Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

December 21, 2005, 07:48:01 PM

as the title says...
kinda wanting to know some pros/cons
gotta be an '88, only year I'm considering.
The more obvious stuff, I know, etc 5 speed, that stuff...
I'm looking for the nitty gritty things, like wiring, and turbo upgrades, that sorta thing...
I've had 3 V6 cars (two '88s-one '89) wanna try something a bit different now
Also wouldn't mind a Sport, nice one down in Texas, on ebay...
got some money coming to me in from 3 savings bonds, so this isn't just "wishful thinking"! :D

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #1 – December 21, 2005, 08:18:25 PM

Quote from: FordTruckFreeek

as the title says...
kinda wanting to know some pros/cons
gotta be an '88, only year I'm considering.
The more obvious stuff, I know, etc 5 speed, that stuff...
I'm looking for the nitty gritty things, like wiring, and turbo upgrades, that sorta thing...
I've had 3 V6 cars (two '88s-one '89) wanna try something a bit different now
Also wouldn't mind a Sport, nice one down in Texas, on ebay...
got some money coming to me in from 3 savings bonds, so this isn't just "wishful thinking"! :D

i love my 87 even when it was stock best car hands down i had owned in the handling and fun department.I would definatly get a 5 spd car.the 2.3 is almost bomb proof common for them to blow headgaskets if have been subjected to high boost 22+ psi

upgrades are endless only limited by your budget.

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #2 – December 21, 2005, 08:20:00 PM

I saw that car too. It seems to have everything in terms of options (Except Ride Control and Leather seating). There's an even better car I see in Florida on Ebay as well, although for whatever reason, despite be loaded to the max with options, it has a column shift and no leather either.

There's a Turbo Coupe in New York with a buy it now of 1000 dollars. The reserve for bidding can't be any higher. The problem of course lies in the shipping.

Luckily I was able to snag a Turbo in Virginia for only $520. The rest of my money can now be used for shipping.

New York Turbo Coupe

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #3 – December 21, 2005, 08:49:44 PM

Here's some TCs for sale.

NATO

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #4 – December 21, 2005, 09:01:13 PM

Why only '88??? The '87s are the same....

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #5 – December 21, 2005, 09:04:34 PM

in reply to the NY TC, it looks like the driver side door is mis-aligned....although that has nothing to do with anything, I guess...
The texas one, I'd go after that for sure...who knows.....? lol
I figure, for the money, I'm gonna get the nicest one I can, and I'll drive it from anywhere back to missouri...

On edit: Tom, sorry about that, thought that ALL '88s were diff than '87, musta been a brain-fart!
Will also look at '87s as well...thanks!

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #6 – December 21, 2005, 10:49:43 PM

there are only very minor differences

the 88's got a different EEC, had some different colors, different rear window molding, and just little stupid things from there.

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #7 – December 21, 2005, 11:39:29 PM

Quote from: Tbird232ci

there are only very minor differences

the 88's got a different EEC, had some different colors, different rear window molding, and just little stupid things from there.

Actually the rear window moulding was a running change in '88, first 3-4 months of production used the '87 metal moulding...

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #8 – December 21, 2005, 11:48:39 PM

The alternator was different too. The '88 has a different style and I believe it's more expensive to replace than the one that's on the '87s (which was the same kind as the Mustang had from '87-93)

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #9 – December 22, 2005, 12:50:31 PM

well i've had my 88 tc for about 2 months and heres my list of pros and cons for MY CAR.

PROS

Turbo :D
Rear Disk
PRC
ABS
Handles Pretty Good
Decent Mid-Range Power
Excellent Hiway Power. ^_^

CONS

Torque is well, a distant memory.
Oil Leaks
Gas Tank Leak (fixed)
Fuel Pump Died (fixed)
Fog Lights don't Work
No Reverse Lights
Idle Probs (fixed)
3.95 First Gear, can't build boost for shizz!!
Brakes, rear calipers seized, abs doesn't work... electric pump. =/
Idle Hangs on a occassion... TPS i'm sure.
Exhaust Leak
Struts are dying.
Headlights are worthless, can't even tell if they are on!

Ok I can make a book out of all the problems I have, but even so, I wouldn't hesistate to buy this car again if given the chance. It's a fun car even in boring, roads straight as Hades, pothole filled, snow glazed, Detroit.

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #10 – December 22, 2005, 01:01:07 PM

Quote from: Red_LX

The alternator was different too. The '88 has a different style and I believe it's more expensive to replace than the one that's on the '87s (which was the same kind as the Mustang had from '87-93)

They got a Hitachi alternator. Its an easy swap for either a 3G, or the 87 style if you really wanted to.

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #11 – December 22, 2005, 01:10:47 PM

Quote from: darkthunder

CONS

Torque is well, a distant memory.

Once you figure out how to drive and launch it, youll know theres torque

Quote from: darkthunder

Oil Leaks
Gas Tank Leak (fixed)
Fuel Pump Died (fixed)

Thats with any Fox tbird.

Quote from: darkthunder

Fog Lights don't Work

Check the fuses, bulbs and grounds?

Quote from: darkthunder

No Reverse Lights

3.95 First Gear, can't build boost for shizz!![/quote]
Was the tranny swapped?

Quote from: darkthunder

Brakes, rear calipers seized, abs doesn't work... electric pump. =/

Somewhat common, my left rear caliper siezed, but everything else does

Quote from: darkthunder

Idle Hangs on a occassion... TPS i'm sure.

Most likely

Quote from: darkthunder

Exhaust Leak
Struts are dying.
Headlights are worthless, can't even tell if they are on!

Also common with the fox cars. The struts are nearly impossible to replace with factory parts.

Im not trying to say that your problems are BS, or anything of the sort, but to point out that they arnt all TC specific, and could happen with any of our cars, ive had some of the same problems with my 3.8L bird.

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #12 – December 22, 2005, 03:00:17 PM

My ABS died...honestly, swapping in a vac-assisted booster & MC is cake. Took me about a day and I did it in my driveway. The hardest part of it all is getting the old MC out and the new booster in, and tracking down all the parts I needed. I have a writeup about it in the suspension & steering section.

Also, I don't really have a problem building boost in first gear, even with the .63 turbine I have now...

It would be nice to have a slightly higher first gear though, I agree with that.

I also chucked my foglights because they didn't work that great and I never used em anyway (and the contacts on one of the lights was really corroded so it would never come on)

Kinda looking for an '88 TC...

Reply #13 – December 23, 2005, 08:35:02 PM

Quote from: Tbird232ci

Im not trying to say that your problems are BS, or anything of the sort, but to point out that they arnt all TC specific, and could happen with any of our cars, ive had some of the same problems with my 3.8L bird.

i wasn't implying that they are tc related... i had the same probs with darkthunder. would not idle for shizz the first day i bought it. a week or so later the exhaust literally fell apart. lol. i was just telling what i was going though with my tc.

as for the tranny i have no clue if it was swapped, but first gear just does a whole lot of revvin and not enough go. anything less than WOT barely makes any boost. second gear on is where its at. it wasn't like that when i first bought it

in short i meant to say all cars have probs... without actually saying it.