First of all this guy can flat out drive. Secondly, the review is incredibly accurate and detailed well done.

There was a lot of research and editing that went into this review. Great job and very professionally done.

Proud owner of an 88 Turbo Coupe !🙌🇺🇸👹

@t-topgarage7887

Жыл бұрын

Just bought one last night 💪

I really got into this video. Yelling at the tv. "Is he doing that in 3rd?" "Oh my god! He's doing that in 3rd!" LOL

Giving those Motorweek Retro vibes, great video man!

Great video...... Love the 80s theme music ... Great car... Underated conpared to mustang.... Thunderbird a gentlemans mustang.....

I worked at Universal Studios in the 80s in Security. They rented a bunch of new Fords for us to drive the Back Lot as sort of undercover cars after an Arson Fire. I loved the 87 T-Bird, the Mustangs and the Ford Taurus for driving the hills and ever changing terrain of the Universal Back Lot.. Those sere very Tight Cars as far as I was concerned and fun to drive, especially when I worked graveyard shift when we could Drag around the Lot!!

Hey Andre, your channel is such a great idea and done just as well. Me and some friends ran a import performance shop back in the 90's and even rented out Sears Point and Sac race a couple of times to host racing events. It is so cool showing the vehicles stock, the stats, how they ride and what they can do on the track. I had a 90 Laser RS Turbo ( Eclipse ) and a 89 Ford Probe turbo back in those days before I start getting into bigger cars. Good luck with the channel ... looks like it will be a big hit!

@newoldcars

10 ай бұрын

that's awesome, glad to have you as a follower, and I appreciate the support! Stay tuned for a DSM review

This car is identical to the one I bought in 1988. Mine was white with a tan interior. It was ahead of its time back then. When the shocks finally wore out, the dealer wanted $1200 for a set ($800 front pair, $400 rear pair)....PLUS labor to install. Instead, I switched the shocks to the "firm" setting and they were fine. I thought the turbo charger would be unreliable but it never failed. That car was very reliable. When the ABS light came on, the dealer wanted to replace the ABS pump for many $$$. The problem turned out to be the relay that powers the ABS pump. I replaced that $20 relay and bingo, no more ABS light! Mine had every available option. It had auto dimming headlights. It had keyless entry touchpad. Auto dimming mirror. Electronic climate control. It even had a sunroof. Eight years later, when I bought a 96 Impala SS, I gave the T-Bird to my 16 year old son. He thrashed it.

Fantastic episode man! Very appreciated for taking on this car, hope to see the SC next! 😁

Very cool review. Love that you drove the car to it’s limit. Downside: You can hear what sounds like on-throttle ping the entire hot lap.

Great review! I've never driven a Turbo Coupe, but have always loved the idea and look of them since they came out. I look at it as a unique idea in an era where auto makers were trying to find ways around the old technology of carburetors and bigger displacement engines. I had a '91 Super Coupe, and it was a great car, but also suffered from many of the compromises that Ford had faced with the Turbo Coupe--the refinement of the ultimate driving experience was limited and compromised by financial concerns, as well as market/ demographic realities. The Thunderbird was generally aimed at an older demographic that might not be as receptive to innovations, and the whole personal luxury coupe would mostly meet its demise in the late 90's (Mark VIII, as well), so the writing was on the wall.

@newoldcars

Жыл бұрын

thank you, and great insight! They were definitely exploring alternatives to gas-guzzling V8s

@baldurivar

10 ай бұрын

These cars were way ahead of their time, too advanced for the American public, too bad they didn’t catch on because I would have loved to see the SVT bird making it to the production..

You're hitting it out of the park man! Loved this episode and the last one. Can't wait to see what else is coming!

@newoldcars

Жыл бұрын

thank you :)

Super cool concept for a youtube channel, keep making them in this style!

First off love the channel and format. Listening to that motor spark knock around the track was killing me. I owned an 86 Turbo Coupe ( they had a bigger turbo than the 87/88, 3.73 gears with the 5speed and an optional front mount "Spearco" intercooler from the Ford Motorsports Catalog. Also stock boost levels were limited in 3-5th gear, but easily overridden with a $5 bleeder valve. I'd love to see the lighter 86 T-Coupecwith full boost run the track on a cool day. Keep up the good work

I just found this channel. You guys should have way more subscribers!!! Love this!!

