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Topic: Back in a fox. 1988 Turbo Coupe. The life journal. (Read 30632 times) previous topic - next topic

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

Reply #105
Quote from: thunderjet302;467082
Did the car have Premium Sound without the EQ?

The car did have an EQ. For some reason, I stashed a spare dash cubby in a bin with a bunch of various interior pieces. It was almost as if I planned on doing this conversion 10+ years ago.
It's Gumby's fault.

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

Reply #106
Quote from: Tbird232ci;467086
The car did have an EQ. For some reason, I stashed a spare dash cubby in a bin with a bunch of various interior pieces. It was almost as if I planned on doing this conversion 10+ years ago.

I ended up wiring a modern Bluetooth/CD head unit into the stock Premium Sound system so the EQ would function, because it looks cool....

Only issue is I still run the stock amp (but with modern Polk speakers, 6.5" in the door, 3.5" in the dash, and 6"X9" in the rear deck). It sounds ok but I really want to upgrade to a modern amp for some more punch.
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 #107
Quote from: thunderjet302;467095
I ended up wiring a modern Bluetooth/CD head unit into the stock Premium Sound system so the EQ would function, because it looks cool....

Only issue is I still run the stock amp (but with modern Polk speakers, 6.5" in the door, 3.5" in the dash, and 6"X9" in the rear deck). It sounds ok but I really want to upgrade to a modern amp for some more punch.

I intend on putting some gauges in place of the EQ, so it had to go. I may end up putting some aftermarket speakers in it at some point. I haven't been too concerned. I drive the car once a week on average.

I haven't done much in the way of progress. I did get an odd bit of desire to mess around with the front control arms I have. I spoke with Jack Hidley on another forum, and he informed me that the control arms that I picked up were not Maximum Motorsports, but a product of Granatelli. Anyone who has been around the scene a while knows that Granatelli likes to rip off designs, have them made overseas, and sell them at a cheap enough price to entice people. There are threads upon threads of failures and complaints. Luckily for me, I haven't found anyone who has had failures with these particular control arms. Jack is pretty confident that their Delrin bushings will fit in these arms.

So there are a few tack welds holding the ball joint in. I used a pencil grinder and ground the welds out. A few smacks with a hammer and the ball joint slid out. I'm not the happiest with that, but there is no reason that it won't work properly. I really hoped to not have to tack the new ball joint in.
It's Gumby's fault.

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

Reply #108
I haven't update much as I haven't made much headway lately. I did acquire some parts, but I ended up spending the majority of my disposable income on a new daily driver. Between that, the holidays, and regular life stuff, the poor Turbo Coupe has taken a back seat.

I'll have some stuff posted before the end of the week.
It's Gumby's fault.

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

Reply #109
I’m going to hold you to it.
One 88

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

Reply #110
Now it's Coyote Gen III's fault.
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

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

Reply #111
Quote from: V8Demon;468370
Now it's Coyote Gen III's fault.


Oh no, I am sure the s550 is my fault too, somehow...

Quote from: Tbird232ci;468342

I'll have some stuff posted before the end of the week.


X
gumby - beauty may fade, but stupid is forever!

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

Reply #112
Quote from: gumby;468419
Oh no, I am sure the s550 is my fault too, somehow...


I might be charged as an accomplice along with you.



Quote from: Shawn
i'Ll HaVe SoMe StUfF pOsTeD bEfOrE tHe EnD oF tHe WeEk
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

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

Reply #113
You'll have to wait for a very lackluster update probably late tonight. I got sucked into helping my buddy get his truck put back together.

Don't worry, you guys aren't to blame yet. If I followed V8Demons lead, I'd have an S197 and who know what they hell I'd have if I listened to Gumby right now. I accept this one.
It's Gumby's fault.

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

Reply #114
So I finally felt like sitting down and typing some random nothings on the forum.

For progress, there really hasn't been any on the TC unfortunately. My entire game plan was to soak up as much overtime during my busy season, and buy a ton of parts for the car. We had a ton of overtime for a couple of weeks, and then it came to an abrupt stop. Company projections were a bit ambitious, so they had to cut costs. They didn't feel that us mechanics were essential to the package delivery operation. With that, I didn't have the expendable funds that I expected.

