302 small block?

[honda_atc200es]

my mom surprised me today by saying for my 16th birthday that i will be getting an 89 mustang, but i have herd from some people that the 302 is a crappy engine, what are your expiriences and should i shell out the close to 10 grand for a nice 350 crate engine, or just leave it alone. any other feedback for the 89 mustang would be apriecated, so i can make a wish list of upgrades now lol

[mean350]

the 302 can be built up to be ridiculously fast!!!!!! my buddy had a 9.... sec mustang w a 302 in it. just leave that engine in there

[honda_atc200es]

holy crap thats fast, ya for close to ten grand that engine could be insane, besides, building up the engine would feel alot more accomplishing when its done rather than stuffing a 350 in, thanks for the input, but i would still like to know why some people say the 302 is crap lol

[mopar_man]

That 302 is just like the Chevy 350. Not only is it cheap to build power with but it also has a HUGE aftermarket. I don't know where you got the crappy 302 info from but I haven't heard that before. Stick with the stock engine for now until you learn to handle it (I personally think a V8 Mustang is a poor idea for a first car but that's just me). Once you're a few years older, then start putting some money into. I know first hand about this. My brother had one that he put a bunch of money into to make it fast and he was an inexperienced driver. He ended up screwing up a very nice car.

[DixiePlowboy]

Drive the wheels off of it with the 302 in it. For the love of God don't put a GM motor in a Ford.....that's unforgivable:)


When you get some experience and some dough, holler at me about twin turbos on a 331 stroker if you really want to get a thrill for less than $10 grand.

[honda_atc200es]

well, i personally am not a ford man myslef, but if a mustang is my first car and my dad drives an explorer i can get used to it, i would never put a gm engine in it though, i was talking about the crate motors by ford racing. also i do agree with the gettting used to te car first, i guess im just getting ahead of myself im really excited lol. my friends called me a *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**E dited* for having a v8 as a firts car. i will def come here when i am ready to beef it up and show the ricers at school how a real car looks :naughty:

[SWIGIN]

350=chevy


351= ford


that 89 will be a good car to build since 89 has mass air and not speed density

[icp4life162005]

heres some real help and hint for that car... store it over the winter. i have a 87 thunderbird turbo coupe with like 7 or 8 inch wide tire on the back and it will barely move in a quarter inch of snow and its not worth wrecking trust me so i really advise getting a crappy econo car for the winter.

[honda_atc200es]

ya, most likely in the winter im gonna drive my dads explorer, and about the mass-air, i have herd about that i lucked out lol i plan on really building up that engine im lookin to hit around 350hp, anything more than that isnt really pratical, but nice none the less..

[DixiePlowboy]

My first car (at 14 years old!!)was a '79 302 Mustang that had all the '82 GT body parts. By the time I turned 16 I had already had that one, an '83 Camaro, an '83 GT, and '85 GT, and took my driving test in my '87 GT with only 17K miles on it.

Total Ford ownership:

11 Mustangs
1 4x4 Ranger
1 4x4 Bronco full size
3 Bronco II 4x4's
2 F-150 4x4's
2 Taurus SHO's
1 Lincoln LS-V8

Total Chevy ownership:

1 Camaro(costly mistake)

Even though those only account for about half the vehicles I've ever had, it's easy to tell I'm a Ford fan.....as long as I don't have to choose between Ford and International Harvester:)

[xman23]

yea dude get it, my friend has a 92 stang get convertible and he has the motor pumped up and it flies, there are so many aftermarket parts for the 302, alot more than the 351 has

[honda_atc200es]

hahaha, my friends said the 89 is ugly, but i think there just jelous, in my opinion, the fox body mustangs are the coolest besides the fastbacks, i jus like the idea of a small hatchback musclecar, not that the 89 was all that powerful, which will change after i finish with it:twisted:

[84honda200s]

well, i personally am not a ford man myslef, but if a mustang is my first car and my dad drives an explorer i can get used to it, i would never put a gm engine in it though, i was talking about the crate motors by ford racing. also i do agree with the gettting used to te car first, i guess im just getting ahead of myself im really excited lol. my friends called me a *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**E dited* for having a v8 as a firts car. i will def come here when i am ready to beef it up and show the ricers at school how a real car looks :naughty:



hey now. im into the american muscle but after seeing a real as you guys call "ricer" beat some pretty built up stangs and vetts i learned to give them some respect. now as for "ricers" at a high school yea a v8 should take them in the long haul. but if you were to take on supra, skyline, or 350z you may not like the out come. like i said i like the v8s power and sound but i like the short stroke of a "ricer" . i also like the fact if you build up a import it still gets better gas millage than a built up muscle car. that is the important issue gas millage and power to weight ratio. an import is allot lighter than a american car.


sorry im not trying to jack the thread. its just i get sick of people bad mouthing imports all the time. i like em both.

[DixiePlowboy]

I definitely have respect for the imports as well.

If I were in the market for a new car.....it would definitely be a Mitsubishi Evo. Those are extremely quick right off the showroom floor.

