Before anything, I would upgrade the brakes and the suspension before adding any power. The stock brakes are terrible, and the stock suspension was wallowy when new....and even more so with that many miles on the car. Also get good subframe connectors...the weld in kind.

I would go with 3.73 gears in the rear end and put in a good limited slip differential. If you end up staying automatic then go 4.10 gears.

If you plan on staying with the old 5.0, then plan on throuwing away everything but the block eventually. Get aluminum AFR or TFS heads, a new firged crank, forged rods, forged pistons, aluminum Edelbrock waterpump, and toss the stock intake manifold in the garbage and get something that flows a lot more air.

RushXTC
Oh no... 4.10 or go home! 4.10 is where the money is!

In an automatic car yes....in a street driven nanual which he plans to swap in, no. Too much gear for the street in a manual.

Baltothewolf
Absolutely right kaninja, I don't want to be running 3500rpm at 70 cruising on the highway, lol.

Anyway, the suspension has been upgraded. My uncle lowered it 2.5 inches and he did it right. I'll take a look when I get home to see what he put on there.

As for the brakes, trust me I know. I have already had them smoking on several occasions. It's irritating as hell.

Yes, you may want to look for a front/rear 5 lug / rear disc brake conversion kit.  Those rear drums are doing nobody any favours when it comes to stopping power, and good luck trying to find the mags you like in a 4 lug bolt pattern.
 
As for the suspension I am curious what he did.  If it was me, I would toss the factory K-member, A-arms, rear control arms, and weld in some good heavy duty sub-frame connectors.  Install a new tubular aftermarket K-member, tubular A-arms, and all new adjustable caster-camber plates, and new adjustable rear control arms.  Tokico coil overs up front would be nice too.  Along with this comes all new poly bushings and really gets rid of all the slop and stiffens up the chassis.  In all, these mods will also drop about 50 lbs. of weight as well.

Yep, I think a stock LX hatch runs 3,100 lbs with oil in the crank case and a full tank of gas lol.

kaninja

Baltothewolf
Absolutely right kaninja, I don't want to be running 3500rpm at 70 cruising on the highway, lol.

Anyway, the suspension has been upgraded. My uncle lowered it 2.5 inches and he did it right. I'll take a look when I get home to see what he put on there.

As for the brakes, trust me I know. I have already had them smoking on several occasions. It's irritating as hell.

Yes, you may want to look for a front/rear 5 lug / rear disc brake conversion kit.  Those rear drums are doing nobody any favours when it comes to stopping power, and good luck trying to find the mags you like in a 4 lug bolt pattern.
 
As for the suspension I am curious what he did.  If it was me, I would toss the factory K-member, A-arms, rear control arms, and weld in some good heavy duty sub-frame connectors.  Install a new tubular aftermarket K-member, tubular A-arms, and all new adjustable caster-camber plates, and new adjustable rear control arms.  Tokico coil overs up front would be nice too.  Along with this comes all new poly bushings and really gets rid of all the slop and stiffens up the chassis.  In all, these mods will also drop about 50 lbs. of weight as well.

+1 kaninja great suggestions! You might consider breaking it down so it's more affordable to do. 351W heads will work on a 302, but the ones you suggested will be a real nice upgrade. I really like the tech behind the twisted wedge heads. Be aware of flywheels and balancers, I don't remember what years but some are externally balanced and some are neutral balanced.


http://www.trickflow.com/search.asp?N=400098+4294950326+4294947181+115+4294952043

Guys, with the 5 lug conversion my pony rims won't fit on will they? Because if so, that's not an option. I love the pony rims and will not give them up.

kaninja

notfordman

kaninja

Baltothewolf
Absolutely right kaninja, I don't want to be running 3500rpm at 70 cruising on the highway, lol.

Anyway, the suspension has been upgraded. My uncle lowered it 2.5 inches and he did it right. I'll take a look when I get home to see what he put on there.

