My pair of Thunderbirds

[kingcars]

I've always been a huge car nut. Grew up with my dad racing at a local circle track, then he sold the race car for a 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle. So of course the bug was already in me by the time I got my first car...







1988 Thunderbird 5.0L. Complete with an embarrassingly restricted 155hp, ridiculous 2.73 rear gears (epic bog-down) and automatic transmission. But I had an image in my head of a really awesome sleeper project. Something that I could drive around and not raise any eyebrows...until the rear tires were roasting from a stop light. And so it began...

Swapped the car over to the 225hp High Output 5.0 that was found in the same year Mustangs. Also ran a true dual exhaust setup.









With this setup and swapping the rear gear to a 3.27 ratio, she ran a very surprising 14.662 @ 95mph in the 1/4 mile. Not bad for having 140,000 miles on the shortblock. But I needed to add some spice to the car; the automatic just wasn't cutting it for me. So I said goodbye to the automatic...





...and hello to a 5 speed manual...







This really added a lot of fun factor to driving the car around. But during all this time, I was doing a lot of research on the build I had been wanting to do for several years. So then I went to pick up the beginnings of the biggest undertaking yet...


(sorry for the large pic size on this one)



Bought a complete stock Mustang 5.0L engine. The plan was to completely tear it down and rebuild it from the ground up, while adding some more "umph" to it. Time for parts...







Got all the machining done...





Then assembly...







Next step was to remove the old engine and clean up the engine bay. No use in having a nice clean engine if the engine bay is grungy!








My Uncle assisting with the prep and paint work

Then it was finally time for the big day!





She ran like a dream. For a few weeks at least. I ended up getting a bad vibration past 3,000rpm. Soon after, she dyno'd at 240rwhp and 300rwtq but unfortunately the vibration had much worse implications than we realized...


Note: The bearings are supposed to look silver

But, as any typical car guy would do, I thought of a way to improve it this time around.




Dual speed electric fan control system with 80amp DPDT relays


Real gauges! The factory ones were horrible to say the least.

Unfortunately I ended up getting screwed over by the machine shop...long story short, they took in my engine parts and proceeded to "work" on them. A year later and nothing had been done. I came by, took my parts back, brought them elsewhere, and got everything done in a timely manner. Then during the weekend right after Thanksgiving 2010...









Videos:

Idling
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...06returned.mp4

Acceleration
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...celeration.mp4

Drive-around
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ent=Stella.mp4

She's been running absolutely perfect ever since. Here's how she sits now:









I love taking the car to car shows because there are never any other Tbirds of the same body style there, and nobody expects such a "grandma's car" to have a beefy V8 and a 5 speed manual. Gets some interesting reactions to say the least.

And that's a VEEEEEEEEEEEERY shortened version of the last 6 years of my car. I didn't even mention the new wheels and 02 Mustang GT front spring swap or any of that haha. Then on Christmas day of 2010, my dad stumbled upon a Craigslist ad for another Thunderbird. I had been looking for a daily driver for quite a while, just waiting for the right deal to come along. I wanted something fun to drive (preferably a 5 speed) but reliable as well. This car seemed to fit the bill perfectly, and also happened to be a sister car to my white one! After test driving it, I bought it.

It's a 1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. 190hp 2.3L Turbo 4 cylinder engine, 5 speed manual, automatically adjusting suspension, 4 wheel disc brakes, sunroof, 8.8 inch rear end with 3.55 gears, etc (all factory...this was the 1987 Motor Trend COTY as well). Here's how she looked after receiving some much needed cleaning..













It's been a perfect daily driver for me. Definitely fun to drive with the turbo 4cyl and the 5 speed and aside from regular maintenance, nothing has needed to be fixed on the car so far (knock on wood). And the white car can be kept safe and clean finally, only coming out on the weekends.

