Questions regarding intakes & ecm upgrades for an 86 vic

[Sirus]

QFT

Don't try and do it all in one. If you're new to this stuff (like I am) you'll risk hitting a point where you've got the car in a million pieces and you don't know where to start getting it all back together. Plus, you'll have to save up for ALL the parts before you get to enjoy any of them.



If you need an extra set of hands or some recommendations on where to buy stuff or have stuff done, I'm in Scarborough and just started working at a custom/restoration shop in Markham, so I may be able to help you out.

Thanks, i may take you up on that.

It'll be a while before i get this all done i'm going to be putting the car on the road at the end of this month, and i'd like to get the engine & the trans rebuilt as well as do a little body work on it before i start modding & tuning.

I've got a guy who can help me rebuild it all and i know a good body shop back around Chatham, but any places that do work or can help with parts or work up here are always appreciated, always good to have options.

[86VickyLX]

I'd recommend you do the upgrades that could potentially scratch up paint and stuff first. Then concentrate on the bodywork.
We'll be happy to help with any questions you have in the future as you go along with this build!

Don't forget to include pics!!

[Sirus]

Thanks for all the help from everyone!

I'm going back home for Easter, i may bring the Vic out into the open & take some pics for the thread!

[Sirus]

About the maf conversion, would something like this be worth grabbing?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/86-87-88-5-0-Mustang-Mass-Air-Conversion-Harness-Kit-/200533073456?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2eb0b3de30

[mrltd]

Little pricey, but it would work.


As for the steps, most of the stuff should be done at once because it just won't work without the other mods done. Gears and a limited slip are a good upgrade no matter what.

There are a lot of other issues with making power in these cars. Accessories are one, you need a underdrive pulley, and even with that you run the risk of blowing the heater core and rad out regularly. As vicky also mentioned, suspension and brakes. These cars are huge and have horrible brakes. Not a good combo when you add a ton of HP that can get it moving very quickly.

I would also like to mention that when you make a ton of HP your gas milage will suffer. BAD. The injectors need to be bigger because you need more fuel to make HP. Pretty much any performance mod will cost a bit of milage.

[Sirus]

Truth is the more i learn from you guys, the more i think i'll just do the full HO mod as well as a maf conversion with the A9P ECU, then do the exhaust & gears, then after a while grab some better heads and tune.

I don't want to go too far, too fast and find myself in a project i can't finish and with a car that i can't enjoy, thanks for helping me see that guys.

Would it really be necessary to upgrade to 24 lb injectors if i decided to run trick flow twisted wedge 170 heads?

Also i'm going to need pistons cause of the year of my car, right? Can i just use stock 88 & up dish pistons from a stang or are there better options?

About the brakes & suspension, i'll look into that and if i have any questions i'll be sure to make a thread in the appropriate place.

[gadget73]

if you go to the 170 heads and don't change the cam, it *might* be ok with a 19# but a 24 would almost definitely be fine. You could always try it with the 19s and stick it on a dyno to see if the A/F ratio is where it ought to be. if its lean, do something to give it more fuel, be that tuning with the 19's or tuning with the 24's.

stock pistons may clear with an aftermarket head, they may not. It would need to be clayed to check clearances. They're a generally craptastic piston anyway so theres not a great reason to keep them. 88+ HO pistons work well, but they're heavy and unless you get free value on them, I wouldn't buy a set. They're expensive and for that money you can do better. I actually have truck pistons in my car. Same physical profile as the HO stuff, but they're hyper instead of forged. For me, that means they cost about half as much. If you aren't boosting or spraying the motor heavily, then a hyper piston will work just fine.

Truthfully, what I'd be doing if I were you is sticking stockish HO stuff on the existing motor and run it. If you want to get more serious with it later, find yourself another motor and build it the way you want to. If you change the pistons, the motor really needs to come out to be honed and checked to make sure the bores are actually in spec, and by the time you do all that you're out of the car for probably at least a month between disassembly, machine work, re-assembly of the motor, and then putting it back in the car. If you just pick up another block, you can have the new motor ready to go, and just pop and swap in a weekend.

[86VickyLX]

Truthfully, what I'd be doing if I were you is sticking stockish HO stuff on the existing motor and run it. If you want to get more serious with it later, find yourself another motor and build it the way you want to. If you change the pistons, the motor really needs to come out to be honed and checked to make sure the bores are actually in spec, and by the time you do all that you're out of the car for probably at least a month between disassembly, machine work, re-assembly of the motor, and then putting it back in the car. If you just pick up another block, you can have the new motor ready to go, and just pop and swap in a weekend.

I wholeheartedly agree. Personally doing this I can say that being able to drive the car right up to the time of the engine swap is great. You put the car out of commission for a week (at the worst). And swap in your new engine and go from there.

[Sirus]

It does seem like a good idea, i may get a second engine & work on it. Can i just get a 88-91 stang engine & trans, rebuild & mod then put it into the car with an a9p computer? Or do i have to stick with a vic engine & build it up?

[87gtVIC]

You can use a Mustang engine, but the serpentine belt setups are entirely different. Mostly everybody would swap everything over from the front (timing cover forward) of a vic engine to the front of the mustang engine so everything is happy with wiring and plumbing underneath the hood.I also believe the fuel rails are different ass well so all of that would have to be swapped. Regarding the transmission, the shift linkage on the side of the transmission would have to be swapped to the panther style to retain the column shift location.

[86VickyLX]

It does seem like a good idea, i may get a second engine & work on it. Can i just get a 88-91 stang engine & trans, rebuild & mod then put it into the car with an a9p computer? Or do i have to stick with a vic engine & build it up?

You can go with a vic engine, or you can start with a mustang. Mustang you're already starting off with a better cam. Get a mustang AOD and you have a higher stall converter, than stock vic, and the HO governor in the trans for shift points. As 87GTVic said, you'll have to change a rod to make the trans work in your car. Unless you wanted to go to a floor shift I've done the lever swap once, but I can't remember the exact details, it's fairly easy though.