New here ......... need help

[white95stang]

I have a good idea what to this 89 i picked up for 950 bucks ...which is in great shape litttle surface rust but never wrecked , paint faded but comes back with wax mint interior




runs like a champ , put new plugs autolite non platinum and wires ,fuel filter, removed silencer , removed resonstor.

so what are sc basics ,and free mods i can do . and where i can get firm ride sturts and shocks still and xr7 springs or are they the same as regular cougars?


not tring to mod the car to death (because its a winter beater)but make it a little more responsive ..till i can pull out the stang out the garage :cool: for LS 1 hunting season:D

[Digitalchaos]

Hello white95stang; and congratulations on the Cougar... Sounds like you got a good deal!

First, let me say that non double platinum plugs in these cars wear out fast.. somtimes within an oil change. APP2544(double check in search) is the best Autolite plug to use for these cars. APP 764 also works if nothing else is available.

Some basic maintainance items to check on this car when recently purchased include Motor mounts, coolant/hoses condition, Supercharger fluid level, clutch fluid level (5 speed only), & plugs/wires. Of course an oil change is always a good idea upon purchase of a used vehicle; I prefer Mobil 1 synthetic.

The basis of modifying this car lies in the exhaust. Anything beyond removing the silencer requires this for reliability.. as not doing so compromises the headgaskets. After opening the exhaust, you can start with basics like an intake, OD SC pulley, underdrive pulleys, ect. You can also take it much farther if you so choose, the fastest of these cars have recently broken into 10.x second quarter mile times.

I believe you can pick up the stock Tokico Illumna II shocks from Supercoupeperformance.com, which will work with your ARC system. However, these shocks are expensive and do not offer the performance of some aftermarket alternatives such as bilstein. They are dated.

There is significant information found in the FAQ and Literature sections on the main page of this site, plenty to get you started!

You may find after owning this car for a while that you'll want to keep it a long time, like most other members.

Good luck, and welcome :)

[white95stang]

sc fluid ?moteor oil,also any tips on doing valve cover gaskets i know the car has valve covers just cant see them,ill do the plugs then . who sells a nice cold air kit . whats the proble with motor mounts?

[Digitalchaos]

There are now several places where you can acquire fluid suitable for the Supercharger. You can get it from Ford, the same stuff is usually available for less from GM dealerships, you can use Mobil 1 synthetic 5w-30 (spec by manual), or you can go to www.oil-store.com and get BP2380 Turbo oil for about 7 dollars a quart. This is by far the cheapest source & considered the best oil.

Normally the supercharger is a sealed unit and was not designed to require fluid over its lifespan, but that 3/16" allen-head fill plug is there flush on the right-front side (next to the snout) for a reason. :D

Next, I believe the best valve cover gaskets you can use are Fel-Pro. That is generally what is recommended for the Headgaskets too. I have Fel-Pro VC gaskets on my car w/ no leakage whatsoever. Sometimes the valve cover screws rattle loose and allow oil loss. Be sure not to overtighten them when you reinstall.. the covers are composite and they will warp or break!

For cold air intakes, there are many options to choose from. of course any mods to this car should follow a high flow exhaust due to stock backpressure.. you can read about this in the lit section. This protects the headgaskets. You can acquire CAIs as cheap as DIY designs, to Ford Focus kits on eBay, all the way to the custom made units sold at Supercoupeperformance.com. Of course, there is an air silencer for these cars in the fender well that can also be removed & should be for CAI.

Lastly we have one of the problems afflicting these vehicles.. Motor Mounts. To this day, Ford uses hydralic fluid filled motor mounts in some of their vehicles, even new F-150s! The problem with these liquid filled vibration-quelling mounts is that over time, the rubber dryrots and leaks out all the fluid. This then causes the mount to collapse, and on our cars, makes the power steering lines and oil pan hit the crossmember until they crack! It also pulls timing due to artificially engauging the knock sensor, along with many various small issues. Why did they use them? I don't know, they hardly seem to be different for ride quality over solid units such as those available at Carquest or MN12Performance.com.

Hope that helps get you started!