sirkus

This is pretty much my first post, so let me begin with, My name is Eric.. I live in North Georgia. I have a 94 GT 5spd (pic in the sig) with 140k miles on it. I just recently traded a sr20det 240sx for this car. I've always loved the 5.0 engine. I mainly traded for the fact that there is more potential power from the 302.. the sr20 was pretty much maxed out at 16psi 290hp/302tq. I had it for a little while. But now I'm really looking into modding this stang. I don't really know much about the 302 other than basic stuff. I was wondering if some people could answer a few of my questions about stuff that I'm looking to do.

I was told that it is pretty much pointless to mod the engine at 140k miles because I'm loosing power just becuase of the milage. I was told that my best bet would be to rebuild the engine and have it bored over to a 306, a new set of heads and a Trickflow intake. Guy told me that with the right cam I could put down around 350.. Now... He also said that the work would run around 5K+ I could take 1k off of that if I pulled my own engine.

What I looked for after I found that out was a crate engine, for around 5-6k I could have one already assembled, that's already finished. Is it a big pain to swap in crate engines? And does it always cost a lot to put EFI on it? Do I need to have my ECU flashed or anything of that sort? I know on the 240 I had to put in a new ECU and put a e-manage system ontop of it so I could have it tuned right. I really want to put down around 350hp, w/o a s/c. The boost comes later after the engine is where I want it. I was also wondering about NOS on these engines. I've read several times that NOS or no2 on the 302 is just mainly a great HP gain. Doesnt really destory any parts. I've seen many of honda's and wrx's sling rods, drop valves, just generally mess the engine up becuase they put too much on it.

My main project right now is getting the car's body back up to par. I have orderd several parts (well over 1k worth of stuff) just to make it look good again. When I traded the car, the kid told me that it was slightly wrecked in the front, which means, the whole front bumper was trashed, passenger side fender, both headlights, both fog lights, the headlight harness panel thing. Which I basiclly seen this as a chance to upgrade for Cobra parts. So now I have a cobra front bumper, smoked headlights, and cobra fog lights coming. I went ahead and ordered all new drilled and slotted rotors for the time being, just so I could do a proper brake job on it. Had to replace both rear calipers too. This car has been pretty much sitting on jackstands since I got it, doing various things. The kid who I traded the car for kept having problems with the car trying to run hot. So it basiclly has everything new for the whole coolant system. But one of the first things he replaced was the radiator, and I'm guessing he tried to use water to keep it cool after the coolant kept leaking. So It has a new thromostat, coolant hoses, radiator, and waterpump. He also replaced the motor mounts, and the transmission mounts. Then he wrecked it. The distributor and wires has also been replaced as well as the clutch. There are a lot of parts that have been changed. Then this stupid kid decided he wanted the car to have a lower sound... so he cut the pipes off after the mufflers. So now the mufflers aim straight at the rear differential.. I had to have pipes welded on for a quick fix on turndowns until I can get situated for an exhaust.

What I plan on doing to it soon.
BBK o/r H-pipe, and the Flowmaster American thunder cat back. I've heard several of you guys' videos and I just love the way that they sound.
I'm also looking into a short shifter.. These are just 1 or 2 of the 1000 parts that I want.

Well, here are some pictures of my 2nd baby... (first is my mazda6, but it doesnt get modded)
What it looked like the day I brought it home.

What the wreckage looked like...

I put the cobra front on just to see what it looked like..

I pulled all of the front end off, and started replacing them, still waiting on headlights and fogs to come in the mail.


It's up on jackstands waiting for the new rotors and brake pads to go on it. Already have the 2 rear calipers, just waiting on the other parts. They'll be here the 27th hopefully.



And here's the nasty engine.. Kid never cleaned it after the waterpump was replaced, so it still has all of that crap all over it. As soon as I can get it off of the jackstands and out into the driveway, that'll all be spotless.



Just thought I would share with you guys on my new project. I will be coming here a lot for various problems and just to chat and read. Just really wanted to say Hi! :P

nitrous_bob

great pics, if you flip those quads end for end you can fit another 1" of tire in there for a total of about 10 1/2" wide and not lose them

if you rebuild , stroke to 347, your looking at 350-400hp w/ no power adder
add 10 lbs of boost or 125 shot of nitrous and you'll see 500 hp

i wouldn't say it's pointless to mod your car as is , check cylinder compression and go for it , you'll be re-using the parts anyways

best bang for your buck mods are :

remove the silencer (if it happens to still be there ) = $free
bump the timing to about 14* = $free
tps adjust to .970-.990 koeo = $free
4.10 gears (3.73 if your scared) =$400 installed can be worth 1 full second on cheaters if swapping out 2.73's
100 shot nitrous = $500 w/ tires and gear you can see 12's and make about 325 rwhp

door tag will have "ax" code for stock gears if they are still stock

m=2.73
z=3.08
e=3.27 (aod only)

