Hey guys. I own a Sapphire Blue 95 GT Convertible. The engine has 170,000 on it, but has been maintained regularly. I got the vehicle from my grandma, originally, so I have a lot of history. This summer I began modifying the car, but a tree fell on it, so I had to take a step back. Right now, the only non stock items are a CAI, 75mm TB, O/R X-Pipe, staggered 17” Mickey Thompson set-up (245 Front and 315 Rear). I plan on getting the body damage done in the body shop soon. I also plan on getting the white leather seats re upholstered. After that, I know I’m gonna need to do a diagnostics to see what needs to be cleaned up. I really would like some advice. I would love to make this a 12 second car. But, I get it, that’s pretty hard. The car is older and I am on some budget. From my research, I think that some of the following could get me there: the ON3 turbo kit, a 5 or 6 speed conversion, 3.73 gears, a trick flow top end kit, cat-back, tune, etc. I will be honest, I do a lot of research and sell cars for a living. So I know some, but I am a relative noob car guy. I would just like some advice for my situation. I understand with these upgrades, I will need to upgrade a lot of other things to keep it street and summer daily drivable. The brakes, shocks, struts, and springs are all in need of being replaced this spring, so I figured I would replace those with higher performance than stock as I go. I’m not trying to spend a lot of money, but I’m also not on a Strick budget. What’s most important is that I have a much faster and enjoyable car. I hate the 4 speed auto. I am open to the ratchet shifter I see on American muscle, but love 6 speed transmissions the most. Thanks for any advice in advance. Also, I have have done everything myself to this point, but realize I will need to go somewhere for certain things due to my limitations as a 20 year old with few tools, a Jack, and some jack stands.
95 GT Convertible Project
- Thread starter Bryant
- Start date
Silver95bird
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2016
- Messages
- 491
- Reaction score
- 113
1) some photos of the car would do us a ton of good in understanding the shape the body is in.
2) Would a vortech be an easier way to 12s than the turbo kit? The install would sure be easier.
3) AODE. Has it ever been rebuilt? By whom, and to what specs. Built properly they can easily handle decent power, but thats moot if youre planning a T5 swap. A stock AODE is weak, but so is a T5. Don't know how hard a T56 is , maybe someone here can chime in.
4) dont ignore suspension. some replacement stock style upper arms and aftermarket lowers would help the rear hook up. the bushings are probably stones by now. i love my orange koni shocks, ive also had good luck with bilsteins on other cars in the past.
5) besides 12 second passes, what does it have to do?
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
2) Would a vortech be an easier way to 12s than the turbo kit? The install would sure be easier.
3) AODE. Has it ever been rebuilt? By whom, and to what specs. Built properly they can easily handle decent power, but thats moot if youre planning a T5 swap. A stock AODE is weak, but so is a T5. Don't know how hard a T56 is , maybe someone here can chime in.
4) dont ignore suspension. some replacement stock style upper arms and aftermarket lowers would help the rear hook up. the bushings are probably stones by now. i love my orange koni shocks, ive also had good luck with bilsteins on other cars in the past.
5) besides 12 second passes, what does it have to do?
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
Turbo on a good solid lower end can make great reliable power of built correctly. T56 magnum is a bolt in with kits from places like D&D Performance. It handles 750hp easily which would easily be on the 12’s in a proper built car.
Start with suspension, brakes, and tires first. Then start on motor, transmission, rear end, and then power adder. Consider getting away from the 302 and stepping up to a 351. The 302 is prone to splitting over 500-550hp. The 351 is good for much higher and is easier to build big numbers with.
Depending on how much you want to spend and how good you are with wiring and reading then you need to decide if you wanna time with either a chip (much simpler), a plug and play like the ms3 (not as easy but still simpler than.....), or a stand-alone which takes a lot of wiring but gives you far much more control.
This is all a lot to take in but we need to know more. Do you only plan to play in the drags or do you see yourself playing in the twisties and autox?!? Mostly street driven or weekend toy???
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Start with suspension, brakes, and tires first. Then start on motor, transmission, rear end, and then power adder. Consider getting away from the 302 and stepping up to a 351. The 302 is prone to splitting over 500-550hp. The 351 is good for much higher and is easier to build big numbers with.
Depending on how much you want to spend and how good you are with wiring and reading then you need to decide if you wanna time with either a chip (much simpler), a plug and play like the ms3 (not as easy but still simpler than.....), or a stand-alone which takes a lot of wiring but gives you far much more control.