Always loved these, one of my favourite 80’s cars. This was one fucking great video. Skid pad, track, proper research on the vehicle…don’t change your style bro, well done

@newoldcars

11 ай бұрын

thank you 🙏

Awesome to see my first car reviewed in a modern video

You gained a subscriber, that's a fantastic review !

All the ridiculous videos that get stupid amount of views, and this doesn’t have 1 million finally somebody that can really drive excellent video my friend subscribed will be going through your catalog. Cheers.

@newoldcars

Ай бұрын

Thank you!!

I had an SVO. Was a 1986 model. Modded another 100 horsepower into it and put an 8.8 rear with 4.10 gears. That absolutely fixes out of corner sluggishness. Drove many Turbo Coups and several friends had SVOs and TCs. I still have my 86 SVO engine. But now it lives in a Pinto.

I had a black 87. Bought it 5 years used with 50k. Still my favorite car in a lot of ways. Looked great, was quick for what it was. Easy and cheap to maintain. I still have the center cup for some reason haha.

Ah, you got me ! I actually thought this was a vintage review for a couple of minutes. Very nice job at putting an 80s vibe on it.

I have the same exact car color combo I daily it currently has 124k miles

I love this so much! This is such a great and informative and so well done. Way to go, Andre!!

@newoldcars

4 ай бұрын

Thank you Adam!!

I had a maroon 1988. Beautiful, comfortable, well handling car.

Love that Turbo Coupe 🔥 arguably the best car from the Foxbody chassis. This channel is a breath of fresh air. The only thing that comes close is MotorWeek retro episodes, which aren’t all available and are less in depth. If you only use your cars you’ll probably run out of content sooner than later but if you’re anywhere near I’d let you borrow one of my cars to do an episode!

@newoldcars

7 ай бұрын

thank you! :) I don't only use cars I already own ... I also source and purchase cars for these tests. I can road test any vehicle from the late 70s through the 2000's - no limitations!

@NewEdgeDesigns

7 ай бұрын

Terminator cobra, is by far the best, but also many mustangs GTs, Saleens and roush’s were much better looking and performing cars..The Lincoln Mark 7 LSC was a much better Fox chassis car also..

I love these cars. I always had a big grin when driving one. When you get tired of it, let me know. Beautiful bird

Nice. My Army buddy had one of these in 1988. It's a comfortable "sporty" car, not a sports car. But it did what it was designed for well. And it was 1988.

The main Achilles heel with the 88 tbird was 2 things...the smaller 87-88 IHI warner ishi turbo and the anemic flowing cylinder head, upgrade to a garret T3 from a merkur or a more modern garret gt28rs or even a gtx2867 and port the head to flow about 200+cfm at 400 lift and it wouldve been able to remedy the gear change power drop issue...also dropping down from a 60 sidewall to a 50 side wall to help with the gear ratio a little if you still want more oomph...thats what I did with mine

I owned one an 88 5sp turbo coupe 20yrs ago and it was a higher mileage car and simply worn out, I was young and learned pretty quick how to understand it but was limited with what I could do with it for improvements and repair, but regardless of that it did leave me wanting a little more although it taught me how to shift fast, this car had a lot of potential but as I mentioned I just wasn't able to go very far with it back then, it could've used an upgrade with mustang struts n shocks, machine the cylinder head and consider new cam along with adjusting the boost only alittle because it never boosted more than 11psi, it averaged 7 to 9psi,, I can't believe I remember that :) I kno 1 thing though, I'd never want another of these turbo coupes, decent looking, sporty but really a tease., Nice Video!

@monikhushalpuri

2 ай бұрын

Hindsight is 2020, your boost issue could've been easily remedied with a 10 dollar manual boost controller...these are great cars, I'm looking to buy my second one soon but in really good condition...the first one I had was was rusty and crusty but it left a good impression on me...even did my first ever timing belt job in my driveway with that car

Car was just beautiful, i absolutely think it’s great… your putting this car through its paces !

Toss some Maximum Motorsports goodies at that car and some better wheels and a good tire and some subframe connectors and such and it would be hot in the laps!...even a Wilwood big brake kit and some work under the hood thanks to the aftermarket for the 2.3 turbo...I'm picking up a 85 from California because I like the body style better and I plan on tossing quite a bit of cash at it to handle the track!...great episode!?...just subscribed to the channel!

