5.0 7-UP Mustang

Just purcahsed a 1990 LX 5.0 7-UP Limited.
Emerald Green, Power everything, Turbine style aluminum wheels, white convertiple top.
It's got 100k on the OD.
It was a family car and I am the second owner. The Mom drove it to work and store, the daughter drove it to College until she lost it on some slick roads. The son had it till he was 18 and wanted a new 5.0. They even threw in a little 7-UP dot doll to hang on the mirror.
So, now it's mine, engine is clean, leather is cracked on the seats, new top in Nov of last year. Engine pulls very well, no smoke or leakes at all. I had Flow Masters put on it. Still has the cats installed. It has a few paint problems due to the crappy primer Ford used.
What I'm looking for is a bit more pep from the little 302.
I am looking to put a K&N intake unit on it in the near future, but was asking the group for advise as to what I can add without pulling the engine. Shorty headers are a real option. The factory headers look like someone used a pipe wrench and a hammer to make them fit.

I was given a CPU from a 1993 GT to try in the car, installed it after wrestling the damn thing from the kick panel, didn't change much other than the shift points. I understand that there are CPU's that can add 20% to the performance just as a plug up.

I'm an old SBC Carb guy, these CPU's and FI are Greek to me!

Any advise is appreciated

Sounds like a fun car, Craig. You might want to look at a different upper and lower intake and maybe some bigger injectors. Check out the Ford SVT catalog, your local Ford dealer should have one.

Whew

How fast do you want to go.

Is the car an AOD.

If so you need to swap it over to a 5 speed (can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit) lol

If it is an auto in good shape add a stall and a valve body that will hold the 2/3 shift.

You can get the heads/intake off a v8 explorer, roller rockers, electric fan, gears.

The aftermarket is HUGE for these cars. I would suggest a visit to corral.net

If you need some parts let me know I have a ton of stuff.

Mit,
I really don't want to jerk the tranny out and go with the 5 speed.
I would LIKE to but I want to keep it as original as possible.
The thing might be worth something one day. The car is an AOD, I drive it mostly in the # 2 on the shifter, it's changing 3 times but not to the low low OD.

I will look into injectors, a new plenum and headers for sure.
The shortys I have looked at are nice, looks like a streight bolt on.

Stick with the 19LB injectors in the car. A bigger injector will kill it unless you are going to supercharge, NOS, or do a heads, cam, intake. Plus you would have to get a mass air meter calibrated for the bigger injectors.

Yes, I would recommend the BBK shortys headers and off road H pipe. Like I said You can get an upper and lover intake off an V8 explorer. These intakes flow #s are almost identical to the GT40 intake (Came on the 93 Cobras) And they can be had for around $50. to $100. They are a direct bolt on and look similar to stock.

The heads off the explores are GT40s too.

With a little work and some wise parts shopping you can really wake this car up

depending on which injection system your 5.0 came equiped with, you can gain a little extra bottom end torque by adding a larger throttle body.... takes a matter of minutes to change out... computer wise, you're really not going to push that much further than you have.... the AOD, if you're gonna keep it, 100k is pushing it on one of those gnarley beasts..... add some redline transmission fluid to it and take care of it.... it'll make it shift a little better, and if you're lucky make it last longer.... preferably converting it to a manual isn't going to be that big of a deal, and if you really want to keep it for being a "classic" someday.... keep the AOD in the garage for some later day

Mu son bought a set of BBK shorty headers.
Polished Ceramic
I sure hope there isn't any surprises during the install.

Any hints?

they should fit like a glove

I'll let you know Monday!

Should I loosen up the H pipe?

I didn't have to. If they are individually flanged headers start with the back bolts first and work your way forward. Don't know why but it just works better that way.

I don't know what gear you are running. But a set of gears will be like night and day. I have 3:55 in my AOD car wish I had went 3:73 or 4:11 but it still gets decent mileage on the interstate (23mpg)

This one is in the 20's for MPG.

Not bad.
I have a bad habit of punching it, feels good in the middle of your back.

I was looking down in the passengerside of the engine and it looks like the back bolts may be a pain to get back in.

Anti seeze on the bolts when installing.