89GTRed

[sm=welcomesign.gif][sm=americanasmiley.gif][sm=gears.gif]
Looks like you have a nice project coming together there. And yea as long as it has good compression than its not a waste at all. Obviously you would most likely get more if you rebuilt it but thats also a lot of money for the gains you would get. And like bob said if you are gonna stroke it go at least 331, but I would go 347 as he said. Nice to see another stanger coming to the american side. Especially when its a 5.0!

sirkus

Not really sure what you're talking about with the letters.. and
"if you flip those quads end for end you can fit another 1" of tire in there for a total of about 10 1/2" wide and not lose them"... You talking about rolling the quaterpanels? I know I want to eventally go with saleen 18x10.. or 10.5's

and I'm just going to post a pic of my door jam to try to have someone help me with this. I want to think that it's the 3.08 rear... Here ya go...

sirkus

Thanks man, any idea where I could get the compresson checked at? That's pretty much accurate? I want to say the Ford Dealership, but I know it will be cheaper elseware. If that all checks out, then I'm going to the HCI... How much HP do you generally get from HCI, with headers, h-pipe and exhaust? I'm not too sure on a lot of these intake systems.. 70mm and what not... I don't understand how to upgrade just that one little part and it increses power.. is it sort of like a MAF or something?

And I've always wanted to be on the american side. I used to have a 82 camaro z28... with a nicely built 350 in it.. T400 tranny.. It just always had problems due to a crappy build by someone. (I wasted a lot of money on that car)... so I sold it, got a 89 supra turbo, then my mazda 6, then the 240.. 240 was easy as hell to mod, and it kept getting faster and faster. But I knew that I hit my limit with the 16psi.. I just always wanted to go back to the v8... real N/A power! Tired of this japanese crap power.

AdderMk2

Going by your pictures, you have an M in your AX code.... meaning you have 2.73 gears in the rear end... assuming its stock. Of course, it probably is since just about everuything else in your car looks stock.

modding past 100k ISNT pointless. im pushing 276rwhp on a block with 155k right now. the 302 is a very stout power plant. You will want to do some supporting mods before you get to the nitty gritty of tearing into the motor. Start with an exhaust... full exhaust. suspension components, and rear control arms.

05gtdriver

Nice looking GT! I've always thought the Bullitts wheels looked better on the SN95 than the later New Edge cars, btw the SN95s are starting to look much nicer to me than the later(99-04) cars, maybe 'cause there's not so many body creases, scoops, etc. The '94-'95 cars with the 5.0s are the best of old and new IMO. I think if you want to make 350HP then a power adder in the future, you're gonna have to get a fresh, built engine, not only for peace of mind but also it'll take to mods much better than your stock engine. D.S.S has built longblocks under $4500.00, or you could get a shortblock and add your own heads for well under $3500.00. On your style of Mustang I really, really like the Shinoda rear spoiler(and your decision to add the Cobra nose is pretty cool). Although making into a Cobra R replica would be hot......throw in a 351W and that cool Cobra R hood(to clear the intake), add some Cobra R wheels, very sweet IMO. You have a very nice canvas to start a great project.......best of luck!

nitrous_bob

yup, if it's still stock you have 2.73, going to 3.73 or 4.10 will "feel" like 100 more hp , and show it too on ET

no need to "roll" the fenders , the quad shocks are mounted in a way that they rub the tire if you go wider than about 9 1/2"

if you take them off, and reverse each end, and re bolt them, you 'll clear another 3/4" -1"

3/4" all day long, 1" only if you don't corner hard

any q's hit me up , i don't claim to know much but i've been playin w/ 5.0's for 16 years now. on my 5th

georgiaguy246

welcome to the forums! nice little project you got there. so where at in north ga are you from/at? i am around in the kennesaw area in cobb county. also you might want to be careful about the stock block, i've heard that you don't want to go over 450 hp unless you want to split it in half, i've seen it happen at 400 and also at 500. so between 400-500hp to me is the stopping zone. get a D.S.S. block like 05gtdriver was talking about, i've heard good stuff about them. glad your coming back to domestic instead of stayin rice. once again, welcome!

jrt1990

I assume your sayin this because his other car is a Mazda 6, and now that he also owns a Mustang, he is on the American side. Well considering that Ford is a product of Ford Motor Car Company and Mazda is also a product of Ford Motor Car Company, It doesn't quite make as much sense as you were hoping. lol