Speaking of expendable funds, I spent the majority of that on Christmas, and purchasing a new daily driver. I was getting close to 100k miles on the Scion, and it became a "now or never" situation with trading it in. I would have ended up coming out upside-down if I had traded it in after 100K miles. The mileage didn't scare me in the slightest, but it was getting to the point to where it was going to need struts, brakes, likely a clutch (the throwout bearing tends to fail at approx. 60k), serpentine belt and a bunch of other small items. Basically, if I replaced/modded everything that car needed, I was keeping it for the long haul. If I was able to get out of it comfortably and get another car with a comfortable payment, the Scion was going bye bye.

Obviously, the Scion got traded in. I got out of the loan with 20 bucks to spare. All of my expendable cash went into the down payment for the new daily driver. If you have read through the hint the V8Demon dropped, you will already know what it is.



2018 Mustang GT PP1 with a manual. The car has absolutely no options other than the PP1 and a spoiler delete. I apologize for this being the only picture I have. I haven't had much time to get the car cleaned up, and then drive around to take pictures. A google search will net about 1,355,349.4 Mustangs just like this one, so it's not really a big loss.

I absolutely love the car. It feels like a land yacht coming from the Scion, but it will maintain higher cornering speeds. It's less nimble but isn't terrible. The power is intoxicating. Spinning this thing up to 7400 rpms and it pulling smooth and hard is an awesome feeling. I will say, the rear suspension feels pretty py. The IRS cradle and differential are mounting on big, mushy bushings to appease the Boomers who are buying these cars to try recapture a youth they never had. Luckily, the aftermarket is VAST for these things, and Black Friday sales did me well. I grabbed a few IRS items for the car that will get installed in the spring time.

Now for the TC updates.

There isn't too terribly much to report. I do have the majority of my 5-lug parts, which is my main project for the spring.



I need a handful of items still. I need brake hoses, rear park brake cables, bolts, axle seals, bushings and balljoints for the control arms, coil overs, and a bunch of misc. . None of which is a big deal. Most expensive thing left is tires which are dirt cheap in the stock Mustang size.
It's Gumby's fault.

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

Reply #115
Now that's a commuter!!!  Congrats!

Any of those parts that don't have seals/bearings in them that are rusty I would suggest soaking in Evapo-Rust then painting.  I've used it quite a few times restoring old dirt bike parts and it works well, but you have to paint it afterwards or it flash rusts quickly.
1988 Thunderbird TC, 5spd
Stinger 3" single exhaust, Cone Filter, Adjustable Cam Pulley, Schneider roller cam, Walbro 255 lph, AEM Wideband O2
'93 Mustang Cobra replica wheels on 235/50R17

'21 F150 Powerboost
'17 Husqvarna TX300

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

Reply #116
Congrats on the Mustang. I love my 2015 GT, I can only imagine what it'd be like with another 25 horses along with the rest of the improvements they've made to them.
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 #117
Nice car. The wife and I had the previous (17) GT as a rental in April 2017 when we were in Florida. It was a nice car and just pulled everywhere at every RPM. The thing just sounded incredible. I really wanted one after that trip but I like having paid off cars, so it was a no go.

If I had the $$$$ I'd drop a Coyote and 6 speed auto in my Thunderbird in a heart beat. The Coyote is just all around better than the 50 year old Windsor design. You need at least a 408W to come close.
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 #118
Meah, my 331 is putting down 452 fwhp and 410 ft-lb of torque so its doesn't take a 351W based motor to make what the 5.0 Coyote is making.  Now if we want to talk about how much those motors love boost that is a whole other conversation and the reason why I am putting one in my '70 F100.

83 351W TKO'd T-Bird on the bottle


93 331 Mustang Coupe - 368 rwhp

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

Reply #119
Quote from: Aerocoupe;468507
Meah, my 331 is putting down 452 fwhp and 410 ft-lb of torque so its doesn't take a 351W based motor to make what the 5.0 Coyote is making.  Now if we want to talk about how much those motors love boost that is a whole other conversation and the reason why I am putting one in my '70 F100.

You can make comparable power with a 302 based motor but a Coyote starts with about twice the power a 302 HO makes stock. Plus to be reliable you really need to plan out the parts very well. In the end a 331/347 is probably cheaper but not by leaps and bounds.


If I was starting from scratch and had a pile of cash I'd have a hard time deciding whether to go with a Dart 363 build or a Coyote.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.