As for the brakes, trust me I know. I have already had them smoking on several occasions. It's irritating as hell.

Yes, you may want to look for a front/rear 5 lug / rear disc brake conversion kit.  Those rear drums are doing nobody any favours when it comes to stopping power, and good luck trying to find the mags you like in a 4 lug bolt pattern.
 
As for the suspension I am curious what he did.  If it was me, I would toss the factory K-member, A-arms, rear control arms, and weld in some good heavy duty sub-frame connectors.  Install a new tubular aftermarket K-member, tubular A-arms, and all new adjustable caster-camber plates, and new adjustable rear control arms.  Tokico coil overs up front would be nice too.  Along with this comes all new poly bushings and really gets rid of all the slop and stiffens up the chassis.  In all, these mods will also drop about 50 lbs. of weight as well.

+1 kaninja great suggestions! You might consider breaking it down so it's more affordable to do. 351W heads will work on a 302, but the ones you suggested will be a real nice upgrade. I really like the tech behind the twisted wedge heads. Be aware of flywheels and balancers, I don't remember what years but some are externally balanced and some are neutral balanced.


http://www.trickflow.com/search.asp?N=400098+4294950326+4294947181+115+4294952043

I actaully really like the AFR heads over the Twisted Wedge.....although either is a huge improvement over stock.

Pretty much all the modern EFI Fox cars were externally balanced with a 50oz. imbalance.

No, the Pony rims are 4 lug bolt pattern and will not fit. There are much better rims available......but then again, this is your baby.

For now, I'll just keep the 4 lug. Once I start putting money into performance, then I'll convert to 5 lug. As for the suspension, I never really made it home to take a pic. I haven't slept in almost 2 days haha, way to busy. Anyway, I'm gonna pm you ninja I got a few questions.

Well, nothing new to report but I wanted to post this.
 
For the past week I have been wondering if I really want to fix this car up. I had been having second thoughts. I voiced my opinion to my little brother, who drove it around town with friends last night, and he told me "Just drive it Tim, you haven't even sat in it for about 3 weeks give or take.". So I did and holy crap, NOW I remember why I love this thing so much haha! 
 
However, this project has been set back a couple of weeks. I have to buy motor mounts for my Insight (200$ for both) so it will be an extra paycheck before I get the rims which is no big deal. The gas I'm saving right now driving the insight to work and back will help fund it more in the future. (I spend about eh, 4-6$ a week in gas compared to the 20 a week I was spending driving the mustang).

kaninja
If you keep the Mustang automatic for a while get the cheap shift kit from B&M.

Which rims are you wanting to get?

Yea I'll be keeping the auto for at least 100k miles. Can I get a link to the shift kit?

OEM pony rims, a friend of mine has a set with tires for 500$. He bought them brand new but before he could get them put on, he wrecked it lol.

kaninja

Baltothewolf

Yea I'll be keeping the auto for at least 100k miles. Can I get a link to the shift kit?

Transgo makes a great kit as seen here: http://www.sccoa.com/articles/transgo.html

Here is the B&M kit:http://m.summitracing.com/parts/bmm-40263

I've been in cars with both. The Transgo is a bit more aggressive but very streetable. The B&M kit is a tad less aggressive but will still chirp 2nd under heavy throttle. Either will lower a typical stock Mustang's ET in the 1/4 mile between 2-3 tenths alone. Add in some 3.73 gears and acceleration will make you smile big time.

:O. Well now I add another thing to the list to get haha.

Hmmm, the link does not work for me. Definitely go 3.73, but if you think you will stay with an auto for a long time maybe think about 4.10.

Have you or your friend set up differential gears before? Know how to set lash and use dial indicators? If so have at it, if not take it to a shop or learn how to.

Yes, good kit. Do a shift kit at the same time.

Also, while having the rear diff apart it may be a good time to rebuild the limited slip or replace it with a fresh unit.

Yeah, but can it do this ??

3.73 gears**