If turning left and right on a road course wasn't unusual enough, Part 3 of our budget road race project deviates even more radically from the typical Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords street/strip project car. For this project we're running as close to a bone-stock 5.0L as you are likely to ever see in the pages of this magazine. But since the Camaro-Mustang Challenge rules limit rear-wheel output to a maximum of 230 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque, we just didn't need to get very tricky with the engine.
Despite the '87-'93 5.0L H.O. engine's nominal factory flywheel power ratings of 225 hp and 300 lb-ft, it's possible to come very close to those numbers at the rear wheels with very slight modifications. Virtually everything in, or on, our engine is stock, from the oil pan to the intake manifold, including the 1991 H.O. roller camshaft, the E7TE iron cylinder heads, the stock tubular exhaust manifolds, the stock SN-95-style upper intake manifold, MAF sensor and throttle body, and even the stock airbox and filter. The only significant deviations from factory equipment are an underdrive crankshaft pulley, a BBK off-road cross-pipe with open-exhaust tailpipes, and the conversion to a Fox-style A9L engine computer with a Painless Performance wiring harness.
We did this to eliminate the SN-95's funky fuel and spark timing maps, since the CMC rules prevent using any aftermarket chips or tuners to reprogram the computer. As a result, we're stuck with the notorious rolling idle from the mismatch of the SN-95's 60 mm throttle body and larger 70 mm MAF sensor with the Fox computer, but the combination runs at a very happy 12.5:1 air/fuel ratio at WOT, just a tad on the rich side, which isn't a bad thing for this application.
On C&M Performance's Dynojet chassis dyno in Hubertus, Wisconsin, we made 225 hp and 294 lb-ft of torque from this combination, just a hair under the maximums allowed, and very robust numbers for such a stock 5.0L. We attribute the healthy gains primarily to the abbreviated accessory drive system, removal of all smog equipment, and open exhaust system from the stock headers back.
Ultimately, this will give us plenty of power to get off the corners, plus the reliability to go a season or more without a rebuild. Also of importance is having a proper transmission and rear, so we'll tackle that in Part 3 of our CMC build.
After hosing off a few seasons...
After hosing off a few seasons worth of oil and grime, we dropped the engine and trans directly back into the new chassis. We even carried over the accessory brackets, engine harness and computer, cross-pipe, and tailpipes from the Fox. The only changes from the previous installation were to swap the Fox-style upper intake manifold and air inlet tract for SN-95 parts that fit the new chassis better, along with SN-95 exhaust headers with the provision for the external EGR. We also converted to an SN-95 3G alternator.
The sum total of engine building...
The sum total of engine building we did for this project consisted of pulling the motor and trans out of one car and dropping it into another. The 5.0L is about as basic as it gets: Ford Racing replacement short-block, junkyard E7 heads with a cheap valve job, H.O. roller cam, stock intake and exhaust manifolds, and abbreviated accessory drive with an underdrive crank pulley.
We made very few changes to...
We made very few changes to the basic engine combination we've been running for a few years, but needed to get a new dyno certification for the car and wanted to verify what effect the new intake parts had on overall power. For that we headed to C&M Performance in Hubertus, Wisconsin, where owner Marv Zuidema made three pulls on his Dynojet 248.
Average result: 225 hp at...
Average result: 225 hp at 4,800 rpm, and 294 lb-ft at 3,500 rpm, the identical horsepower and a bump of 4 lb-ft from the other car.
We upgraded our T-5's overdrive...
We upgraded our T-5's overdrive ratio with Astro Performance's A-5 0.79 Fifth Gear kit, which replaces the stock gears splined onto the main and countershafts. Note the thicker gear teeth and shallower helical angle on the Astro gears compared to the stock overdrive gears, which greatly increases the strength of the gears and reduces the side thrust against the transmission case. Replacing the Fifth gearset is a simple swap that you can do without opening up the main case or using any special tools beyond a pair of snap-ring pliers. We actually did it in about an hour at the track using the bed of a pickup truck as a bench.
No matter what method you...
No matter what method you use to establish the pinion depth in the rear, the best way to verify it is to examine the resulting gear mesh pattern with marking compound. We messed this up the first time by slathering too much marking compound onto the gears, which made it impossible to discern a clear pattern. So apply the compound sparingly to two or three sets of teeth and rotate the gears a few dozen times until a light pattern is transferred onto the gear teeth. Then consult a gear pattern chart to assess it. The pinion gear teeth should mesh with the ring gear in approximately the center of the teeth, both horizontally and vertically, to ensure sufficient engagement and quiet operation on deceleration. We incredibly got the pattern dead nuts on the first shot.
Once you have the pinion depth...
Once you have the pinion depth set with the correct shim (arrow), press the new inner bearing onto the gear. Our used OEM 3.55 gearset from an '04 Mach 1 installed in the differential housing using a 0.030-inch pinion shim, which is the nominal factory shim.