[honda_atc200es]

i have no problem with imports at all, what i ment by a ricer is soeone who drives a "souped up" car, and knows nothing about the car or how to drive it. for example someone in my school took a mustang gt and slapped saleen stickers on it, obviously not knowing what saleen is, or you have the people that take like a crappy car and put a loud muffler on it, it makes you laugh when you see the car take 20 seconds to get out of first gear

[Greiver430x]

The 302 ford was a GREAT motor, as for the ricers Watch out for those Subaru WRX, WRX\STI's. I had an 88 Trans Am every option on including 4 Wheel disc brakes and the electronic gauges:drool: . It had the 5.7 TPI Which I had a mild cam in with headers, and a K&N cool air kit Different prom chip etc.(previous owner did all this) I could tell it was better than stocl it had power, a WRX STI SMOKED ME. Those little mustangs are fast right outta the factory especially the late 80's thru 93 cars. Awesome first car just becareful, I totaled my Trans Am falling asleep and nailing a hyundai:( , The hyundai came out with outta scratch.:rolleyes:

[84honda200s]

i have no problem with imports at all, what i ment by a ricer is soeone who drives a "souped up" car, and knows nothing about the car or how to drive it. for example someone in my school took a mustang gt and slapped saleen stickers on it, obviously not knowing what saleen is, or you have the people that take like a crappy car and put a loud muffler on it, it makes you laugh when you see the car take 20 seconds to get out of first gear





oooo lol my bad man i misunderstood what you were telling me. yea we have allot of people around here that buy wal mart fart boxes and then they seem to think they have a fast car. or they buy a greddy muffler and think they have a performance exhaust. lol i wonder if they know it takes more than a muffler to make an exhaust system. now i could go for a 96 supra but i would take off the stock tt and put a over sized one on. get it bored 30 thousands, cold air intake, full greddy exhaust and a bunch of *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited*.

[Rocksoup]

Yeah. you'll have fun with that car. I've got a 93 LX with the 302. 140,000 later and it still runs awesome. Very reliable car. Those cars are fast stock. There are a few quick imports out there like the STI, but a Stang is just a much cooler car, and will take a lot more of a beating too.

[honda_atc200es]

The 302 ford was a GREAT motor, as for the ricers Watch out for those Subaru WRX, WRX\STI's. I had an 88 Trans Am every option on including 4 Wheel disc brakes and the electronic gauges:drool: . It had the 5.7 TPI Which I had a mild cam in with headers, and a K&N cool air kit Different prom chip etc.(previous owner did all this) I could tell it was better than stocl it had power, a WRX STI SMOKED ME. Those little mustangs are fast right outta the factory especially the late 80's thru 93 cars. Awesome first car just becareful, I totaled my Trans Am falling asleep and nailing a hyundai:( , The hyundai came out with outta scratch.:rolleyes:

damn, real shame about that trans am, those sti's are very fast though, rally cars are crazy quick, but you never no, he coulda had some juice and other extras, cas trans am's are insanely powerful

[J.D.]

The ford 302 is a great engine, don't let anybody say anything else. I've got an 87 Mustang GT, still speed density working on mass air conversion. It's got 160K on it, on it's 2nd about to be third trans(if you got a 5 speed, make sure you have no trans leaks, that's why they blow up so much.) They're not exactly slow, a good bit faster than the Camaros of the time. Mine runs a best time of 9.46, consistent 9.60's in the 1/8 mile, spinning all the way through first gear. Only "mods" are an electric fan, and 245/50R16's out back on Pony wheels. I get about 16-18 MPG in town and about 25 MPG on the highway, and I know my car will do about 140. Have fun with your car :)

[bassman]

WTF, 302s are awesome motors! If you aren't going to get an LS1 F-body, get a 5.0 Foxbody. You can be running on 7 cylinders and missing at it would still sound badass.
Just make sure you invest in some good tires, because stangs can't launch for crap. Not that it really matters if you're just gonna be eating some rice, but if you want to run with the big boys, look into it.
You can take it from me, I'm probably the most unbiased car guy you'll meet. I love imports and domestics equally. Though I dislike ford the most, if I were to get one car for dragging, my 1st choice would be a fox body stang.

[honda_atc200es]

woah you get that much mileage? i thought it got like 10mpg. i am really looking forward to getting this car. it sucks i have to wait a year though. no big deal though i still have tons of work to do on my trike.

[redneck_09]

I am 16 and have a 92 lx 5.0 it has a mild cam ,headers, k&n filter, 70mm edelbrock throtle body and a few other goodies. It runs like no other. the guy that had it before me twisted the speedometer gear off when outrunning a cop. They are awsome cars. Mine just sits and spins off the line. I got probally close to 300 h.p. i get 18mpg with my foot in it. The only bad thing is high insurance. Good luck and hope you like it.

[J.D.]

I am 16 and have a 92 lx 5.0 it has a mild cam ,headers, k&n filter, 70mm edelbrock throtle body and a few other goodies. It runs like no other. the guy that had it before me twisted the speedometer gear off when outrunning a cop. They are awsome cars. Mine just sits and spins off the line. I got probally close to 300 h.p. i get 18mpg with my foot in it. The only bad thing is high insurance. Good luck and hope you like it.

Haha a speedo gear won't twist off from running from cops. I've had my car topped out at about 140, and no such problems. I doubt you get that much mileage too, because when I run mine hard it drops down to 15. Also 300 HP might be a little high if you've got stock heads. they don't flow at all, and basically they're junk. Not saying it can't be done but that's pushing it a little bit....

One of the reasons Mustangs spins so much is pinion angle, if I'm not mistaken they put negative angle into it...change it around a little bit and they can launch good though.