In reply to Ranger50 :
Sorry it's been a long day........the comment was funny.
In reply to Ranger50 :
Sorry it's been a long day........the comment was funny.
Weight can be saved by swapping out the stock front and rear bumper backers with lighter early year ones
Google is your friend
Does it have stock length axles in the back or 94-04 length? Wider axle shafts fill the rear better but makes wheel shopping difficult. Five lug options for the front are, just change the spindles to Rangers, 94-95 spindles, or what I did is go to 96 and up for better bearings and bolt on two piston calipers. I also added a 93 Cobra master, prop valve, cooling ducts, and Hawk HPS pads, this combo worked well for track days.
A good small chamber aluminum head will get you 75hp with a stock cam 100hp with one matched to the heads. I put together a nice top end package and that's exactly what it did.
Again brace the chassis or the A pillars crack, ask me how I know. I welded in some frame ties.
I went with a three link and panhard rod for the rear as a step to a torque arm, it worked pretty good, just removed one upper link. Front suspension is even more of a mess, work on the ackerman an much as you can, relocating the steering rack and newer spindles helps a bit, again front 5 lug conversion matters. If lowered get longer ball joints and camber plates to start with. My 92 was a lot of fun once several small to medium changes were made. I ran it on stock suspension once at Grattan and repeatedly to verify my upgrades with amazing results.
In reply to RacingComputers :
Not recommended for street use but there are also light weight bumper mounts. I removed my fog light assemblies for brake duct use, they are also heavy.
In the end my car looked stock but handled pretty good. The issue is my S197 is faster and has a better chassis right out of the box. Still miss the 92 though, pushrod V8s are just fun all the time.
In reply to Tom1200 :
I wouldn't cry over "ruining" a fox personally, but you know the game: Drive it as is and let it tell you what it needs. I've always heard making them not a floppy noodle is the first priority, echoing what RacingComputers said - but if you're not worried about a 1 dollar trophy and local glory who knows what will make it the perfect all rounder for you! I bet you'll have fun poking at it regardless.
I wouldn't typically say this but.................mod it.
If resale is considered, keep it as stock looking as possible and save the original parts. It's not an unmodified cream puff so it will never bring big money but keeping it presentable with original paint will appeal to a broader audience. Us eighties and nineties kids will be around for a while yet so the values of these will not go away any time soon.
So my current take away from the replies is first mods should be making it stiffer.
I'd already intended to put a race hoop in the back. My buddy says he thinks he may have the frame stiffeners in the shop for it.
The car may also come with an extra set ported heads; if he does those can wait a bit to be installed.
I won't be flogging it like I do the Datsun but still want to drive it near it's limits.
As for the look of it I do want it stock to stockish looking.
What's the diff situation?
Is it an 8.8, if so, is it a stock track lok, or?
The stock track lok, you can get carbon clutch packs for it and figure on rebuilding it with some frequency. Autocross was probably the worst case scenario, but I was looking at every 2 years on my car. There is an alternative packing order that tightens it up as well
There are better alternative options well worth considering.
In reply to Apexcarver :
Other than it having a LSD I am not sure what it is.
I'll probably be doing 2-3 autocrosses tops, and 2 track events a year.
As others have mentioned, the Maximum Motorsports stuff is pretty nice, and their prices used to be quite competitive as well. I drove a fully kitted (suspension) '92 Mustang from South Carolina to CA, and it did not annoy one bit--it also handled amazingly well. Just don't look at the inside front wheel in a turn . . .
rustomatic said:--it also handled amazingly well. Just don't look at the inside front wheel in a turn . . .
Having never owned a foxbody, someone's going to have to explain this to sheltered and naive me. Do they have reverse Ackerman or terrible bump/roll steer from the rack placement or something?
JBinMD said:rustomatic said:--it also handled amazingly well. Just don't look at the inside front wheel in a turn . . .
Having never owned a foxbody, someone's going to have to explain this to sheltered and naive me. Do they have reverse Ackerman or terrible bump/roll steer from the rack placement or something?
Short control arms and a really long front strut. With body roll they lose camber faster than it comes from the geometry of the control arm and strut. That's why caster / camber plates are a must. It's also why SN95 control arms are a bit better since they are longer.
In reply to JBinMD :
Do they have reverse Ackerman? I believe the answer is "zero Ackerman because Ford thought it would be safer without that".
Terrible bump steer? Define "terrible" because it definitely has some. I didn't think it was dreadful but it made itself known.
What's kind of funny, sort of, is I think the front suspension has fewer issues than the rear does. Thankfully there's a ton of ways to fix this with help of the aftermarket, updates from later cars, and all kinds of contradictory commentary on the internet to make it a fun adventure.
As I do more of my research I am continually blown away by how much is available for these cars.
In reply to Tom1200 :
Modern day 57 chevy. They are more hobby friendly than a Miata. Of course they have more isues that need to be addressed, so that might be why.
JBinMD said:rustomatic said:--it also handled amazingly well. Just don't look at the inside front wheel in a turn . . .
Having never owned a foxbody, someone's going to have to explain this to sheltered and naive me. Do they have reverse Ackerman or terrible bump/roll steer from the rack placement or something?
They typically pick it up so high it doesn't touch the ground.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
More like 55-57 chevy, 67-69 Camaro, 65-66 Mustang....
Cheap, V8, rwd, relatively light, long period of model continuation, shared engine platform with many other vehicles...
Yup, probably the most supported car in existence.
3.73 or 4.10 and a diff as mentioned before.
Cam swap and rockers make a HUGE difference.
Aluminum flywheel too.
My old '88 LX 5.0 went pretty well with the above mods for a DD.
It appears after stiffening up the chassis the next thing is which way to go on the engine.
Easy bolt on stuff for the 5.0 takes it around 274-300hp after that keeping it smog legal seems to get more difficult.
Thinking I might want more I'm also looking at the 351 conversion. These seem to be smog legal and capable of 375-400hp. The plus side on this a friend has a 351W powered car sitting in his backyard that he told me I could have anytime I wanted it.
I need to do a lot more reaserch.
Before you go changing a bunch of stuff.
This thing is 30 years old.
Spend your money on replacing all the worn-out bits that it has.
If there's an improved version of said part that will keep you in the class you want to be in, use that instead.
You might not be competitive but it will eliminate all the questions about whether a shot part is affecting your times and give you a solid base to work from.
In reply to ShawnG :
The suspension has been gone through.
The list of fixes are , the diff will need a service soon, the power steering pump has a leak and passenger side door latch........beyond that everything is in good order.
Ranger50 said:JBinMD said:rustomatic said:--it also handled amazingly well. Just don't look at the inside front wheel in a turn . . .
Having never owned a foxbody, someone's going to have to explain this to sheltered and naive me. Do they have reverse Ackerman or terrible bump/roll steer from the rack placement or something?
They typically pick it up so high it doesn't touch the ground.
Cooper Stadium, Columbus Ohio?
How many other venues are next to cemetaries?
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:JBinMD said:rustomatic said:--it also handled amazingly well. Just don't look at the inside front wheel in a turn . . .
Having never owned a foxbody, someone's going to have to explain this to sheltered and naive me. Do they have reverse Ackerman or terrible bump/roll steer from the rack placement or something?
Short control arms and a really long front strut. With body roll they lose camber faster than it comes from the geometry of the control arm and strut. That's why caster / camber plates are a must. It's also why SN95 control arms are a bit better since they are longer.
Ah, I understand now. Having owned a 1971 Plymouth Valiant and a 1976 Dodge Dart in the past I know what it feels like to have one's front tires camber heavily to the outside of a turn.
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