89 Mustang - the plan

How many miles on the car/engine?

It looks like you have some good engine mods that can be used later. Especially if you keep near the same displacement. If you go up to 331 or 347 cid then you might need to replace a few parts. One thing to add is subframe connectors. Now this is one mod I would recommend right now. They are fantastic and you will feel an immediate difference in handling and power to the rear wheels. The car will feel tighter than when it was new. Finally, what's up with that 7.5" rear end? Was this a four banger converted to a V-8?

I'm a big fan of Maximum Motorsports and if it were my plan I would use all their stuff and little of anything else. Not that what you has proposed is bad but when you mix and match components that are supposed to work together you might get surprised with conflicts during installation. Now this is one mod I would recommend right now. They are fantastic and you will feel an immediate difference in handling and power to the rear wheels. The car will feel tighter than when it was new. Also, the brand of subframes you use is important, especially if you go with some MM suspension parts.

I would do the rear end at this point too or before the above items. IMO, it is the weak point is your drive train and the weak points are what you should fix first or you will be fixing them unexpectedly when they fail. I learned this the hard way too by trying to put 460 ft-lbs of rwtq through a stock T-5. I hard a Viper spec T-56 in the car before I knew what hit me.

It sounds like you are going for a corner carver so I would recommend getting decent brakes and make them four wheel discs. Forget going with SN95 parts as they are a pain in the ass. I have them on my car so take my word for it. There are lots of brands and kits to choose from in this category. IMO, as long as you stay with a solid brand and use their entire kit you will be fine. I also have learned that stopping a fast car quickly is more important than getting it moving quickly. ;)

As I mentioned above, I would move this up to the top of your suspension mods. For a N/A, near stock displacement 5.0L engine the 28 spline axles are more than adequate, IMO. If you are buying axles as a requirement of the rebuild then you might as well go with 31 spline axles. Now here is where things can cost you if you don't have a plan. Do you ever plan to go with five lug wheels? If you do then the brakes and rear end you install need to be five lug too.

There are lots of good combos out there for the 5.0L. Just decide where you want the power and torque in the rpm band and choose accordingly.

If you are going to do this then at least bump up the displacement to

333 ci. It is basically free horsepower and torque if you are buying a short block since the prices are about the same for each.

My advice is research, research and research. When you think you know all you need to know then research some more. Read the Mustang web site forums regularly and see what people have to say that actually have experience with speed parts. They have a wealth of information that you can use to your benefit and, IMO, they collectively know a hell of a lot more than most any local speed shop does about what parts actually deliver the power manufacturers claim they deliver. Yhey also aren't looking to make money from you so their information is more dependable.

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The car has about 110K on it, and the previous owner tells me the bottom end was rebuilt before he got it. Of course, I can find no evidence of this, but it's the strongest feeling of my three previous

5.0L's.

I really appreciate the feedback, I love leveraging the collected experience of a lot who have gone before me, and your posts are always real well thought out.

Y'know what - that 7.5 is a MAJOR point of confusion to me. It blew once already, and for reasons of cost and expediency at the time, I had them rebuild it the same (wish I had that choice back). My mechanic tells me there was a 7.5 offered stock on the car at one time, but I can find ZERO evidence of this. The VIN engine code (eighth digit) is E, so I believe it is a stock 5.0. I wonder if a previous owner along the way did their own swap to another car - maybe a 4 cyl build-up.

I'm trying to manage this in $1K at a time increments, and I know the suspension (with subs) will be FUN, and give me seat of the pants enjoyment, but the rear might be the smarter next step. I still go back and forth over whether to do fun (handling) or practical (rear) next.

One additional problem I have with planning the rear work is that I'm not sure which axles to do. I'm happy enough with the wheels / tires I have, so I don't really need to go to five lug for THAT reason, but I think I will have to go 5 lug for any brake upgrade, and that will add to the job cost when I do the rear, cause I'll have to get front spindles and wheels / tires all the way around. (bang head...)

Maybe I could redo the rear as is (4 lug, 27 spline), and plan on replacing the axles with 5 lug 31 splines when I do the brakes. What has to change in the rear to go from 27 -> 31? Or could I find 31 spline 4 lugs, and upgrade 4 lug -> 5 lug when I do the brakes?

Jim C wrote in news:c85dbf96-8c01-467e-b0ca- snipped-for-privacy@m44g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

You are not going to get any kind of good audio with any kind of speakers mounted in plastic with no reflex space behind them. Not to mention that they are pointed at each other, not at you. Boxes in the cargo deck are a must for starters.

Good point, but this is a convertible - there is no rear deck. I know that with a convertible, audiophile sound is not gonna happen, between wind noise and the great big void between the trunk and passenger compartment where the top is most often folded down. What I want to get is the best I can spending on the low side of reasonable money (I enjoy good sound every time I drive, but in choosing where to spend my money, preference goes to performance). My theory is to build a 'sound stage' where the rear seat (forward - facing, behind a trim piece which is slotted, but covered with carpet), is the real lower / mid-range crunch, the door speakers facing the front seat passengers provide the mid-range drive, and the tweeters in the dash drive the highs 'in your face'. Whadya think? Other ideas? The other limitation is keeping the interior close to stock, in line with the 'resto-mod' idea.

Mike,

My old LX had Koni shocks/struts, Eibach progressive springs, Steeda chrome moly subframes/strut tower/g-load brace and M/M camber/caster plates and it was a wonderful combination. The only conflict I had was the C/C plates & strut tower brace. I had to reshape the strut tower brace a bit for clearance, but other than that it all worked great together.

I agree on Maximum Motorsports. They make great products!

Patrick

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With that many miles you should do a compression and leak down test for the cylinders to see if there is excessive wear. This might rearrange the order of your engine modification or change them some.

It doesn't matter what you plan to do, someone else has already done it and can offer you some excellent advice. The trouble is finding and communicating with that person. Places like this and other popular Mustang sites are where you can meet them.

The are only two ways that 7.5" rear end got there. It was originally a four cylinder or someone took out the 8.8" and replaced it with a 7.5" rear. Why someone would do that is beyond me. I doubt it will last long behind a strong running engine.

I would increase that increment amount or vary the amount at each milestone. Most items you plan to do will likely exceed that amount. The engine alone will take around $3,000 for the short block, intake, heads, cam, roller rockers, push rods etc. Then add more if you aren't doing the work yourself.

If you are doing the differential at the same time then I would go with

31 spline. If you are using the stock differential then you will need to stay with 28 spline axles.

You will have to swap the differential if go from 28 to 31 spline later. If you get a complete rear end that needs no work then I would just keep the stock parts for a while. If you get one that needs rebuilt then put the good stuff in it.

If this is a convertible then get those subframes in next. You need to get good ones since the convertible bodies flex like hell. You will be amazed at the improvement in handling and over tightness of the chassis.

89 with 110k miles is lite. It must have sat somewhere. read the plugs if compression is near 60 in any one of them you may have carbon build up in the heads, head job. if compression is not withing 10% across all then may have to rebuild (stuff out of 5.0 mags and books) I passed up modifying a 89 ex cop car as the compression was high (in the 60's) on a few and had some at 45, so I bought a 93 ex cop car checked it nice and even should run 45 to 52 roughly. Cops used to auction off the 5.0's a while back. You might want to check your motor mounts too, see if the fan blade is buzzing the bottom edge of the fan guard on an 89. Then do a leak down.