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The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

As many of you know, I purchased my first car on Monday, Dec 27th (not my first car, but the first car I've ever bought).  My dad found her in a craigslist ad and the moment I looked, I knew that this could be the deal I've been waiting for.  It's a fully loaded 1988 Turbo Coupe with a 5 speed, 140 speedo, climate control, moonroof, and all the other typical odds and ends.  Only things that aren't stock are the exhaust (dual flowmasters), boost controller, and the CD player/amp.  Without further ado, here are pics!

This is exactly how I bought the car; haven't even washed her yet!















The car runs great and I love the loudness of the turbo.  It needs new front struts (gonna have to say goodbye to the PRC for now :( ) and a good tuneup and cleaning, but other than that, she's good to go.  I'll be updating this thread as progress ensues, but this time I made sure to get plenty of "before" pics!  I only plan to do the normal minor mods to the car; this is going to just be a very fun, 99.9% stock daily driver.

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #1
Nice!!!

Make sure the firm position is activating for the PRC, it's common for the switch contacts to be dirty so it the system stays in auto(soft)...

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #2
The Firm light works on the dash just fine; not sure if that means anything though.  But she needs new front struts and nobody makes the PRC ones any more.  I'm probably going to end up having to disable it for now so I can get new struts while I look for a real set.

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #3
All the same mods as my car when I bought it except mine had polished exhaust tips. Looks like a Gillis boost valve.
Nice looking car!
1971 Camaro Blown 640ci
1988 T-Top Mustang
1980 Mustang coupe
1988 Thunderbird TurboCoupe
And a purple mini van! :burnout:

Previous Thunderbirds:
1988 Sport

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #4
Looks great. I'd do two things:

1. Move the 140 speedo to the Sport.

2. Get rid of the wing and side skirts. They make the car look silly ;).
88 Thunderbird LX: 306, Edelbrock Performer heads, Comp 266HR cam, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, bunch of other stuff.

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #5
Yeah If it were mine I would remove the window vent things and the side skirts. But when its all said and done its your car so your more than welcome to tell us to F off and do what you want! lol
1971 Camaro Blown 640ci
1988 T-Top Mustang
1980 Mustang coupe
1988 Thunderbird TurboCoupe
And a purple mini van! :burnout:

Previous Thunderbirds:
1988 Sport

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #6
That's a perty car...I'm forced to raise my opinion of the w red interiors, as well.

Good score!
'98 Explorer 5.0
'20 Malibu (I know, Chevy, but, 35MPG. Let's go brandon, eh)

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #7
Quote from: thunderjet302;347657
Looks great. I'd do two things:

1. Move the 140 speedo to the Sport.

2. Get rid of the wing and side skirts. They make the car look silly ;).

I'm keeping the speedo as is; I do not want to change the TC from its mostly original condition.  I also personally like the side skirts and spoiler haha; theyre really not overly flashy or anything.  But as Live Fast mentioned, the window vents are gonna be one of the first things I remove, along with the window tint as well.

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #8
good score! 3.73's or 3.55's? Either way still awesome!
-'88 Tbird 3.8
-2012 Altima 2.5 BASE. 
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

Future: Budget 5.0 300 HP.

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #9
Everything is cool other than the window vents...those are "old dude" style.

Extra bonus points for being 5 speed as well.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #10
Quote from: kingcars;347685
the window vents are gonna be one of the first things I remove

i'll take em! i smoke so they come in handy when it's raining :hick:

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #11
Quote from: RunninWild;347688
good score! 3.73's or 3.55's? Either way still awesome!

 
5 speed TCs all came with 3.55s.

Quote from: 50tbrd88;347690
Everything is cool other than the window vents...those are "old dude" style.

Extra bonus points for being 5 speed as well.

 
Just removed the window vents a few mins ago haha.  Gonna remove the horrible tint job soon too.  If this car was an auto, I wouldn't have even considered it; total deal breaker for me.  :hick:

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #12
First bath pics!











All window tint has been removed, window vents are also gone, interior has been cleaned, boost gauge has been fixed, and plenty of tune-up parts have been ordered.

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #13
Looks wayyy better. Need to remove the front tag mount next! lol
Need to bring my car up there at let my gf take some pictures of all 3 with her new camera
1971 Camaro Blown 640ci
1988 T-Top Mustang
1980 Mustang coupe
1988 Thunderbird TurboCoupe
And a purple mini van! :burnout:

Previous Thunderbirds:
1988 Sport

The daily driver - 1988 Turbo Coupe (big pic update 8/14)

Reply #14
That'd be awesome!  I'm looking forward to having some nice photo shoots with my two Tbirds.  The front tag mount will be removed soon.