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Topic: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal. (Read 30604 times) previous topic - next topic

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #30
I've been finding that there is never enough garage space. I went from no garage to a 20X28 barn converted to a garage to the current 24X24 garage with 12' ceilings and a hoist, and each time it felt huge until I loaded it with . My next garage, when I build the retirement palace, is going to be 30X40. Which will probably still not be large enough.
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #31
Quote from: Tbird232ci;462584
... I downshift to come up to the stop light, and when I put my foot on the clutch to come to a stop, the car stalls out. As soon as it stalls out, I hear the distinctive sound of receiving a Facebook message. I crank and crank the car and it sputters to life and dies a few times. I finally get it fired up by keeping it throttled up and I bang a U-turn through a parking lot and zip home....

Shawn,

I wonder if you popped off (or loosened a vacuum or intake hose (pre-turbo)...

Daniel

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #32
So Saturday, I straightened up the garage a little bit and nosed the TC in for a little bit of love.



The good ole Motorcraft tune up.

So me being me, I pulled off the intercooler, and ended up staring at the passenger inner fender well and how crowded it was. BornInAFord set up a BPV, boost controller and cone filter, and while he did a good job, there was just a lot of clutter on that side.

This is what I started with:





At this point, I removed the factory boost control solenoid since it was still there, pulled the IRCM and BAP off of the bracket to relocate them, and removed the manual boost controller. I mounted the BAP to the other holes that were already there in the strut tower for other applications. I drilled two holes in the top of the VAM bracket and relocated the IRCM there. Then I moved the boost controller and re-routed the vacuum lines.



Once that was complete, it was time to address the BPV. There were a lot of complicated and restrictive bends. I ended up pulling the intake tube off so I could rotate the dump tube upward, which required cutting the tube. I was then able to move the hoses around and cut some of the bends out. Leaving me with this:





Now, I skipped where I did the tune up, because that is a bit redundant. I did take pics of the "carnage".







As you can see, it needed a tune up pretty bad. None of the components looked old, but they just didn't seem to hold up well.

In the process, I did disable the EGR and remove the lines, re-route some of the cruise control lines, and broke the BPV. I knocked the  thing off of the fan shroud and when it hit the ground, I heard that crisp snap of plastic breaking. I sacrificed a vacuum T to the turbo gods and glued it in place of the broken nipple to get it back on the car again. I also ordered a Bosch valve in case this fix didn't hold.

So after getting the tune up done and the BPV setup cleaned up, the car ran significantly better. It never once stumbled or misfired. It felt like it actually had torque! The only disappointing thing is that the BPV is almost silent now. You can hear it if you listen for it, but it doesn't have that impressive sound anymore.

I also had it out for it's first car meet. Because of my lack of patience, I threw the car sideways into the entrance of the lot making all kinds of turbo noises, and mostly everyone looked baffled with a silver Thunderbird pulled around. I got out of the car and some friends came up with "where is your car at" or "what made you buy this?" but it was still a good time. It was to be expected bringing out an old man Thunderbird to an FRS/BRZ meet.



I also went through the one bin that I have here with some various parts and found my Maximum Motorsports c/c plates, some spare clusters, and a few other random parts. I thought that was the bin with my 40bob header, so I'm a little concerned that I may have gotten rid of it when I moved to the house. If I did, I may end up going with a gnari manifold or something custom. I'm not sure yet.
It's Gumby's fault.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #33
Hopefully it'll run a little better for ya now.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #34
Quote from: Tbird232ci;462719
Good God dude. Why the hell did you move to the other side of the bay?

You are right, it's been way too long.


Well, figured I'd give it a shot and there was a pretty nice job available. Plus, building a 10-car garage might actually be possible out here in farm country lol :)
1984 Cougar Convertible
1988 Cougar XR-7

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #35
Quote from: 4thqtr;462785
Well, figured I'd give it a shot and there was a pretty nice job available. Plus, building a 10-car garage might actually be possible out here in farm country lol :)

It's a different type of people over there man...guys with big diesel trucks and tiny peckers. Guys who wear camo and vape while listening to country rap. It's a scary place.
It's Gumby's fault.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #36
Quote from: Tbird232ci;462829
It's a different type of people over there man...guys with big diesel trucks and tiny peckers. Guys who wear camo and vape while listening to country rap. It's a scary place.