This is all a lot to take in but we need to know more. Do you only plan to play in the drags or do you see yourself playing in the twisties and autox?!? Mostly street driven or weekend toy???
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well a couple things. To start the body is still in great shape. There was some damage to the front windshield crossbar. The top itself has been fixed already. Otherwise it’s just some wrinkles and smaller than baseball dents on the deck lid and the driver rear fender panel. The car has never had the transmission rebuilt or anything in its lifetime. The only problem that I was having with it was a high idle. But a new Idle Air Control fixed that. I just put it away last month. I daily drive a Fiesta ST which is more practical since I have a daughter in a rear facing booster. I would be interested in doing a couple days at the track this summer. There is a place that’s local that has open track days twice a year, so I would be willing to do some stuff like that. Otherwise I’m looking for a backroads and weekend road trip car so to speak. I don’t ever plan on Daily driving this thing again. But also don’t plan on turning this into a straight drag car either. Something that I could track or strip for fun, but mostly use for weekend and late night cruises on the street. I currently have a plug and play tuner from American muscle, where I get it programmed with like 3 basic tunes and it got mailed to me. I have never used it though, because after the tree fell on it, I took a step back from modifications. I actually have seen the DD performance 6 speed T56 and thought it could accomplish all that I want to do in that regard. I was thinking about doing either Koni or Eibach for the suspension. It’s gonna need to be done regardless this spring of what I do. My Mickey Thompson’s only got about 1,000 miles on them right now and grip all 200 and some change ponies it puts out now . I’m not looking for anything spectacular. I mean beating my brothers 15 Scat Pack Challenger in a roll off or at a couple red lights when we go for drives would be nice! Like I said, I’m a 20 year old kid who is new to the car world. So any other info needed I will do my best!
FiST driver huh? That is one of the cars I would really like to stick in the stable at home in the future! Awesome car, not fast, not flashy, but probably one of the most entertaining cars I have driven in a long time. It is very hands on, and exciting to drive.
Anyway......
AODE can be fun, unless you are hell bent on going to a stick. I am running a built AODE with an aftermarket controller from US Shift. This actually allows me to run a paddle shifter also, as well apparently allows for more gears to be "added" using the converter lock up feature somehow though I have not figured it out yet. Still have some learning to do. That said, the AODE by itself build correctly is going to
https://www.usshift.com/usq4.shtml
I have a 94 convertible, and hands down the first best thing I did for handling was sub-frame connectors. Preferably weld in, but you can do bolt in also. Go with a good quality one like Team Z or Maximum Motorsports (there are more, but these first came to mind). Go full length, spend the money and just do it right the first time. They will vastly improve the convertibles "flexi-flyer" feel.
If you are going to try to put any amount of power down over the factory do something with the rear suspension. The amount of motion / travel the rear end has from the factory is appalling. Its great for a daily driver that you are going to puts around in, but that's about it. There are a ton of options out there, but again don't go cheap, you will regret it.
Best advice that was ever given to me was create a goal, be it drag racing, SCCA Solo II, daily driver, weekend show car or what ever you want to be able to do with it. Sit down, decide what YOU want (not what the internet wants you to have). Get a direction, then research the hell out of everything before you buy. Today with this car that is pretty easy, and overwhelming at the same time. This chassis has had so much available for so long there are opinions upon opinions on what works, and what does not.
Make a plan, make a decision, get a direction and stick with it. Do this before you spend a damn dime or you are going to get lost in the mud of your own project. I wish I had gotten that through my head earlier in my tinkering stage with my car, I might have saved a bit of money.
All rambling aside, what ever you spend money on, make sure it is not to save money. Buy quality parts, from established companies (preferably buy USA but that's my opinion). Make a plan, stick with it, and most importantly have fun with the car! That is what it is there for!
Anyway......
AODE can be fun, unless you are hell bent on going to a stick. I am running a built AODE with an aftermarket controller from US Shift. This actually allows me to run a paddle shifter also, as well apparently allows for more gears to be "added" using the converter lock up feature somehow though I have not figured it out yet. Still have some learning to do. That said, the AODE by itself build correctly is going to
https://www.usshift.com/usq4.shtml
I have a 94 convertible, and hands down the first best thing I did for handling was sub-frame connectors. Preferably weld in, but you can do bolt in also. Go with a good quality one like Team Z or Maximum Motorsports (there are more, but these first came to mind). Go full length, spend the money and just do it right the first time. They will vastly improve the convertibles "flexi-flyer" feel.
