I'll let the video tell the story, but it was a glorious day for the Ford Turbo 2.3 fans at Bowling Green, KY on Sat. May 24th.
The O/SA records were set by Marty Buth in his '84 Mustang GT 2.3T and the N/SA records were set in my '85 Turbo Coupe. ( I claimed it as an '85 to fit the N/SA class...it's actually an '86 model)
Here's a little video I pieced together with pics and videos from the event:
I posted this over on turbofords but forgot to post here on my favorite T-Bird site. So the news is a little late, but I thought the die hard T-Bird guys would enjoy hearing some good news about a 4-eye, 4-cylinder Bird racing in a sea of V-8s. :D
I bought this '86 2.3 Turbo Coupe turn-key from former owner Marty Buth in Dec. 2012 and set out on a mission the weekend of May 25-26, 2013 at Bowling Green, KY at the NHRA Sportsnationals to set the NHRA Q/SA record with it. He agreed the day I bought it that he would help set the record and help with the tech teardown.
We set the car to weigh 3290 lbs. with me in it. That was 10 lbs heavy over the minimum of 3280 for the class. The index for Q/SA is 13.80. The current record for Q/SA is (was) 12.80 and 99 mph.
I would need to run a 12.79 or quicker to set the record. Our first pass was Sat. morning sometime around 10:00 am. The car ran a 12.36 @ 106 mph. (which made it the # 2 qualifier at 1.438 under) The # 1 qualifier was Gary Summers with his T/S 1978 Mustang 302 running 1.636 seconds under.
The backup run has to be plus or minus 1 % of the 12.36 in order for the 12.36 to be official.
A few hours later I rolled the car out of the staging lanes into the burnout box and noticed the water temp was cooler than the first run.
Well, the car ran a 12.57 @ 105 mph....outside of the 1 % limit. Since the 12.57 was quicker than the current record and not within the 1 % backup, then the 12.57 stands as the official record.
Note: The AFR data logger later showed the EFI system was in power enrichment mode on that 12.57 pass...that would explain why the car slowed down. The water temp was too cool and the car didn't like it.
Anyway, we went thru teardown o.k. and it was a waiting process because there were 4 Stockers and 3 Super Stockers in teardown but there were only 2 Div. 3 NHRA techs checking stuff.
Well, everything passed and we put the car back together by 10:00 pm.
The next day the car ran the same and I went 2 rounds in Stock and 3 rds. in Sportsman ET.
The only things on that 2.3 Turbo that are not stock would be the ATR brand header, the Comp Cams "cheater" cam (.378 valve lift), the MSD digital 6 , and the SDS EFI system. The upper and lower intake as well as the turbo and cylinder head are stock. (only a back cut on the valves are legal) Shortblock is stock except for NHRA approved TRW forged replacement pistons.
Trans is a C-4 with a low stall 8 inch convertor. The 2 step is set at 2750 rpm. ( No trans brakes allowed in Stock) 4.56 gears in the rear with 30 inch Hoosier slicks.
That's the only trick parts on the car's suspension. Stock 1986 control arms, quad shocks, front struts, etc. All it has are air shocks. ( that explains the body twist seen in the pic below) It runs on 116 octane C-16 VP fuel. ( The highest octane allowed by NHRA for Stock)
The car sure is a blast to drive and I never thought a 4 banger RWD turbo car could be so much fun !
Well, after racing my 83 T-Bird for 2 years with the 2500 grit satin finish look on my wheels I thought I would spend a couple of hours polishing them to see how they would turn out.
I really like the polished look better. I still find it hard to believe that come September, I will have had the ol' Gray Bird for 20 years.
Couldn't help notice how similar the design is to the 87-88 TC "snowflake" wheels. (albeit in a larger forged aluminum version and only has 5 sets of holes instead of
