increasing boost on an '86 tc

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increasing boost on an '86 tc

February 27, 2011, 11:45:00 PM

I just have a bone stock '85 tbird turbo coupe right now. I was planning to convet. it to a 5.0l engine, but with the way gas/oil prices are rising I figured I leave the 2.3 in and try to have a little fun with it.

soo, i'm new to these 2.3l motors and am curious about how the best way to raise the boost some. can anyone give me a ballpark figure on how much boost it should have stock?

also, where exactly is the knock sensor that I've read should be unplugged?

any other quick easy mods that would wake it up some for min. cash?

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #1 – February 28, 2011, 01:24:15 AM

go here and do everything
http://www.turboford.org/faq/mods.shtml

Once you're done with that, ponder this:
One thing you should know is that the stock ecu goes into open loop at 3K RPM or thereabouts. Open loop = py gas mileage.

Once you're done pondering, then we can take it to the next level.

ps there's nothing wrong with swapping to a 5-oh, if you don't mind going slower.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #2 – February 28, 2011, 12:21:48 PM

Stock boost on an 85 or 86 (title says 86 but says 85 in the post) should be around 10 psi due to the fact that it isn't intercooled. I personally wouldn't go higher than 13-14 psi without an intercooler. Also, if you are going to be increasing the boost (especially on a car without an intercooler) I would NOT disconnect the knock sensor.

The link t3skidoo posted is a great place to start. If you want more boost for free you can hook the lines that go to the BCS together. Most people on NATO use a electrical butt splice connector an depending on the size is how much boost you get. I have a blue connector on my car and it makes around 14psi according to the stock gauge which may or may not be accurate. Start with the smallest possible one and work your way up! I also have a cone air filter (Spectre brand, $25 at Autozone) directly on the VAM. See pic bellow.

Please note that increased boost without any supporting mods can be harmful to your engine, so proceed at your own risk. ALWAYS use premium gas, at least 91 octane. Listen closely for detonation.

Here is the pic of the filter. The BCS is the thing that the turbo vacuum lines are connected to and those are the lines you would splice together for more boost.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #3 – February 28, 2011, 05:56:05 PM

ohh yea, sorry my mustang convert. is an '86. My tbird i'm refering to is an '85. (I also have an '83 tc. w/ 5.0 conversion I'm building for American Iron)

I bought this '85 tc when I got a transfer @ work and had to go from about 8 miles round trip to work to over 80 miles a day. my other vehicles at the time were a '86 5.0l mustang convert. and a V10 E350 van. I was gonna convert this one to a 5.0l, but as I started to drive it I found my self enjoying the 23-24 mpg and the great balance with the the less weight of the 4 cyl over the nose. fast foward, about two months ago I blew the head gasket, and now finally was able to get it apart last week, when I thought about looking into a few upgrades for the 2.3l since I decided to leave it.

So I might have lied a little, I have already started to gather a few parts for this, main thing is a new head gasket and set of ARP head studs, a ranger roller cam and followers, and I also have a set of new valve springs, and an adj. cam sprocket on they way.

I've been reading on that turboford site as well, but it seems to be more hardcore tech. I was looking for basic stuff and since I never really dealt with these 2.3l turbo motors, I don't really know stuff like where the knock sensor is, and the little trick you explained with the butt splice, ( will prob. try that one, but just to make sure, I use the butt splice to connect the vacum lines and it acts as a restrictor. is that right? leave the elec. conn. on the bcs.) and wanted to do that small stuff as well when I finally start to put this thing together.

I've read a few posts where they say that "converting to the 5.0 isn't a bad idea if you don't mind going slower" and I don't understand this. I've dropped a bone stock speed density 5.0 in a tbird, and with no mods except a set of 3.73 gears and long tube headers it ran under 13.50. 13.42 if I remember correctly. Now wouldn't I have to do a ton of work to this '85 2.3t to run those kind of numbers? not to mention the loss of torque and around town drive-ability. I was enjoying this 2.3t before it blew the h.g., but don't see it running those kind of numbers. fortunatly, I am into road racing and not a drag racer, so I could also appreciate the better chassis balance. the mpg is what finalized my decicion to keep the 2.3.

