[ga_etc]

Found an '88 that I'm seriously considering if it's in as good of condition as it looks in the pictures. Planning on looking at it tomorrow. Just wondering if anyone has had one or knows what to really look for on them. The guy claims it's had a fair amount of work and upgrades done to it. Thoughts? Info?

Here's the car: 1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I don't know much about stock T-bird Turbo Coupes, but seeing the list of modifications on that one, I'd steer clear. You're selling the Eldorado to avoid any expensive headaches, and this looks like it could be a potential cluster****. Remember Austin, most times someone is selling a car, it's because it's got a problem they wanna shove off on someone else.

I still think a stock, unmodified Panther platform is still your best choice. Good solid, reliable, well tested cars.

 

[ga_etc]

I like the Panther platform. Honestly, and I really wouldn't mind having one. I'm open to the idea of something a little more fun too. You've heard me talk about enough different cars by now to know that just cause I look doesn't mean it's coming home with me lol. I might take one look at it in person and run the other direction. Still trying to work a deal on that '98 GM down towards ATL with 104k.

 

[Jesda]

I'm thinking its had a pretty hard life.

190hp I4 and weighs probably over 3100lbs. Might do 0-60 in 8 seconds? Similar to my old Saab.

 

[ga_etc]

Well, there's always this... http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=294952324

 

[orconn]

Well, as I've mentioned on the forum before, I inherited a 1985 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe with 14,000 miles on it when the car was about 8 years old. It had been my stepfathers car, which he bought new in 1985, then it passed to my mother, the proverbial "Little Old Lady from Pasadena" when my stepfather went blind two weeks after buying the car.

My wife decide she wanted to drive it as her DD on her 100 (round trip) mile daily commute from L.A. to Orange County. During my wife's use of the car it ran well and held up fairly well. She put another 15,000 miles on it.

Driving impressions of the car are as follows. The car was a very good handler for an American car of the eighties; it cornered and stopped very well. This particular car was and automatic which again was a decent for feeway driving. My only real complaint with the car was that in city traffic the the little four cylinder engine just was very slow till the turbo cut in, which city traffic didn't allow to happen very often. The car being a real "sport coupe" was rather tightly suspended and the steering was fairly quick with more feel than you would expect of a Ford. The car just wasn't very quick, unless you had room to wind it out a bit.

My biggest complaint with the car was that the driver's side door panel and arm rest came loose and was never able to be fixed properly so would dislodge itself every time you tried to closed the driver's door.

Eventually my son took over the TB Turbo and drove it to High School his senior year. Not being a car guy he was not very impressed with this "poor man's" sports coupe. But truthfully they were pretty impressive in the mid-eighties, although I would have preferred a V-* version with all the goodies of the Turbo Coupe. For me it would have made a much better overall car.

However, your liking of the refinements and performance of your Eldorado, and the "Luxo cruiser" attributes of the Buick does not bode well for your enjoyment of the Turbo Coupe; a very different kind of car!

 

[ga_etc]

I can appreciate most cars for what they are. That's why I like the Roadmaster as much as I do. I like a lot of different cars. But at this point, nothing is a foregone conclusion. I'm just looking at options.

 

[ga_etc]

Really like this too.http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?ct=u&car_id=293285669

 

[ThumperPup]

not familiar with the Turbo Coupe but the Mid erly to Mid 90s T-bird SC was awesome i was just about to buy one and then the day after i left my refundable deposit on it the tranny blew so i got that deposit back
they tried to pull it into the bay to clean it up got it in there but when they went to pull it out R did not work

 

[Aron9000]

Austin, that turbo coupe looks like a real nightmare. Yeah it might have a bunch of new parts on it, rebuilt engine, but you know how old ******** wrench on their cars and hack them up. Even if it was a well preserved car with the proper work done on it, I wouldn't trust a 20+ year old, low production, turbocharged car to be all that reliable.

If you want something from that era of Ford, stick to a Town Car, Mustang, or Thunderbird with the multiport fuel injected 5.0 V8.

 

[ga_etc]

TP, Completely different. No help. And this one is a stick, not auto.

 

[ga_etc]

Austin, that turbo coupe looks like a real nightmare. Yeah it might have a bunch of new parts on it, rebuilt engine, but you know how old ******** wrench on their cars and hack them up. Even if it was a well preserved car with the proper work done on it, I wouldn't trust a 20+ year old, low production, turbocharged car to be all that reliable.

If you want something from that era of Ford, stick to a Town Car, Mustang, or Thunderbird with the multiport fuel injected 5.0 V8.

Random CL find. There's no telling what I may or may not end up with. I'd rather go back to a larger 4 door truthfully. That's why the Panther's have my interest.

 

[Aron9000]

Random CL find. There's no telling what I may or may not end up with. I'd rather go back to a larger 4 door truthfully. That's why the Panther's have my interest.

Would you be interested in a navy blue 1991 Brougham?

 

[ga_etc]

You know better than to tempt me with that car.

 

[billc83]

My biggest complaint with the car was that the driver's side door panel and arm rest came loose and was never able to be fixed properly so would dislodge itself every time you tried to closed the driver's door.

^ This. The arm rest drove me nuts because that was where you grip it to close the door.

I didn't own a Turbo or Super Coupe, but my '93 T-Bird was, for the most part, reliable (if dull) transportation. Just a bunch of little problems that added up over time. It also went through two alternators within a 6 month span.

$3,800 seems expensive for an '88. Talk to the seller and gauge him for whether the modifications were done properly or if you're walking into a hack job. Act accordingly.

 

[Sevillian273]

I think it's funny how half the vehicles for sale on craigslist/AT have 'rebuilt' engines - with "*LOW LOW MILES*" since rebuild!

I say receipts or it didnt happen. :thumbsup:

 

[Guest]

I had one. Mine was an '85 silver/gray 5 spd. The '87 was nicer and had 30 or so more horsepower. It was a good car and it was fun to drive. The motors are basically old Pinto motors reworked. They are buzzy and they are not high revving motors like the Japanese cars. They actually sound and feel like they will explode after 5k rpm or so. I find these cars to be more attractive than Mustangs of the same vintage, more comfortable and generally nicer. Too bad Ford didn't offer this car with the H.O. 5.0. It is an easy swap to do though. :yup:

 

[Rolex]

Those were fast cars for their day, but would be dogs against a stock Honda Civic nowadays. Still it's a good looking car, but keep in mind that nobody bought those cars to baby them. It's old, been driven hard, and has been shade tree mechanic'ed on. The next gen Thunderbird SC was a big step forward in performance. I used to want one of those SCs sooo bad in HS.

 

[hueterm]

I think top speed on them was like 135 MPH, which was unheard of in the late '80s -- especially in that kind of car.

 

[EcSTSatic]

I bought mine new and had it for 18 years. I loved the car but since was only in production for 2 years (the intercooled TC), so parts are hard/impossible to find and expensive.

Looking at the mods, two questions I have are: does it still have the autoride suspension (probably not, you can't get the struts anymore) and did he do away with the ABS system when he swapped in the Mustang master cylinder? The TC had a unique (read expensive) nitrogen charged M/C.

The boost valve, adj cam pulley and 3" downpipe are typical TC mods. Find out if the heater core was ever replaced. That was a common problem and very involved to fix.

Sounds like a nice car but I'd say it was way overpriced