Isn't that everywhere outside of major cities :mullet:?
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #37
Quote from: thunderjet302;462837
Isn't that everywhere outside of major cities :mullet:?

So Maryland is a slightly unique case. So outside of Baltimore, there are a lot of white trashy towns (one of which I live in). Outside of D.C. on the Virginia side is rich, but on the Maryland side is a blend of rich, and ghetto. That isn't what makes Maryland unique. The Chesapeake Bay basically splits Maryland and cuts about a third off. That third is almost it's own culture. They have a different accent, different look, everything.
It's Gumby's fault.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #38
Quote from: Tbird232ci;462839
So Maryland is a slightly unique case. So outside of Baltimore, there are a lot of white trashy towns (one of which I live in). Outside of D.C. on the Virginia side is rich, but on the Maryland side is a blend of rich, and ghetto. That isn't what makes Maryland unique. The Chesapeake Bay basically splits Maryland and cuts about a third off. That third is almost it's own culture. They have a different accent, different look, everything.

That's different than most states. Mostly it's one big city then the rest of the state likes country music and being "rural", what ever that means.

Got to live where you like though.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #39
Quote from: thunderjet302;462837
Isn't that everywhere outside of major cities :mullet:?

No. But there are rotten apples under every tree, however, as someone from the other side, who is more at home in a deer stand or in the cab of a Case 1370, the idea of being IN the big city is, in the kindest wording, shaging awful. And I lived for 4 and half years in Springfield Missouri.

Quote from: thunderjet302;462844
That's different than most states. Mostly it's one big city then the rest of the state likes country music and being "rural", what ever that means.

As above, not everyone likes the constant noise, stink, traffic, crime, and dope one finds in the city. I also like to be able to piss off of the front porch and not have to worry about taking a ride downtown in the back of a cop car.

Don't knock the country life, it's clear you've never lived on a farm, felt the sting of a frosty morning, watching a whitetail buck and jockeying for a clean shot, or smelled the fresh crisp rain of a spring thunderstorm.

To be fair, I've spent a lot of time big cities, and simply raged and fussed until I could get my ass back home. This particular piece of ground I'm on....I've got ties to this land. My earliest memories are here. I expect to die here, and it would suit me fine to sleep eternally somewhere up north, my carcass nourishing a tree or the like. The lack of crime is a huge bonus. What crime there is can be swiftly dealt with on my own, with a Walther or Mossberg. Of course, in Chicago, you can't hardly call yourself a gun owner AND a law abiding citizen without some distortion of truth. That's any big city, but the Windy City....yeah, Killville.
'84 Mustang
'98 Explorer 5.0
'03 Focus, dropped a valve seat. yay. freakin' split port engines...
'06 Explorer EB 4.6

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #40
You guys are funny.

I've found every area has their own version of country. Changes from state to state.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #41
Quote from: ThunderbirdSport302;462855
No. But there are rotten apples under every tree, however, as someone from the other side, who is more at home in a deer stand or in the cab of a Case 1370, the idea of being IN the big city is, in the kindest wording, shaging awful. And I lived for 4 and half years in Springfield Missouri.



As above, not everyone likes the constant noise, stink, traffic, crime, and dope one finds in the city. I also like to be able to piss off of the front porch and not have to worry about taking a ride downtown in the back of a cop car.

Don't knock the country life, it's clear you've never lived on a farm, felt the sting of a frosty morning, watching a whitetail buck and jockeying for a clean shot, or smelled the fresh crisp rain of a spring thunderstorm.

To be fair, I've spent a lot of time big cities, and simply raged and fussed until I could get my ass back home. This particular piece of ground I'm on....I've got ties to this land. My earliest memories are here. I expect to die here, and it would suit me fine to sleep eternally somewhere up north, my carcass nourishing a tree or the like. The lack of crime is a huge bonus. What crime there is can be swiftly dealt with on my own, with a Walther or Mossberg. Of course, in Chicago, you can't hardly call yourself a gun owner AND a law abiding citizen without some distortion of truth. That's any big city, but the Windy City....yeah, Killville.