If you are going to try to put any amount of power down over the factory do something with the rear suspension. The amount of motion / travel the rear end has from the factory is appalling. Its great for a daily driver that you are going to puts around in, but that's about it. There are a ton of options out there, but again don't go cheap, you will regret it.
Best advice that was ever given to me was create a goal, be it drag racing, SCCA Solo II, daily driver, weekend show car or what ever you want to be able to do with it. Sit down, decide what YOU want (not what the internet wants you to have). Get a direction, then research the hell out of everything before you buy. Today with this car that is pretty easy, and overwhelming at the same time. This chassis has had so much available for so long there are opinions upon opinions on what works, and what does not.
Make a plan, make a decision, get a direction and stick with it. Do this before you spend a damn dime or you are going to get lost in the mud of your own project. I wish I had gotten that through my head earlier in my tinkering stage with my car, I might have saved a bit of money.
All rambling aside, what ever you spend money on, make sure it is not to save money. Buy quality parts, from established companies (preferably buy USA but that's my opinion). Make a plan, stick with it, and most importantly have fun with the car! That is what it is there for!
PinkieT
Well-Known Member
What he said about subframe connectors. If your car doesn't have a front strut brace under the hood, go with one of those too. There are rear shock tower braces you can get; some say they are worthless, especially the ones that are just a straight bar tower to tower, but I have a Kenny Brown unit that triangulates to a third mounting point on the trunk floor and that should stiffen it up too. I am a cheapskate - my Maximum Motorsports subframe connectors and strut tower brace and KB rear shock brace were off Craigslist. So were my Accufab plenum and throttle body, BBK shorty headers and CAI, Kenny Brown camber plates, Flowmaster exhaust, Cobra front and rear brakes with slotted and drilled rotors, Hellwig sway bar, etc. Best of luck with your build!
Well after looking at this and giving it some thought, I definitely need to do some subframe and suspension work as a top priority. I guess my real goal with this build is to have a fun fast weekend road trip car. I’m also stuck on a manual trans... I just feel so much more in tune driving manuals than any automatic. Here’s what I got so far-
1) Subframe Connecters
2) Suspension (Shocks, struts, braces, springs)
3) DD Performance T-56 Magnum
4) Rear End Gears
5) Forced Induction
Still researching brands and different options of induction and 3.73 v 4.1 etc. will update as I begin the process and make more decisions. Thanks for the input to help me get started with some better research.
1) Subframe Connecters
2) Suspension (Shocks, struts, braces, springs)
3) DD Performance T-56 Magnum
4) Rear End Gears
5) Forced Induction
Still researching brands and different options of induction and 3.73 v 4.1 etc. will update as I begin the process and make more decisions. Thanks for the input to help me get started with some better research.
If truly wanting to stiffen it up then look at Stiffler’s Fit system. Convertibles need all the help they can get and that’s the best system you’ll find.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TrickVert
Active Member
Subframe connectors and a strut tower brace will greatly reduce the wet-noodle effect and cowl shake. (Be aware, however, that a stock STB will not clear most aftermarket intakes.) Gears could be your next mod, as they are probably the best bang-for-the-buck improvement you can make. Ratio choice will depend on your future plans, though. 3.55's if you're looking at FI, 3.73 if not would be my recommendation. Evil is right, though on getting the stiffening, suspension, and brakes sorted before adding power. Oh, and the stock T5 can handle a fair amount of power if you don't abuse it. I'm at 400 RWHP on mine.
You can see my mods HERE.
You can see my mods HERE.
So I have began my research more thoroughly. I am trying to make a basic road map of all the things I am going to do. This list is not by any means permanent, but what I’m thinking so far.
Exterior:
Gears:
Wheels and Tires:
As of now, I have 17x9 with 245s and then 17x10.5 315s for my wheel tire set up. I have read a lot about brake kits not aligning with wheels. So if anyone is familiar with the bullit style wheels from American Muscle some feedback there would be appreciated. Otherwise, I definitely would like some input in a few areas. I have been doing lots of research on turbo charging the 5.0 and I have some concerns. I know that I have had the vortex Suggested over turbo. Regardless, with FI, I want to know what other things should be upgraded to maintain the engine. I have read some about fuel pump needing to be upgraded, the MAF, etc. If I go the FI route, what are some things for me to consider? I also am not an expert and have some questions about whether a top end kit by trickflow would be beneficial if matched with a turbo. I currently have a SR performance CAI and a BBK 75 MM TB. If I chose not to go with a top end kit and keep what’s I have, will I need to upgrade the stock cam?