16:31 he's a grinning ear to ear and enjoying running through the gears.

Love what your doing keep it up

I owned a couple of these cars. The first one was totaled by my stripper girlfriend, the second one I drove the hell out of. One of the big weaknesses of the Turbo Coupe was the cylinder head, which was prone to cracks between the valve seats. This would cause rapid overheating and coolant loss. I remember having this happen on a cross country drive, and replacing the cylinder head myself behind a Western Wear shop along the highway in Louisiana. Another common issue was the TFI module, which would get hot and cause the engine to die in the most out of the way and desolate places. A class action lawsuit had been filed on behalf of Ford owners, the lawsuit was won, and I got my cashier's check for 87 cents sent to me by registered mail. But I did love the Turbo Coupe T-bird.

Always appreciated the tech and other performance improvements Ford made on the 87 and 88 version, but I think they kind of messed up the cool, aggressive styling from the 83 thru 86 models. It's good that they were able add flush side glass to the doors and more aerodynamic headlamps, but I really don't like that pointed beak of a front bumper. Not only did the old grille look better, but as you mentioned, it helped to handle some of the heat generated by that turbo. I think there might've been slightly more weight, as well as extra front and rear overhang compared to the 83 thru 86 models. I had an '86 Turbo Coupe in high school and my brother owned an '87 Mustang GT. The Mustang was clearly faster, but it was noisier and far less comfortable with a much harsher ride. The T-Bird also offered much better front/rear weight distribution (nearly 50/50), which made it a heck of a lot safer to drive in the rain or snow.

Great review! I almost bought one back in the day. Was a little too big for me.

Great vid!!!

What i would give to have a huge piece of tarmac like that at my disposal!

Great review

amazing, bring more videos please!!👏🏻👏🏻

@newoldcars

6 ай бұрын

Many more coming, stay tuned!

Very nice honest review.

very cool idea good luck man

I have had a 88 & 89 Mustang GT's with Hypertech computer tuned PCM's and I just got a new and Rust Free Mint 1988 Mercury Cougar XR-7 with the 5.0L in it off a 90 year old gentleman who parked it in a climate controlled garage since 1995 and the man and his son were going to scrap it! They put a new fuel tank, fuel pump, fuel lines, sending unit, fuel lines, fuel pressure regulator and filter, new Idol Air Control sensor, and cleaned up the EGR, and put new injectors in it and it would fire up and die in 30 seconds or less. I bought it for 700$ and it only has 50K on the clock, they were going to scrap it for they brought it to the shop and they didn't want to put any more money in it. So I bought it, took the injectors out and put in 8 new ones for a 1989 HO 5.0L and it fired right up and runs good. I just need to replace the upper intake manifold gasket and replace the vacuum lines and it will be like a new car. Thanks for sharing this with me I also had a 1997 Thunderbird and I like the older 1988 Cougar XR-7 better with the Fox body platform. Have a good morning and enjoy your Friday.

Great video ! Thank you for doing this it was a huge effort in honour of a car that is only now getting the respect it deserved. I owned and drove an /88 -5 speed for 8 full years as my daily driver winter and summer. I was the second owner and put almost 200,000 extra Kilometres on it. I drove the living you know what out of it and it always came back for more. I really miss that car. My brother had a nice /95 Honda sedan that he drove fast !...One trip I was following him on a long stretch of Hwy 401 in Ontario not racing but doing some leap frogging finally I got bored ...dropped the Bird down into 3rd and nailed it...I blew by him...sling shot past and kept going. Stopping for coffee 20 minutes later John was impressed..."was that the turbo I heard when you went by?" "Yup" : )....it was a fast car. One other time stopped by the OPP at 60K over the limit while passing a slow truck ...got a big ticket but it was before the days in Ontario where that could trigger vehicle impound and suspension. I'm older and wiser and don't do stuff like that anymore.

@monikhushalpuri

2 ай бұрын

What color was yours? Mine was gold with a gold interior

@davidburman451

2 ай бұрын

​@@monikhushalpuriSounds nice! Mine was black with the smoke grey interior....

