joecall

I am 58 years old and have been a work-a-holic who has never had a hobby. I have decided its time to get one.

I have a '90 convertible 5.0L. with a stock engine and a stock auto trans that I want to race. I don't know where to begin in upgrades. I know that the first thing I need is a roll bar. I have looked at the ones that you have suggested but they don't look sporty enough. The first thing I will do is to have a roll bar custom made. Beyond that, I don't know where to go.

Any suggestions? Is there enough benefit in having a standard trans that I should get one?

dawson1112

You chose an expensive first hobby. lol

When you say race I assume you mean 1/4 mile strip?
It all depends on what your time goals are. Do you want a 10 second car? Or do you just want something that will beat stock ?
If the car is just meant to be quick , and you don't intend to daily drive it, start with a set of 4.10 gears. Upgrade the heads to some after market aluminum heads. I think the most popular are AFR and Trickflow. They make complete top end kits that go cost wise from about $1,900 on up. That would be the bottom of the HP chart. Using gt40 x heads and ford racing stuff. Once you get up into the afr stuff the starting points would be around $2,600 for the kit ( not including the intake ).
Here is a kit by afr and is probly the cheapest.
http://treperformance.com/i-9214812-...l-stage-2.html

In order to even use the added power of these kits youll need to do a lot of other upgrades , such as fuel delivery upgrades like bigger injectors and a maf calibrated for the injectors.
Not to mention the rear suspension , and control arms. And a good set of full length sub frame connectors . Other wise your just twisting the body and drive train , and loosing traction. there is a lot to consider before you start ordering parts , first you need to set your goals and stick with it, other wise you will spend more money changing your mind along the way.

I have yet to have my car to the track to see what my times are , but I have done a few passes on the street by marking out a 1/4 mile stretch and having my son start and stop the clock . I am seeing low to mid 12s , but its not near as accurate as a real drag strip would be, and on street tires I tend to spin the first 100 feet or so if Im not easy on the launch.

88 orangepeel notch

Yep, +1^^^

We need to know your goals, ET or maybe a horsepower level you'd like. Then we can advise the wisest path.

As for transmission choices, if your looking for bracket racing, definitely stick with an auto. Manuals are alot funner, but not as consistent in times. We'll, not for me anyway. Good luck and keep the questions coming.

Duncan_GT

Build a 351

BabyGT

The aod trans in that car will not hold up to much abuse, auto is far more consistent though for drag times, look for a C4 or C6 if you can find one, much more reliable trans.

A roll cage is must for verts to be track legal. Check with the track you will be running at for info on what specs your cage needs to meet; wall thickness, how many points need to meet the car, ect.... Is this going to be driven to the track, run, and driven home? Or trailered? If driven there you can buy a belt harness that will bolt under the waist strap points and the shoulder straps will replace the waist straps from the rear seat.

If it's a track only car a bit of money can be made towards your project by carefully removing the interior for weight reduction and selling the pieces.

reldla1996

You need to set your budget and your goals. They are often incompatible with each other, and you'll need to adjust one or the both. How much of the work you'll do yourself has a huge impact on the budget. Once you settle those, then you select the modifications to meet the goals and budget. When you mention racing, you need to decide if it's a specific class where you need to follow the specific rules, or just at your local race track on test and tune night where there are minimal rules.

joecall

I can only dump 4 or 5 grand into this project a year.

I want to do track racing. I don't know what kind of classes they have for horse power or age yet.

I will be going through the NASA classes. This year I hope to at least get to the point of being to race competitively at the low end of spectrum, but maybe that is too aggressive.

The sports park nearest to me is Larry Miller Sports Park in Toole Utah. I have found out that they have open Wednesday where you can drive your car around the track solo, then graduate to what was described to me as a point pass where if you see a driver coming up on you with more horse power, you indicate by pointing out the window that you see him coming and let him pass by.

As for the work that I can do myself, I have experienced friends that would love to help me to do upgrades.

I know someone that races regularly at this sports park and knows what is required for the roll bar. He will probably help me to get the right type of roll bar installed.

Then I plan to get a racing seat (5 point restraints?), then tires. Depending on how much this will cost me, this may be the only upgrades that I can do this year, however, the 4.10 gears and the aluminum heads sound interesting too.

I hope that this gives you enough info to know where to point me.

Duncan_GT

Depending on the track, I would hold off on 4.10's. You'll be maxing out your top speed in no time, and with the extra torque around the turns, I'm sure you will spin if you are not experienced in vehicle handling. I would be looking more at a 3.73/3.55 setup if you are road racing. Later on down the road, I would buy a close ratio gearbox. The closer ratios are better in road racing applications, as the drop in rpm between gears is less. But like I said, that's later on down the road but something to keep in mind.

reldla1996

Your next stop is the rule book for the racing class you plan to start in, and graduate to. The rules can be very specific on what you can and cannot do. You also need to check and see what classes Fox Mustangs are competitive in. Depending on the rule sets, certain cars have advantages and disadvantages in the various classes. Ideally you also talk to someone that is doing well in the class, and see what they have done. Once you complete that research, then you're ready to select what you're going to do. You should have fun - Good Luck!

barnett468

Hi, good suggestions above.

I think in your case, if it's allowed, get the best tire and wheel set up you can. race tires wear quick so if you plan on street driving this is a consideration.

If they will let you and you do not need it to get it registered, get rid of the cat converter and put free flowing mufflers on it. Some tracks have noise level restrictions.

Get some Hawk brand high perf race brake pads. Ask racers what they use.