First off let me tell you all what I have, 87 formula 350 and an 88 formula 350, the 87 is in great shape due to the fact it is mini tubed, all lexan windows, ford 9" with 4:88 35 spline and spool...1/4 eta best 9.57 @ 136mph. I did all the work to the car and I recently bought the 88 because i remembered how much I loved driving the 87 when it was street legal and stock but at 220k miles, the 87 was falling apart and smoking like a frieght train (hence it became a racer) Now my question with the 88 I just purchased is why when cold it has a stumble on acceleration? when warm it is very smooth, the previous owner removed the maf and just put a k&n on it could that be related? I still have the old air box and maf out of the 87 I am planning to put on the 88. also the 88 is TPI (so was the 87) and it has 106k miles and auto trans.....just remembered dont these have a cold start injector? possible problem? thanks for any info in advance

 

I would start with putting the MAF back on. It may not be the only problem but I can say it will never run right without it. When the ECM detects the MAF is dead it runs off default values programmed into the ECM instead of BS data from the MAF sensor. These pre programmed defaults are good enough to allow the car to run but it wont run particularly well.

 

i put the maf and air box in, nothing has changed as far as running goes. maybe time for a good old fashion tune up, plugs and wires look original and if i remember right i need to change the majority of them from underneath, ah i love these cars! another problem I forgot to mention is that when warm, the car has to crank over for about 3-5 seconds to start, but when cold it fires right up. I had this problem with my 87 once and im pretty sure i changed the module in the distributor and that fixed it. Anyhow still wondering what this hesitation when cold is about cause i doubt plugs/wires will do anything since it runs beutifully after it warms up

 

Could possibly be the engine temp sensor. Should be under the upper radiator hose.

 

Well lets start from the basics since you now have the MAF on and there has been no change have you tried to clear the codes and check to see if any new trouble codes pop up after a drive?

 

i didnt check for codes, when the MAF was missing, the service engine light would only come one once in a blue moon, shouldnt have been on all the time? anyhow I will check for codes tomorrow and see if anything comes up