Any T-Bird Turbo Coupe owners?

sc95cobra

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I'm looking at buying a DD and the 87/88 t-bird turbo coupe is on the list. I should buy another jetta tdi or something similar but my old jetta was so slow and boring I can't torture myself like that again. I'm looking for something interesting, two of the cars on the list are the 87/88 t-bird and the 03/04 Marauder. Anybody driving either past or present a turbo coupe? How did it hold up? Major issues to look for? I think the 2.3L is pretty durable but there is not a big selection out there and the cars are at least 26 years old. I drove a decent 88 black bird last weekend that had a few issues including no AC which is a must. Not sure how much to fix it and/or convert to 134a Freon. I wasn't really impressed either, 190hp isn't what it used to be but I could get used to it, the jetta was only 90hp. My drive is 100 miles per day and will be increasing to 120 soon but I started carpooling so I only drive that far very other week now. The other week it is 10 miles each way to the car pool spot. I'm spending a ton of $$ on 93 octane fuel using the GT500 as a DD right now but it is fun to drive.
 

Screw-Rice

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Had an 87 Turbo Couple years ago. Bar none, one of the most fun cars I've ever owned. Mine was a 5 speed, and I was not gentle on the car. Was 18 at the time, and it was a burnout machine, haha. Whipped up on a lot of guys who had no idea what it was. It's a foxbody, so a lot of parts swap around, the only issue I ever had was the accumulator for the brake system. Wasn't a hard part to fix, but the system is different from a standard Mustang of that generation.

Did a bigger turbo (T3 from the older turbo couple), diff swap from an auto car (3.73 in the auto vs 3.55 in the manual car) exhaust and couple other minor mods. It moved and no one ever saw that car coming. Considered doing a 5.0 swap in it, but wound up moving to a 95 T-Bird and sold it to guy I knew who wrecked it a few days later.

I've cruised craigslist a few times over the years to see if a good deal popped up on one. I definitely want another one day.
 

Ponyracer1

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The SC is a completely diff animal from the TC. I had an 88? TC and that thing was more smiles per miles than 90% of the cars I've owned. Handled like it was on rails and rode nice to boot. Mine was an intercooled 5 speed and I'd buy another one in a HEARTBEAT.

It's been along while since I played with a 2.3 but IIRC the early versions were not intercooled and were lower boost/power. There is a few companies that build cams, upgrades etc but they are $$ since the market is very small.

Do some reading and learn which yr it best, you won't be disappointed in a TC.
 

286rocks

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I can't say much for the car itself, but both me and my dad have built Rangers with 2.3Ts swapped in. His is all stock and still going strong with about 300k on the motor and god only knows what on the truck. I had mine built with a Holset HY-35 and supporting mods making 20ish PSI.....good for maybe 300 or so HP. I can tell you that the 2.3 is one stout little motor. Mine never gave any me any problems aside from head gaskets, and those were no fault of the engine. lol. I used to love the turbo Ford community though! No one really makes parts so it's just a bunch of shade tree mechanics jerry rigging parts off of old NPR box trucks, Rangers, Mustangs, Volvos, and 5.9 Cummings to make power. If you're an unrelenting cheapskate and love to tinker, the 2.3T really can't be beat.
 

CobraBob

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Never owned one, but I did test drive an '88 back in the day. I was pleasantly surprised at how strong it was. Felt like a small block. I was very impressed. To this day I wish I bought it. Good looking car, too, IMO.
 

SHOdown220

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I had bought an 88 TC 5speed A few years ago. Mine was a really rare example. One owner, garage kept, low miles, perfect condition. I'll be honest I bought the car to flip it which is what I did but I really miss that thing. I didn't ever dd mine, fuel mileage wasn't very good nor was it very quick. But it was different, and just a really cool car. This thread is making me kick myself in the ass lol
 

freakshow12

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I had a white/ blue gut sunroof 5 speed 87 last yr. bought it as a low mile flip car. Did well. It was ok but wasn't for me. The buzzy 4 banger while fun to drive lacked the spirit of the other cars I drive regularily
 

LIGHTNING LARRY

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Moved to correct section

I have owned several. The 5 speeds are alot more fun to drive and much quicker. They do have their problems and parts are getting a lot harder to find.

Check them out well before buying
 

joshcarp81

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I owned an 87 black 5 speed and an 88 auto with every option one owner mint. I mildly built the 87 but lost interest. Was planning on a t3t4 hybrid setup bought everything but the turbo then sold both cars to a friend.
The 87 was used as a daily driver for awhile. I remember having alternator issues.
Nothing else though.
 