Got the shorty headers in yesterday.
Not a bad install, just a pain putting in the bolt on the back side pasenger side. The car still has the smog equipment and the two hoses attachments running to the pump were in the way.
I did find out that once you take those two hoses off, the metal ends of those two things are damn sharp! Got a nice circle cut on the back of my hand when I was removing the stock bolts to the header. Bled like a stuck pig for a while!

Got everything buttoned up except for the dip stick.

Due to the headers the angle changed for the tube at entry into the block. the dipstick will not go all the way down.
Looks like a call to Lokar to see if they have a unit of if anyone has a suggestion on how to fix it.

Performance.
Didin't see a big increase on the low end, mid range seems much better. Getting a little more "rumble" from the pipes.
Also I can hear a little bit of a "steel" sound during reving of the engine? Does that make sense?
It's a good sound.

what kind of steel sound are you getting? rattle, rub or ting?

I guess I used the wrong word.

It's a change in note of the sound from the original sound before the headers were installed.

You know how a 8 seond drag car sounds at the end of the run?
It doesn't really sound like a street car at all. It has a mechaincal sound, you really can't hear the expolsions as much as you hear all the machinery going crazy.

Nothing is wrong with the engine, it's the frequency?

oh hahaha yeah ok.... its just a change in the pitch..... you'll want to retighten those header bolts once a month for the first 6 months, just so you know.... and if you dont exactly like that sound... you can always go with new mufflers.... i know the exhaust shop by my house has a computer program that you can select which headers, pipe style, cats, and mufflers... and it'll give you what kind of exhaust sound you're gonna get... its kinda cool really.... did it with my mustang, played around with it til i got the sound i liked the best and performed the best... and amazingly... sounds just like the computer made it sound

I had Flowmasters put on it the first weekend we got the car.
Flowmaster sound as if they were tailor made for the 5.0 Mustang.

Can't mistake that sound

sounds good to me.... flowmasters have an awesome sound....

I have run into a problem with the dipstick.
I called Lokar and they have one for the 5.0
The OEM dipstick will not go all the way down since I moved it to get the headers in.
Price ain't bad and I like the prods that Lokar makes.

Dip stick is in, Finally!
The original broke off right at the block while I was trying to get it out.
I had to remove the header on the driver side to get down to the stub. Royal pain in the butt to get that thing out.
Lokar unit went right in with a little sanding on the OD.

I can't praise Lokar enough, they make good stuff, it fits, looks good and is cost effective.

I installed a MSD 6ALN I got from Roush Racing. They sell these things dirt cheap. They run them 40 hours and remove them.

I sell them electrical wire for the cars, I don't get a special deal. Anyone can get stuff from Jacks Garage.

Next step?

I don't know squatt about throttle bodies and the like.
I can't light the tires up on the car even trying to power brake it.
It takes off like a rocket when floored, should it boil the tires during a power brake?

"should it boil the tires during a power brake?"

Depends on weight on the rear tires and the suspension setup. I know one thing for sure, it'll boil the torque converter and tranny.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Craig


I installed a MSD 6ALN I got from Roush Racing. They sell these things dirt cheap. They run them 40 hours and remove them.

---

tell me more


You should definitely be able to power brake the stang. I could do mine even when the AOD was on its last legs.

You won't get any benefit from a bigger throttle body. Finish the exhaust. Off road h pipe and some mufflers if you haven't already done it.

The biggest bang you are going to get without a power adder or going in the motor is a set of gears. I would recommend a set of 4:10s due to the extra weight of the vert and the AOD.

You should put the car on the track. Just to get a base line. What do you want to do with the car?

This may be a duplicate post---if it is I'm sorry, got some CPU issues.

The car excellerates very well.

It just seems bog a bit when you try to power brake it.

I have heard that the AOD tranny's are a bit worn at 100k plus miles.
We do not drive it in AOD as a norm around town. We keep it in number two.

There is an old airbase here in Greenville SC, it's now just about totally owned by Lockeheed Areomod. they rework PC3 Orions here.
There is one runway that they do not use, it's about 1.5 miles long and the locals use it. The cops will leave you alone as long as you don't do any head to head stuff. I grew up here and didn't know about it but my son does!

The Mustang 1/4 mile time hasn't change much with all the adders that I have put on it. I was hoping for much more.

