i have a bone stock 92 mustang 5.0 with an automatic trans. and i would like to be able to beat a friend of mines *** he is running mid to low 13s and isnt planning any more mods for a while. i want to know the cheapest combo of parts that it will take to win without NO2. i am planning a major build in a couple of years but i want a daily driver that will kick some a$$ with minimum cash spent.

thanks alot

wojin

Most stock auto. 'Stangs run in the mid 15 second range, so you'll have to shave about 2-2.5 seconds off.  The AOD isn't the quickest shifting trans, so that doesn't help either.  Any way you go, it won't be extremely cheap.  First off, change the gears to 3.73's or 4.10's.  Go ahead and change the clutch-packs(within the rear axle) so that you'll get traction from both wheels.  This should cost around $450 (parts/labor).  Install underdrive pullies, 2.5' exhuast from headers back.  Add a K&N air filter, remove the air silencer if not already removed, set the timing on 14 degrees.  Make sure the engine is in good tune (new plugs, gap@.54 thous., wires, dist.cap, etc.)  This still won't be enough, but will keep your head lights in his mirror.  For his head lights in your mirror, you'll need to add heads (alum. Edlelbrock,AFR or TFS), intake, 65 or 70mm TB, 1-5/8' headers, 24lbs injectors & a 190hr fuel pump.  All in all, around $3 grand will put you ahead of the T/A.

Also, a good tranny mod which will seriously increase your performance is a shiftkit for your AOD. It provides serious shifting, and with the right set up is usually quicker than a 5 spd.  

ok first of all the aod makes it hard to do without spending a chunk, but... if your tranny is in good shape you may be in luck.  1. good stall converter  (no shift kit) chances are your aod has 80 to 100 thousand on it,  when you change fluid or do something like a shift kit you have to drain the fluid (sometimes thats bad ) the metal and dirt shavings that are in your tranny are all that hold it together when you clean all that stuff out and put in new fluid it will go out in a few months i promise unless you are very lucky this is no joke thats straight up. so be careful.   no. 2. 3.55 or 3.73's 4.11 is a bit much for a daily driver and an aod in near stock trim.  no.3 headers and x pipe regular shortys will do fine,  tailpipe kit opt. but would help the headers and x pipe  no.4 heads and cam if your tight on money cast iron factory heads are ok for what you want 93 cobra gt-40 haeds are cheap and work well with a few days of home porting that a 10 year old could do (on the exhaust side remove air injection humps) that alone will help power and sound have them decked 10 or 20 thousands this will raise your compression ratio to around 9.5 to 9.8.  now a cam i had very good success with a crane 2031 you must have 1.73 roller rockers with it the cam is made for the 93 cobra.  intake would help but if moneys tight have the heads and the intake port matched at the local mach shop around 200 bucks great investment. valve springs nothing to fancy just something for a little higher rpm.   no. 5  throttle body&egr 65 mm around 180 bucks or so.  no.6 cold air kit fender well mount the air from the fan messes with the stream of air going into the meter,  MUST BE IN THE FENDER WELL!!!   no.7a mass air meter 75mm bullet from pro-m pro-m is the only one the calibrates each meter individually,  others may also do that now but im such a big fan of pro-m i stopped paying att. to the rest a long time ago. and if you have the money 24lb injectors  this should put you in the mid to high 12's easy the price will depend on if you do it yourself and if you search ebay for things like heads tb and egr, x-pipe, gears and things of that nature.  never buy electronics like an air meter of of ebay,  if its messed up you have to send it back to pro-m and it cost 150 bucks and thats just to recalibrate with no parts!!!!  a new one is around 200.  oh ya,  a little not so well known fact about gears is that ford motorsport gears go in way faster than the after market ones because the pinion depth is usualyy the same,  and your posi unit......its frowned upon but you can weld your spider gear in place after you remove the internals i had great fun with mine for years with no problem.   good luck tanning that t/a its not as hard as you think if anyone disagrees please let me know i always look for new advice the good thing about a combo like that is it wont cost an arm and a leg and you can do it in stages always work from the back forward cause its no fun blowing apart your tranny or rearend in the middle of a good race (at the track of course duh!!!   