DOHCavanti

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Wow, flashback. I bought a black 1987 Turbo Coupe brand new and quickly put 100k miles on it and only failed an alternator (of course I replaced the timing belt and tensioner before it failed). I loved it and even though it was the lower horsepower automatic, it provided great mileage and highway manners. If you wanted to pass, it just went. When the stock tune and no boost modifications, I can't imagine a more well rounded daily driver. If you start bumping the boost and fill the engine compartment with ricer parts, you will lose the reliability you probably want.

I bought a few more after that: a metallic red '88 auto, a black '88 5 speed, a blue '88 5 speed, a sandalwood?/gold '87 auto, and finally a blue '87 auto that got a 351C and a complete Pro Street custom treatment. I finally gave up on them in 2003, but only because every car was rusted out in my area.

Problems on the Turbo Coupes are age-related at this point. Back in this era, if a car made it to 100k, it was pretty much worn out. None of the ones I bought used had a trouble free life like the new one. I had alternators go on all of them. The Anti-Lock system was a constant mess on the used cars too. Some had timing belt failures due to nobody ever changing it (just better to change it and the tensioner setup right away). The 5 speed cars all had typical T-5 issues with bent shift forks/blown out synchros, etc. (the T-5 is well documented on line).
 

ademily87

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I've had 2. The motors are strong and tough as can be, but all the other little things can be a pain.

I had an 85 that I paid $1000 for. The body was good, needed paint. Had keyless entry, ac, heat, dual power seats, sunroof, power windows, trip computer etc. It had about 160k miles on it when I bought it, and after a couple years and about 30k miles later, it turned into an electrical night mare. The horn didn't work, and me and my x wife were standing at a register checking out and I heard a car alarm going off, thinking somebody needs to turn that off! Walk outside and there she was, lights flashing, horn beeping, and just stopped after I punched in the keyless entry code. It happened again a few more times.

Then I bought a 1987 turbo coupe with a great body and interior, that some kid blew up. So I took my now 190k mile motor out of the 85, dropped it in the 87, hooked up an intercooler, full 3 inch exhaust and 3" downpipe, and turned the boost up to about 23psi and THAT was a fun car lol Surprised a lot of people.

x wife made me sell it after I bought my old 03 Mach 1, for about $1500 to some teenager that riced it out.

As a dd though, I wouldn't do it again. Those things left me stranded more times than I can remember.

The 85:
DSC_0284_zpsa9160ee7.jpg


The 87:
l_7403ae918e8d4551a5a13f9afc9e21c4_zpsc4978be1.jpg
 
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Snkebyte01

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Had an 88 Turbo, these cars are very fun to drive. Never had a single problem with it. The guy I bought it from transformed it from an auto to a 5-speed. Very strong motors and I wish I never sold it.
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sc95cobra

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New Daily Driver

Well the search continued but never found anything in decent enough shape that was in the price range I wanted to pay. I'm still keeping my eyes open and searching occasionally.

I picked up a 92 Lincoln Mark VII LSC a few weeks ago and have been using that as a daily driver. Not as good gas mileage as a TC would have been but have seen about 20mpg. Car is in nice shape and pretty clean ad will probably see some performance upgrades soon, I have a lot of arts from my 95 Cobra. Unfortunately car is a speed density setup so a mass air change is also probably in order for any big mods.
1992 LSC 1.jpg
 

83-88T-Bird Guy

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Well the search continued but never found anything in decent enough shape that was in the price range I wanted to pay. I'm still keeping my eyes open and searching occasionally.

I picked up a 92 Lincoln Mark VII LSC a few weeks ago and have been using that as a daily driver. Not as good gas mileage as a TC would have been but have seen about 20mpg. Car is in nice shape and pretty clean ad will probably see some performance upgrades soon, I have a lot of arts from my 95 Cobra. Unfortunately car is a speed density setup so a mass air change is also probably in order for any big mods.
View attachment 62978

Cool M7

I had a '89 BB M7
Car had a really strong engine and got 26 mpg hywy
I didn't believe the dash mpg display but I did a loop test and it hand calculated to 26 mpg.

If it had not been for the air line problems I had with it, I would have kept it.

BTW...I have owned over 17 of the 87-88 Turbo Coupes.
Loved the cars.
I only have one left
 

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