Nice Article - How Ford Hobbled The Thunderbird Turbo Coupe To Save The Mustang

ive always kinda had a soft spot for that car, but just never wanted a 4cyl in such a boat..my buddy had the 5.0 version and man, that thing was such a slug..
wait wait wait, you can switch from premium fuel to reg? now that a cool option on such an old car, id probly trade my superpoop for a nice modded 88 tc..i actually almost bought a merkur but again the 4cyl was a turn off..but i love birds and hope to get in a nice clean cruiser intime for summer..
 
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ive always kinda had a soft spot for that car, but just never wanted a 4cyl in such a boat..my buddy had the 5.0 version and man, that thing was such a slug..

The 5.0 kind of sucked in the fox thunderbird's and cougars. Non HO, they had E6 heads that flowed terribly, speed density with either bank fire injection or TBI depending on year. I believe those engines were only rated at 140hp at the crank:eek: I remember being neck and neck with an 86 5.0 in my 95 LX 3.8 in high school. Neither of us could get away from each other. Turbo Coupe FTW!
 
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the mn12 5.0 got the HO rite..?

Yes, pretty much the same engine as a 87-92 mustang except for the cam, tubular manifolds, and low rise intake to clear the low hood line. In 93 the mustang, thunderbird and cougar dropped the forged aluminum pistons and went hypereutectic for increased efficiency.
 
Some not so accurate info in that. The 83-88 t bird is one of Fords all time best body styles. If you are going to review a car don't use a modded one also. It is a shame these cars are not more popular than they are. Even more unfortunate is the ones who do have them think they are worth a premium price for poor condition. I wish I could have kept the 88 TC I had. It wasn't in good enough shape to move across country though.
 
Even more unfortunate is the ones who do have them think they are worth a premium price for poor condition. I wish I could have kept the 88 TC I had. It wasn't in good enough shape to move across country though.

I agree, one of the reasons I never bought a TC was because of the crazy pricing. Around here people regularly ask $4,000-$5,000 for absolute basket cases, or nice bodies but have tons of miles with the bare minimum maintenance performed.
 
Back in 1990 my aunt had an extremely nice 86 Tbird Elan 5.0 with the Recarro seats and all that she had bought new and I had driven on several occasions. Gorgeous car and I loved it. Then I got the XR7..... Absolutely no comparison. Both cars were basically new at the time but the XR7 was just leap years ahead in every way. The Fox birds look nice, but nothing great about them really. I've never really wanted one after driving the MN12 for the first time.
 
Yes, pretty much the same engine as a 87-92 mustang except for the cam, tubular manifolds, and low rise intake to clear the low hood line. In 93 the mustang, thunderbird and cougar dropped the forged aluminum pistons and went hypereutectic for increased efficiency.

but with very minor mods you can fit a nice intake under the hood..they should have used a version of the gt40 5.0 for the mn12's...
so was the cam a more aggressive cam?
and lol, my cougar i got every performance part from a junkyard in 2 runs, explorer intake, 70mm mafs, 24lb injectors, mustang aod that had a 2300 stall tc in it, fireball coil and wires and even rotor cap.lol
 
I had a White '85 TC 5-speed and a Back '86 XR4Ti auto.

I got the TC new (lowered), and it didn't take long to discover it was boost limited in 3rd, 4th & 5th. I called up SVO in Detroit and asked an engineer why...he paused, and then said "to keep owners from raising hell on the streets...". I asked how much boost I could get away with and he seemed to feel that at least 18 lbs. would be fine.

I temporarily mod'ed to hit +25 and went for a ride....the front end lifted and it was hard to keep it pointed in a straight line...as well, the brakes were not up to the job and heat soaked quickly.

Took me a while to find out that the boost cut trigger was due to Ford using a make/break ground. Set it up for 15lbs in all 5 gears, added meth injection and the rest is history. So many tickets...the pilot for the CHP's sniper plane wasn't happy I outran him...didn't even know he was up there. Went thru 3 exhaust manifolds from excess heat...very pretty when they glow in the dark, actually. Chewed up local V8 Mustangs at will. Hated the brakes and solid rear axle.

Ended up with the XR years later...put a TC intercooler in it, but it was an auto, and like the TC, basically a 4,000 Pinto until the boost came up - brakes were never that impressive either, but I still liked that car, even if the top end was only 130. I always wanted the XR's IRS (any iRS) in a 'Bird, so the SC is the best of all worlds for me now. And with the supercharger, I don't have to wait for boost to build ;)
 
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