Anyways, sorry for the epically long post...this is actually an incredibly shortened version of the whole story but feel free to ask questions! Thanks for reading

[PaganII]

Good Job!
Did you put "P" heads on the 5.0?
Got lucky and found a complete 2001 Explorer 5.0 with only 26k mikes at a wrecking yard several years ago. Put another 50K on it after swapping the engine into my truck.
T-bird is on my short list.

[RAW-Raptor22]

Those are awesome man, I love the 87/88 Fox Birds. Both of your cars look really nice. Im a big Thunderbird fan (especially the Fox and MN12) as the owner of a 1989 model. Very underrated cars. Have you checked out TCCoA?

Heres my car, soon to have a 302:

[kingcars]

Good Job!
Did you put "P" heads on the 5.0?
Got lucky and found a complete 2001 Explorer 5.0 with only 26k mikes at a wrecking yard several years ago. Put another 50K on it after swapping the engine into my truck.
T-bird is on my short list.

The heads I got are actually the GT40Y aluminum heads. Bought them off of a guy who swapped a 5.0/T5 into an 84 Volvo (beautiful car...you could eat off any part of it haha). Shaved about 50lbs total off the car and they have slightly bigger valves than the P heads. They do have a slightly bigger chamber but the machine shop set it up to where I have 9.5:1 compression.

The intake is off of an Explorer and so is the throttle body; had to customize the throttle lever on the TB to fit. The cam is a stock Mustang HO cam but we set it at 2 degrees retard to slightly shift the powerband up in the RPMs while not losing low end torque. Then I threw on a set of 1.7 roller rockers to add some lift to the stock cam. On the dyno she put down 250rwtq from the moment I hit the throttle at 1600rpm.

Those are awesome man, I love the 87/88 Fox Birds. Both of your cars look really nice. Im a big Thunderbird fan (especially the Fox and MN12) as the owner of a 1989 model. Very underrated cars. Have you checked out TCCoA?

Heres my car, soon to have a 302:

Very nice Tbird! I love these cars because they're such great hotrod platforms but nobody ever suspects them. I get so many weird looks when people hear my car start up in a parking lot or take off from a stop light. I remember one day I was driving around with a friend and he said "Do you realize how many people give you weird looks the moment they hear your car pull away from a stop light?" Though I'd love to get a ~95ish Super Coupe someday to finish off my Tbird collection.

I've checked out TCCoA some, but I normally frequent http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/index.php and this place has tons of great tech info for the 83-88s http://www.coolcats.net/

[Reflex1]

I enjoyed reading that, can't believe its taken u 6 years to finish. But it looks great!
btw, what year thunderbird is the best to get??

[RAW-Raptor22]

I enjoyed reading that, can't believe its taken u 6 years to finish. But it looks great!
btw, what year thunderbird is the best to get??

It really depends on your definition of best. Since they made the Thunderbird from 1955 to 1997, and then again from 2002-2005, It really comes down to personal preference.

From 1955-1963 it was still a performance minded car, however from 1964 until 1982, it was basically a personal luxury car. In 1980 the Thunderbird was downsized onto the same platform as the Mustang, but with soft handling. In 1983, the exterior of the car was drastically redesigned and looked like nothing else on the road. The handling was tightened and the 5.0L V8 returned. In 1984 Ford came out with the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe powered by a 2.3L Turbo 4, a car that performed better than its V8 counterparts with its light weight. The car was facelifted in 1987 before a redesign in 1989.

The 1989-1997 Ford Thunderbirds are some of the most technologically advanced American cars ever made. They were the only American cars on the road at the time to feature a multi-link fully independent suspension with rear wheel drive. The benchmark that Ford used when building the car was the BMW M635CSi, and the Thunderbird SC was faster in every way. These Thunderbirds handle better than the vast majority of new cars on the road, and blow them away with some simple mods like springs and shocks.

The 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbirds are nice cars, but they only seat 2 people and they arent "very" fast (7 seconds 0-100kph). The suspension design is similar to the 1989-1997 so they are still rather nimble, though they are pretty heavy. I'd love to have one just as a boulevard cruiser.

