 351 and 460 are engine codes. They're not. Those are cubic inches of displacement! (Yeehaw!!!) They convert to about 5.8 litres and -gasp- 7.5 litres, respectively. By comparison, a 1.6 litre engine is about 98 cu. inches, a 1.8 litre engine is about 110 cu. inches. I'm not knocking small motors, though. They are impessive for their size.

I guess $5K is not bad for that GT. That's what I would expect to pay in Ontario. But a wing, race seats, Tach, sound system, etc. don't make the car faster. Cooler? Hell yeah! I don't think the short-shifter kit makes the car faster, either. Might make your shifts a little faster.

You could buy a cheaper 'Stang and get gears and performance exhaust yourself. You'd save a lot of money, especially if you can do the installation yourself.

[DiggerStang]

Originally Posted by quiktsi

There is a difference in the 93 and older mustangs when it comes to weight and valve train. The GT's came with roller rocker arms and alot more weight due to body kit...

I thought that a 5.0 from an an '88 LX, for example, was a roller motor. Am I wrong about this?

[BigDanTheMan]

that mustang you are looking into sounds pretty ricy to me.

mechanically the lx and the gt are exactly alike. the gts have a body kit, for some years different rear end options and the warning light cluster in the lower right of the instrument cluster is operational. really the only diff is the gt's dress up kit.
you won't find a gt notch with is the lightest of the three body types. there is much dispute between the lxs being faster based on package weight. the real difference comes from the weight of the different body types. I've heard people say that the difference in 1/4 times between an lx and a gt hatch are not worth calculating becuase they are so identical.

[JohnnyWash1]

Originally Posted by iceiso

thank you for the very quick and informative replies.

what's the difference between the GT and LX 5.0?
sorry, but i am incompetent when it comes to domestics. what are the 351 and 460? i am only familiar with honda/acura engine codes! haha.

how much can the bottom end handle before it needs to be bulletproofed? forced induction sounds very appetizing...


is that a good deal assuming that the frame is in good condition? also, what is an H-Pipe?

thanks again for the great replies and the ones to come!

The GT is like a Civic Si, the LX is like a Crx with b16a2. Get it? The Gt has the body kit and wheels, while the LX has none of the dress up but all of the mechanical. As for how we identify engines, well, we never use engine codes (unless you are talking about the LT1 or LS1--both Chevy 350s), we rely on displacement. 351 and 460 are cubic inches.

The 5.0 bottom end is very strong, and can handle 400-500hp(MAX) with proper tuning before serious problems become an everyday thing.

I wouldn't pick a GT that's already been played with. There are plenty of used plain gts and lxs that would make a far better project. The h-pipe, by the way, is like the imports test-pipe or downpipe (I think). It is the piping that comes between the headers and the mufflers. The h describes the shape of the piping; since you have two pipes, one from each header, you can run straight pipe, or H or X--both of these offer ways of better exhaust flow through balancing of air in each pipe by sharing. I know this explanation isn't very good, but my fever is preventing me from being clearer...


Jon

[HiFlow5 0]

Originally Posted by quiktsi

There is a difference in the 93 and older mustangs when it comes to weight and valve train. The GT's came with roller rocker arms and alot more weight due to body kit. The Lx's are my weapon of choice they are bout 350 lighter plus you can see those shiny 2.5 pipes crackin the whip A$$ once you get on it. Go for a 92 to 89 lx. the 93 lx's come with 205hp rather than the 225 that the 89-92 have plus you will be lighter.

The 93 Mustang didn't come with roller rockers, only the 93 Cobra did. The 93 came with a sled type rocker arm. The reason for the hp reduction is a # of reasons. The Hyper pistons is not the real reason why hp levels dropped, but people often contribute it to that. The actual reason is a combination of minor internal changes throughout the 87-93 run of the 5.0 motor, and the fact that ford altered the ways in which a motor is tested and then rated. They went to a more efficient way of determining hp.

Oh and Diggerstang, yes the 87-95 5.0 EFI motors were all roller camshaft motors, opposed to hydraulic camshaft motors. This "roller effect" is in the lifters not the rockers.

[JohnnyWash1]

Originally Posted by HiFlow5 0

The 93 Mustang didn't come with roller rockers, only the 93 Cobra did. The 93 came with a sled type rocker arm. The reason for the hp reduction is a # of reasons. The Hyper pistons is not the real reason why hp levels dropped, but people often contribute it to that. The actual reason is a combination of minor internal changes throughout the 87-93 run of the 5.0 motor, and the fact that ford altered the ways in which a motor is tested and then rated. They went to a more efficient way of determining hp.

Oh and Diggerstang, yes the 87-95 5.0 EFI motors were all roller camshaft motors, opposed to hydraulic camshaft motors. This "roller effect" is in the lifters not the rockers.

Well said; I could not have said it better myself.

Jon