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The
Netstang Project car began life as a 1989 GT Convertible 5 speed
with 2.73:1 gears (axle code: M) out back.
Power and Torque ratings were at 225 hp @ 4,400 RPM’s
and 300 lb-ft @ 3,000 RPM’s respectfully.
Right off the showroom floor this fully loaded GT listed
for $18,914 and could blast through the ¼ mile in less than 15
seconds.
Fast-forward
to 1999, Netstang Editor Dave Stevenson picked up the car used
for $5,200. His intention was to build this car into a very
capable daily driver and post the ongoing build up on
Netstang.com. The
goal of the project was to modify the car for the street, strip
and road course, while remaining totally street and emissions
legal. In a
completely bone stock state, this car could cover the ¼ mile in
14.9 seconds @ 93 MPH. Some
minor modifications including a swap to 3.27:1 rear gears, a
performance cat back and a K&N air filter pushed this car
well into the mid 14’s.
Similar
87-93 Fox platform 5.0 cars can be found much cheaper and in the
lighter hatch or notch back body styles.
It’s not uncommon to find a strong and decent looking
5.0 in the $2,000-$3000 price range.
If you don’t mind dropping in a new engine, some Fox
platform cars can be found dirt-cheap.
Just ask some racers at the local drag strip or road
course, chances are their Mustang racecars began life as a four
or six cylinder commuter car.
The
Netstang project car spends a lot of time cruising the streets
and carving the canyons of Southern California.
For this reason, they chose the open-air characteristics
of the convertible body style.
If the project were an all out racer, a hatch or notch
back 5.0 would have been much cheaper and lighter.
A basic rule of thumb is every 100 lbs is good for a
tenth in the ¼ mile. When
building Fox platform racers, the notch back sedan is the
lightest and best suited for dragging or low speed road racing.
The lightweight sedan allows better acceleration with the added
benefit of a stiffer chassis.
The hatch back may be a little heavier and not as tight
as the notch but the better drag coefficient associated with
it’s “fast back” design allows it an advantage in top
speed racing events like the Silver State Challenge.
When
comparing the stock 87-93 Fox Platform 5.0’s to the stock
94-98 SN95 Platform V-8’s, it’s safe to say that the
straight-line performance is very similar, with the edge going
to the Fox but that’s where it ends. Braking, handling and
chassis rigidity in the SN95’s is far superior to the Fox it
replaced. Performance
wise, the only down side to the new platform was that it was a
slightly larger and heavier platform.
With
the introduction of the 1999 SN95’s, straight-line performance
got a huge boost by a power increase to 260 HP in the GT and 320
HP in the Cobra. In addition to being much more powerful, the
new Cobra also sports a trick Independent Rear Suspension.
Unique to the Cobra, this IRS system allows the Cobra a smoother
ride and better performance abilities over the stock GT live
axle set up. With
standard Traction Control and a suspension that actually helps
reduced unsprung weight, the latest Mustang flagship can do it
all.
What
could we do to our old school Fox platform Project to bring the
performance up to par with a new SN95 platform Mustang?
Better yet, let’s modify this Fox body to compete
against a 2001Cobra while maintaining decent ride quality, every
day reliability and total emissions legality.
We’ll
approach this Project in two steps, first we’ll modify the
suspension, intake and exhaust to bring the 1989 Netstang
Project’s performance up to the level of a stock 1999 and up
260 HP SN95. This
will give the average performance enthusiast and idea of what
can be done with the typical bolt-ons.
In the second step, we’ll install an emissions legal
Stroker engine to bring power levels into the 99 and up Cobra
Zone. Once the
engine is dialed in, we’ll put the modified Netstang Fox Body
up against the stock Online-Racer 2001 Cobra at the track.
We’ll measure performance statistics and do driving
impressions on both the vehicles. |