A car w/ 'cast iron' heads, weather it be GT-40, GT-40P, or stock ported heads, are VERY limited on power.  You'll be lucky to get 265-285 hp (less w/ an AOD) and that's w/ the car being in 'perfect' tune.  A LS-1 engine, weather in a F-body or 'Vette, puts out about 285-295hp @ the wheels, in STOCK trim.  Learn the hard way, or put the $$$ in the heads and opt for some good alum. Edelbrock,AFR or TFS heads.  

there is nothing wrong with iron heads except they are heavier and you cant run as much comp.  (on pump gas)    that is a similar combo to what i run for a few years and never had a problem i tanned many ls1's.  1 in peticular ran 12.50's all day long.  he was a friend so we raced many times and where dead even until i ran out of 5th gear at about 165mph so if 300hp will run that then i say run it till it explodes. if you are looking for parts i can help.  if you are planning a major build in a few years then you dont want to by expensive parts you have to replace later like heads.  1200 for alum.  or 300-400 for gt40 u weigh it out.  you can also sell the heads or what ever other used hard parts that you wont use later very easily via ebay or the local guy around town thats at the stage you are.   have fun keep it to the floor and watch them disapear in your rearveiw  

OK,OK. 2 reasons you mentioned YOURSELF! #1 they're heavier. Yeah, 50lbs. want 'KILL' your ET's, but lets admit, it won't help. #2, as YOU said, you can't run as much compression. Running more comp., OR timing, can net 20hp by itself. But the main thing you're missing here is that GT-40 or GT40p heads DO NOT flow what the newer alum heads flow. No way will they flow anywhere as close as much as an out-of-the-box set of AFR,Edelbrock or TFS alum heads. You're entitled to your opinion, as I am, as is everybody. I just strongly disagree. I'm 35 and have been racing 5.0L 'Stangs since '91. I've literally seen hundreds, maybe even thousands of Mustangs run. Yes, I have seen cars w/ Iron heads run good times, BUT they have all had EXTENSIVE work done on them. First of all the valves are smaller. More importantly, though, some of the 'newer' designs are just far better.  And removing the 'hump' doesn't help.  If you'd ever seen a set dynoed before & after you'd know this. You are right about saving money by going w/ the GT-40 or 'P' heads, but I've seen too many on the dyno to know that they won't necessarily make enough power to get a 3400lbs AOD equipped 'Stang (shift kit or not) ahead of an LS-1 w/ a decent driver, which was what this thread is all about. And no offence, but I'm just short of calling you a 'liar' about going 165 in a Mustang w/ 300hp. Do the math. It WON'T equal 165mph.

1.  50lbs you can loose 50 lbs somewhere else and not spend a dime.  2.  its on the street, on pump gas, daily driven. its not going to have more than 10:1` compression so the higher compression doesnt matter either what matters is that it is a temporay solution to his problem without spending a ton of money and buying parts that are to small for the future build or to big for the current one.  and as for the hp. you  said 300 hp i was just poking fun  " You'll be lucky to get 265-285 hp (less w/ an AOD) and that's w/ the car being in 'perfect' tune."  is what ya said and i know for a fact that it has more than 285 hp.  and yes that motor did pull my mustang to actually 173 mph because i didnt beleive it myself until i come home and used the formula with the tire size and gear ratio to see how fast i was going at 6800 rpm which is where my rev limiter hit at the end of fifth gear.     

the t/a  is not a LS1, it is a LT1 and he showed me the slip from the dyno that says he has 315rwhp and the 1/4mi slip that says he is running 13.4

thanks for the tips, i should be starting the build as soon as school gets out for summer in may

"6800 rpm which is where my rev limiter hit at the end of fifth gear"

Everybody by now should know that a Mustang's rev limiter is 6250.  If you plan to turn more than 6500rpm's you'd need a forged steel crank, NOT a factory 'cast iron' crank.  And on top of that, even a nice set of alum. heads aren't made to make power at 6800 rpm's, much less a set of iron GT40's or 'P' heads.   Either your rpm gage is seriously 'off' or you're just shooting $hit.  The other thing is you WILL NOT reach even the 6250 rpm's in 5th gear w/ 300 or so HP.  (The reason I mentioned 300 hp is because you said on a earlier post that 'you ran 12.50's all day', which is about what you'd need w/ a 5spd car & slicks.)

