Nephew wants to get into drag racing....

[86ford]

the stock AOD or AODe trans in the 5liter mustangs is about as good as pissing in the wind once you start laying down some real power and i know this fiirst hand with my brothers mustang. if you get a mustang either run the stock t-5 till you start blowing clutches to bits or get a automatic and start saving for a lentech trans. the lentech trannys are nearly in destructable so the 2k-3k price tag is justified. my best advice is get a good RWD vehicle body of any late 70s-early 90s ford. build the v8 or turbo 4cyl of your choice and make it a moderately priced project. say 4-5k. cut the corners were you see fit just please dont drop a 20 year old behind the seat of a 300hp vehicle that weights under 3200 before he is ready. i have seen horrible things come of young people who hop in a vehicle they are not ready for. ideally you will get a OK rwd vehicle and let him run the piss out of it while you guys build a new drive train for it. for many kids it takes a fair amount of driving to adapt to the torque a healthy fox body can lay down on the road. i pray he is more responsible and less reckless than my brother.......

86

 

[240cubes]

my latest 89' mustang coupe has a virtually stock motor with a tune, lakewood 90/10's in front, comp engineering 3 way adj. out back, eibach drag springs, hotchkis cc plates, full length subframe connectors, built rear with 3.73's, t-5z and full exhaust. went 13.2 @ 107 this summer on a 28x10.5 dr with a 1.6 60 ft. it is unreal what these cars are capable of. my last coupe was virtually the exact same set up only it had a 430crankhp 347 in it and on a 150zex wet shot it did the 1/4 in 10.4 @ 138. lifted the tires off the line

 

[1nastynotch]

Hi everyone. First post here. I am a member of all the mustang message board and have (2) 93 mustang coupes myself.

One is a 2.3 L turbo that is a daily driver in nice weather. It is a really fun car with great power and very light and nimble for on the road.

The other one is mostly a show / drag / street car. The new motor that is going in it is a 331 dart block based stroker motor that will be using my Paxton novi 2000 blower from my old race setup on a 306 that ran 10.41 @ 128.6 in the ¼ mile. Should be putting down between 750-850 RWHP, and low 9 to high 8 second passes with the new 331.

There is really no such thing is a good, clean, solid, and CHEAP fox mustang coupe anymore. The worst part on these cars is the front frame rails next to the headers.

If you are going to do help you're kid with a car. I would suggest a mustang coupe or hatch. Carb may be cheaper but no where near as reliable as a fuel injection car. Get a GT-40 motor out of an explorer, do a cheap rebuild on the motor, port the intake manifold, and the cylinder heads. Throw a E or F motor sports cam in it, 24lb injectors, adjustable fuel pressure regulator, new MAF meter, cold air kit, headers, off road h or x pipe, cat back, under drive pulleys, and all the other bolt on's yada yada. That should start you off on the motor.

The trans I would do an automatic. You're best bet is bracket racing, heads up is pretty much who ever has the most money wins. An auto is the only way to go for drag racing. A ford c-4 is about the best trans out there for racing. Stock clutches with an extra clutch in each drum with a 2” Kevlar band, good torque converter (B&M and TCI are by no means good converters) a good converter will set you back 700 – 900 bucks. You will also need a trans brake & 2 step box.

Suspension is also key. Get some light aluminum wheels running a 10.5” rear slick, and a 3.5” front runner. 4 cylinder front springs with front sway bar removed. Adjustable rear control arms with v8 springs, lake wood front struts and rear shocks....

There is so much more I can think of. A mustang is a great platform for a drag car with the 4 link in the back and low weight it is a perfect choice. If you would like to know anything else just pm me and I would be more than happy to talk with you on building a car and help any way I can.

 

[240cubes]

how much did that dart block set you back? only reason i ditched the 347 was due to a split block at lebanon valley last summer. parted the car and bought the new one keeping a bit o cash in my pocket

 

[1nastynotch]

The bare block was about $2,300. I have all my parts here waiting to go to the machine shop, but I need some more money first lol.

 

[240cubes]

yeah thats about what i figured i woulda spent on a new block, but the lack of funds strikes once again

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I would look into something a little different. I had a friend in highschool that had a '74 Nova, he got it in primer with a little rust, his dad helped him redo the body work and paint it, looks super sharp now (kinda like a baby Chevelle) Last I heard he had a 383 in it and was turning some pretty respectable numbers at the local 1/8th mile track.

Built up older Mustangs and Camaros are everywhere, they really do nothing for me at this point...