[ownage]

What the hell! A V8 5.0 liter engine with only 155HP? And in the US horsepower is measured from the crankshaft isn't it? Couldn't they make a 4 cilinder 2liter 160hp engine in 1988?

[RAW-Raptor22]

What the hell! A V8 5.0 liter engine with only 155HP? And in the US horsepower is measured from the crankshaft isn't it? Couldn't they make a 4 cilinder 2liter 160hp engine in 1988?

Stock they werent that great, but all you need is a decent breathing intake and exhaust to free up tons of horsepower. You also have to understand that the 5.0 still made close to 300lb-ft. The 2.3L Turbo 4 in the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe made 200+ HP.

[kingcars]

I enjoyed reading that, can't believe its taken u 6 years to finish. But it looks great!
btw, what year thunderbird is the best to get??

Well most of that time was just waiting on the funds for the necessary parts haha. As has been said, it's down to personal preference. For me, I only like the 55-56 Tbirds, and the 83-95 Tbirds. The 83-88s are nice because you can take advantage of the fox body Mustang aftermarket with all the engine and suspension/drivetrain stuff but still drive something that everyone and their dog doesn't have.

Stock they werent that great, but all you need is a decent breathing intake and exhaust to free up tons of horsepower. You also have to understand that the 5.0 still made close to 300lb-ft. The 2.3L Turbo 4 in the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe made 200+ HP.

Yeah this was also at the tail end of the oil crisis with the insanely de-tuned engines. The Mustang of the same year had 225hp and 285ftlbs. The Tbird was detuned to 155hp/265ftlbs but with just a couple hundred dollars of used Mustang parts, that can be changed. These engines respond really well to many cheap and easy to do mods. And Ford also produced a 205hp Turbo 4 in the SVO Mustang and a 190hp Turbo 4 in the Tbird Turbo Coupe at the time.

[RAW-Raptor22]

Well most of that time was just waiting on the funds for the necessary parts haha. As has been said, it's down to personal preference. For me, I only like the 55-56 Tbirds, and the 83-95 Tbirds. The 83-88s are nice because you can take advantage of the fox body Mustang aftermarket with all the engine and suspension/drivetrain stuff but still drive something that everyone and their dog doesn't have.



Yeah this was also at the tail end of the oil crisis with the insanely de-tuned engines. The Mustang of the same year had 225hp and 285ftlbs. The Tbird was detuned to 155hp/265ftlbs but with just a couple hundred dollars of used Mustang parts, that can be changed. These engines respond really well to many cheap and easy to do mods. And Ford also produced a 205hp Turbo 4 in the SVO Mustang and a 190hp Turbo 4 in the Tbird Turbo Coupe at the time.

Very true, good post. You dont like the 1996/1997 'birds? I think they look better than the 94/95 and the engine intake manifolds dont crack.

[kingcars]

Very true, good post. You dont like the 1996/1997 'birds? I think they look better than the 94/95 and the engine intake manifolds dont crack.

My mistake, I meant to include the 96-97s as well. Just got back from the first major car show of the year and I'll post some pics tomorrow.

[Judaeus Apella]

I think Raptor finally found his soul mate. Its always tbird, tbird, look at my tbird with him. Finally someone he has that in common with. Please just don't turn every thread into a tbird thread. haha

I of course mean this in a lighthearted way, please don't take it personally.

[dengyong]

I think Raptor finally found his soul mate. Its always tbird, tbird, look at my tbird with him. Finally someone he has that in common with. Please just don't turn every thread into a tbird thread. haha

I of course mean this in a lighthearted way, please don't take it personally.

It doesn't look light hearted to me. It looks like a mean and nasty post with a candy coated afterthought.

You should delete that post.

[RAW-Raptor22]

My mistake, I meant to include the 96-97s as well. Just got back from the first major car show of the year and I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Cool, I cant wait to see them.

I think Raptor finally found his soul mate. Its always tbird, tbird, look at my tbird with him. Finally someone he has that in common with. Please just don't turn every thread into a tbird thread. haha

I of course mean this in a lighthearted way, please don't take it personally.

