Chris Stephens
New Member
Hey all! New to being a member, not remotely new to reading posts when I was having trouble with something 
I've had my 1995 Mustang GT for a little over 3 years. In that time, it's been driven about 1000 miles and only run for about 5 days in that time.
Here's some pics from the day I bought it, back when it was just a grocery-getter for a broke college kid
I got the car with a 302 that had come out of my dad's dirt track car. High winding (7200 RPM rev limiter, and it pulled all the way there), cammed up, 11:1, forged piston motor, cast Windsor Sr heads, with Steeda suspension, nice Steeda wheels, Aeromotive fuel system, etc. My dad got the car with no engine from a friend (who bought it for the engine).
It needed some tuning and steering work at first. But then I found out that someone had not put hardened pushrods in with the guideplates. How'd I find out? Oh, just doing a burnout in 2nd gear at about 5000 RPM the third week I owned it....
Limped it home, pulled the intake and found a bent pushrod and a couple broke ones. Not pretty.
Well, being "proactive" I figured I would pull the heads and have them redone, make sure no valves had been hit by a piston and caused the damage. No biggy.
Had that work done, then put it back together and it wouldn't run for anything. Constant problems. Swapped over to a carb intake and Edelbrock to try to get it ready for a rally in June. I worked on it for around six months off and on with a friend, until finally, the night before the rally, we figured out the issue....and I wanted to roll the car off a cliff.
A little back story, the BBK shorties on the car and the heads had a little issue. If the headers were on, you couldn't get a socket on the plug, even a shaved down one. So I put a fresh set in while the heads were off and then bolted them down and put the headers on. Well, turns out the head gasket I used was just a bit too thin...the pistons came up and hit 2 spark plugs, both on the passenger side. I never checked the plugs...heck they were brand new and gapped perfectly! But the car would crank up and idle, but had ZERO power. It popped and lurched and chugged....
The night before a rally in Summer 2017, we decided to just start from square one. All new gaskets, reset all the valve lash, do EVERYTHING. That's when we found the piston to plug action, at around 6AM after pulling an all nighter. We didn't have time to put new head gaskets in since the rally started at 9AM, 4 hours away. We threw some of those cheap spark plug non-foulers in. We got it all bolted up, carb adjusted, and we were off! Spent the next two days cruising from Little Rock, AR to Hot Springs, then Dallas, TX, then Tulsa, OK for Import Faceoff. Car did really well except for pinging like crazy because we couldn't find 93 octane anywhere (we melted down a few spark plugs during that debacle). Oh, and I just ran with the SPOUT removed and locked the timing to 34*....hot starts required a second battery hooked up to overcome that.
But we had a good time!
Anyway, we get back on Sunday, and the next day I go to Hot Springs, AR about 45 minutes away to pickup my girlfriend. I take the Mustang.
And that is where I learned a very valuable lesson I will take to my grave: always put a locknut or loctite on air cleaner studs.
The wingnut backed off and the engine slurped the air cleaner stud into the number 3 cylinder. Cracked the block So the engine got 3 days of running and then I blew it up.
Spring break 2018 a couple Fraternity brothers and I ran to Georgia and grabbed a 351w, used, but nice. We made a vacation out of it. A year and a half later, and it's still not finished....but getting there. I started off with a Holley 750DP, then decided in March of this year to go to a Holley Sniper EFI setup with timing control.
Here's the current specs on the car:
1995 Mustang GT
351W + .030” overbore = 357 cu in.
11:1 compression
Aluminum Windsor Sr Heads. 200cc intake runners. 2.02/1.6 valves.
1.6 ratio roller rockers on exhaust, 1.7 on intake.
Victor Jr. single plane intake.
