[Rory McNeil]

Since it seems this guy "has" to have a V8 and automatic, the obvious thing to do is to convert the nose piece and taillights, and run the car as a 79 302 2 barrel combo. Since NHRA gave the 302 2 barrels a drastic HP reduction a few years ago, there have been more and more showing up, often near the top of the qualifying sheets. The 82 only 302 2 barrel "High Output" Mustang/Capri combo looks pretty good too (Bigger cam and carb), but you have to run "That Scary" manual transmission with that package!
As for the 88 TBird, not sure if the engine combo is much different, but there is a 86 TBird 302 in Div. 7 that has been running for several years .