Brad and Karen wrote:
> Hey guys, daily lurker, occassional poster writing.
>
> I have a 1993 Cobra I just got back from Ford after getting it safetied.
> I got it last year but there were lots of minor issues with it so I let
> it sit over the winter. Got it back today and it passed. Finally!
>
> I've been driving my 2006 Lincoln Zephyr all winter. The two cars are
> like night and day. And I don't mean that in a bad way for the Mustang
> necessarily. It's got it's own charm that's for sure in a "air
> conditioned seats are for sissies kind of way". (And I think the Zephyr
> threw a fit today when the Mustang got back home cause she wouldn't
> start for me. Pouty. So I called the Lincoln-care # and they towed it to
> Ford. That'll teach her.)
>
> Anyway, my question today. The previous owner put gears in this car but
> I can't figure out which ones. I know about jacking it up and turning
> the driveshaft, but, I'm too lazy for that... lol. I used the All Ford
> Mustangs gear calculator and none of the speeds really line up with the
> RPMS. The calculator says 3.55s in 2nd at 40mph should turn 3700. Mine
> turns 3500 bang on, which is much closer to the 3400 for 3.27s, but
> still off a noticeable amount. The other speeds, etc, are off too.
>
> I'm thinking maybe the tire wear is throwing it off a bit, but can
> anyone who has a stock T-5 with 3.55s or 3.27s give me their RPM at say
> 40mph in 2nd? Or am I asking way too much? lol
>
> Thanks guys! Glad I'm back in the fold...

I would go with 3.27s but that isn't much of a change and wouldn't be
worth the trouble of the swap, IMO. You're expecting the factory
tachometer to be dead-on reliable and it isn't. That could make up the
difference along with other minor deviations such as tire wear etc. To
really know for sure you need to jack up the car and compare the drive
shaft spin to the wheels.

As for the feel of the Fox Mustangs, I have always said they wear the
last of the true muscle cars of the 1960s and early 1970s. They lacked
just enough refinement to put them in that class, IMO. It is also one
of the reasons I like this generation of Mustang.