1990 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

For years, I hated Fords and Mustangs. I had no good reason to justify it, I just did. After being around a few of them, and seeing what they are capable of, I wondered why I had ever disliked them. I saw this car on ebay, in November of 2001. It was stock aside from a .030" over engine rebuild (306), a set of chrome "pony" wheels, and lack of an air silencer.

Being a heavy convertible, with air conditioning, smog equipment, leather interior, and an AOD, it really didn't live up to the Mustang name. I never took it to a track, at that point, but it would run 15.90-16.10 in the quarter mile, on both a G-Tech and a set of Nordskog gauges I installed. Sadly, I'm fairly sure those were accurate. I should note that I understand a G-Tech is not as accurate as a tracks timing system, however, i feel it can be a good way to get a benchmark.

Of course, the lack of power lead to installing some bolt-ons. The first additions, as with nearly all Mustangs, were Flowmaster mufflers, and a cold air intake. It certainly sounded better after that, but wasn't a whole lot faster. Next came an MSD ignition, some Accel plug wires, spark plugs, and offroad H-pipes. It finally moved into the mid to low 15 second range, according to the G-Tech and gauges.

Shortly after all of that work, the transmission lost overdrive. I took it to Harrison's Transmission for a rebuild, with stronger components, and a Trans-Go shift kit. While it was there, a B&M Hammer shifter went in to replace the sloppy stock unit. The fresh transmission made a noticeable difference, and i followed it up with an aluminum driveshaft and Richmond 3.73 gears for the 8.8. Finally, the G-Tech was showing mid and high 14 second times.

The Mustang had turned into a fun car to drive... so much fun, that I lost my driver's license for awhile. With the car parked, it appeared to be a great time to begin a new project. I decided to drop in a new engine. Along with the engine swap, came polished and chrome parts, painting the engine bay, hiding wires, a larger fuel pump, and plenty of other goodies.

The engine swap and clean-up consumed many hours, but the end result was worth every minute. The images should illustrate the change in appearance. The 331 stroker certainly upped the performance. In November of 2004, I went 13.01@105mph, with a 2.0 60ft. Being the first track run for the car and I, with a bad launch, I believe it could do better. The track officials didn't share my opinion, and kicked me out for lack of a roll bar and helmet.

At this point, I decided to focus on the interior, safety, and strength. I had a 6 point Maximum Motorsports roll bar with swing-outs, and full length subframe connectors welded in. Summit sport seats with 5 point harnesses were also installed, on top of new black carpet. Autometer Ultra-Lite gauges finished up the interior in aluminum panels.

Now the real fun begins. I still wanted more power to play with, and decided that a turbo would be the method for me. I ordered an HP Turbo Stage I Street kit using a 60mm turbo as well as an Aeromotive tank to pump fuel system, high volume oil pump, and some other goodies to get the turbo setup on it's way. One day short of a full year later, I received the final parts to complete my turbo kit. That's right, it only took a year to get the entire kit.

With the parts finally sitting in my garage, I could get started on the installation. I put in my high volume pump, installed cometic head gaskets and studs, cut or ground nearly everything in the engine bay to fit all of the pipes, and plumbed the fuel system. It was quite a relief to see the whole thing together after all the time spent waitng. Unfortunately, it didn't stay together long. I did a pressure test before even starting the engine, only to find the cometic gasket didn't seal and antifreeze running out.

I decided to go back to Fel-Pro 1011-2 gaskets that served the 331 well for the previous miles since I was not planning high boost. With the fresh head gaskets in place, I put everything back together. Pre-start checks showed all well, and the car was running. I then made the 3.5" exhaust from downpipe back and used a Magnaflow Ultra-Flow muffler to quiet it down. I locked my timing out at 20 degrees and drove a total of a few miles, just to be sure everything would be ready for a professional tune.

I chose Justin's Performance Center in Glen Burnie, MD to do the dyno tune for me. I heard nothing but good things about them, and they even fly in a representative from Diablosport on dyno weekends to help out. What could go wrong? I dropped it off and paced around waiting to hear how it did. Justin called me to inform me that the car was ready to pick up, but it blew a head gasket on the street test and had been running very hot during some dyno pulls. It had made 402RWHP/470RWTQ.

Since I had just paid out $1320 for a tune it had to be right, so I moved up to SCE Titan copper head gaskets for O-ringed blocks to handle the cylinder pressure a little better than the Fel-Pro 1011-2's could. Yet another bad move. The copper gaskets refused to seal, much like the cometics, despite following the recommendations of both SCE and a machinist/engine builder. After some more thought and professional advice, I had the heads planed to assure they were true.

The passenger side head was found to be warped by just less than .004" between the #3 and #4 cylinder. Since it was always the #3 cylinder that blew, I was pretty sure the problem was solved. I installed Fel-Pro 1011-2's again. I managed to make it around 200 miles of mild driving without too many issues. I had to try it out, and while trying to make a full throttle run the head gasket popped once again. It blew on the #3 cylinder again.

This time around the block was checked with a machinist's straight edge, and no issues were found. I had the heads machined for Fel-Pro Loc-Wire head gaskets, per the advice of a machinist/engine builder and others. I put everything back together and started checking up on the tune. I trusted JPC to get everything squared away, but by this point the majority of mechanical issues were eliminated. I made some part throttle passes and did plug checks, only to find the #3 cylinder lean.

After consulting Justin from JPC as well as Diablosport, I was told that nothing in the chip could allow tuning for individual cylinders. I did compression tests, checking ignition components, checking fuel rails, etc... and then replaced the ECM thinking it must just be a computer issue. Much to my dismay, the problem persisted. After more testing to no avail, I spoke with Justin again and arranged to take it to him again.

The date rolled around, and it was time to drive up to JPC for a check-up. I made it about a mile before my AOD started losing gears. Just when I thought things were going to get straightened out, the transmission blows up. I planned to replace it with a Super Comp C4 from Performance Automatice that could surely handle the stress of the turbo, but just didn't have the money to spend on it at that time. Head gaskets and all the other things that were replaced/machined get expensive in a hurry.

While the transmission was out and I had some time, I wanted to clean up the engine bay. I was tired of looking at the swiss cheese that Ford calls an engine bay. I removed the engine, wiring, and all the accessories under the hood and began the long process of welding up holes. This is quite a job, and even though I had an idea of what was involved, I didn't realise the full scope of the project. I also have no body work experience.

Of course, I couldn't take all those wires out and not do some work there too. I cut out unnecessary accessories and relocated components for an extra clean look. The harness that once ran across the firewall in the engine bay now runs under the dash. I relocated my starter solenoid, fan relay, circuit breaker, BAP sensor, and other components out of the engine bay to the best of my ability. I also made new brake lines to hide a little more.

I am currently waiting for my tranmission and parts to arrive, as well as waiting for my pipes to be Jet-Hot coated again. Once it is all back together, it still has tuning problems and the rear needs a gear swap to accommodate the 3 speed transmission.