BBK 1-¾” Long Tubes
18” header extensions (open)
Holley Sniper EFI
Holley Hyperspark Distributor
Holley Hyperspark Ignition Box
Holley Hyperspark Coil
Taylor Spiro-Pro 8mm Wires
Autolite 24 Plugs
Cam profile:
Schneider Cams Solid Flat Tappet
Part Number: 13032
Grind Number: 284-92F
Intake Duration (gross): 284
Exhaust Duration (gross): 292
Intake Duration (.050”): 248
Exhaust Duration (.050”): 258
Intake Valve Lift: .600" (based on 1.7 rocker)
Exhaust Valve Lift: .584" (based on 1.6 rocker)
Lobe Separation: 106
Intake Valve Lash: .020"
Exhaust Valve Lash: .020"
RPM Range: 3000-7000
Aeromotive A1000 pump with sumped tank
Aeromotive 13129 bypass regulator set to 60psi
Tremec TR-3550 Transmission (Standard (260 0682R))
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Rev
3.27 1.98 1.34 1.00 0.68 3.00
Aluminum FRPP Driveshaft and Loop
3.73 rear gears
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter
Steeda adjustable clutch cable and firewall quadrant
Steeda Ultralite 18" wheels
285/35/18 all the way around
Steeda Lowering Springs
Tokico Adjustable Shocks
Steeda Subframe Connectors
Steeda front swaybar
Steeda Aluminum Radiator
BBK Rear Control Arms
'00 Cobra R Brembo Brakes
I pretty much had it sit the whole summer because I was busy dating a non-car-girl and working full time, then classes started back, it was hot outside yada-yada. I've been working on it every weekend for about a month and a half now and it's finally running. The Sniper needs a little tuning still, but seems like a solid setup. The cam is huge, so I'm hoping it has even more power than the hot 302 that I killed.
Hoping to do some autocross next year and maybe a Hallett track day or two. My dad runs a 1970 Boss 302 and just got a new bad**$ engine for it after he seized the old 351C on the front stretch at Hallett during the Ford and Shelby Nationals this year. And my brother alternates between a 2012 Boss 302 and a 2016 GT350. So it'd be nice to pass one of them...even if it's only gonna happen in my dreams
Glad to have finally joined up! I will definitely be looking for advice as I move forward. I'm not sure this cam is gonna give me enough vacuum to run power brakes on a short autocross course. So that may mean I do a hydroboost setup someday. But all that comes second to just getting the darn thing running. I've spent the past year and a half drinking beer and enjoying college, and I'm ready to be back behind the wheel!
I've had my 1995 Mustang GT for a little over 3 years. In that time, it's been driven about 1000 miles and only run for about 5 days in that time.
Here's some pics from the day I bought it, back when it was just a grocery-getter for a broke college kid
I got the car with a 302 that had come out of my dad's dirt track car. High winding (7200 RPM rev limiter, and it pulled all the way there), cammed up, 11:1, forged piston motor, cast Windsor Sr heads, with Steeda suspension, nice Steeda wheels, Aeromotive fuel system, etc. My dad got the car with no engine from a friend (who bought it for the engine).
It needed some tuning and steering work at first. But then I found out that someone had not put hardened pushrods in with the guideplates. How'd I find out? Oh, just doing a burnout in 2nd gear at about 5000 RPM the third week I owned it....
Limped it home, pulled the intake and found a bent pushrod and a couple broke ones. Not pretty.
Well, being "proactive" I figured I would pull the heads and have them redone, make sure no valves had been hit by a piston and caused the damage. No biggy.
Had that work done, then put it back together and it wouldn't run for anything. Constant problems. Swapped over to a carb intake and Edelbrock to try to get it ready for a rally in June. I worked on it for around six months off and on with a friend, until finally, the night before the rally, we figured out the issue....and I wanted to roll the car off a cliff.
A little back story, the BBK shorties on the car and the heads had a little issue. If the headers were on, you couldn't get a socket on the plug, even a shaved down one. So I put a fresh set in while the heads were off and then bolted them down and put the headers on. Well, turns out the head gasket I used was just a bit too thin...the pistons came up and hit 2 spark plugs, both on the passenger side. I never checked the plugs...heck they were brand new and gapped perfectly! But the car would crank up and idle, but had ZERO power. It popped and lurched and chugged....
