New project - 1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

Roots-type

+displacement
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Nice find! Those wheels are badass on it. Guess I'll tell my 80s tbird story now lol...My grandma had a white one when I was little. Not too sure if it was 5.0 or the turbo 4 but I seem to remember it had the porno red interior. The one thing I do remember clearly was her always censoring songs on the radio when a 'bad word' would come up. She'd turn the volume down and then at the last second either me or my cousin would reach over and crank it. Haha.

Anyways, definitely a cool car to bring back. Look forward to seeing it. Looks like you know what you're doing.
 

CobraBob

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It was definitely time for a new fuel pump. So are you going to go for an aluminum fuel cell? I think that is a smart move. If the current tank is rusty inside (but usable), I'd replace it to eliminate any future headaches. JMO.
 

DRTYAPE_SRT

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It was definitely time for a new fuel pump. So are you going to go for an aluminum fuel cell? I think that is a smart move. If the current tank is rusty inside (but usable), I'd replace it to eliminate any future headaches. JMO.
Yes, definitely going to ditch the oem gas tank and install an in trunk cell. I hate to do things twice but simply replacing the current pump and cleaning the tank was the quickest cheapest option to get the thing running. And damned if she don’t purr like a kitten… fox.. er.. bird . Whatever
 

DRTYAPE_SRT

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Pulled the Teves II system out and getting ready to install the 93 Cobra booster and Baer master soon.

I need to figure out how I’m going to trim the obsolete connectors from the harness and tuck the harness under the new booster.
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DRTYAPE_SRT

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While avoiding more difficult tasks I decided to dye the interior fabric.

The “Raven” color code was looking a bit more like lapis, I used dupli-color interior vinyl and upholstery spray.

I steam cleaned the seats, let them
dry overnight, masked and hit them with three coats while brushing the fabric between each coat.

This works well with fabric that has a medium to high pile, as the dye can absorb while the fabric lays numerous directions from brushing.

In the end I give it a good rigorous brushing and vac and the velour feels just the same as it did before. I wouldn’t use this product on every fabric but in this case it works well.

I looked at TMI upholstery but it would have cost more than I paid for the car and I’ve decided to spend the money on the motor.

I still have to repair the foam on the drivers bolster before I dye the front seats.

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4.698gt

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Interior looks great! I used same stuff to paint my interior and it worked out pretty well so far.
 

hotcobra03

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Owned an 88 New 5sp

Fun car.

Electric front struts
Hydro boost brakes

We ran ours with a 3 way tee on waste gate.

Who knows how high boost
It pegged the guage at 18lbs instantly
 

CobraBob

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Very nice job with the dyeing of the seats. They look so much better. And you saved a ton of money had you replaced them.
 

DRTYAPE_SRT

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Got the cobra booster almost set in place,
Still need to get it to drop another inch, problem is that I’m trying to tuck the wiring harness under the booster and space is limited. I think if I can free up a little more slack from the harness I can get it to drop where I need it.

Also, removed about seven connectors off the wiring harness and made and extension for the wiper motor plug.147F5E67-AF24-4957-AC4E-FB00ED6C9E9E.jpeg
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72SBC

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Coyote swap it! I love those cars. I had a white 86 with a red pin stripe and red seats. I loved it.
 

CobraBob

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Nice score on the radiator. The rotting padding in the seats needed to be addressed. How is the rest of the foam overall? Other than the discoloring.
 

408Tbird

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If you're interested in an alternative on the fuel tank, I just redid the setup in my 87 TC, replacement stock tank with the aeromotive phantom retrofit kit. The hat is basically a perfect match for the stock opening.





 

DRTYAPE_SRT

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Damn that’s good to know!

If you're interested in an alternative on the fuel tank, I just redid the setup in my 87 TC, replacement stock tank with the aeromotive phantom retrofit kit. The hat is basically a perfect match for the stock opening.





 

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