You guys are going to laugh @ me - 82 Thunderbird

[HM12460]

Looking at a very nice 1982 Ford Thunderbird with the power house (ha!!) 255 V-8 engine. Rated at a whopping 111 horsepower, iirc. This a Fox bodied Ford. A 300 horse 302 should wake it up a bit. Any of you guy's have an interest in a low mileage 255?

 

[Shannow]

255...what's the dimensions of that ?

Holden made a 253 that was 3.625" bore (3.062" stroke)...stupid thing used heads designed for a 4"bore, and never breathed properly. All the sound and fuel consumption of the 308...sans the fury.

 

[Chris142]

Forget the 302. If your going to go through that much work put a 351w in it. Pretty much a drop in. The worst part is having the y pipe modified to fit the wider 351.

 

[umungus1122]

It isn't so much to laugh at from a historical stand point, it's just part of the learning process that was going on at the time. The industry was working to meet new emissions and fuel economy requirements, with the tech that was available and familiar to them. All while doing it as inexpensively as possible and catering to consumers who were used to and wanting a "V8".

 

[Joe_Power]

My first car was a 75 Thunderbird. Yep. 460 ci. I was 15 years old. It went through tires and gas like a fat kid on cake.

 

[Spazdog]

The 255 is pretty laughable. I like the rest of the car!

I thought they were built on the Granada chassis. Might just be the Mercedes styled grill that threw me off. I just remember that it was Kenny Rogers' car in Six Pack

 

[mercuryblues]

Thanks to Wikipedia... I found out that the 255 is basically a 302 with a smaller bore (3.68 inches as opposed to 4").

I really have nothing bad to say about the car at all. Back in high school (when I had my '82 Cutlass Supreme coupe), I had a friend who had one of those T-Birds. It was a very nice car.

And one more thing to remember is who raced these T-Birds in NASCAR and won with them... Dale Earnhardt was one, Bill Elliott, and especially the late Neil Bonnett in the Wood Brothers car.

 

[MCompact]

The "Brickbirds" never excited me in the least; I'd wait for a 1983 or newer- I loved my '84 5 speed manual Turbo Coupe. It was my all-time favorite work beater,

 

[Robenstein]

Build a 302 stroker. Yields 347 cubic inches and they really run for a Windsor motor. Put one in a 47 Ford hot rod in the summer with my father and the guy really loves it.

 

[earlyre]

you didn't ask, but here's my

anyway,

unless i'm mistaken the new 5.0 "Coyote" should fit,
quick search around the web shows Crate Coyote's for in the 6-8 grand range,
looking @ Ford Racing Direct, claiming 420+ HP, and another site mustang site i googled across(CJ pony parts) said it would fit basically every year of mustang.(which if it is a fox body car, Woo hoo!)

 

[old farmer]

Ya, I had one with a 3.8 liter V6. It was a real nice car, I drove it from Detroit to LA and back and lack of power certainly was an issue. Even worse than yours due to my smaller engine. A real effort going through the Rockies.
I would go with the biggest motor possible. A 302 done out to a 347 would work great, and the outside dimensions would fit. But for a little work a 351 done out to 400 or more cubes would be really great. I think there have been 351s done out to 427s.
There used to be kits to put a 460 in Fox bodies. Maybe they are still available.

 

[mercuryblues]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
you didn't ask, but here's my

anyway,

unless i'm mistaken the new 5.0 "Coyote" should fit,
quick search around the web shows Crate Coyote's for in the 6-8 grand range,
looking @ Ford Racing Direct, claiming 420+ HP, and another site mustang site i googled across(CJ pony parts) said it would fit basically every year of mustang.(which if it is a fox body car, Woo hoo!)



Even though the installation would be more complex considering the electronics involved, that's still an interesting idea. If Chevy sells retrofit electronics and other devices for the use of the LS engines in older cars, I'm willing to think (and hoping) Ford is doing the same thing for the Coyote and other modular V8s.

 

[mercuryblues]

Originally Posted By: old farmer
Ya, I had one with a 3.8 liter V6. It was a real nice car, I drove it from Detroit to LA and back and lack of power certainly was an issue. Even worse than yours due to my smaller engine. A real effort going through the Rockies.
I would go with the biggest motor possible. A 302 done out to a 347 would work great, and the outside dimensions would fit. But for a little work a 351 done out to 400 or more cubes would be really great. I think there have been 351s done out to 427s.
There used to be kits to put a 460 in Fox bodies. Maybe they are still available.


I wonder how much the 460 would throw off the weight distribution for handling purposes. That's why I tend to prefer the small block. You do have a great point though... I'm wondering how many cars that T-Bird could obliterate with that 460!

 

[mercuryblues]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
The "Brickbirds" never excited me in the least; I'd wait for a 1983 or newer- I loved my '84 5 speed manual Turbo Coupe. It was my all-time favorite work beater,


Those were nice cars. Back in the late 80s, I had a neighbor who worked for a Ford dealer in NH. His demo was a '87 or '88 Turbo Coupe and I remember one time when he needed to accelerate to move into traffic safely. That car moved VERY WELL!