Overdrive Ratios Explained
To determine the final drive ratio in a constant mesh transmission for any gear other than when the input shaft is directly locked to the output shaft (Fourth gear in a T-5), you must multiply the input ratio and output ratio of the selected pair of gears that power is being transferred through. In a T-5, when Fifth gear is engaged, power is directed from the input shaft to the countershaft and then back from the countershaft to the mainshaft. To calculate the final overdrive ratio, divide the number of teeth on the driven gear into the number of teeth on the drive gear for each pair of gears and multiply the two ratios. For example, in a T-5 with a 2.95:1 First gear like we're using, the input shaft (drive gear) has 24 teeth and the corresponding gear on the countershaft (driven gear) has 31 teeth for a 1.292 input ratio. With the Astro Fifth gearset, the large gear splined on the countershaft (drive gear) has 38 teeth and the smaller gear splined onto the mainshaft (driven gear) has 23 teeth, for a 0.605 output ratio. Multiply 1.292 by 0.605 to arrive at the final 0.782:1 Fifth gear ratio. Since the input ratio changes when the First gear ratio is changed, the final OD ratio changes as well. So if the Astro gears are used in a T-5 with a 3.35:1 First gear, the final overdrive ratio becomes 0.894:1 (34/23 23/38).
The backlash between the ring-and-pinion...
The backlash between the ring-and-pinion gears is measured with a dial indicator. The factory specification is 0.008 to 0.015 inch, with 0.012 to 0.015 being the ideal range. Adjustments are made by moving the differential carrier side to side with shims placed between the carrier bearings and the ends of the axletubes. We hit the backlash right on the money at 0.013 inch.
Transmission Tactics
THE WORLD Class T-5 transmissions used in '84-'95 Mustangs have earned a reputation for being marginal in high-horsepower applications, especially when combined with sticky tires. While it is true that the stock Third gear is an especially weak link in the T-5, especially when abused, these transmissions do have some things going for them compared to some of the popular alternatives, especially in a relatively low-power application like our CMC Mustang. For one thing, they are very light, weighing in around 75 pounds. They are also smooth shifting, which is a big plus in road racing, where quick, precise downshifts are as important as lightning fast upshifts, if not more so. The CMC rules do not allow radical internal modifications to the transmission like Pro-Shifting or face-plating, but there are improvements that can be made to increase its usefulness and durability for road racing. Most important is swapping the gas-miser 0.62:1 overdrive Fifth gear ratio for something more useful, because at tracks with long straights, our relatively low-revving 5.0L really needs the extra legs. There are various options for upgrading the Fifth gear, but one that's simple and economical is the A-5 0.79 Fifth Gear Kit from Astro Performance, which installs without any modifications to the transmission case or main gearset. We also used a B&M Pro Ripper shifter and a stock clutch disc and pressure plate along with a Ford Racing aluminum driveshaft.
Building The Rear
OUR DONOR chassis came with a bare 8.8 rearend housing and a set of Moser 31-spline axles, which we put back together with a leftover set of factory 3.55 gears and a used Detroit True Trac differential we bought on eBay for $263. Given our 5.0's 5,500-rpm redline, we chose 3.55s in lieu of the 3.73s we ran in our old car as a better all-around compromise for most of the tracks. With the 3.73s, we tended to run out of rpm too soon in too many places and were often caught between gears.
We had excellent results in...
We had excellent results in our old car running a Detroit True Trac torque-sensing, limited-slip differential, so we bought a used one on eBay for the new car. Unlike a stock Traction-Lock, the True Trac is maintenance-free, with no friction plates to wear out. The True Trac uses parallel helical gears inside the case to lock the axles together when the differential senses one tire is slipping in relation to the other, transferring power to the tire with traction.
Building rearends or swapping gears is one of those jobs we've always left to a pro, but we figured it was finally time to learn how to do it. Since we already had most of the tools needed for the job-a dial indicator, torque wrenches, and a shop press-we decided to save some time and money. A few hours on the Internet unearthed several do-it-yourself write-ups and tech tips, and armed with that knowledge, plus a deluxe gear installation kit, we tackled the job over a weekend. As it turned out, the job was not nearly as difficult as expected.
There are two critical steps to setting up a ring-and-pinion properly: establishing pinion gear depth and setting ring gear backlash. Setting the pinion depth can be tricky without an expensive factory gauge, so you will need to do it by trial and error. To set up the gear and measure the resulting gear pattern and backlash in the housing, you may need to press the inner pinion bearing on and off the gear a couple of times. Rather than risk damaging the bearing, it's easier to buy a spare bearing and ream out the diameter of the inner race so it slip fits onto the pinion gear. This allows you to mock up the pinion shim as many times as needed.
The photo captions highlight the key steps, but we'd recommend having a factory service manual before you try it at home. However, if you have the right tools and follow the proper setup and adjustment procedures, this is not a very difficult job. After racing most of a season without any odd noises or other problems with the rearend, we figure we did it right!