You should pick up 20 HP right there.

In NY the salt eats up air bags. If you have any problems with the air install a spring kit. I did with my '97 Town Car and it actually rode better and never had to deal with the bags ever again.

 

Headers back on the exhaust would be a good start the stock crown vic/marque exhaust is terrible. The rear end is 28 spine. Any 87-04 mustang limited slip will work as well as gears. The 4w70r is a great transmission. With a small converter and some small valve body work and a big oil cooler it'll last longer than the engine.
The engine is the same 2 valve 4.6 as the mustangs get with a slightly different cam profile as well as different upper intake.

If it was mine and I had the money I'd get a good single turbo kit would make her a great little sleeper. You would just need the engine to be forged, some head studs and good head gaskets. You could make a good 500 hp and get good mpg and daily drive it.

Yea I like Ford's.

 

Further inspection shows that the car has had a rear spring conversion.

Body damage repair is going to be in the 5-600 dollar range

On a budget, so a full performance exhaust is out of the question. I'll convert the single exhaust to a true dual cat-back using stock 2" Walker pieces with turbo mufflers. It's off the shelf stuff that I can do for less than 300.

Rear end needs improvement for sure. Currently running a 2:73 open diff. Will search out a 28 spline limited slip (5L axle code on CV/GM's) though up in the air about gearing choices. 3:27 or 3:55. I like the off the line aspect of the 3.55 but still cruise a lot of Interstate so I'm looking to retain some sort of fuel economy.

Will also look for a performance improved intake manifold from a '01 up Crown Vic. I've read that that intake coupled with a stock Mercury Marauder airbox with 80mm MAF is a nice set-up. Added pref. while maintaining the sleeper aspect of the car plus there's one locally on craigslist

Watched a you tube vid on installing a Trans-go shift kit on the 4w70r. It's a possibility for sure.

Craigslist search has turned up no shortage of Mustang Bullitt 17" rims and tires for less than 500 a set. That'll probably be my wheel choice. Or the stock basket weave rims that came as an option some Marquis'

Additional wish list. KYB gas adjust (half the price of Bilstiens). Lower springs (custom order item for this particular year). New suspension bushings (could go poly but Moog replacement rubber makes a world of difference for a lower cost). Big sway bars. Big brakes off of a '98 - '02 Crown ( adds 20 lbs. per wheel in unsprung weight for how much improvement?) The brake mod would probably warrant mounting the battery in the trunk. The intake plumbing is routed to the driver's side in these cars. Relocating the battery will allow use of Mustang intake parts.

Engine? Not going to modify much internally.

Wheel size question: My old '73 Dart had a hub driven speedo, so when choosing aftermarket wheels, matching the stock tire height was important to maintaining speedo accuracy. On a car with a differential driven speedo, you have to change the speedo drive gear when changing gear ratios. Does tire height matter in this case?

 

GasMonkey !

 

guilty, as charged

 

Yes the ratio does matter. But with pretty much any major tuner you could fix that easily and get the transmission shifting how you want to without going into it. The speedometer is all electronic. No speedometer gear change necessary.

Take a look at bama tuners sct flash tuner. Pretty cheap and free tunes for life. And it gives you all the adjustments on transmission shift points, shift pressure, gear ratio abd tire size as well as adding a little hp do to a more efficient tune. If I remember correctly I paid 379 for one for my 03 mustang gt. Worked great.

 

Also 3.55 gears would still be pretty mild.


http://www.corral.net/tech/gearcalc.html

There's a link for calculating rpm with the gear ratio and tire size added in. Should be able to get it close abd figured out.

 

Thanks for the tips, Bubba

My last Mustang was a '98 SVT.

Found a brand new Ford Racing Improved manifold (M-9424-P46) for a Mustang. $179.00. Saw the how to vid. I know I'll need to replace the valley heater tube and the nipple that feeds it off the water pump

This car has an early type manifold but does have the aluminum transfer plumbing

 

It is aliiiiive!

 

Update. Maybe the Seafoam treatment screwed me,

Drained the old gas. Installed new fuel filter. New gas and Moby started up.

Runs like crap. Idles rough and bogs when I press the pedal. Check engine light came on and after awhile started blinking. Misfire! Shut her down.

Cheapo code reader gave me the dreaded P0300 code. Random multiple cylinder misfire. Smells rich at the tailpipe.

Have not done a compression test yet. I have done a spark test. Good spark on all 8. Checked continuity on the injectors. 14.7 ohms on all 8. Noid light test gets pip on all 8 injecter connecters. Did a spray test on all of the vacuum lines with no results.

Pulled the plugs. All were dry, black and sooty except 2, 6 & 7 which were fuel fouled

No O2 sensor codes. No other codes

I'm a little stumped here.

I'll loosen the exhaust manifold to cat connection tomorrow to see if it'll run right with an alternative exhaust path. Might tell me if i have a plugged cat


Edit: I did disconnect the maf and removed the intake tube and it ran much better with an open intake. Do I have a massive vac leak somewhere?


Any help is appreciated