Just got back from a test drive with a customer. He and his brother were test driving my '99 T/A. Of course, I went along for insurance reasons. While we we out a fox body stang pulls up next to us and asks if we want to go. I tell the guy that were out on a test drive and could not oblige. He said that's the best way to sell the car. I asked him what he had under his 4-inch cowl induction hood and he said heads and cam. I'm just assuming that he had an intake too. Why put heads and cam on with the stock intake? I thought for second and agreed to race.

Now the customer driving the T/A was only 18 and not too experienced in racing but thank God that the car is an auto so that would make it easier. We pull up to a two-lane highway entrance ramp that measures exactly 1/4- mile. I tried to get the guy to go from a dig but he would not stop so we raced from a 20 mph roll. The first race was ugly, we took him by 3-4 cars. Maybe he missed a shift.

The second race was again from a slow roll and we got him by about 2-3 car lengths. I noticed some wheel spin on his part but we spun also. The third race was again from a slow roll (I think he was too worried about spinning out of the whole) This was a much better race, only edged him by about one half a car. We were slowly pulling away but we had to hit the brakes for the intersection. The guy was cool, he said that is one fast T/A.

The '99 T/A has an SLP Lid, SLP Exhaust, 3.23 Gear, and Shift Kit.

 

All depends on the heads and the cam. I think from a 20 mph roll you were both in your sweet spot though. I dunno, I think wheel spin was a HUGE factor for the 5.0 In first gear i just spin and dont go much of anywhere when i nail it from a decent roll. Good kill though. Also depended on the rest of his motor, if its a tired 5.0 with a sloppy cam/cheap heads or ported E7's I can easily see this happening. Again, good kill.

 

Hate to burst your bubble, and I know you know ur **** on 5.0s but so do I I can see this happening either way. It would have been worse without the extra TWO people in the car.

 

Like you said, it could happen either way, but HAD the 5.0 had traction and a AFR/Trickflow head setup with a decent cam, it woulda been curtains for that TA. It all depends on what he had and his traction. But ya, according to JUST the facts in the story, it could go either way

 

I know a little bit on the 5.0 side, my mother had a 93 LX 5.0( r.i.p. in 2005). I have raced a H/C/I, gears and bolt-on's 1990 5.0 from a slow roll when my car was lid and catback, and destroyed him 2 times. The 5.0 was a great motor, just very weak from the factory by todays standards. With h/c/i exhaust they were really potent back in the day, but nowadays that combo is not hard to beat up on. I have seen a h/c/i/ full exhaust 5.0 dyno 325 rwhp, now freak LS1's have made that bone stock, most LS1's will easily make that w/ just a few bolt-ons and have a better power band as well. The only 5.0 to ever beat me in my LS1 had: cam, intake, S/C'er, full exhaust and DR'S....he ran 12.8 to my 13.0, and all I had was a few bolt-ons. They can be potent, but ya gotta mod the **** outta them and do weight reduction. The ones to really watch out for are the notch backs with h/c/i exhaust, weight reduc. They can be nasty little suckers, light weight too.

 

notch back is 100-150# lighter....well, my HCI combo puts down about 290 according to the builder. As far as an LS1, stock v me i feel about = to most. yes, they take a little more to get power from, factory the heads flowed like CRAP, as far as needing a lot of work, 100% correct. Stroke one to 327-342(7) and you better watch out, I dont know of a single 327 or 347 around here putting down less than 400+ rwhp. as far as the 302, i have a friend who built a motor for a guy, had trickflow heads and a good cam and a trickflow intake, through the heavy *** AOD it made 34X rwhp. not shabby at all imho!

 

guess it all depends on the quaility of the parts for the 302's, most Ive seen make poor numbers. Then again they have 100,000 miles ++++

 

Ya,but I have also seen dyno's for 180K mile foxes making close to 190rwhp stock trim...they last if you change the oil and do your part.

 

And I m willing to bet they were either carbed or FId. I just witnessed a fuel injected 331 BARELY run a 12.90 with AFR heads, RPM intake, 3.55 gears and all the usuall 5.0 gibberish. This was in a GT body on MT radials. He BARELY ran a 11.80 on a 150 shot. The car ran like a top to boot. He drove 75 miles one way to track (as did I) raced all day then drove home. You mustang boys read MM+FF too much. 25 ci isnt going to give 2 secs. reduction in ET, lol. On the other hand, on the same day (this past Sunday) at the same track, a friend of mine with a notch some what stripped with just a 302 with the usuall H/C/I only carbed with trans brake ran 11.80s on motor and 10.40s on 150 shot. Course his car only weighs 2600lbs. with him in it. anyways, enough of my bablin.

 

thats funny, i know a guy running 14.2 with an AOD mustang and an exhaust, lmao. Something was DEFINITELY WRONG with that 331. My other friend with a 327/331 (not sure) put down 416 at the tires...but you didnt say, what did he trap at?

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys. The funny thing was when the guy said that he had H/C/I, the one brother started shitting in his pants talking about how he thought we were going to get wasted. Then I remembered that he told me that he owns a 1998 Mustang GT w/ 4.10s other minor mods. I told him this is a modded LS1 and not to worry. It's funny how speed is all relative. The guy in the 5.0 was lucky I wasn't in the Stripper, it would have been beyond ugly, it would have been fugly

 

98 GT with 4.10's and minor support mods is 14.0-14.3 if the guy can drive.

 

Good kill

I could see this outcome with a decent H/C/I on the 5.0 i have edelbrock stuff, heads, intake and a small AFM cam i trap 108mph which is LS1 territory BUT i would lose to a slightly modded M6 or even a stalled bolton A4. Unless the 5.0 is packing a big cam and AFR 185's with a big intake or some kinda power adder then mostly likely it's going to lose against an LS1. Which with my experiances of running across 5.0's on the street about 90% of them are very mild H/C/I and about 95% of those are not setup correctly and run like ****. Traction or not the 5.0 was plain slower then the TA.

And if a dude has a 331 that built and can't hardly break out of the 13's running a shitty 12.90 then he is one of those 95% i mentioned above that are not setup correctly and run like **** lol.

Stanger88- Get a dyno don't claim to make that much power just cause the builder said it would. I see to many ppl. trying to tell me their builder said their car should have X amount of hp and it doesn't.