Interesting post. I know some people get that impression from me on a car forum that I frequent, where I tend to recommend them a lot in "I need a first car" threads. I had no idea that it was spilling onto here, thanks for letting me know.

I hate to come across as a fanboy of anything, be it Intel, AMD, Nvidia, or Thunderbirds...

It doesn't look light hearted to me. It looks like a mean and nasty post with a candy coated afterthought.

You should delete that post.

Thanks for looking out for me, I appreciate it.

I dont know how much truth there was to his post, but I don't mind knowing at least what some people think. I know I haven't been posting in the computer sections very often anymore, posting mainly in the car and truck forum. I've never meant to troll my car in the vehicle forum, but I'm glad to know that I may have come across that way. It keeps me in check.

I dont think Judaeus meant anything by it, he just should have been more diplomatic about what he said.

[kingcars]

A few pics from the car show:

[RAW-Raptor22]

Nice pictures, your car looks awesome.

I dig the plum 'Cuda and that Camaro looks sweet. I like how they went the original route on that Galaxie, those cars look good without any crazy colors or mods done to them.

I have alot of respect for restored tractors like that Mack, it looks really nice.

[Kingcarcas]

Grandma car is exactly what it think when i see those, but nice job making it decent
How much does one of those cost?
How do you clean the engine bay and how long does it usually take?
I think the front grill is the main problem, if you could change that whole fascia i think it won't look as ugly sorry guys. That black trim around the skirt too.....then again on the plus side at least you fixed up something different, not just another Camaro or Super Bee.

[Judaeus Apella]

I meant what I said about that being lighthearted, and there was absolutely nothing mean spirited behind what I said in the least. You're reading into things that aren't there. Emotions and expressions are lost when all you have to go on is words, with no human behavior to assist them in their meaning. That's why I said it was lighthearted, I'm not the kind of person who just goes around randomly attacking people like some of the speak freely trolls who still reside here as active members. I have no problem with him, I like him and his posts. I just find it funny he's always talking about his Thunderbird. I have no reason to delete anything.

And I'm a recluse so I don't understand the finer points of diplomacy when talking to someone in a joking way. An entire life of being attacked, bullied, and dangerous people starting trouble with me has driven me to be a shut in. I stay away from other people mostly. You'll have to bare with me sometimes.

[kingcars]

Nice pictures, your car looks awesome.

I dig the plum 'Cuda and that Camaro looks sweet. I like how they went the original route on that Galaxie, those cars look good without any crazy colors or mods done to them.

I have alot of respect for restored tractors like that Mack, it looks really nice.

Thanks. There were so many nice cars at the show. I agree about the Fairlane (not a Galaxie, but they do look very similar...the Fairlane is just a little smaller. A 66-67 Fairlane like that one is my dream car). The Mack truck was probably my favorite at the show. I would sooooo haul my cars around with that .

Grandma car is exactly what it think when i see those, but nice job making it decent

Thanks...glad to see the sleeper look is still in effect. I love when guys in their ricers think it's a granny car then get embarrassed in front of their gfs by it

How much does one of those cost?

Pretty cheap...$1500-2500 USD for one in similar shape to my red one (or white one when I bought it)

How do you clean the engine bay and how long does it usually take?

In the pics I posted, between the first and 2nd picture is about 6 hours of using paper towels and Wesley's Bleche White (a heavy degreaser). Then the next day, my uncle and I spent 2-3 hours taping everything off and painting it. And this was with the engine completely out of the car.

I think the front grill is the main problem, if you could change that whole fascia i think it won't look as ugly sorry guys. That black trim around the skirt too.....then again on the plus side at least you fixed up something different, not just another Camaro or Super Bee.

These cars are an acquired taste to many people (admittedly myself too) but they're honestly very sharp lookin cars with very few mods.

[chinaguy]

I owned a 1955 Chev Bel Air in Candy Apple Red and White. Did nothing special apart from rebuild the engine bay and over hauled the engine. So I know how much work Kingcars has put in, a cocane addiction would be cheaper.