80s muzak 🎉

Love my 1988 turbo coupe

I had an '86 Tubo Coupe in 1988 and I loved it!

That's really weird because all you could hear when mine was driving no matter faster slow was the turbo whine😊

The turbo t-bird had a larger Intercooler. It looks alot like the the svo mustang's, but it is larger in size than the intercooler that was on the svo mustang.

The interior is exactly like my Cougar XR-7 except for the velour seats and everything else is as the one that you are in except for the transmission and 5.0L in my car.

I don't know what happened to your car the mine was far from that even with a boost turned up you could put a SVO turbo on their they put the smaller ones so that it didn't match the SVO race or power also I believe that engine had a shock absorber on the motor mounts to help quell that mine did not sound like that one and didn't have that sound of all that mine was quiet and all you heard was the wine of the turbo no matter what gear you

That poor thing was spark knocking like crazy on the track 😅

@newoldcars

Жыл бұрын

Yep, that was brought to my attention by a few people 😬. Oh well. Car is fine. Handled the rest of the road test like a champ

@EFI4EYE

11 ай бұрын

I was cringing so hard😂

I never understood why ford didn’t utilize the 3.8 in the Turbo Coupe in order to be competitive with the Grand National.

@monikhushalpuri

25 күн бұрын

That 3.8 engine was known for headgasket failures under boost unfortunately...the 2.3 is great but held back severely by the anemic flowing cylinder head coupled with the fact that 87 88 turbocoupes got a smaller warner ishi ihi turbo vs the merkur and previous tbirds and svo that got the garret t3

@P-J-W-777

25 күн бұрын

@@monikhushalpuri unfortunately I had one of those 3.8’s in my 88 and it definitely had a head gasket issue. Once the engine was completely rebuilt bored 30 over it was a much better and more reliable engine.

Please bring out a retro vesrion " Ford " from 87-94 Thunderbird with the 2.3, 2.7 V6, 3.5 Ecoboost, 3.8 Supercharged or Turbocharged.

Tell me his intro give s a vice City stories vibe

The reason it would be slower compared to the Mustang is that Ford didn't want it to be faster.

Rare! H0t-R0d~❤

I had an '87 liked everything but the engine. I liked the fact that you couldn't order an auto, 5 speed only. But the engine had nothing below 3k rpm, and It vibrated just like this one. Mine didn't sound as crappy as this one. You had to flog the hell out of it, not good for a luxury car. They didn't sell, ford learned a hard lesson, they made a 200 hp 5.0 auto the only choice.

@newoldcars if your based in or around sonoma county, id love to invite you to take my SVO out for a spin! now its not exactly stock, and doesnt have the greatest paint but, shes a REAL trooper and may even surprise you!

@newoldcars

10 ай бұрын

I'm honored! I'm in the SF bay area. Follow my instagram @newoldcars where you can message me

@itbaggedurgf

10 ай бұрын

done and done !@@newoldcars

The better car is the next-gen mn12 platform that being the 1989 Thunderbird super Coupe

Crank more boost in it the one in the mustang SVO had a bigger turbo

So slow and craptasic it’s ridiculous.. I sold mine immediately for being overly boring in the late 90s, picked up a 98 Cobra and was much more satisfied..Haven’t spent a day without an SN95 mustang since..

I've rolled that rig out she quick put a 5.0 lt stang against it ? Stang will win had both .. stick

