1984 Mustang GT (orig. 2.3L Turbo)

Started the new shortblock after the orig. one developed a yet unknown coolant leak. Looks to be a leak in the block but won't know till the old one is fully torn down. New one (a rering/bearing job on a 125k mile '88 HO shortblock) is finally in and almost fully tuned. Trying the old "flip the piston backwards" trick by swapping the pistons bank to bank. Click the timeslip at left to see the new best w/ the fresh shortblock/cam.

Upon teardown of the original shortblock it was discovered that the previous owner lied about the cam that was in there and the year of the block. I was told it was a Perfomer RPM cam and that it was an '89 block. Always wondered why it pulled over 17" of vacuum at idle and started to suspect it was the Performer grind. Sure enough.....it was. Pi$$es me off but then it makes the 105mph it ran even better since it was with a wimpy cam. ;^) Turned out the block was an E0AE block. 2pc main seal block. What you'd find stock in a pre '85 5.0L. Ebay hi-tork starter has worked great and so far the Ramcharger fan is working extremely well. Has no problem keeping the car cool. You can see some install pics here. When I did the heads gaskets recently (b4 finding it's likely the block leaking coolant) I opened the exit cones on the shorties up to 2.5". They were only a tad over 2"!

Engine:   [update] '88 5.0L block - standard bore Stock crank and rods Clevite 77 bearings stock forged pistons    swapped bank to bank to reverse pin offset Sealed Power rings Stage I/II home-ported GT-40P heads    Comp Cams 972-16 springs    Comp Cams 613-16 10° retainers    Comp Cams 740-16 10° locks    Manley S-1760 1.85 stck rplcmnt intake valves    Manley A-1831 1.46 stock rplcmnt exhaust valve    FelPro Explorer spec'd valve seals (good viton seals) Comp Cams 1.6 Magnum roller tip rail-type rockers Comp Cams adjustable conversion studs Comp Cams Hi-Energy pushrods Comp Cams XE274H cam     230°/236° dur @ 0.050"    .520"/.523" lift     110° lsa / 106° intake centerline March underdrive pulleys (stk alt. pulley) Induction: Weiand home-ported X-CELerator intake   [pics] Holley 650 double pumper carb   [Lokar linkage/cable]     65p/72s jets     6.5 power valve     28 shooters front & back     orange cam front/pink cam back Trans-Dapt 1" alum open spacer   [piece of $h!t] 14x3 air cleaner Exhaust: 1 5/8" FRPP GT-40P shortie headers    cones ported from just over 2" to just under 2.5" Pace Setter 2 1/2" offroad H-pipe Flowmaster 2-chamber 2 1/2" mufflers w/ turndowns Fuel supply & Ignition: Holley Blue pump & regulator Moroso filter braided stainless & alum. line MSD billet distributor    14° initial timing - 32° total MSD Blaster 3 coil FRPP wires Motorcraft AWSF-32C plugs @ 0.045" MSD 6A Hi-torque mini starter Cooling: Ramcharger's dual electric fan   [pics] Pep Boys 3-core brass/copper radiator Summit Racing overflow bottle

Chassis/Drivetrain: '89 T-5 5 spd     steel bearing retainer King Cobra clutch fresh cast iron flywheel BBK alum. quad & adjustable cable FRPP alum driveshaft Pro 5.0 shifter     Hurst chrome lever/alum. Hurst T-handle 8.8 rear 4.56 gears 4 cyl. springs PST 1 1/8" front sway bar     currently removed stock ?/?" rear sway bar PST 3/4" rear adj. sway bar (still in box) 15x8 & 15x5 Weld Draglites 195/70/SR15 Coopers up front 275/60/15 Hoosier GTs out back Body/Interior: JAZ race buckets Autometer 10k RPM 3 ¾" Sport Comp tach Autometer elec. H2O/Oil Pres/Volt guages functional stock "hood bump" hood pins     main latch removed, secondary in place cheap body work/fresh paint Stereo deleted alarm w/ dual sirens

Karen was the motivation behind the big rear rubber and she gets some of the credit for the new wheel/tire combo. She suggested getting new wheels to spif up the '84 a bit. She doesn't like the skinny look as much as I do but I knew I wanted the Welds and I had to have the 195's up front......killer look IMO.

No special treatment for the '84.......DAILY DRIVEN year 'round

Best ET, MPH, 60 ft   

Best 1/4 Mile:	13.12 @ 110.24 on a 2.009 60'
Best 1/8 Mile:	8.65 @ 88.42 on a 2.009 60'
Best 60 foot:	1.988 on the 275/60 Hoosier radials
Best 1/4 mph:	111.7

Finally some good numbers!! There's a bit more in there too I think.

Old/Misc. pics

   
   

 

Future plans/wish list

In no particular order...........

• GT-40P heads - home ported (Done!!)
• Weiand X-CELerator intake manifold (Done!!)
• 1 5/8" full length Flowtech headers (Tried....starter heat soak. Shorties now)
• Forte's adjustable clutch quadrant (Needed fast, bought BBK locally)
• subframe connectors
• FRPP aluminum driveshaft (Done!!)
• Lunati screw-in stud conversion (didn't do)
• 1.6 roller rockers (Done!!)
• Autometer guages in stock dash/custom panel
• Hurst shifter (Got great deal on Pro 5.0 instead!!)
• MSD 6A (Done!!)
• fresh trans
• engine detailing
• 3-row brass/copper or 2 row alum. radiator (Done!!)
• braided stainless brake lines
• line lock
• cheapo speaker box for rear stereo is coming out!!
• 4 pt. roll bar......way down the line

General info:

The '84 will be more of a street/strip setup. This one leans towards the obnoxious. Loud, and not much fancy crap. It's got just enough in the way of "options" to make it a nice daily driver. This car might retain power steering and brakes because of this. So long as it'll whoop some ass on F-bodies at the stoplights I'm happy.

This baby is DAILY driven year 'round & will eventually run at least 12s on the motor. Car has t-tops, power windows/locks/steering/brakes, air, tilt, cruise, rear defrost, premium sound, and dual siren alarm. Being a turbo car originally the hood is open underneath the factory hoodscoop. I purchased this car (Oct. 98) with most of the engine mechanicals already done to nearly the exact specs I would have done myself (I plan to install better heads and intake). I had some quickie body and paint work done (end of Oct. 98 - new hood & dr. side fender, patch rust on every panel but hatch, quick repaint) and afterwards I opened the rear of the scoop to make it functional. Won't win a carshow but from 5-10 feet away it looks pretty good and the rust is gone. All I wanted.

Check out the links page for links to
some other Fox body Mustang pages.

For more 5.0L carb info be sure to hit Fletch's Carbureted 5.0L
webpage. A ton of great info and a great look at a low-buck, 12 sec. capable Mustang.