Y'all got me scared in thinking that the tranny and torgue converter are about to die!
Will a new TQ and a tranny rebuild make that much diff???

Check into a lyntech tranny.

But yes a fresh tranny with a larger stall would help.

Remember to replace the valvebody with one that will hold out the 2-3 shift.

What is the OEM stall converter RPM on a 1990 LX 5.0?

Enlighten me a bit on the brand of tranny. I have found that a new tranny sometimes is much better than a rebuild with a diff converter. Got web site or something I can look at? Also what kind of bucks we looking at?



I'm a samll block chevy guy, is it roughly the same for Fords?

http://www.lentechautomatics.com/


ford aods are kind of crappy


It all depends what u want to do with the car.

Nice.

I'd like to call them and get some questions answered.


What do I want to do with the car?

First thing is not let it kill my kid!

Second, is scare him enough to make him respect the power.

The little car is a handfull in the rain, he understands that part.

I guess I'm living my youth through him a bit. I want him to have a good performing car that is above the norm. I want to keep the car as original as possible in hopes that it may be more than a regular 5.0. Ford didn't make many of these convertibles in this color and interior combo.
Plus a 16 year old in a 5.0 kick ass Mustang may elevate his possiblility to loose his virginity.
Not to say anything about dad being able have a little fun at red lights!

Craig, let me see if I've got this right....you're building a hot rod Mustang with a soft convertible top for a 16 year old kid.

If he gets this thing crossed up at speed, he's gonna lose more than his virginity.

I honestly don't mean to sound like a know-it-all or smartass, but I've been inspecting drag cars for over 40 years and in my humble opinion, your next addition to this car should be a minimum 5-point rollbar if not a rollcage and 5-point belts before you have to go out and buy yourself a black suit.

tech makes the best point that one can make when it comes to speed and performance....It doesn't matter if your car will run 9 flat in the 1/4, if your not alive to see it then it doesn't matter now does it?

If the boy plans to do any kind of foot stompin then you need to take some safety measures...learned that the hardway myself :(

65 'round a curve tires screaching and i found myself wrapped up in a thicket of trees with a totaled truck, a case of whiplash, and a sore rear end after my dad got done with me :whacked:

Learned my lesson and i want to help people learn their lesson before they end up like i probably should have...I'm rather lucky to be alive...65 mph in one of them little 4 banger nissan trucks sliding nosefirst into a stand of trees...not to mention that stand of trees were the only thing holding me from rolling down the ridge and into the creek bed. I'm a lucky one...couple of my friends weren't so lucky... they were tboned by a school bus doin 60 mph with 46 kids in it... :CRY:

Thanks to both of you for the reminder about the saftey of the car and the driver.

Most people say the same thing, but I have a good kid!

I have gone out of my way to instill in him the dangers of high speed and irresponcible driving.
I have taken him a local towing service that picks up cars that have been in very bad wrecks. He lost a classmate a year ago in a stupid street race crash that killed two high school juniors.
I have inquired into sending him to the Road Atlanta driving school, not for racing but for education on car handeling.
One of the best demos that the local school did her in SC was a contraption that was on a trailer. It had a seat with a five point harness attached to a seat that was elevated on a track. It was winched up the ramp with the person strapped in and released to travel about 8 feet and stop. It simulates a crash at 35 MPH.
It's REAL eye opener!

He has the respect for a moving 1.5 ton piece of machinery and he does understand that it WILL kill him. You know, we sit here typing stuff on how to make our cars faster, more torque, more HP but I am as guilty as many of not thinking about the bad side of all of this tinkering. As they say, it's not the fall that hurts, it's the STOP.

Again thanks for the words of caution. I aprreciate it very much, and I do not own a black suit! Don't want one, EVER!

Good advice about the roll cage.I wouldn't run a ragtop without at least a rollbar. Keep in mind that boys usually wreck at least one car early in their driving career, with luck they live to learn from their mistakes.

haha thats so true...my wreck was in the first 5 months that i had my license :D

roll bar,roll bar,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar,roll bar , roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,ro ll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar ,roll bar.rollbar,rollbar,rollbar,rollbar,**) **) **) **) rollbar,rollbar,rollbar,rollbar,rollbar,rollbar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One thing you might want to consider for safety. You can install an adjustable chip in the cpu. The chip will have several settings for several different "tunes." I think mine has 7.

