SEDUCTION
Today, the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe remains a symbol of when Ford provedit could build a world-class grand tourer with a decidedly true Europeanflavor. For a number of people, the car remains just as seductive now asit did when new.
One of those who has fallen victim to the TC's charm is Staten Island,New York, native John Romanello. He owns the gorgeous '88 you see hereand fell in love with these cars back in 2001. "My good friend TommyTocco had an '86 Mustang SVO, which was how I got to learn about [TCs],"John said. "He was often doing work on the car and I'd help him out whenI could. The thing is, I became amazed at the performance of Tommy's SVOand I asked him to help me find a Turbo Ford of my own. One day he cameacross this '88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe for sale down in Baltimore. Iwas in love. I told the guy I was interested and went down on the train.I test drove the car and that was it. I paid the guy and drove it home.The [TC] was everything I imagined. It was fast, comfortable, and a lotof fun. It was also in excellent shape and had just 60,000 miles on theclock."
John drove his new toy daily for about a year, but due to its amazingcondition, began thinking about retiring it. "I put about 10,000 mileson it that first year, but I liked the car so much that I figured itwould be best to keep it as a weekend pleasure car." It was also at thistime that he caught the modifying bug.
CAREFULLY CHOSEN
"My goal was to take an already very capable car and build on it, addinga bit more power and improving the handling," John said. "I tried tostick to at least one upgrade per year or, as my budget would allow."
On the engine front, John removed the stock camshaft and installed aFord Motorsport A237 bumpstick, along with a Racer Walsh adjustable camsprocket. "This allowed me to fine-tune the engine's powerband to myliking. I currently have the timing advanced by 4 degrees," he said.
Next, it was time to play around with the plumbing--specifically, theturbo and intercooler. "Tommy donated the Garrett T-3 turbo from his SVOto replace the stock IHI unit in my car and we also got our hands on aSpearco intercooler, designed for the Mustang SVO," John said. "We wereable to modify it and fit it to the T-bird's engine. I chose to do thisbecause I wanted an increase in boost without any risk of problems, suchas detonation. It's currently set at 21 psi."
To further compensate for the increase in airflow, John wisely decidedto upgrade the fuel system, installing a Kirban fuel pressure regulatorto precisely control the amount of juice going through the stock 36lb/hr injectors. He also ditched the factory in-tank fuel pump for astouter 255-lph Walbro.
Other engine mods include a Melling high-pressure oil pump and anEsslinger windage tray mounted in the stock oil pan. "Besides fuel, Ididn't want any risk of oil starvation," says Romanello. At the backend, flow was improved through a big-log header from 40bob.com with15/8-inch primaries that feed into a stainless (and catless) 3-inchsingle exhaust produced by the now-defunct ATR Performance. (Keenobservers will notice the single tailpipe on John's car--five-speed TurboCoupes sport duals.)
In addition to the engine mods, the car currently sports KYB struts andshocks, along with Cobra R-style five-spoke 17x9-inch chrome wheels andFalken P235/45ZR17 rubber in place of the original factory rollingstock. A set of Auto Meter gauges--air/fuel, boost, water temperature,and oil pressure, which enables John to monitor engine health andefficiency--have found their way into the mint interior, as has an AlpineIn-Car-Entertainment system, for cranking the tunes on longer trips,like to the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals, where we first spotted the carand which John attends as often as he can. "This is a great event andI've formed many friendships, through forums like TurboFord.net, theSVOCA and TurboTbird.com. Carlisle is kind of a social gathering for allof us," he said.
As amazing as it might seem, the Silver Clearcoat Metallic paint is theoriginal finish and still glistens today, probably even more than it didas the car rolled off the Lorain, Ohio, assembly line. Complementing thecar's super-clean exterior and interior is a spruced up engine bay. Thelong-block was pulled and given a thorough cleaning and some freshsilver paint (matching the exterior of the car), while much of thetop-end stuff was sent out to MadAdder.com for powdercoating. Once backbetween the shock towers, the detailed engine became the icing on thespectacular cake that is John Romanello's super-clean '88 ThunderbirdTurbo Coupe.