I’ll comment on a few things as an owner of an ‘87 TC (that I also tracked regularly back in the ‘90’s) The grill openings in the fascia you point out are not different between ‘87 & ‘88. There were no openings at all. Some cars had black decals installed in those areas to give the illusion they were open. They never were on either year. The overheating you mention is not an issue. The factory gauge is wildly inaccurate. It can be sent to far end of “NORMAL” with a 5-10 degree temp swing. I never had overheating issues when I tracked my car and I pounded on it in hot weather track days. Brakes are definitely an issue under track use. No matter the fluid brand/type the pedal will go soft as the brakes are simply too small in diameter and the calipers are single piston cast iron. I constantly had to bleed the brakes at the track as the pedal would often go soft after only a handful of laps. Upgrading the brakes to SN-95 Cobra brakes front and rear is a massive upgrade. The T5 trans in the TBird does in fact have a shorter stick than the Mustang hence why it feels a bit sportier to some. The gear ratios are not good for track use though. It’s not V8 geared either whatsoever……it’s geared to get the car moving quickly for street driving because the engine doesn’t make enough torque at low rpm when not in boost. The TBird is significantly heavier than the Mustang (Most TCs tipped the scales around 3600lbs) so it needs gearing help. But Ford definitely didn’t get the 2nd to 3rd gear spread right Ratios are as follows: 3.97 1st, 2.34 2nd, 1.46 3rd, 1.00 4th, .79 5th Compared to a ‘87/88 5.0 Mustang: 3.35 1st, 1.93 2nd, 1.29 3rd, 1.00 4th, .68 5th I’ve owned my TC since ‘91 and still have it today. It’s changed a lot in that time though. The 2.3 is long gun and was replaced by a supercharged 5.0 and the suspension has seen a lot of upgrades as well. It’s definitely a far more track capable car and less luxury but it’s a smile inducing car to drive and turns a lot of heads as there are none of these around anymore where I live. Most folks don’t even know what the heck a Thunderbird is these days.

@newoldcars

7 ай бұрын

fantastic insight!! thank you!

I don't know why that's so noisy mine was not that noisy I had an 84 turbo coupe as a company car when I moved to Las Vegas I got more responsibility and my boss asked what I wanted for a vehicle I was going to get a mustang SVO but too small went down to the Ford dealer and they had a 88 silver turbo coupe with nice options stick shift everything ended up with that turbo magazine I bought a boost controller mufflers with hush thrush I could stomp the s*** out of most mustangs and z28s in the day one time going to California I was down out of Baker and I opened it and it did do the advertised 149 mph top

Good cars but no new parts availability makes the mustang svo a better pick

@newoldcars

11 ай бұрын

Yes, OEM parts availability is an issue, unfortunately. Even something as simple as sourcing high-performance tires was difficult, as this tire size is typically reserved for luxury cars. No summer tires can be found in this size, as of this writing. Had to settle with performance all-seasons. Aftermarket wheels are an obvious solution, but other items like the adjustable shocks have long been out of production

Having owned both an '88 TurboCoupe 5-speed and a Shelby Z TII 5-speed...the Daytona will absolutely DESTROY the Ford in everything but braking as far as performance is concerned.

@newoldcars

11 ай бұрын

Love the Daytona. Stay tuned for a road test of the IROC R/T

I would love to Coyote swap one of these.

@jacobking6966

11 ай бұрын

That defeats the purpose👍🏽

@liquidflorian

11 ай бұрын

@@jacobking6966 Not if I put twin turbos on it. 😎

@nathanlopez5667

9 ай бұрын

​ I have seen a few with the coyote swap and even the 3.5 L EcoBoost motor that's in s h o put in these cars pretty badass swaps

Super chicken

Not even my 84 sounded that bad ⁰

Sweet! Terrible car but what fun!

Drifters lol

Mised the entire point of the whole car. Chastising the handeling for having wider and lower profile tires then the same 911 you reffered to as a comparison is hilarious. And the gear ratio's, the turbo coupe had shorter gear ratio's then the mistang gt, significantly so. They were even shorter then the svo. Turbo coupe, 1st, 3.94, 2nd 2.34, 3rd, 1.46 Svo, 1st 3.5, 2nd 2.14, 3rd, 1.39 Mustang gt 1st 3.35, 2nd 1.93, 3rd 1.29 And that is without getting into the fact that the mustang had at best a 3.27 gear, but was often coupled with a 3.08 or 2.73 and the svo was the same 3.55 read end gear. In 1987, ford annonced that they would be discontinuing the 302 mustang and replacing with a smaller more fuel economical design, likely v-6 and front wheel drive. The idea behind the 2.3 with the turbo was to KEEP more powerful and fuel efficient "drivers cars" on the road. In 1982, the 5.0 v-8 had 112hp. The mustang gt peaked at 200hp in 1986, with its all new fuel injection system, which could meet the new temporary emissions and fuel mileage requirements that were slated to start soon. The 2.3 went from a n/a 88hp pinto pusher, to 150hp in 1983 turbo coupe, to 215hp in the 86 svo. Ford was worried that the turbo coupe would become too powerful and rob mustang sales which were up in 1986, so they detuned the turbocoupe motor. Part of if the "boost loss" you were seeing on gear shifts was actually designed to keep the turbo coupe slower then the mustang/svo through 60mph. They limited boost to i think 8-10psi in first and secind gear, which is why it drops to 10psi when yoh diwn shifted. Once it hits 60mph, the boost controller lets it hit full 15-18psi. The idea behind the turbo coupe was ti use technology ti make cars faster, more efficient, and designed smarter. Something that wasn totally absent in the 70's and early 80's. It was the first car to have sefi model wide in 1984. Horsepower raised for the first time in almost 20 years, with smaller engine's. The "sport" model was chosen to be the 2.3 specifically to show that a performance car could accelerate, it could get the new 27mpg cafe standard (gas mileage in all cars peaked in america in 1987 at 27.8 mpg before the cafe standards were dismissed in 1994) while using technology to make the cars better. Sadly, i think detuning the thunderbirds 2.3.and never making a 302/t-5 high output combo like the mustang had is what ruined the thunderbird. Imagine that same car with better gear ratio's with 40 more hp and 70ftlbs.

