87 mustang gt... I wanna make it faster!

[marcdrivesamustang]

hey guys, im pretty new to cars, my friend and i together can do a lot with engines but what do u think is the cheapest way that will give me the most power to soup it up? its a 302 h/o standard timing and compression and all that. I put dual flowmaster 40 series on it, sounds bad ass but i also want it louder. I am not sure if taking the cats off is illeagle and whats the best way to do it. Im ordering a K&n cold air intake so if theres anything else thats relativly cheap let me know, thanks!

[BlackGT2000]

Personally i would get an off road pipe and some gears. Get rid of the cats. Put them back on for inspection than change them. Its very easy to do anyway. You could do all this for 400 bucks I would say.

[marcdrivesamustang]

Originally Posted by BlackGT2000

Personally i would get an off road pipe and some gears. Get rid of the cats. Put them back on for inspection than change them. Its very easy to do anyway. You could do all this for 400 bucks I would say.

What do u mean gears? like gear it higher? or what? Im working on an off road h-pipe after my cold air intake gets here

[BlackGT2000]

Well I guess it would technically be lower gears for your rear. Go with 3:73 gears or 4:11 gears if you want to go all out. I think they are usually only 150 for the parts but you will want to have them installed somewhere I wouldn't recomend doing them on your own.

[marcdrivesamustang]

K, thanks, is the cold air intake easy to install?

[BlackGT2000]

I would say its about the easiest thing you could instal.

[BigDanTheMan]

you off road x & h pipe guys make me angry. save the world get high flow cats or at least ride your bike whenever you can.

[marcdrivesamustang]

Y? are u a hippie?

[BigDanTheMan]

nope, just a reasonable human being

[Ace$nyper]

Originally Posted by BigDanTheMan

nope, just a reasonable human being

dans the man and right! I run a highflow cat still passes and is legal gained me power.

car like yours yea cats restrict but great gains can still be made legal and enviortmentily.

gears exhaust highflow cats great start

[mustangmann9]

www.bankspower.com

[spy604]

i guess im missing how diesel upgrades are going to help a smallblock ford...

[Got Torque?]

LOL!! dude i was thinking the same thing... uhhh if you bolt on a turbo made for the diesel youll gain like 500 lb. ft. of torque! lol

[KMracer]

Originally Posted by mustangmann9

www.bankspower.com

wtf?

[kmathew]

Originally Posted by marcdrivesamustang

hey guys, im pretty new to cars, my friend and i together can do a lot with engines but what do u think is the cheapest way that will give me the most power to soup it up? its a 302 h/o standard timing and compression and all that. I put dual flowmaster 40 series on it, sounds bad ass but i also want it louder. I am not sure if taking the cats off is illeagle and whats the best way to do it. Im ordering a K&n cold air intake so if theres anything else thats relativly cheap let me know, thanks!

I think your headed in the right direction.

Another item you might consider is the ignition system, I would recomend an MSD unit (mabee like a 6AL unit) and some 8mm Taylor wires. this is a relatively painless upgrade. MSD has very good instructions and you could do it in an afternoon.

You also might consider a larger throtle body 70mm or up. When you do this you must consider all the other restrictive components in your air path.

When you start talking about performance on an 87 GT I think about the age of the car.
How many miles do you have on the engine, is it the original motor for the car, is it your daily driver and if you melt it down do you have another way to get around.

The fact of the matter is, building cars is all about having fun. There is a learning process and if you don't tear something up every once and awhile you won't have any war stories to tell when you get my age.

Have fun and lots of luck!!


Kent Mathew
Dallas, TX