You could limit the speed and rpm that way. Not to mention add a few more ponies with the flip of a switch. Just a suggestion.

Does your car still have the factory air box? Have you removed the air silencer.

Not only would a roll bar be a good Idea, They look really good in the fox body verts.

Craig I will be in your situation soon. My son is 12 and already wants a mustang or a ls1 TA.

Can you say full roll cage.

I just bought one of these about 2 months ago. Body is straight. A small dent on the hood from the seller's mothe backing into it. Leather seats are cracked. Back seats are perfect. Top was replaced last year. Leaks from both window seals. Driver side window doesnt work. I just finished up installing a new lock & tumbler due to a backpack loss during camping. 95k on the ODO. Everything is completely stock except the exhaust. The previous owner cut the pipes behind the CAT and pointed the pipes out in front of the rear wheels. Sounds good but not legal. I am also looking for a little bit more pep out of my engine. 225 is quite a lot but its not a lot for a 302 ci. engine. Tranny is auto into a 3:73 posi rear end (sweet linelock). I found a setup that requires new heads, rocker arms, and headers. Bringing the power up to 405 HP and about 400 FPT. But I dont want to break my bank.

Found this information on the web about our special 7-Up Edition and was wondering if anyone knows whether it is all correct or not. If you know, would you please correct any mis-information, as I'm considering putting this information on a placard for an aut-show. Thanks in advance!

1990 25th Anniversary Limited Edition Mustang LX Convertible

Production of these cars started in December of 1989, with only two cars being built. Full production began February 2, 1990 with the final car being built May 29, 1990. Cars & Concepts of Brighton, MI, assisted Ford Motor Company in the specialized production of these Mustangs. The 7-Up company originally contracted with Ford for special production of these Mustangs, but the contract fell-through before final delivery. The plan was to build 5,000, but only 4,103 were built. The breakdown of the production numbers is as follows:
- Total production: 4,103
- Number of 5-Speeds: 1,360
- Number of Automatics: 2,743
- Number of Vehicles Exported: 261

The 1990 Limited Edition LX Convertible has some features which differentiate it from other Mustang models. These features include:
- Deep Emerald Green Clear-coat Metallic Paint (code PA)
- Color-keyed body side moldings, fascia moldings and side view mirrors
- White Leather Interior
- White Convertible Top
- 15" x 7" GT Aluminum Turbine Wheels

Standard Equipment:
- 5.0 liter (302 cubic inch) E.F.I. High Output 8-cylinder Engine
- Tremec 5 Speed Manual Transmission
- Sport Handling Suspension
- Power Brakes
- Power Rack & Pinion Steering w/15:1 Ratio
- P225/60VR15 Performance Tires
- Luggage Rack
- Power Lock Group
- Power Windows
- Tinted Glass
- Leather-Wrapped Steering Wheel
- Interval Windshield Wipers
- Articulated Sports Seats
- Light Group
- EEC-IV Computerized Engine Controls
- Traction-Lock Axle
- Power Convertible Top
- Aero Halogen Headlamps
- Dual Electric Remote Mirrors
- Electronic AM/FM Stereo Radio With Clock
- Heavy Duty Battery

That's the same info I found.

I looked all over the net for mor info but looks like you found the same site I did.
There was a group forum for the 7-UPs but it died.

I have the e-mail for the guy that was heading it up.
Fyrfyter303@comcast.net

He has answered a few questions for me.
It's a shame the group disbanded.

Easy way to get the young'n to like the rollbar is to take it to the races. No bar, no race......

The Explorer heads in 1996 were GT40's but then they changed to the GT40P heads from 97 until they phased out the 5.0. The P heads flow very well and will outperform the GT40's but they have no provision for EGR since they burned so clean. They also have a revised plug angle that can be a nightmare with most headers.

You can install a TransGo shift kit for about a hundred and Oregon Performance Transmission will send you a 2200 stall lockup converter for about 150 with shipping. Rear gears are the biggest kick in the butt you can do but you'll need to box the rear arms and put in poly bushings to take full advantage.

I have a 302 with the P heads and aod in my Fairlane. It is fun with the 4.11 gears and a locker. Still have to dial it in though. Off to Bill's Dyno Tune next week.