One thing I miss here in China is my old Trumph Spitfire 1500CC, it was a POS but many a good hour spent trying to get it to work. But it had to much Leyland DNA, 1 hr driving required 10 garage time. How many GF I lost over it.......at least it never cheated on me with anoth driver.

[kingcars]

I owned a 1955 Chev Bel Air in Candy Apple Red and White. Did nothing special apart from rebuild the engine bay and over hauled the engine. So I know how much work Kingcars has put in

Yeah it's definitely one of those things that you have to experience to fully understand. My car is far from the cleanest, nicest, or coolest car at any given car show but it's a car that is made to be driven; up until I got the red car, it was my daily driver. Now it's mainly a weekend driver but I know I can take it on a cross country road trip without worries about scratching the paint or anything like that. I mainly like to take it to car shows because it's different; nobody really fixes up these Tbirds and I'm always the only fox Tbird at car shows. I always love seeing people's reactions when they walk up to the engine bay and see "5.0 Cobra HO" then peek in the side window and see a 5 speed shifter and a clutch pedal.

Do you have any pics of the '55? Must have been really unique there in China.

a cocane addiction would be cheaper.

Haha not that I have any experience with that, but I bet so! But as long as the money is spent wisely, you don't have to spend it again. I put the extra money in my engine build towards completely refreshing the block and getting high quality FORGED pistons (not the weak hyper ones) along with stout ARP rod bolts and head bolts. It's those sort of extra costs that add a lot to the quality and longevity of a build.

One thing I miss here in China is my old Trumph Spitfire 1500CC, it was a POS but many a good hour spent trying to get it to work. But it had to much Leyland DNA, 1 hr driving required 10 garage time. How many GF I lost over it.......at least it never cheated on me with anoth driver.

There's nothing quite like getting over a rough day by wrenching on a car.

[RAW-Raptor22]

Yeah it's definitely one of those things that you have to experience to fully understand. My car is far from the cleanest, nicest, or coolest car at any given car show but it's a car that is made to be driven; up until I got the red car, it was my daily driver. Now it's mainly a weekend driver but I know I can take it on a cross country road trip without worries about scratching the paint or anything like that. I mainly like to take it to car shows because it's different; nobody really fixes up these Tbirds and I'm always the only fox Tbird at car shows. I always love seeing people's reactions when they walk up to the engine bay and see "5.0 Cobra HO" then peek in the side window and see a 5 speed shifter and a clutch pedal.

And thats why I'm a Thunderbird enthusiast.

Under the sheet metal theres not that much difference between your Thunderbird and my 2004 Mustang GT.

I'm also a fan of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hUatFOPl1Y

EDIT: I just found this picture that looks awesome, its just like your red car:

[kingcars]

Yeah the LTDs and Fairmonts are definitely awesome as well. Great pic of that Turbo Coupe...I aspire to have my red car that nice someday! It's not even close right now though . But it is my DD though, so yeah. Right after I got the red car, I snagged this magazine on ebay for cheap...







And here's a video of the red car, which I forgot to post earlier:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t=Michelle.mp4

[RAW-Raptor22]

Yeah the LTDs and Fairmonts are definitely awesome as well. Great pic of that Turbo Coupe...I aspire to have my red car that nice someday! It's not even close right now though . But it is my DD though, so yeah. Right after I got the red car, I snagged this magazine on ebay for cheap...



And here's a video of the red car, which I forgot to post earlier:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v1...t=Michelle.mp4

Thats awesome, I still want to get the 1989 MT Car of the Year issue with my Thunderbird as the winner.

I was telling my friend earlier, the Fox 'birds looked better than pretty much any other car on the road at that point. Better than the Fox 'body, the F-body cars, the Grand National, and the Fiero. I do envy you.

[kingcars]

I've always preferred the fox Tbirds over the much more popular Mustangs. The Mustangs are just way too boxy.