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Topic: The BlackBird has a new stable companiion (Read 5150 times) previous topic - next topic

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

I bought this 108,000 mile 88 TC this morning off of the Phoenix Craigslist today.
It is pretty rough around the edges, but nothing that can't be brought back to life with a few missing parts and a lot of elbow grease.

Here is a pic of it.
Free Photo Sharing

This is the Door tag that I would appreciate it if anyone here could decode for me.

Click Image to Enlarge Free Photo Sharing

I want to get a history report, but am not sure which company gives the most complete/correct report....any help from you guys would sure be appreciated.
Ron
Speed is just a question of MONEY How fast can you go?    (M. M.)

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #1 –
Congrats on your new ride Ron. :burnout:

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #2 –
nice !!

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #3 –
Nice....a TC with a moonroof...

T5 or A4LD?

Travis

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #4 –
It's a very late build car, June of 88. Nice score.
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #5 –
Quote from: thunderjet302;416882
It's a very late build car, June of 88. Nice score.


yea mine is jan 87 lol

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #6 –
Quote from: turbotrav;416873
Nice....a TC with a moonroof...

T5 or A4LD?
Travis

Thanks to all of you for your comments,

The moonroof cover is missing all of the padding upper & lower so when it is closed I can still see the sky through some metal louvers. I am able to lift the moonroof glass up in back, but it doesn't retract....weren't they supposed to retract all the way open also? 
It is a T5 with about all of the options that I have ever seen on a TC. The original stereo sounds great, but one of the door speakers is either shot or has crud in it.
Today I am returning to Humboldt where I have it parked, so will see what can be done to get it to start & idle correctly (it ran perfectly good on the freeway for the 75 mile trip).
I plan to install new plugs, cap, rotor, and PCV Valve tomorrow to see if that helps.

Any ideas that any of you might have of why it is so hard to get started and keep running at idle are totally welcome.
Ron
Speed is just a question of MONEY How fast can you go?    (M. M.)

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #7 –
Sounds like a nice 30mpg cruiser if you are successfull...

Travis

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #8 –
Maybe a bad IAC  ??


86' T/C 4.6L DOHC
16' Chebby Cruze 1.4L Turbo
17’ Peterbilt 389 600hp 1850ftlb Trq 18spd

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

“Heavy Metal Mistress”
[/COLOR][/SIZE]

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #9 –
I will pull the IAC & try to clean it tomorrow when I get back up to the mountain where I have the Tbird parked.
Have any of you ever come across a car door that is jammed half shut?
The passenger door on this Tbird will not shut completely nor open, but seems to be jammed. We have tried the key, pulling on both the inner & outer door handles etc. & nothing has worked so far.....any ideas?
Ron
Speed is just a question of MONEY How fast can you go?    (M. M.)

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #10 –
Ya the moon roof should pop up in the back and then have the option to retract into the roof (at least mine does). As for the material missing off the cover mine is t he same, haven't torn into it yet to look at making it less gross looking.
88 Turbocoupe: Coast High Performance 331 kit 28oz balance, Comp XE264HR14 cam, 58cc 185 afr heads, 1.7 roller rockers, Mass-Flo EFI (was POS to setup and their techline is a joke at best)
Full 1 5/8 primary equal length headers, 2 1/2 exhaust, Full manual reverse VB c4 and baked off clear coat "BECAUSE RACECAR"

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Soul;417211
Ya the moon roof should pop up in the back and then have the option to retract into the roof (at least mine does). As for the material missing off the cover mine is t he same, haven't torn into it yet to look at making it less gross looking.

One major problem that I am facing right now is that the passenger door is halfway closed and will neither open nor close all the way. We have tried pulling on both handles, lifting the door, using the key, etc but it refuses to open.
 
Soul, when you do the moonroof repair, please start a (step by step) repair thread for the rest of us who have never done it.
Speed is just a question of MONEY How fast can you go?    (M. M.)

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #12 –
You may want to try turbotbird.com. lots of fix it stuff there.

Travis

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #13 –
Quote
One major problem that I am facing right now is that the passenger door is halfway closed and will neither open nor close all the way. We have tried pulling on both handles, lifting the door, using the key, etc but it refuses to open.


I have run into this problem a few times over the years. What usually happens is this, the door was locked and someone tried to open it with out first unlocking it, or unlocking it all of the way. The latch is gummed up, things don't move back to where they are supposed to be and it jambs up the latch mechanism levers half way and will not allow the handles or lock mechanisms to move. Or sometimes the power lock selenoid fails in the locked postion. It's tricky, but I have always managed to use my door unlock tools to get things open. Sometimes rolling down the window works, or use a shim to push the outer belt mlding away from the glass, but look between the glass and  outer belt mlding along the rear window track, a small flash light is helpful. I have door unlock tools, but use some rigid wire or whatever you can come up with, study the latch and try to get everthing back to where it belongs. If the power lock selenoid is in question try to remove the rod where it hooks to the latch mechanism. The last one I had like this took me over an hour to get into.

A few times I have been successful by lightly bumping the door with my hand near the latch mechanism. Not sure if it is possible on these cars, but if the door is not quite shut, you might have enough room to remove the interior door trim panel and work on the latch from the inside.

The BlackBird has a new stable companiion

Reply #14 –
Quote from: bodyman;417236
... if the door is not quite shut, you might have enough room to remove the interior door trim panel and work on the latch from the inside.

Ditto.  Also had this happen to my 88 XR7 and I had to remove the door panel from the inside and pull the rod that releases the door latch.  It's a PITA.  You may have to remove the seat to gain access to the panel.  No easy solution but not impossible.