87 mustang Stocker - help me not get laughed off the track!

[Dave Gantz]

The Astro A5 sounds like a good trans. I'm going to try one in my '87. It's been discussed a lot on The Corral.

[alejan1975]

Originally Posted by Dave Gantz

The Astro A5 sounds like a good trans. I'm going to try one in my '87. It's been discussed a lot on The Corral.

i've looked at those as well. they seem to be stronger than the gforce t5 kits and to be fair the gforce trans are marketed as "street". it seems that they still have 3rd gear failures.

If you end up going this route i'd love to hear any feedback. I'm going to start on the motor now and hope to have some cash together to deal with trans and clutch before spring. Before i pull the trigger i'll talk to the guys at gforce and Astro, and am leaning towards a Ram sintered clutch/alum flywheel setup (about $1500).

Trans and clutch should be right aroud 4500 which is still "budget" compared to the the G5r approach.

[Jeff Swanson]

Alex, while it's not the greatest you can make the T5 work, especially with a HO Mustang stocker. The key will be getting the clutch soft enough. Gear spacing is also an issue. Go to the NMRA forums and talk to the Coyote Stock and Factory Stock racers. The Coyote Stock racers are running 10.50s with T5s.

I ran 12 flat with a Liberty Proshifted T5 in a '93 Cobra K/S 15 years ago. Picked up a lot when I switched to a G Force GF5R, but the point is you can make the T5 work if you're on a tight budget.

Good luck and have fun!

[Philip Saran]

One other item not mentioned IF your planning on running Stock Eliminator
is you will need to put door panel/headliner/back panels back in the car.

If only running in brackets then no interior needed.

May need to upgrade the roll bar to 8 point and a 5 point harness.

Enjoy your project and just watch your expenses.

[Alex Denysenko]

Originally Posted by alejan1975

I have never raced in class racing but got my intro in the mid 90s working at a machine shop that built some stocker engines.

I have a cheap 87 mustang with th following

6 point chromoly cage
Stock motor down to the factory air cleaner
Spec stage 2+ clutch
SFI alum flywheel and blow proof bellhousing
Gutted Interior
Race seat/4 pt harness
33spline axles full spool 4.56 gears
Rear adjustable upper and fixed lower control arms
Weld 15x8 w new MT et streets
Weld 15x4 w mt front runners


My plan is to add:

Kooks long tube headers
Msd ignition
Front drag shocks
E fan
Manual steering Rack

Motor will be low dollar to start. I am taking a stock shortblock I have and will have the block cleaned, plate honed, and windage tray / studs, Line hone and decked, new cam bearings. Stock pistons cleaned, big end of Rods resized. If the crank will allow, offset grind .013 (will have to check how far the pistons will come out of the block- may pass if they would be out more than .005.

Was going to call comp and talk to their guys about getting a stocker grind Not looking to go custom - nit sure what they have but will prob shoot for a milder grind as i am cutting my teeth, and will have better luck with shifting, dialin it in etc if its not turnjng 8k rpm (also living w stock rod bolts And bo balance)

I have a set of stock heads laying around that we're rebuilt and run for 10k miles. I will have a fresh valve job addded and milled to minimum cc per the rules, and add appropriate springs and retainers.

Probably will stick with the stock computer and tune with a quarter horse tuner(allows me to flash computer w laptop).

Not expecting to set any records, hoping just to field a car that will get me started. Index is 12.85 if I looked this up right, I'm hoping to run 12.50s out of the gate with room to improve.

If I stick with it I imagine a real engine in the future along with faceplated trans, built rear etc.

So let me have it -where am I way off?

Thanks!

Alex feel free to call me at the shop during businesss hours for some help we can help you with advice and parts as we have built two of these from scratch into competitive record holding multi event winning championship caliber cars.