1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #30 – March 20, 2013, 01:08:23 PM But factory GT40(p) based motors are cheap and can easily get people up above 250 RWHP, 300+ crank. Those things are great for the price with many pulls selling for under $500.Everything else, if you want over 400hp, I'd go straight to either a 351 or a strong aftermarket 302 block. At that point there's not much of a limit in what you can do. $5k (new parts) can get you a 408 with cam/heads/intake that can make well over 500hp, and $7000 (new parts) can get you a 302/347/351/408 that can take nearly whatever you want to dish out. Revving much higher than the limiter of course can easily double these prices. I figure you'd need at least another $1k on top of these numbers for supportive upgrades, but many of us have already completed those. Past 600hp, things start to get more difficult and expensive, especially if you add traction. I can't see more than 600hp ever being anything but reckless driving when on the street but you still always want more... Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #31 – March 20, 2013, 01:59:15 PM 600 Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #32 – March 20, 2013, 07:00:33 PM Personally, I'm building the 2.3 just to do something a little different from the common line. Everyone and their brother has a built 5.0 in their fox. It's so common place now, it has become a cliche to see one. I realize that it is much more expensive to build than the 5.0, and the motor's bottom end really won't last much past 50-75K at around 400hp, but I'm ok with that. If I wasn't, I would have went 351w all day long. The 5.0 is a good motor to go fast with on the cheap though. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #33 – March 20, 2013, 07:34:57 PM Big b do you have any post or whatever on your project cause I want to see how it goes for you:) good luck!Found a salvaged 88mustang looking into getting that engine instead off rebuilding the two. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #34 – March 20, 2013, 08:41:36 PM Quote from: TurboCoupe50;411513A good set of alu heads fixes that and they are cheap... By the time you mess around finding a good 2.3T head that isn't cracked, port it and install big valves, you'll have the price of a new set of 5.0 heads... Yeah you are going to DIYS but few of us have access to a machine shop... Quote from: Seek;411516But factory GT40(p) based motors are cheap and can easily get people up above 250 RWHP, 300+ crank. Those things are great for the price with many pulls selling for under $500.If you're rebuilding a 302/5.0 I would skip the GT40(P) heads and go straight to some good aluminum heads (AFR, Edelbrock, Trick Flow etc.). I had GT40Ps on my car for several years and last year switched to Edelbrock Performers. Based on trap speed I picked up 40 hp with no other mods but the heads. It's like a night and day difference from the GT40Ps.If you don't have the money for aluminum heads (you're looking at around $1200 for a pair) the GT40/GT40Ps will be a nice improvement over the stock E6/E7 heads. Don't forget any head you get from the yard is going to need to be rebuilt, upping the price of a "good deal" used head. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #35 – March 20, 2013, 08:45:31 PM BTW 300hp+ on the street is stupid fast, even in a 3700lb+ car like my Thunderbird. Hell the 2012 Mustang in my garage has a 305hp and I can't even use the car to its full potential on the street. I can only imagine how crazy a 400hp+ street car is. Crazy? Yes. Fun as hell? Yes, based on the 2012 Mustang GT I test drove. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #36 – March 20, 2013, 09:00:23 PM My supercharged Marauder dynoed at 430Hp to the rear wheels, for approx a 4500Lb ride including me it was a lot of fun(yeah it's gone, sold it this past Sat)... Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #37 – March 20, 2013, 09:11:28 PM Gekell where in Iowa are you located? Im just across the river from Dubuque. Oh and the A4LD wont have a chance in hell of living at 15psi, thats why my car was swapped to a 5 speed. The auto was toast. I say that, but I also know where there is an auto that possibly has been rebuilt recently. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #38 – March 20, 2013, 09:50:00 PM Just curious what kinda mpg you guys were knocking down with your 2.3's.I have averaged 30mpg with the stock aod and s.o. 5.0.I got some where between 28 and 32mpg(just an estimate, 493 miles plus some around town before my trip), only got $50 back in it and still had about 1/4 tank. That was with a couple hundred pounds of tools and luggage and hitting 75-85mph for about 5 hours with a couple of stops to strech my legs. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #39 – March 20, 2013, 10:02:22 PM Quote from: Gekell;411534Big b do you have any post or whatever on your project cause I want to see how it goes for you:) good luck! Thanks. It's in the User Rides section. Most of my project and a lot of the work I have done has went undospoogeented though, just started dospoogeenting it when the body/paint work began. It will probably end up becoming more than just a body/paint work thread though, as I begin to build the 2.3, so feel free to check out my progress anytime. Good luck to you with your 5.0 Bird build as well! Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #40 – March 21, 2013, 05:36:48 AM First Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #41 – March 21, 2013, 08:01:02 AM I've never ran into another turbo coupe on the road, or seen one driveable. Which is kinda crazy, because I often see 3-5 different cougar/birds about every month. I get comments all the time about how people didn't think tbirds ever came with a v-8...I honestly don't see any point in building up a 351 based block. You can easily get over 347ci out of a 302 and have the smaller mains and get more rpm's from the much lighter rotating assembly. If your starting from scratch, it really isn't much more to go with an aftermarket block. I dream of a big bore 302 to un-shroud the valves and allow you to actually use the extra air of most aftermarket heads.The 2.3's at least don't split in half with a stock block and 500+hp. I've seen a couple of svo guys locally in the 6-800rwhp range with a stock bottem end. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #42 – March 21, 2013, 11:45:41 AM Quote from: thunderjet302;411539If you're rebuilding a 302/5.0 I would skip the GT40(P) heads and go straight to some good aluminum heads (AFR, Edelbrock, Trick Flow etc.). Agreed. Many find <100k explorer motors though, which can easily run for another 100k. I quite dislike the P-heads I've been using. My TW heads should be just about done at the shop. Above 9.5:1 compression and the better flow, with a freshly ported intake, should work quite well for me, even without other changes. It will be great, along with my other modifications, and some new windows (rear quarters will no longer be deteriorated!). The Bird's looking up. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #43 – March 21, 2013, 01:50:13 PM The GT40/GT40P heads are a nice improvement over E6/E7 heads but can't hold a candle to aftermarket aluminum heads. You can port the bejesus out of the GT40/GT40P and they'll maybe flow just as good as a nice aluminum head does out of the box.You should be happy with the TW heads. The Edelbrocks I have don't flow quite as much as a TW but it was still a "holy shiznit" moment in power vs the GT40Ps. Quote Selected
1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD Reply #44 – March 21, 2013, 02:31:09 PM If I had a TC and wanted to keep it a 2.3T, I'd get a Ranger 2.3L Duratec (have to make mounts), a Focus ST 2.3L head, a T5 bell to fit the Duratec-HE (yes, they are available) and a T3 d header. I'd side mount the factory turbo (at least at first) and set up a front air to air. I'd run the Focus ST PCM with a tune, and......well anyway. That's where I'd go with a TC. V8's are awesome, too. But I'd want to do something I've never heard of before. I thought about the Volvo head trick, but there's too much custom engine fab for my taste, and besides; it's played. Quote Selected
Topic: 1987 ThunderBird Turbo Coupe to 5.0Li and AOD (Read 13671 times)
previous topic - next topic