My favorite T-Bird design was from the '89-'97 generation. My dream list includes a V8 version of one of those with engine, drivetrain, suspension and brake updates. Even though the Mustangs are great cars and there's nothing wrong with them, I think modifying a T-Bird would be a refreshing change of pace.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: old farmer
Ya, I had one with a 3.8 liter V6. It was a real nice car, I drove it from Detroit to LA and back and lack of power certainly was an issue. Even worse than yours due to my smaller engine. A real effort going through the Rockies.
I would go with the biggest motor possible. A 302 done out to a 347 would work great, and the outside dimensions would fit. But for a little work a 351 done out to 400 or more cubes would be really great. I think there have been 351s done out to 427s.
There used to be kits to put a 460 in Fox bodies. Maybe they are still available.


Sadly, the 3.8 was a better performer than the 255 V8.

I've personally witnessed a 3.8 2bbl V6 1983 Mustang GL hatch run away from a 4.2 255 V8 Mustang notch over and over again. The numbers were there for the V8. It should have at least kept up. That V6 stomped it. It sounded healthy.

Can't say for sure.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: earlyre
you didn't ask, but here's my

anyway,

unless i'm mistaken the new 5.0 "Coyote" should fit,
quick search around the web shows Crate Coyote's for in the 6-8 grand range,
looking @ Ford Racing Direct, claiming 420+ HP, and another site mustang site i googled across(CJ pony parts) said it would fit basically every year of mustang.(which if it is a fox body car, Woo hoo!)



The Coyote is an awfully wide engine and there would be more fitment issues. With the Windsor, you can use the rest of the OEM drivetrain. The Coyote engine would require many many modifications in order to fit. I saw where they had a heck of a time fitting one into a 67 Galaxie even.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: old farmer
Ya, I had one with a 3.8 liter V6. It was a real nice car, I drove it from Detroit to LA and back and lack of power certainly was an issue. Even worse than yours due to my smaller engine. A real effort going through the Rockies.
I would go with the biggest motor possible. A 302 done out to a 347 would work great, and the outside dimensions would fit. But for a little work a 351 done out to 400 or more cubes would be really great. I think there have been 351s done out to 427s.
There used to be kits to put a 460 in Fox bodies. Maybe they are still available.


Sadly, the 3.8 was a better performer than the 255 V8.

I've personally witnessed a 3.8 2bbl V6 1983 Mustang GL hatch run away from a 4.2 255 V8 Mustang notch over and over again. The numbers were there for the V8. It should have at least kept up. That V6 stomped it. It sounded healthy.

Can't say for sure.


IIRC, the 255 V8 cars all got 3-speed autos and 2.26 gears.

The V6's may have gotten OD and had deeper (3.08, maybe 3.27) gearing.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: earlyre
you didn't ask, but here's my

anyway,

unless i'm mistaken the new 5.0 "Coyote" should fit,
quick search around the web shows Crate Coyote's for in the 6-8 grand range,
looking @ Ford Racing Direct, claiming 420+ HP, and another site mustang site i googled across(CJ pony parts) said it would fit basically every year of mustang.(which if it is a fox body car, Woo hoo!)



The Coyote is an awfully wide engine and there would be more fitment issues. With the Windsor, you can use the rest of the OEM drivetrain. The Coyote engine would require many many modifications in order to fit. I saw where they had a heck of a time fitting one into a 67 Galaxie even.


I recall the Coyote is WIDER than a 460 and only a tiuny bit narrower than a 4.6 DOHC. Forget it...I'll go with a 427ci Windsor.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Originally Posted By: old farmer
Ya, I had one with a 3.8 liter V6. It was a real nice car, I drove it from Detroit to LA and back and lack of power certainly was an issue. Even worse than yours due to my smaller engine. A real effort going through the Rockies.
I would go with the biggest motor possible. A 302 done out to a 347 would work great, and the outside dimensions would fit. But for a little work a 351 done out to 400 or more cubes would be really great. I think there have been 351s done out to 427s.
There used to be kits to put a 460 in Fox bodies. Maybe they are still available.


Sadly, the 3.8 was a better performer than the 255 V8.

I've personally witnessed a 3.8 2bbl V6 1983 Mustang GL hatch run away from a 4.2 255 V8 Mustang notch over and over again. The numbers were there for the V8. It should have at least kept up. That V6 stomped it. It sounded healthy.

Can't say for sure.


IIRC, the 255 V8 cars all got 3-speed autos and 2.26 gears.

The V6's may have gotten OD and had deeper (3.08, maybe 3.27) gearing.


The GL 3.8 had a 3 speed. Probabaly a C5. I never paid attention to whether or not it went into lockup. It had been a rental car at one time. I dated the girl that owned it but never crawled under to see. Don't know what the rear ratio was. I'm guessing the open diff 3.08. My friend's Turbo Fairmont would eventually catch it, but she would holeshot him badly.

You're probably right about the rear axle ratio. I think you could order the Traction Lok 3.08 for the 255 Mustang but you probably had to get the Cobra sticker package. His was a one wheel wonder Ghia coupe. (identified by his poor attempts at a burnout)

I think my 2.3 4 speed could have given that 255 a run.

It certainly did better one wheel burnouts

 

[Jarlaxle]

The only 255 Mustang I ever saw had a 2.26 pegleg axle. It was diesel-Rabbit slow.