Vehicle Owner

Member ID: fusseli

Location: Laramie, WY

Vehicle Info

1984 Ford Thunderbird

Bought: Aug, 2005

Bragging Rights

  • 1/4 Mile0 sec @ -1 mph
  • 0-600sec
  • Top Speed139mph
  • HP160
  • Weight3200lbs

Major Upgrades

  • turbo
  • nitrous
  • bore increase
  • port and polish
  • supercharger
  • extrude honed
  • stroke increase
  • engine swap

Ratings

    • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
    • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
    • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
    • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.

Login to rate

 

Last updated: 6 days ago

Hits: 7,916

Russell’s Ford Thunderbird
“The grand-daddy of EcoBoost”

  • Currently 3.4190476190476 /5 Stars.
39 guestbook comments

I bought this car in the fall of 2005 for 100$. It had 57000 original miles (77k as of October 2009), a cracked head, and other signs of mal-treatment.  Luckily, the body is in great shape.  Got it all cleaned up and ran it for a couple years until in early July 2009 the bird ate a piston so it was time for a rebuild, details on page 6.  After several grand under the hood over the last couple years, the Turbocoupe has been fully rejuvinated and restored under the hood! 

 

fusselis 1984 Ford Thunderbird

Rebuilt engine installed (10/21/09):

 fusselis 1984 Ford Thunderbird

I have a lot planned for this car, aiming to stay original in appearance, with some decent performance.  This car is a classic and very unique, I don't see a reason in making it look aftermarket and modified.  After so much invested and with a rust-free and dent-free body, I plan to own this car for a long time.  My performance goal would be to hit around 220-250 HP, I don't want a race car or degraded reliability and driveability.

If anyone has suggestions, please say so!

'83 & '84 Turbo Coupe Factory Specs:
2.3L Turbo I-4, SOHC, EFI (145HP @ 4600rpm, 170lbft torque @ 3800rpm)
Garret T3 turbo @ 10psi
5 speed manual
7.5" trak-lok rear
Options: flip-up sun roof, JBL premium sound, no power options

Mods Completed:
Fully rebuilt engine
RF-E6 exhaust header
6" K&N cone
Aluminum Airbox (forced4.com)
Finned turbo compressor outlet

Bridgstone Turanza LS-T (upsized to 215-70R14) 
Audiophile-quality sound system

Restoration & Repair:
Matching cast aluminum spare
Motorcraft tune-up, TPS, ECT, O2, PCV
Motorcraft 61A alternator (reman.)
R-12 to R-134a A/C conversion
Original paint buffed & treated to a high gloss

Near Future:
boost controller
boost & water temp gauges
front body work (still waiting for paint)

On the Shelf:
PC1 ECU & brown-top 35# injectors

Needed Restoration:
front body work (see page 5)
clean-up the exterior trim
replace faded carpet and interior plastics
brakes
rebuilt turbo

 What I would like to do eventually:
full 3" exhaust
190 or 255lph Walbro fuelpump
Stinger or forced4 FMIC kit + BPV
cooling system?

front strut tower bar?
Koni or Tokico suspension
black or charcoal grey window tint
paintjob, bright red + charcoal trim?  black + chrome?
security system - depends

page 1 - car info and mods
page 2 - sound system (includes some interior pics)
page 3 - stock pics
page 4 - more pics
page 5 - repair & restoration
page 6 - engine

Guestbook

Displaying entries 1-4 of 39

edub25  

Posted by: edub25

10/22/2009 09:59AM

sweeet ride man

mustang1986gt  

Posted by: mustang1986gt

10/11/2009 12:37PM

NICE

shelby_2blue  

Posted by: shelby_2blue

10/09/2009 06:05PM

Very nice car, always liked these old machines!

t-bird-mark788  

Posted by: t-bird-mark788

10/09/2009 01:09PM

great job. wish i had the paint # when i did mine as it looks a deeper red. had an 87 t-coupe but tarded it for a 93 bird. mistake. then got the earlier body style(83-86) that i liked better. my dd is a 88 mark7,just a fancy t-bird.

Show Older Comments

Post a comment

Bookmark this Ride

Vehicle Owner

Member ID: fusseli

Location: Laramie, WY