My brother has a 85 XR7. He was toying with the idea of putting on a 88 TC hood. It got us wondering what the complexity of putting a TC intercooler in also?
What support brackets are "needed"
Will the intercooler inlet fit with the T3
Is the performance even worth it etc.....
Has anybody done it and have input??
Yes, an IC is a good idea.
The intercooled TCs had an IHI, not sure if the turbo outlets are the same. If the turbo outlets are the same, you would need to clock the cold side of the T3 to fit the IC. There are a few support brackets. IMO, without the brackets it would work for a while but I imagine that something would eventually fail from the additional strain. Instead of a TC donor, you might consider getting a complete setup from an SVO since they came with Garretts. Also remember that the air flows out of the scoops, so plan on running some kind of cold air feed to the bottom of the IC, otherwise it becomes an interheater once the exh manifold gets going.
I figured the SVO would fit better with the T3, but ive heard the TC is "better". Not sure what better means, I guess just more efficient?
I never really thought about it, but I always just thought the air went in the scoops, not out.:hick:
Anyone else on this mod?
Yeah, air should flow into those scoops but Ford designed them for looks instead of functionality. You cannot change the laws of physics.
The TC intercooler is marginaly better than the SVO unit. I've had a T3 and an IHI on my 88 TC, so I'm quoting from experience here. I used an 87/88 TC intercooler with the front support bracket, and an SVO compressor cover/housing. It's a bolt in deal, even the IC hoses swap over. When you clock the compressor cover to line up with the intercooler inlet it will make it a little trickier to get the vam hose onto the compressor inlet. Also, the rear of the TC IC sat marginally higher, which didn't present any problems, just compresses the IC seal a bit more.
I did the swap a long time ago. Hood swap is no biggie. I had to rotate my compresser housing so it shot up instead of towards the throttle body. The problem I found was the older compressor housing that you will be dealing with has a on the outlet that bolts to the tube going to the throttle body. Lucky for you and me the tube itself is the same size, at it's base as an svo style housing. So, I just cut the tube about 2 inches above the and the intercooler inlet hose slipped right on. You don't "need" to use the front bracket. I don't, and no problems.
Also as far as the TC unit being better than an svo, it simply has more surface area and cools better. but only if your moving. shiznitty place to put it, right over the turbo and exhaust manifold. But, it's still better than none at all.