Curious - T-Bird Turbo

[mitchntx]

What year(s) were the T-Bird Turbo manufactured?

Were they V8s or V6s?

Any sites I can go to to research?

[Waco Racer]

1983-1988
2.3L 4 banger
Don't know any websites.

[David Love AI27]

I have a 89 Thunderbird SC (Super Coupe)... it is a V-6 supercharged not turbo but the SCCOA has members with lots of t-bird info...

That is the Super Coupe Club Of America... The SHO guys also have lots of info... I will try and find a guy who helped me with parts for my car

[BSharp]

http://www.turbotbird.com/

[Todd Covini]

Sheesh, Mitch....if you're going to fall off the rickety Pontiac wagon there are better Ford cars to land into!

[mitchntx]

You mean like a Focus?

Thanks for the link Bud. That and Mr. Love actually took me where I really wanted to go which was the Super Coupes.

I've just done a quick sweep, but haven't discovered the difference in engine packages betwen the 93 and the 94/95. Spec charts stop at 93.

Any ideas?

[Waco Racer]

At one point they stopped putting the manual tranny behind the SC V6. That may have been the difference with the 94/95. From the turbo to the super charger, the auto had different power numbers than the manual.

[michaelmosty]

I had a 90 SuperCoupe for 5 years in H/S and College. A good car but terrible on maintenance. I autocrossed it for a few years in Lubbock.
I drop-clutched it in 5th gear once on the ice in Lubbock and got the tires spinning to 195 mph, that sounded interesting! :shock:
If you have any specific questions I might be able to think back for some answers.

[Al Fernandez]

You mean like a Focus?


You'd think after all this time Todd would've learned to not piss into the wind. :lol:

[David Love AI27]

You'd think after all this time Todd would've learned...

Not gonna happen...



wait how long is this trip???

Todd is so smart he doesn't need to learn... because he already knows everything... thats the ticket...

[AI#97]

Thanks for the link Bud. That and Mr. Love actually took me where I really wanted to go which was the Super Coupes.

Any ideas?

You have actually found a car that weighs more than ANY F-body ever made including the 2010 camaro.

That's all I can think of!

Also, if you look into a muscle mustangs and fast fords mag, there is always an ad for SC's and upgrades in the back of the mag... you could atleast find parts there.

[michaelmosty]

I weighed my SC at Ennis one Friday night and it was 4050 lbs. with me. It was a heavy SOB but it was smooooth on the highway.

Mitch, what are your plans?

[mitchntx]

Mitch, what are your plans?

NOT an F-Body
NOT a Mustang
300 horses
leather seats
manual trans
cushy ride
$3000

[David Love AI27]

Mitch, what are your plans?

NOT an F-Body
NOT a Mustang
300 horses
leather seats
manual trans
cushy ride
$3000

Not a track car but a sweetass street car... very comfortable.. adjustable shocks
The ride is ssssoooo sweet... ask Jason about some trips in my SC... my house to TWS in less than 40 min... many times 120+

[AI#97]

Mitch, what are your plans?

NOT an F-Body
NOT a Mustang
300 horses
leather seats
manual trans
cushy ride
$3000

I've always liked the SC's....I want to say there was a one off that ford built that was a short wheelbase car, shortened like 11", and had a 4V mod motor in it!

Given it's a 3.8L V6, I would imagine it is the old T5 for the manual tranny too...

One thing I do remember about the car/motor was a lot of head gasket problems. Pretty much the same problem with all 80-mid 90's forced induction cars so I am guess it was head gasket technology and need for head studs....

[Rob Liebbe]

[quote="AI#97
I've always liked the SC's....I want to say there was a one off that ford built that was a short wheelbase car, shortened like 11", and had a 4V mod motor in it!
[/quote]

I drove that one-off T-bird when I was at Ford. Essentially a 96 Cobra 6 spd drivetrain in a T-bird Body with 17" Cobra R wheels and Cobra Brakes. There wasn't enough market differentiation for the SVT dealers to mark it up a bunch, so the program got cancelled. So did the Turbo Escort, the SHO Wagon (drove that one too), the 5.0 Ranger, the S/C Explorer Sporttrac (Adrenaline) etc. etc.

The one program that did make it was the 4.6 4v supercharged Mustangs. I started on that program when we were using a 92 Mustang GT body with that drivetrain in it. Lightweight and very fast - I think we took it to the drags with 2.73 gears and an automatic and it run in the 12's. We also had a Mark VIII with the 4.6 4v supercharged drivetrain in it. That was a sweet car!!!!!!

I had a T-Bird SuperCoupe pool car, very nice.

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

[mitchntx]

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

Exactly!


Pimpin ...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1314007107.html

[michaelmosty]

I had head gasket problems in mine also motor mounts which were a bitch. I owned the car for 5 years from 52k - 107k miles. When the car hit about 80k shit started breaking. (It might have been my driving though, driven at age 18-23)
Mine had a Mazda transmission that was completely different from the T5.

