3 to 4 car lengths is an embarassment...

 

Honestly.. it more depends on what your future plans are... If you just want to keep it basically a car that "has *****".. then do the gears, tune, put a midpipe, mufflers on for a few hundred, for the sound.. then maybe some suspension work like lower control arms or suspension springs...

If you have gears, install should be a couple hundred, tuner is around 400, thats 600 spent... and then exhaust (midpipe and mufflers shop installed) will probably be around 400 there... that would be your 1k, and/or LCA + springs = 400 + install if you need it... that's where i'd go with it...

Personally, im not a big fan of n2o though...

 

in addition to the gears, add some new tires, also add in some more induction like CAI, throttle bodie and plenum, let the stang breathe and get it tuned and chiped, then you will really embarass them

 

Nitrous for the win. It's safe, and it works great.

But since you're on a budget and you don't want to use nitrous,
I say definitely get underdrive pulleys. They are a great hp/dollar item.
Also look into an affordable cold air intake and tb/plenum combo, the cheap ones work 90% as well as the expensive ones.
Lower Control Arms could help your launch
A short shifter would help if it's a manual.
Finish your mods up with an SCT tuner (SCT is my personal preference although diablo sport is ok too).

Consider this:
Any sort of weight removal, whether it's removing the back seat or atleast the spare tire... anything helps.
Try to keep the car as cool as possible. A 180 degree thermostat is pretty cheap and easy to install (albeit a little messy with the coolant).
Tires, expecially Drag radials can have a huge impact on your launch.

 

+1 for nitrous,, its not scary it makes people scared of ur car,,,

 

+1, do some research nitrous became my best friend. But use that money to install the 4:10's and get an sct xcal 2 tuner. With that combo, you'll notice a big difference.