3 long years but I finally got my project car into paint and on the road

[Wanderingronin]

A few years ago my girlfriend bought me a project fox body mustang for my 37th birthday. It had been sitting in a field and was beyond badly neglected. Interior was mostly gutted/trashed, engine was in pieces, etc... I kept telling myself I wanted to be driving this before I turned 40... TONS of learning, lots of blood/sweat/tears, and a small fortune later I made it with 2 weeks to spare!
This was far more involved than any other car I've had in the past but was an awesome learning experience and I got to spend some great time and create memories with my dad and brother who both helped me along the way.

[freedom]

damn, that's sweet. i never had the space or ability to save some of the cars that my family had.
my mom sold her rusting 64' convertible chevy impala. that still stings.

[Wanderingronin]

damn, that's sweet. i never had the space or ability to save some of the cars that my family had.
my mom sold her rusting 64' convertible chevy impala. that still stings.

I feel you. I wanted one for years but until we moved into our new place I just didn't had the space or resources.

[DavidBoren]

Well done. Clean look. I like the color, too.

[Wanderingronin]

Well done. Clean look. I like the color, too.

Thanks! It's actually a Kia color called Remington Red that they put on the Optima for several years. Has a lot of flake in it and looks almost like a dark cherry in the shade but the edges glow like a candy apple in sunlight.

[punkncat]

Nice, it appears you put a few bucks into that one.
Fox bodies make a great little project fun car. It's not that they are all super fast but they all FEEL that way...

[Wanderingronin]

Nice, it appears you put a few bucks into that one.
Fox bodies make a great little project fun car. It's not that they are all super fast but they all FEEL that way...

Thanks! I certainly did put a bit of money into it, but doing the majority of the labor and the paint myself saved a TON. I did all the engine/body/brake/interior/electrical work myself. I did have to shell out for the rebuild of the transmission and installation of the 4.10 gears - I just didn't have the tools for the gears and the transmission was out of my wheelhouse.

You're 100% right on the fast part. Mine sounds fast (no cats with Flowmaster 40s), but it's not going to beat most modern sports cars. I mean, maybe next year after it gets a turbo, but right now it's just a mean sounding cruiser - and I'm totally ok with that

[DavidBoren]

You are setting yourself up for disappointment boosting a Windsor motor. Lol.

They are neat engines, but they are not strong. The block will crack right down the valley, making two four cylinder engines sharing a crankshaft. You can add valley bridges and lower block/mains girdles, and do a 1/4-1/2 fill of the water jacket with grout... but why?

The 5.0 Windsor is best kept simple. GT40P heads with 1.94/1.54 Cobra valves and 1.7 rockers. GT40 intake, probably from an Explorer, get the lower ported by TMoss. The tubular upper intake from the Lightning is cool if you can find/afford one. 1986-style flattop pistons. And an E303 cam. 300hp. Done.

[Wanderingronin]

You are setting yourself up for disappointment boosting a Windsor motor. Lol.

They are neat engines, but they are not strong. The block will crack right down the valley, making two four cylinder engines sharing a crankshaft. You can add valley bridges and lower block/mains girdles, and do a 1/4-1/2 fill of the water jacket with grout... but why?

The 5.0 Windsor is best kept simple. GT40P heads with 1.94/1.54 Cobra valves and 1.7 rockers. GT40 intake, probably from an Explorer, get the lower ported by TMoss. The tubular upper intake from the Lightning is cool if you can find/afford one. 1986-style flattop pistons. And an E303 cam. 300hp. Done.

I've been researching the bottom end capacity, a mild boost on3 turbo seems to work fine with them, but I'll dig more into from what you said - I'm not sold on it yet, but I have been elaning that way. I mean, or I could just Coyote swap it in a few years.Either way, I'm tapped out for this year on it's budget. I have a GT40 intake already in it and a mild cam. I'm keeping my eyes open for a steal on some good GT40P heads as well.

[DavidBoren]

Mild boost should be ok. I didn't mean to scare you. The thing about boost, though, it's never enough. You may start with a little on3 ebay special... and as soon as that bug bites, you will be hooked. Pretty soon you will be buying a new snail with the sole intent of grenading your Windsor block. Lol.

Mod-Foxes are cool, but from what I have heard, the DOHC engines are a tight fit without shaving the bay. There are precut panels and strut tower eliminating kits that can open up some real estate, but it would require another trip to the paint booth.