Most of my talk is about the "country" kids who have never shot at an animal, but wear camo. The kids who have lifted trucks with off road tires that never leave the pavement other than to roll coal on people. The  who have no idea what a hard day of work is like, yet act like they "work" on a farm.

There is plenty of actual country living in Maryland, but you never meet anyone who lives the life because they're living the life away from the general population.
It's Gumby's fault.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #42
Quote from: ThunderbirdSport302;462855
No. But there are rotten apples under every tree, however, as someone from the other side, who is more at home in a deer stand or in the cab of a Case 1370, the idea of being IN the big city is, in the kindest wording, shaging awful. And I lived for 4 and half years in Springfield Missouri.



As above, not everyone likes the constant noise, stink, traffic, crime, and dope one finds in the city. I also like to be able to piss off of the front porch and not have to worry about taking a ride downtown in the back of a cop car.

Don't knock the country life, it's clear you've never lived on a farm, felt the sting of a frosty morning, watching a whitetail buck and jockeying for a clean shot, or smelled the fresh crisp rain of a spring thunderstorm.

To be fair, I've spent a lot of time big cities, and simply raged and fussed until I could get my ass back home. This particular piece of ground I'm on....I've got ties to this land. My earliest memories are here. I expect to die here, and it would suit me fine to sleep eternally somewhere up north, my carcass nourishing a tree or the like. The lack of crime is a huge bonus. What crime there is can be swiftly dealt with on my own, with a Walther or Mossberg. Of course, in Chicago, you can't hardly call yourself a gun owner AND a law abiding citizen without some distortion of truth. That's any big city, but the Windy City....yeah, Killville.


That's the beauty of our country, you can live how you want and whatever suits your lifestyle, as long as you pay taxes.

I love the cluture, food, events, and people that come with living in cites. Hell I can walk to the grocery store if I want. My family has property in rural Michigan, in a small farming town of about 4500 people. It's ok for a bit but I get bored. There's not much to do, at least things that I find interesting. Being raised in an environment usually gives you a set of expectations, and most people stick with those the rest of their lives. It's more comfortable, at least to me, to live in large cities as I was born in one. As far as firearm ownership there's legal ways to do that anywhere in the country , trust me. It's our right ;).

As far as violence/drug dealing goes it's confined to a certain area or neighborhoods in most cities. Avoid those areas and nothing eventful really happens to you. On the bright side in a nuclear war the city is the best place to be. Instant vaporization. Rather have that then radiation poisoning and having to live through mad max land :hick:
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #43
Gee thanks, now I have TARBO FEVAR again.

Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal.

Reply #44
Quote from: thunderjet302;462859
That's the beauty of our country, you can live how you want and whatever suits your lifestyle, as long as you pay taxes.

I love the cluture, food, events, and people that come with living in cites. Hell I can walk to the grocery store if I want. My family has property in rural Michigan, in a small farming town of about 4500 people. It's ok for a bit but I get bored. There's not much to do, at least things that I find interesting. Being raised in an environment usually gives you a set of expectations, and most people stick with those the rest of their lives. It's more comfortable, at least to me, to live in large cities as I was born in one. As far as firearm ownership there's legal ways to do that anywhere in the country , trust me. It's our right ;).

As far as violence/drug dealing goes it's confined to a certain area or neighborhoods in most cities. Avoid those areas and nothing eventful really happens to you. On the bright side in a nuclear war the city is the best place to be. Instant vaporization. Rather have that then radiation poisoning and having to live through mad max land :hick:


I highlighted that sentence you said because it is so true.

I still live in the area I was born and raised. I have taken several road trips around the country and there were many times that I have thought "Man, I wish I lived here", but in the end, SW Michigan just feels like home. I'm a little more than 100 miles from Chicago. We make many trips there throughout the year and enjoy what the city has to offer; but just like you find yourself bored when your are out of the city, after a few days of visiting I find myself happy to be back home in my quiet rural town away from it all. :)
1985 Mercury Cougar XR-7 - 5-speed 
One of 1,246 built