for one there is a dozen companies out there that sell products to raise the rev limiter.  (amazing huh?)  second mine was carburated i can set the rev limiter to what ever i want.  you honestly think that you cant turn a stock crank 6800 rpm? come on atleast sound halfway intelligent.  and no it didnt make a ton of power at 6800 but it made enough to take me there and thats what matters when your running out of motor in a race.  im not trying to be mean or anything but i know what i know from what i have done many times and that is getting the maximum amount of power with minimal amout of money.  fords are not gms that cast factory crank can turn more than 6800 fords use better steel for there blocks and cranks, it has a much higher nickel content.  (if you want a really good block without the money you can get a mexican 302 block it has an even higher nickel content and you can bore it bigger than the normal one)  i will be sure to post dyno results for my 475 hp 289 with a CAST CRANK and for sure post the results for power at 7000 rpm like 7000 is fast or anything try 8000 or 8500 thank you come again  

Why don't you spill the WHOLE truth? to begin *** You never mentioned you having an aftermarket computer or programmer, so I figured you didn't. You also never mentioned you having a carb. In fact, you didn't tell much about your car at all, other than saying you did 165mph...oh, no wait...173 mph?? Which was it??165 or 173?? I still don't believe anything you say. You're one of those that tell just enough truth to suck people in that don't know any better, then *** your way through everything else. What I meant by 'can't' or 'shouldn't ' use a cast iron crank for engines over 6500rpm because they'll crack eventually. And the difference between a 'Mexican' 302 and a 'reg.' 302 is the thickness of the cylinder walls you dumba$$. At any rate, your telling someone, mind you, that's asking for advice on how to outrun a, as now mentioned, 315hp LT1 that runs 13.4's. So if your engine makes the power you claim it does, runs at 6800rpm's and you still got beat, which mind you, would mean that this 'Super' TA ran faster than '173 mph (lol), how in the Hell do you think this guy is going to out run a TA w/ an AOD and $hitty GT40 'p' heads, with a stock computer,etc,etc.??

Go Figure!!

Im sorry if you dont understand but i do know what I am talking about.  I can't help it if my car is faster than yours and cost half as much, but in the future if you need any help or support if your very very very nice then maybe I will take my precious time and help you.  Otherwise enjoy the tail lights.

P.S. 

words to live by don't cross your legs like a girl and don't sit down to pee.  S.F.L.  Now that I am thinking about it being how it is you don't know a #### thing why don't you go buy a camaro, someone as goofy as you deserves a gm product to go with ya.

No, I'm afraid YOU'RE the one that doesn't understand.  You were fairly easy to figure out.  Funny that you claim to 'know' so much, yet you haven't been right about anything on this thread, anywhere from the Mexican block to not explaining how you came up w/ 'TWO' different top speeds.  I doubt you've ever been in a 12 second car.  Also funny how you claim that you're car's 'faster' than mine.....NOW that's a 'smart' move, since you don't have a clue as to what I drive.  I gave my advice to this guy to help him out.  I'm done here.  Go grow up.  

A. you need to get your head out of the magizine and put it under the hood of a mustang   or B. your someone that has more money than brains and dont know how to go fast on a budget.  and when i said that my car was faster than yours i was being a smart a$$ so get a SENSE OF HUMOR.  and yes the mexi block does have a higher nickel content than the reg. block,  i dont have to impress anyone on here i know what i know by doing not by criticizing.  im the guy that everyone comes to in my area for advice or parts or just to check out what ive got going in the garage.  i was just trying to help the guy beat those f-bodies  on a budget WHICH IS WHAT THIS THREAD IS ALL ABOUT!  im sorry if you dont agree with me nor i with you,  but been there, done that, bought the shirt and wrote the book (well not yet) and if 12 a second car is really that big of a deal i have had more than my share of 12 sec mustangs.  im in it for the fun and the grab you by the seat of the pants and glue you to the seat feeling. so no hard feelings sorry to have wasted your,    and what is infinitely more imortant my time

good day sir