Maybe a Coyote block with the SOHC 3-valve heads? The 2008 Bullitt has the 3-valve heads and a car intake... might fit better.

[Wanderingronin]

Mild boost should be ok. I didn't mean to scare you. The thing about boost, though, it's never enough. You may start with a little on3 ebay special... and as soon as that bug bites, you will be hooked. Pretty soon you will be buying a new snail with the sole intent of grenading your Windsor block. Lol.

Mod-Foxes are cool, but from what I have heard, the DOHC engines are a tight fit without shaving the bay. There are precut panels and strut tower eliminating kits that can open up some real estate, but it would require another trip to the paint booth.

Maybe a Coyote block with the SOHC 3-valve heads? The 2008 Bullitt has the 3-valve heads and a car intake... might fit better.

I def appreciate your feedback! I haven’t decided one way or the other exactly what I want to do, so for the rest of this year I’m just enjoying it as is. I’m certainly going to reference this when I’m ready to make a decision 👍🏻 Thanks!

[Jordan]

You are setting yourself up for disappointment boosting a Windsor motor. Lol.

They are neat engines, but they are not strong. The block will crack right down the valley, making two four cylinder engines sharing a crankshaft. You can add valley bridges and lower block/mains girdles, and do a 1/4-1/2 fill of the water jacket with grout... but why?

The 5.0 Windsor is best kept simple. GT40P heads with 1.94/1.54 Cobra valves and 1.7 rockers. GT40 intake, probably from an Explorer, get the lower ported by TMoss. The tubular upper intake from the Lightning is cool if you can find/afford one. 1986-style flattop pistons. And an E303 cam. 300hp. Done.

Have you actually seen one split? Or is that just the old Internet rumor being regurgitated?

I'm genuinely curious... my boss just finished a 302 build for a customer (heads, cam, intake, etc) and it made roughly 300 rwhp. The plan is to boost it at some point.

[DavidBoren]

I have seen the results of them slitting on various Mustang forums I used to frequent. They slit in different ways, but it is a published design choice by Ford to reduce the thickness of the webbing inside the block to save weight on the casting. Anything over 500hp at the wheels, and you are asking for trouble without dedicated block prep.

Most of the 5.0L Windsor specific boost kits level out around 450rwhp for this very reason. What is it, the Vortech S-trim that everyone uses? Including the 5.0L Windsor Saleen that came with the aforementioned Vortech.

It's funny, too, because the stock Windsor rotating assembly is stout...the crank and rods are good for over 700hp with forged slugs. Just the block is pure garbage.

Then, they turn around and make the 4.6L Mod-motor with a block that's good for over 700hp, but the stock rotating assembly buckles at 500hp. Just can't find a solid small block solution until you start looking at the Terminator block/crank.

Don't let me discourage you, however. 500hp is plenty for most people and should prove safe, reliable, and fun... if done right with a d@mn good tune.

Speaking of tuning a Windsor. I would use the electronic distributor-less ignition from a 2000 Explorer 5.0L, coupled with the 4.6L coils. You can even use the Explorer ECU and make the whole thing OBD2. Given that the 2000 Explorer is the last year the Windsor was used, it is also the best year to grab. Has them 4-bar P-heads, GT40 intake, and EDI.

As far as transmissions go... the T56 6spd from a Terminator? That's the extent of my trust in Ford transmissions. The T5 5spd is a trap. The more money you put into it, the worse of a trap it becomes. All of their automatic transmissions are uninspiring. Or at least from the Windsor era.

I haven't really paid much attention to what Ford offers recently.

The BOSS 4-bolt mains Windsor block, on the other hand. Beast. Slap some Air Flow Dynamics "3V" 225cc aluminum Cleveland heads on it, single plane intake, low lash solid roller cam, dry sump oiling... yeah.

[un2xs]

I seem to remember somebody telling me the magic combination was a Cleveland with Windsor heads.... or it was the other way around.

Why is this a preferred build? And if its so good, why didn't Ford do it at the factory?

[DavidBoren]

Ford DID do it at the factory in the form of the BOSS... they stuck the 4 barrel Cleveland heads on a dedicated 4-bolt mains 302 Windsor block... it was pretty neat.

There is also the Clevor... a Cleveland with Windsor heads... but I don't know why anyone would plague an engine with Windsor heads if it wasn't that way from the factory. Putting Cleveland heads on a Windsor fixes the issue of Windsors having terrible heads... putting Windsor heads on a Cleveland just makes it have crappy heads.