Spend the $1000 on quality USED parts and it will go twice as far.
I too am in the "springs/shocks/cc plates" make the car FEEL faster camp, but don't really make it much faster. I may have actually been faster auto-x'ing when I drove my boneass stock '89 LX hatchback with 215/60-15 treadware 540 tires than I was when I drove my 2900# '92 notchback detailed below. I could really toss that hatchback around, it was silly.
I'm no Strano, but I've been auto-x'ing foxbodies since '92 (with some years off here and there). For years, I competed against Weiss, Ramey, Fair, 'Tucci and a bunch of other foxbody gods and got my ass handed too me, ALOT. There's a reason why they all ditched the foxbodies as soon as they could, and that reason is called quadrabind.
For a bazillion years, I had 1000#/inch front springs with koni yellow SAs, CC plates up front, soft rear springs and koni reds out back. It handled just like every other overly-stiff quadra bind mustang out there, it was great at high speed stuff, terrible at an auto-x.
Last year, I went to a modified Griggs' adjustable PHB with a trak-link for a TA. Got some used TA rate springs for $60. Got a used front coil-over KIT for ~$60, came with 300#/inch springs (later swapped in some 425s). The difference was ZOMGBBQLOLWAT? I almost put the car into a curb because it actually turned in, hard! Still tinkering with sway bars and shock settings, but it's silly how much better the car is now. The trak-link is admittedly an experiment. There are maybe 3 of us in the country that I know of who have tried to use it as a proper TA (and one of them, Jim, frequents this board so he can chime in if he wants to), not including Pederson who decoupled his (which is a trick f'ing setup that I want to emulate one day. I've seen that car go around TWS and it is just silly fast and grippy).
Anyhow, I am not recommending a trak-link setup, but I am recommending a tried and true TA setup. You just have to shop smart, shop S-mart.
My suggestion would be to make a list of costs for the major parts and then start by buying the most expensive. Once you get down to things like springs, it is easier to save up for them because they are cheaper (especially once you go coilover).
I think I've posted this before but I am going to post it again. Below is my list of my super-savings cheap-ass purchases. Everything was used unless otherwise specified.
I've basically put my entire car together from CL buys, used parts from corner carvers, or purchases from the Corral (or from Wade's left overs hehe). Here's a run down of my crazy cheap deals:
'98 Cobra brakes front and rear w/rear axle assembly including hollow swaybar, $500 (score!)
2 18*9 wheels, $50
aluminum ford racing driveshaft, $75 + $20 to have it checked out for trueness
SCT chip for EEC-IV, $50 (still need to get it tuned, though)
set of stock valves for GT-40 ford heads, plus one spare head, $50
Griggs front coil-over kit with 300#/in springs (I already had the konis), $60
rear H&R 350-390 springs ("torque arm" rates), $60
NIB Griggs standard duty panhard bar, $300 (later sold it to recover the money)
Griggs adjustable heavy duty panhard bar, traded my 4 lug ponies for it
barely used caster/camber plates, $100
1 front Koni strut, free from 3 foxes Ron (thanks!)
SN95 control arms, free from Wade (thanks!)
'94/'95 mustang front spindles, $80 for the pair via local junkyard deal (and she gave me a beer to drink with her while I waited)
new crappy seats, $65 each via carparts.com (edit: these seats sucked balls)
3G alternator, $45
lincoln mark 8 2-speed electric fan, $65 (installed! no more flex fan!!!)
damaged GT500 heat extractor, $28
NIB 4pt k-member brace, free from a friend after Wade got his car running
new helmet, $45 shipped
used 5 pt. Pyrotect cam lock harness, $23 shipped
Cobra Crane 1.7 roller rockers, $125
Update: I ditched the crappy seats and bought a barely used Ultrashield for $125. Great f'ing seat, drove the car from Texas to Boston with it, no pain (admittedly, I did add 1" thick foam padding behind the cover).However, I currently do not have a passenger seat. BFD, I can find used Kirkeys for $100.
I also added a harness bar, designed and welded by Sam Crumpacker (Texas CMC guy). It cost me like $20? in steel and took Sam 2 hours to fab, install, uninstall, paint, and re-install. This thing is awesome and tightened the car up a bit. Plus I could hang some clothes on it while driving cross country. That scratched the paint all to hell though
Casey