thanks for the help guys. I'm looking foward to working on this 2.3t, something I never thought possible. lol

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #4 – February 28, 2011, 06:16:51 PM

I've seen TCs run mid 12s with a bone stock 2.3. Just turn up the boost to around 20-25psi (I wouldn't suggest it with stock head gasket), good fuel, and basic bolt ons. Oh and 2.3Ts are torque monsters. I've seen them make 350-375 rwhp and 385-400 rwt. Even though I would rather have a V8 in a 3800 pound car. I mess my little 89 2.3 mustang. Like you said balance was great, no pushing.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #5 – February 28, 2011, 07:34:33 PM

The BCS works by fooling the wastegate. You can bypass the BCS with a length of vacuum hose and see more boost in every gear and faster response.

IMO, going fast with a V8 is easier to achieve because traditional hot rodding is oriented towards going in a straight line with a carb and eight cylinders. Once you decide you need to turn a corner, the equation changes.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #6 – February 28, 2011, 08:29:09 PM

Quote from: bkaser90;354245

ohh yea, sorry my mustang convert. is an '86. My tbird i'm refering to is an '85. (I also have an '83 tc. w/ 5.0 conversion I'm building for American Iron)

I bought this '85 tc when I got a transfer @ work and had to go from about 8 miles round trip to work to over 80 miles a day. my other vehicles at the time were a '86 5.0l mustang convert. and a V10 E350 van. I was gonna convert this one to a 5.0l, but as I started to drive it I found my self enjoying the 23-24 mpg and the great balance with the the less weight of the 4 cyl over the nose. fast foward, about two months ago I blew the head gasket, and now finally was able to get it apart last week, when I thought about looking into a few upgrades for the 2.3l since I decided to leave it.

So I might have lied a little, I have already started to gather a few parts for this, main thing is a new head gasket and set of ARP head studs, a ranger roller cam and followers, and I also have a set of new valve springs, and an adj. cam sprocket on they way.

I've been reading on that turboford site as well, but it seems to be more hardcore tech. I was looking for basic stuff and since I never really dealt with these 2.3l turbo motors, I don't really know stuff like where the knock sensor is, and the little trick you explained with the butt splice, ( will prob. try that one, but just to make sure, I use the butt splice to connect the vacum lines and it acts as a restrictor. is that right? leave the elec. conn. on the bcs.) and wanted to do that small stuff as well when I finally start to put this thing together.

I've read a few posts where they say that "converting to the 5.0 isn't a bad idea if you don't mind going slower" and I don't understand this. I've dropped a bone stock speed density 5.0 in a tbird, and with no mods except a set of 3.73 gears and long tube headers it ran under 13.50. 13.42 if I remember correctly. Now wouldn't I have to do a ton of work to this '85 2.3t to run those kind of numbers? not to mention the loss of torque and around town drive-ability. I was enjoying this 2.3t before it blew the h.g., but don't see it running those kind of numbers. fortunatly, I am into road racing and not a drag racer, so I could also appreciate the better chassis balance. the mpg is what finalized my decicion to keep the 2.3.

thanks for the help guys. I'm looking foward to working on this 2.3t, something I never thought possible. lol

I'd put an intercooler at the top of your list for a power increase. As others have said, you are asking for trouble with more than 12-15 psi with those injectors ,stock computer and no intercooler. Strictly 91 octane at that level, as mentioned.

The Ranger cam is not good for any real power increase over the stock cam, but gives you piece of mind over a slider. I do run a reground (high lift) Ranger in the 2.3 TR7 and it gave 288 RWHP at 23 psi (megasquirt and 65 lb injectors, T3/T4 50 trim.) The valve springs are an excellent choice. Can't go wrong there. That and a cam were all I did to my engine. (I did change bearings and gaskets, but the head never came off.)

Good luck with your build, sounds like fun!

