81 mustang .. newbie

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Hey I am new to this site but have been visiting it for a while. I have a 81 mustang with the 3.3 liter (200 ci) straight 6 and we converted this car to a bracket racer and the car is slow as hell. A stock mid 80's civic can beat it I was wondering how much hp this thing should be pushing. I found out the car has low compression in the 6th cylinder (1oo psi) and the rest are above 150 and under 160. I think its a burnt valve but may be wrong I am only 15. But if I got a new head at a junkers and jsut did some simple porting would this be a noticable increase in power ?
 
sorry i left this out but I forgot to ask. I know a place where there is a lot of the old ford 300 pick up trucks, if i get a hold of one of the carbs off them will this be a good increase in power ? and if so is it easy to do ?
 
should be pushing approx 90 HP at the flywheel, but you've got smog crap on that one (or do you?) and that would bring it down
just one thing does not help the 200, you gotta do a combo of stuff, better exhaust, better carb, ignition, and possibly headwork, and that's just to get you started

check this thread for a more in depth look
http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14744
 
Howdy Barts110:

Welcome to the journey. You '80 200's performance will be hampered by a couple of things FoMoCo did to improve epa stats and economy. Such as retarded cam timing, lowered compression, an unusually restrictive dual catylitc exhaust system, an electronic feed back carb and ignition. You didn't say which tranny you have. That will matter to. Also these cars came with a uselessly high rearend gear ratio. It's likely your Mustang has a 2.79:1 rear end ratio. All of these inhibitor to performance can be remedied, but it is not simple or cheap.

1st know that your 80 head may be the best available. What is the casting number? It is on the intake log behind the carb. What is the casting # on your junker head?

Switching to a Carter YF carb from a 300 may help, but they require special tuning to get them to run right on a 200. Clearly, your stock Holley #1946 is not a performance carb. You might get a nice improvement in driveability by finding and adapting a Carter YF from a mid to late 70's 200, or better yet a 250.

Start by looking for a cast log exhaust manifold from a late 60's 200, or, better yet, start saving for a set of headers. Then build a performance exhaust system using at least a 2" pipe diameter and a performance turbo type type muffler.

Next try to locate a rear end with a 3.00:1 or 3.27:1 ratio and swap it in place of your 2.79.

The fixes for the head and cam timing will require disassembly and rebuild. let me know when you're ready for details. If you haven't already, read the sticky post at the top of this forum.

Enjoy.

Adios, David
 
Well, the exhaust only goes back about half way with no cat muffler or anything of that matter. The car does 0-50 in 8.6 seconds then slows down dramatically after that point. Yeah I didnt know the rear end ratios were that bad on a mustang. I know where to get a 3.36 limited slip differential that will help me out a lot. And Ill take a look at the head casting #'s later and let you guys know. But where do I find out what tranny it has ?
 
The differential ratio I got was 2.00, and i found this out by taking the rear wheels off my stang and I got my dad to watch the brake drum (marked) and I watched the drive shaft and I turned the shafr exactly 2 times to make the drum go around one whole turn. :cry:
 
Howdy Back:

I doubt that that is your axle ratio. That would be true if you had a solid/locked rearend. The differential gears complicate things.

On one of the bolts holding the rear cover on there should be a metal tag with several codes. One of them will be the gear ratio. If you can get a 3.36 grab it. Is it a 7.5" or an 8.8" rear? What is it out of?

Adios, David
 
8)

I have a 80 Mustang Ghia with a 200. I am also getting a 79 Mustang coupe with a 200.

Both heads are D8 casting numbers, I have a 2.73:1 7.5" rear and a C4 automatic.

Both have a Holley model 1946 ibbl carb adn a light off converter on the exhaust manifold and another converter under the car.

The EGR is attached to the passenger side of the log under the carb.

My Mustang Ghia is a hatchback and it weighed on a certified truck scale at 2866 lbs. with a 58/42 weight distribution.
 
the diff in the car is a 7.5 and same as the new one I will be getting soon. The 3.36 is out of a 89 Mustang the guy just took it out and put in a 3.73:1 Posi in his car and the thing flies now.
 
well the #'s I got off the differential is either : " 08bw" or "D8BW" and under those that # it has a " GA"
 
Howdy Back:

That rearend code doesn't register. It looks more like a date code, but still?

I looked over your web page and would suggest that your check your facts on exhaust valve face diameter on all those you listed at 1.49". All of those years came OEM as 1.38". All can be upgraded to 1.5" as you suggested.

Another variable between the '66 head and the 80 head is the volume of the intake tract. The '66 head will measure right around 1,100cc. The '80 head may be as large as 1,400cc. That's quite a difference and would be significant at higher rpms. All of the mods you suggested can be performed on either head, but the difference in volume cannot be made up. We're still doing research on the EOXX heads.

Adios, David
 
Barts110":1ddehfdc said:
well the #'s I got off the differential is either : " 08bw" or "D8BW" and under those that # it has a " GA"
Click to expand...

You need to look at the bottom left of the tag to get the axle ratio. You may have to remove the bolt to get the tag off as sometimes part of the number is under the bolt head.
 
Well if there was a tag there im sure i would have got the number off of it wouldnt I? But obviously there is no tag there that gives me such numbers, the number I took were on stamped on the face plate on the back of the diff.
 
Barts110, Why so confrontational? These guys are taking time to try to help.
 
Lol sorry im just a dumb 15 year old that doesnt really understand big words like that(But I do get what you are hinting at). :lol: yeah but sorry I do realize you guys are taking some time off your hands to help me out because I really dont know anything about fords. To tell you guys the truth I was brought up by everyone around me to love Chevys and only chevs .. So I stay to that I was origionally looking for a chev in the first place but nothing in our teams range that looked half decent. So we found the 'stang in the news paper for 140 $ Canadian so we bought it. The guy had parked it due to low compression in one cylinder, which it still has which i am thinking it has a burnt valve. But anyways off topic yeah does anyone know if the diff. off of the later model mustang will work .. same body style and it also has struts.
? thx
 
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