[ryanhewett466]

Alright everyone, Surely most of you have seen my name pop up over the past 3 years that I've been a member of this forum. But you've probably noticed that I don't say much. I'm going to attempt to change that reputation now. Bare in mind that this is my daily driver, it's a street car 99.9% of the time and a race car second. With that said, I want to disclose my plans for my mustang. By the way, it's a 1994 5.0 automatic.

First off, I want to make somewhere in the range of 350 horsepower. I plan to start with the rearend and work my way forward.

For the rearend, I plan to do 4.10s. Do I need better axles?

The transmission has seen better days and if it ever goes I want to replace it with one of lentech's street aode's. Last time I checked, I think they offered a 12" and 9.5" converter. I hear folks say that the 12" is better for street driving. Chime in on this for me please.

And of course the motor would be one of those beloved 347 long block assemblies from CHP with afr heads.

I know it's a long wish list and it will take me a couple years to fulfill it at the rate i'm going. But you know what? I'm a single young guy and i'm going to enjoy it. Try not to mention building the engine myself, because I don't have the experience, or the time as I am self employeed and also building a house.

I would appreciate anyone's opinion on this. God bless the United States, and God bless the Ford Mustang.

[White Thunder]

get trick flow heads....or canfield...or you if your stuck on afr...make sure you up grade to better springs that are good with your cam

350 is pretty easy to make with a 302 let alone a 347

and your axels should be fine....

[ryanhewett466]

Originally Posted by White Thunder get trick flow heads....or canfield...or you if your stuck on afr...make sure you up grade to better springs that are good with your cam 350 is pretty easy to make with a 302 let alone a 347 and your axels should be fine....

Thanks man, good thing to know.

[WildWill]

The best place to look for a stroker motor is FordStrokers.com 331-347-393-408-418-427 stroker kits and ford parts. Woody will be happy to build you exactly what you want. Contrary to what White Thunder said, it's actually not that easy to make 350 rwhp with a 302 unless you go with a power adder (turbo or s/c). A 347 with afr 185 heads and a custom cam will easily make you about 360 rwhp / 380 rwtq. If you've got questions on the motor, send flamedstang95 a pm... he's got a 347 from fordstrokers.com

It's a good idea to start at the rear end and move forward. You don't need to worry about new axles, your stock ones will be just fine. 4.10's are a great choice for your application!

Good luck!

[Bullitt95]

Originally Posted by ryanhewett466 It's a 1994 5.0 automatic. First off, I want to make somewhere in the range of 350 horsepower. I plan to start with the rearend and work my way forward. For the rearend, I plan to do 4.10s. Do I need better axles? The transmission has seen better days and if it ever goes I want to replace it with one of lentech's street aode's. Last time I checked, I think they offered a 12" and 9.5" converter. I hear folks say that the 12" is better for street driving. Chime in on this for me please. And of course the motor would be one of those beloved 347 long block assemblies from CHP with afr heads. I know it's a long wish list and it will take me a couple years to fulfill it at the rate i'm going. But you know what? I'm a single young guy and i'm going to enjoy it. Try not to mention building the engine myself, because I don't have the experience, or the time as I am self employeed and also building a house. I would appreciate anyone's opinion on this. God bless the United States, and God bless the Ford Mustang.

The rear end is a good place to start but think about your long term goal before you decide which ratio to choose. IMO, a 4.10 is too short unless you build a 302 capable of producing strong torque up to 6000rpm with shift points reprogrammed to suit. If the 302 is going to be limited to about 5500rpm, a 3.73 is a better bet. If you're planning a 347 stroker later on, you might wanna consider a 3.55 instead. The stock 28-spline axles should be fine. If you have a lot more torque than stock and you wanna run drag slicks, consider a 31-spline axleshaft upgrade.
When it comes to the tranny, a shift kit and an auxiliary tranny fluid cooler should be the minimum upgrades. A Lentech 4R70W (wider ratios than AODE) would be a fantastic upgrade if you're prepared to spend the coin and it'll handle just about anything you could throw at it.
The choice of torque converter will depend on many factors but in your case engine displacement, the torque curve, and gearing are going to be the key determinants. Since your Mustang is going to see primarily street use, I'd say that with a 347 stroker and a 3.55 gear you'll need a 12" street torque converter that's rated to stall somewhere in the 2200-2400rpm range.

[95StangMX]

I would say 4.10's are too much gear for a car that doesnt see the track much and is mostly a daily....especially if its your only mode of transportation. With an auto its not too bad but I went 3.73 and am very happy....next I say I totally agree with jim @ FordStrokers.com 331-347-393-408-418-427 stroker kits and ford parts. for your engine build. He can do anything you want and is a great guy, a great builder, and stands behind his shit. He can also put you together with Jay @ Camshaft Innovations - Home and get your cam done at the same time. I personally went with trickflow on the heads and got their cnc'd version but any of their heads would be great. Before going out and dropping serious coin on a transmission talk to dan his screen name is silverfox @ Click Click Racing about getting your tranny beefed up. He can make them handle 700-1000 HP with some better parts and tricks he has up his sleeve, and that is WAY more than you will need with your goal set. He built me an upgraded 4r70w valve body with manual shift for about the same price as a cheesey shift kit would cost, and shifts a hell of a lot better, and got rid of one of the weak points on our trannies the aode valve body...He can build your trans. or send you the parts and info to do it, and can put you in touch with alan @ DirtyDog Performance (Powered by CubeCart) for a yank converter.

You need to keep one thing in mind....if building piece by piece you need to make sure everything matches. When Jim got my motor parts (CHP rotating assembly, heads, supporting mods.) he was in contact with jay who was also in contact with alan. Your cam has to know everything about your motor, your stall guy needs to know everything about your motor, and your cam guy needs to know about your stall. You cant just point and pick parts or you will have a lot of money in a car that doesnt perform. Thats why I ordered everything at once so everything was built to match...with the guys that I mentioned they will tie it all together. I would first do your motor, then your trans and rear, then your cam

If you are going to make this a long project, I would go with an aftermarket block or mexican block, I havent even got mine back together yet and am already thinking turbo, or N20 and with a good 347 you are going to be close to the limits of your block.....but then I am one of those people that fast is never fast enough...LOL

[95StangMX]

sorry for the long post just trying to help... I found a lot of not so great info from people when trying to figure out my build, and I also found a lot of really good info from people on here with first hand experience. Hope this helps a little

Oh yeah and somewhere in there you are going to want to throw in some subframes, suspension mods, and good tires. so you can get that power to the ground....
With a well built 347 and good heads and cam you should be able to easilly surpass your goals and have a great, fun car to drive that is dependable

[WildWill]

MX... excellent post. Props...