Anyway, I am really trying to continue to focus my plan for the car. I know right now I would not be able to install all of what I have noted. I also know that even if I keep my current wheel tire set up, I am still gonna be looking at $15,000+ when I’m said and done in parts. Not sure about labor on some of these projects. Does anyone have some suggestions when it comes to getting bang for buck on some of these things I’m looking at? Also does anyone have any suggestions on the order of what I’m doing? I figure the suspension and subframe should go first. Followed by brakes and tires to get a foundation for moving forward.
Doing this has helped me stay excited about starting to work on this thing next couple of weeks. I appreciate the feedback so far and really hope I can continue to get good feedback as I continue my research!
Exterior:
- Saleen Ground Effect Kit $1,399.99
- Black Pony Delete Grill $94.98 (AM)
- Raxiom White Digital Gauge $399 (AM)
Gears:
- Ford Performance 3.73 $164.99 (AM)
- ON3 Performance Turbo Kit $1599
- 2.97 T-56 Magnum $4,595 (DD)
- C550T Ram 10.5” 26T Power grip Clutch Kit $449 (DD)
- Stifflers FIT System $459
- Eibach ProSystem Suspension $802 (AM)
- Eibach Anti-Roll Sway Bars $388 (AM)
Wheels and Tires:
As of now, I have 17x9 with 245s and then 17x10.5 315s for my wheel tire set up. I have read a lot about brake kits not aligning with wheels. So if anyone is familiar with the bullit style wheels from American Muscle some feedback there would be appreciated. Otherwise, I definitely would like some input in a few areas. I have been doing lots of research on turbo charging the 5.0 and I have some concerns. I know that I have had the vortex Suggested over turbo. Regardless, with FI, I want to know what other things should be upgraded to maintain the engine. I have read some about fuel pump needing to be upgraded, the MAF, etc. If I go the FI route, what are some things for me to consider? I also am not an expert and have some questions about whether a top end kit by trickflow would be beneficial if matched with a turbo. I currently have a SR performance CAI and a BBK 75 MM TB. If I chose not to go with a top end kit and keep what’s I have, will I need to upgrade the stock cam?
Anyway, I am really trying to continue to focus my plan for the car. I know right now I would not be able to install all of what I have noted. I also know that even if I keep my current wheel tire set up, I am still gonna be looking at $15,000+ when I’m said and done in parts. Not sure about labor on some of these projects. Does anyone have some suggestions when it comes to getting bang for buck on some of these things I’m looking at? Also does anyone have any suggestions on the order of what I’m doing? I figure the suspension and subframe should go first. Followed by brakes and tires to get a foundation for moving forward.
Doing this has helped me stay excited about starting to work on this thing next couple of weeks. I appreciate the feedback so far and really hope I can continue to get good feedback as I continue my research!
ttocs
Post Whore
how are you going to handle tuning?
Silver95bird
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2016
- Messages
- 491
- Reaction score
- 113
You're a cute little Ukrainian bot.
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
Let me get that for you...
Thank you !!
No problem.
Alright guys. So the whole front suspension and brakes have been stripped. I also have the new sway bar ready to put in place. There is some (not a lot) of rust on the control arms— specifically where the springs will be getting dropped in. If I plan on having this car for a long time, would you guys suggest replacing the control arms while I have everything off. It looks like I can get both on LMR for under 200 bucks. My grandpa suggested just cleaning them up some and painting. Would love some input. Otherwise, as an update, I got Eibach lowering springs, sway bars, dampener shocks and struts all to be put on. Otherwise, new performance rotors and pads. Then I cleaned up my calipers and painted them red. Gonna be great once I put everything back together in the front. Then on to the back
DKblue98GT
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2009
- Messages
- 1,406
- Reaction score
- 333
If you are looking for improved handling and are keeping stock front control arms I suggest painting them and adding new ball joints and Poly control arm bushings. I would also replace your inner and outer tie rod ends and replace the rack bushings with MM solid ones. You will get a bit more noise/ vibration/ harshness but to me it was worth it.
Hey I posted this on the what did you do today, but I wanted to track my progress here too: Well, it wasn’t all done today, but it was put back together today. Cleaned up control arms and painted them. Then I got the new shocks and the new lowering springs put in. Isolators too. Also installed the new sway bar and sway bar connections. Then for brakes, calipers were cleaned and painted red. Then I had new rotors and pads put on today. Had to replace the caliper mounting brackets as well.