The night before a rally in Summer 2017, we decided to just start from square one. All new gaskets, reset all the valve lash, do EVERYTHING. That's when we found the piston to plug action, at around 6AM after pulling an all nighter. We didn't have time to put new head gaskets in since the rally started at 9AM, 4 hours away. We threw some of those cheap spark plug non-foulers in. We got it all bolted up, carb adjusted, and we were off! Spent the next two days cruising from Little Rock, AR to Hot Springs, then Dallas, TX, then Tulsa, OK for Import Faceoff. Car did really well except for pinging like crazy because we couldn't find 93 octane anywhere (we melted down a few spark plugs during that debacle). Oh, and I just ran with the SPOUT removed and locked the timing to 34*....hot starts required a second battery hooked up to overcome that.
But we had a good time!
Anyway, we get back on Sunday, and the next day I go to Hot Springs, AR about 45 minutes away to pickup my girlfriend. I take the Mustang.
And that is where I learned a very valuable lesson I will take to my grave: always put a locknut or loctite on air cleaner studs.
The wingnut backed off and the engine slurped the air cleaner stud into the number 3 cylinder. Cracked the block
So the engine got 3 days of running and then I blew it up. Spring break 2018 a couple Fraternity brothers and I ran to Georgia and grabbed a 351w, used, but nice. We made a vacation out of it. A year and a half later, and it's still not finished....but getting there. I started off with a Holley 750DP, then decided in March of this year to go to a Holley Sniper EFI setup with timing control.
Here's the current specs on the car:
1995 Mustang GT
351W + .030” overbore = 357 cu in.
11:1 compression
Aluminum Windsor Sr Heads. 200cc intake runners. 2.02/1.6 valves.
1.6 ratio roller rockers on exhaust, 1.7 on intake.
Victor Jr. single plane intake.
BBK 1-¾” Long Tubes
18” header extensions (open)
Holley Sniper EFI
Holley Hyperspark Distributor
Holley Hyperspark Ignition Box
Holley Hyperspark Coil
Taylor Spiro-Pro 8mm Wires
Autolite 24 Plugs
Cam profile:
Schneider Cams Solid Flat Tappet
Part Number: 13032
Grind Number: 284-92F
Intake Duration (gross): 284
Exhaust Duration (gross): 292
Intake Duration (.050”): 248
Exhaust Duration (.050”): 258
Intake Valve Lift: .600" (based on 1.7 rocker)
Exhaust Valve Lift: .584" (based on 1.6 rocker)
Lobe Separation: 106
Intake Valve Lash: .020"
Exhaust Valve Lash: .020"
RPM Range: 3000-7000
Aeromotive A1000 pump with sumped tank
Aeromotive 13129 bypass regulator set to 60psi
Tremec TR-3550 Transmission (Standard (260 0682R))
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Rev
3.27 1.98 1.34 1.00 0.68 3.00
Aluminum FRPP Driveshaft and Loop
3.73 rear gears
Steeda Tri-Ax Shifter
Steeda adjustable clutch cable and firewall quadrant
Steeda Ultralite 18" wheels
285/35/18 all the way around
Steeda Lowering Springs
Tokico Adjustable Shocks
Steeda Subframe Connectors
Steeda front swaybar
Steeda Aluminum Radiator
BBK Rear Control Arms
'00 Cobra R Brembo Brakes
I pretty much had it sit the whole summer because I was busy dating a non-car-girl and working full time, then classes started back, it was hot outside yada-yada. I've been working on it every weekend for about a month and a half now and it's finally running. The Sniper needs a little tuning still, but seems like a solid setup. The cam is huge, so I'm hoping it has even more power than the hot 302 that I killed.
Hoping to do some autocross next year and maybe a Hallett track day or two. My dad runs a 1970 Boss 302 and just got a new bad**$ engine for it after he seized the old 351C on the front stretch at Hallett during the Ford and Shelby Nationals this year. And my brother alternates between a 2012 Boss 302 and a 2016 GT350. So it'd be nice to pass one of them...even if it's only gonna happen in my dreams
Glad to have finally joined up! I will definitely be looking for advice as I move forward. I'm not sure this cam is gonna give me enough vacuum to run power brakes on a short autocross course. So that may mean I do a hydroboost setup someday. But all that comes second to just getting the darn thing running. I've spent the past year and a half drinking beer and enjoying college, and I'm ready to be back behind the wheel!