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #7 – February 28, 2011, 10:06:53 PM

You could try a manual boost valve, called a Gillis Valve to increase your boost.
Check out here:

http://www.turbotbird.com/techinfo/GillisValve/GillisValve.htm

For your location of the knock sensor, I do have a pic for an 88TC, not sure if the 86TC's are in the same location.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #8 – February 28, 2011, 11:15:54 PM

I was gonna do an intercooler, when money allows. the only reason I started these upgrades is I figured I'd get em done while I had the head off to do the head gasket. it kinda snowballed a bit. I'm ok with little or no gain from the ranger cam, am happy to just have the knowledge of less friction going on in there. I have to imagine there will be a slight increase in power due to less friction though. back in the day when I had a couple of pintos and a mustang II, I had a few of the slider cams go bad. but back then there were no roller upgrades.

from what I remember when I took it apart, the injectors are the brown top ones in here, should that be the correct? which are the ones I should be on the look out for? I'd venture to say that the injectors and comp. from an '87-'88 Tc would be a step in the right direction. is that right?

ohh, and what exactly is a "megasquirt"?

Not sure if that is the same location of my knock sensor, I seem to remember some kind of sensor on the front side of intake that was basically just screwed into the manifold and did't go int the airflow or coolant. I assumed that was it. I'll have to do some more investigating.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #9 – March 01, 2011, 05:53:00 AM

Quote from: bkaser90;354273

I was gonna do an intercooler, when money allows. the only reason I started these upgrades is I figured I'd get em done while I had the head off to do the head gasket. it kinda snowballed a bit. I'm ok with little or no gain from the ranger cam, am happy to just have the knowledge of less friction going on in there. I have to imagine there will be a slight increase in power due to less friction though. back in the day when I had a couple of pintos and a mustang II, I had a few of the slider cams go bad. but back then there were no roller upgrades.

from what I remember when I took it apart, the injectors are the brown top ones in here, should that be the correct? which are the ones I should be on the look out for? I'd venture to say that the injectors and comp. from an '87-'88 Tc would be a step in the right direction. is that right?

ohh, and what exactly is a "megasquirt"?

Not sure if that is the same location of my knock sensor, I seem to remember some kind of sensor on the front side of intake that was basically just screwed into the manifold and did't go int the airflow or coolant. I assumed that was it. I'll have to do some more investigating.

That sensor going to nowhere is the knock sensor.

If you have brown-tops, then you have the 36's. A late TC computer with those and big VAM can help performance.

Megasquirt is a DIY standalone fuel injection computer to run injectors larger than 42#. Not the only way, just one way. Some kind of tuner and wideband O2 sensor become necessary when you get tired of guessing about your AFR.

I replaced a stock TC slider with a stock Ranger cam on my old Merkur, and was disappointed in the results. Like you, I was nervous about the slider cam. It isn't a mistake, just not a great cam. The regrind I got in this engine helps, but I still get my best ET's when I short shift at 5500. It's a truck cam after all.

Guys on TF seem to really like Boport cams. I have no personal experience to pass on about them, however. If I was to upgrade, I'd try one. You should be able to get good results with what you are doing.

You can only exceed the manufacturers design HP limits safely so far without an intercooler. Your stock parts can not be pushed far up the HP ladder without a detrimental increase in intake temperature which will lead to detonation and head gasket/ piston damage. That's just the way it works.

What caused your head gasket to blow this time? Any idea?

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #10 – March 01, 2011, 05:19:58 PM

Looks like the 86 EVTM has the TFI and Knock Sensor labeling reversed.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #11 – March 01, 2011, 08:01:16 PM

Doh!

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #12 – March 03, 2011, 07:56:25 PM

ohh, i know exactly what caused this h.g. to blow. it was a combo of 87 octane, detonation, and me not giving a cause I thought I was gonna pull this motor in favor of a 5.0L. boy how your priorities can change in just a short few months.

dropped the head off to the machine shop today, should have it back by end of next week if I don't decide to have some porting done. Do these heads/motors respond well to a slight port job? or is it not even worth it?

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #13 – March 03, 2011, 09:47:48 PM

Lot's of porting info with numbers to back it up over on TF. Do a quick search.

Not trying to be flippant, it's tough to give a simple answer, really. It depends on your goals and wallet thickness in the end.

If you aren't going with bigger valves and want to do some porting, I'd just have them work the area close to the valve. The biggest gains would be there.

increasing boost on an '86 tc

Reply #14 – March 07, 2011, 06:02:45 PM

so I dropped my head off last week to be rebuilt, and got a call today telling me that my head has 2 cracks. anyone know where I can find a good core? what would be the best year to find?