North American Turbocoupe Organization



1984 TC Project Car
PoorDad Offline
Member
#1
I'm the new owner of a 1984 Turbo Coupe. 5-speed trans with posi rear end. It has 79k miles.

The car was given to me by a friends father who has owned the car since it was 9 months old. It does not run. There's something wrong with the fuel system. Not really sure. The guy who gave me the car said it would run if it had new injectors. I'm not so sure I believe him. If it just needs injectors, why doesn't he buy remanufactured for $30 each and put them in?

There's a dent on the driver side where somebody backed into the car with a pickup. The quarter glass is broken as well. Interior isn't bad. It's faded, but not torn.

Can't beat the price. I'm going to buy injectors and see if it will run. Not sure how much effort I want to put into the engine. I can get slightly built 302 small block from a friend and drop it into this car pretty easy for about $500.... bell housing, clutch etc. Might make a decent 16sec strip car. Not really sure what to do with it yet.

Anybody knows where I can get a set of used factory injectors at a good price, please PM me.

http://s437.photobucket.com/albums/qq92/...=slideshow

EDIT:

I'm trying to upload pics. Can't see 'em. Even tried posting links to photobucket.. no joy. How does one upload pics here?
Chris Harris
1984 TC 5-spd. Bone stock and broken....... for the time being.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#2
Welcome.
The "how to" for posting pictures here is http://natomessageboard.com/ultimatebb.p...9;t=000160

I'd check Ebay for green top injectors or send what you have out and have them cleaned and flowed. Some of have used Cruzin Performance http://www.cruzinperformance.com/

If it;s been sitting a long time you may need to clean the tank and the lines also.

These are tough little engines. 79K is just getting broken in. Don't sell it short. Then can be a lot of fun.
Pete Dunham


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PoorDad Offline
Member
#3
Thanks for the links.

My friend used to have one of these back in 1988. It was brand new. (I'm giving away my age here) I remember these engines were no slouch when it came to performance. It was impressive to drive.

The car has been sitting for about a year. I had planned to drain the fuel tank and put a new fuel filter on the car. I'm not sure how to clean the lines. I've never had to do that to a car. I suppose it would be easy enough to disconnect the lines from the tank and hold them lower then the engine compartment - pour some type of cleanser through them. But again, I've never done that, so my idea is probably the hard way. Would really appreciate any tips from guys on how to accomplish cleaning and flushing the tank and lines.

The plan is to put some injectors in the engine or follow your suggestion and have the stock injectors cleaned. I'll see if it runs and take it from there.

I'm not dogging the 4-cylinder turbo charged engine in any way. I just don't know anything about it. My area of comfort is in the FE and 385 series big block engines. I guess I could learn something by sticking it out and breathing new life into the 4-cylinder. It's really easy for me to look at a free 302 and think about dropping it into the engine bay and heading for the track.

Injectors first. We'll see if she runs and take it one step at a time. I'll probably be asking all kinds of newbie questions in the coming weeks and months. Thanks in advance for any help.
Chris Harris
1984 TC 5-spd. Bone stock and broken....... for the time being.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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RDOG Offline
Posting Freak
#4
I have a set of tomco 30's and green top 30's for cheap. Hit me up at [email protected].
1986 Turbo Coupe. Boport StageIII head, Boport 2.1, Performance Techniques 50 trim hybird, StageII.63, stinger 3" exhaust, Phenolic spacer, Boglog header,NPR FMIC intercooler setup, kirban fpr, bigrmotorsports fuel rail, diablo water meth kit, CAI, remote mount TFI, CHE rear adj control arms, MAC girdle, 8.8 rear disc, aluminum drive shaft, H&R lowerings springs Tbird Turbo Specific, y MAS!!
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84TBirdTurbo42 Offline
Senior Member
#5
i would leave the 4 in there, theres not many of us with 84's. you'd be surprised how she runs with a little bit of timing advance a cold air kit and a better exhaust.
Chris Perry
1984 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Dead, NY rot killed her
1986 Thunderbird shell, swapping parts from the 84.
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PoorDad Offline
Member
#6
Guys, I really appreciate the interest and help so far. Thanks for a warm welcome to the site.

I'm willing to make the 4-cyl run, if you guys will help me. I'm totally green to this kind of car though, so I'm going to need a lot of help to bring this diamond in the rough back from the grave.

For now, I just want to get it running again and see if will prove reliable for around town travel. The guy that gave the car to me thinks it needs injectors, but he's not sure. He's had a new fuel regulator installed, some kind of vacuum pot on top of the fuel rail that has a vacuum line going back to the intake manifold, new alternator and battery. And she still don't run.

My first plan is to see if the fuel pump works. I'll just turn the key on and listen for it to pump up pressure in the fuel system. It should hum for a second while it builds pressure.

If the pump works, then I'll go ahead and drain the tank. Put a couple gallons of fresh gas in the tank. Then I'm going to remove the fuel line from the fuel filter and turn the key on. I'm hoping that will trigger the pump and flush the lines of all the old rotten gas. If that works and I can get fresh gas up to the filter, I'll slap a new fuel filter on it.

If I can get that far, the next step will be trying to start it. Should be fun. I have no idea what to expect. From where I sit, there's a handful of new parts on the fuel system, but the car doesn't run. Looks like I got myself into a mystery.

Sure can't beat the price though!!
Chris Harris
1984 TC 5-spd. Bone stock and broken....... for the time being.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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caroth Offline
Member
#7
There are lots of Colorado guys here that want to help you succeed and keep that 5.slow out of the t'bird. Don't be afraid to ask for help, this site rocks!
86 SVO
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IndianaJef Offline
Junior Member
#8
I would definitely get it running before judging to replace the motor. These engines are pretty tough - although the fuel pumps have always had issues. With gas going to 4 bucks a gallon it may become more appealing real fast. (It's $3.55/gal here today).
Jeff (IndianaJef)
Greenfield, Indiana
1984 Turbo Coupe - 273,000 original owner miles.
http://www.vtcin.com/memcars/84bird.JPG
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PoorDad Offline
Member
#9
The rumor is this car gets 37mpg on the highway.

With gas prices threatening to hit $5/gallon by May... not a bad idea to get the 4-cyl running and leave well enough alone.
Chris Harris
1984 TC 5-spd. Bone stock and broken....... for the time being.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
Reply

grey88smokin Offline
Posting Freak
#10
For the 500 you would have in the 302 swap; that same 500 would probably outrun or at least give that same 302 a good run for its money(I know you said its worked and I have no idea what extent its worked to).

The puny 2.3 has a lot of heart and a lot of potential. Get her running right. From there the search feature and FAQ's should get you scooting along well.

There is a ton of info here and on turboford.org. Start searching and reading and I can almost promise you that your v8 buddies won't be too fast to run ya.

For a tank with a 4 cyl these cars can really take care of business without a lot of money thrown at them.
84 SVO 1C
08 MKZ
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