@coletrickle-km7cl

11 ай бұрын

The svo mustang came off the assembly line with a 7.5 size rear axle and a 3.45 rear gear. Not "The same 3.55 ". (witch is a 8.8 size axle that was in the turbo t-bird.)

@DoraConsuelo-mr8ip

11 ай бұрын

"Chastising the handeling for having wider and lower profile tires then the same 911 you reffered to as a comparison is hilarious" You mean the 928? It's not like he compared the thunderbird to the Porsche/BMW as if they were direct competitors. He was simply giving a visual showing proof that other better-handling sport coupes are wearing lower profile tires. This was during a skidpad evaluation, in which handling/grip is the focus. So yea, he's right - the fatter sidewall is great for ride but hurts the handling. Putting bigger wheel/lower profile tire on the thunderbird (like ones found on other sport coupes from Porsche/BMW) would improve the handling. Not sure what's hilarious about that...

@newoldcars

11 ай бұрын

I appreciate your detailed input/response. Remember, this is a road test. I'm not here to explain Ford's intentions behind each engineering decision ... I'm here to tell you how it drives in multiple environments while keeping those intentions in mind. I'm here to test the end product in the real world and describe its faults. The test will reveal if those "intentions" paid off. You state "The idea behind the 2.3 with the turbo was to KEEP more powerful and fuel efficient "drivers cars" on the road". The question is ... how good of a "driver's car" is the Turbo Coupe? This road test tackles that question, among others. It works great as a grand touring coupe - fantastic ride. But cutting/reducing boost in certain scenarios (regardless of what Ford's reasoning was) really hurts the driving experience in many scenarios. The end user can decide if these drawbacks are worth the 18 city/25 hwy mpg rating. In my opinion? Not at all. A frustrating driving experience isn't worth a few mpg

@houseofno

10 ай бұрын

I totally agree with you on all points. The heavier but more refined T-bird really deserved the Mustang GT's HO V8 (along with its extra 35 hp toting an extra few hundred pounds over the GT). Instead it got a glorified Pinto motor going on two-decades in age that didn't even sport DOHC like other four cylinder engines of the time. The ancient, unrefined 2.3 turbo was a terrible contrast to the Thunderbird's other areas of refinement.

jesus, if you don't like the tires buy a different set then pin head

@newoldcars

Жыл бұрын

has nothing to do with the brand of tire. It has to do with the factory size. 60 series sidewall on a 16" tire was unusual, even for the time. The Turbo Coupe has reached a level of performance that requires lower-profile tires to fully exploit

@lazynow1

Жыл бұрын

@@newoldcars get different wheels then, its not like its 80's or early 90's anymore...christ

@brandan2099

Жыл бұрын

​@@lazynow1 Someone needs to chill

@JORSOCR

Жыл бұрын

R/woosh

@lazynow1

Жыл бұрын

@@JORSOCR Yea, every gets its....its the 80's just past the Malaise era but barely, all cars were crappy, but complaining about it, is like complaining that its cold in Canada...pointless

I think this presenter one does not know what he is talking about usually and also not that good at driving as he thinks he is. He thinks 5.3" is well over 5"