[Todd Covini]

http://dcist.com/attachments/dcist_sommer/2008_0924_gha.jpg

Yeah, yeah...Mitch got me pretty good on that one. Uncle.

I know the guy who owns that one-off Short Wheel Base (SWB) T-bird to this day. He's a former A-Sedan racer, Mustang afficianado and fellow Grand Am official living in Colorado. Great guy and he may be hanging around the paddock at MMP next week. Attached are pics of how it sits today.

Todd

[David Love AI27]

I had head gasket problems in mine also motor mounts which were a bitch. I owned the car for 5 years from 52k - 107k miles. When the car hit about 80k shit started breaking. (It might have been my driving though, driven at age 18-23)
Mine had a Mazda transmission that was completely different from the T5.

LOL.. mine has blown head gasket and broken motor mounts... and was driviin like an 18 year old....

[mitchntx]

hmmm ...

maybe a pimpin Lincoln is the proper route ...

[Rob Liebbe]

My mistake - the T-Bird I drove was a later program - 1996 or 1997. Todd's red one is earlier.

[Alien]

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

Exactly!


Pimpin ...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1314007107.html
How about an ~96 Impala? Same thing as the VIII, no manual trans.

Also big pimpin ....
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1320455094.html

*edit How much HP was/is the supercharged Buick Regals?
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1352515148.html

[BSharp]

The leather Ford used in the T-Birds was cheap and did not hold up well.

[mitchntx]

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

Exactly!


Pimpin ...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1314007107.html
How about an ~96 Impala? Same thing as the VIII, no manual trans.

Also big pimpin ....
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1320455094.html

*edit How much HP was/is the supercharged Buick Regals?
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1352515148.html

Thanks Gary. But I think I'm about done with GM products for a while.

[ShadowBolt]

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

Exactly!


Pimpin ...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1314007107.html
How about an ~96 Impala? Same thing as the VIII, no manual trans.

Also big pimpin ....
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1320455094.html

*edit How much HP was/is the supercharged Buick Regals?
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1352515148.html

Thanks Gary. But I think I'm about done with GM products for a while.

And just think we all are part owners of the company now.

JJ

[Adam Ginsberg]

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

Always liked those cars - very cool looking sleds. Notorious for the air ride suspension being problematic, however.

[Rob Liebbe]

Which brings to mind - 96 - 99 ish Lincoln Mark VIII - 300 hp, same chassis as T-bird, leather, and can be had very cheaply. Only thing is no manual transmission.

Always liked those cars - very cool looking sleds. Notorious for the air ride suspension being problematic, however.

There are companies that sell coil retrofits for at least some air spring equipped cars. OR!!!! Go hydraulic lowrider style!!!! Can you just see Mitch jumping the front end of a Mark VIII.

[mitchntx]

Dubs n Bags ...

[Adam Ginsberg]

Dubs n Bags ...

Fo' shizzle.

http://blogdope.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/bling-king.jpg

[AI#97]

Thanks Gary. But I think I'm about done with GM products for a while.

Who hacked mitch's profile?!

[Todd Covini]

Finally, we've gotten Mitch to "Focus".

[Rob Liebbe]

The Japanese equivalent, or probably superior, to the Mark VIII, is the Lexus SC400.

I don't know how much they go for.

Another thing to watch out for with the Mark VIII is the headlights. My dad had to replace his and they were very expensive from Lincoln but I think he found an aftermarket setup for less money.

[Al Fernandez]

Well now that you've gotten over the 5 speed requirement...here's what I would buy for a high power luxocruiser under $3k:

http://houston.craigslist.org/ctd/1319473988.html

[BSharp]

There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes.

[Rob Liebbe]

There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[AI#97]

There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes.

When my dad and I had our shop back in 95'...we had a customer that came in with an 89 5 series BMW he bragged about getting for 3500 bucks cause it had a bad rear suspension... Our price to fix JUST THE left rear corner with new bushings, strut and bushings for the A-arm was in excess of 3500 bucks.

A guy my mom works with has a 2004 or so Sequoia SUV...ABS/stability control went out, out of warranty....$4000+ :shock: :lol:

[Al Fernandez]

While it is true that any German brands parts are going to cost ~2 to 3 times the domestic's equivalent part...I'd take the reliability of a late 80s/early 90s German car to any domestic by much more than a factor of 2 or 3.

[Jeremy Gunter]

I'll take the reliability of a mid 80's corolla.... :P

[Fbody383]

While it is true that any German brands parts are going to cost ~2 to 3 times the domestic's equivalent part...I'd take the reliability of a late 80s/early 90s German car to any domestic by much more than a factor of 2 or 3.

I don't know Al, I just had all the supension bushings replaced in the M3.

I mean, come on... they should last more than 11 years or 192k miles. 8)