Not exactly a dime rocket but close. - Page 3

fred goodwin · 01-27-2017, 09:39 PM

Actually I almost forgot For the 2017 season I received a very pleasant surprise! the 13.40 that was 4 tenths under the Q/SA index is actually 65 under the R/SA index, NHRA removed a little HP so my car now runs R/SA!

Sad thing about this build is I took lots of pictures with my phone every step of the way,unfortunately I crushed my phone with all the pictures!

well not all of them,I still have some saved to facebook.
first picture is when I just took out the old factory motor with the power rack and pinion, I have seen guys just loop the steering lines but that looks terrible and this is a budget build so a Rock auto manual rack was not bad and a flaming river is WAY out of the budget, so being a cheap skate went with the Depower option (free),then I bought some scott rod customs AC/heat,wiper motor and AC box drain block off plates (very nice stuff actually), I got a used trans and converter from the IHRA J/FI turbo tbird record holder Mike Ismay,I bought a used quarter stick shifter from a friend, another friend had a rotted to death mustang with a dealer installed FMS 4.11 8.8 with almost no miles on it! bought that car for $1000 stripped it and sold most of the parts for $1500 so the rear and sway bar were FREE! then back to craigslist! and found a very nice set if centerline warriors? I think that's what there called,the 4 rims with some decent race front tires for $250, stripped the tach and gauges out of my red tbird along with the 255 walbro fuel pump and fuel regulator! next I needed to buy a big 3" down pipe! hmmmm $150 not in the budget, so I made one out of some pipe scrap I had laying around!

fred goodwin · 01-27-2017, 09:49 PM

People have asked me why I changed from the red 88 to the blue 84? well the picture of the turbos will tell the story! the one left is the 88 turbo and the right is from the 84! and here is a picture of my home made down pipe!

Pistol Pete · 01-28-2017, 10:34 AM

65 Under is Great Fred, a bit more tweaking & you could get it to 1.00 under.
Bring the car to the assoc. races this season.

fred goodwin · 01-28-2017, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pistol Pete

65 Under is Great Fred, a bit more tweaking & you could get it to 1.00 under.
Bring the car to the assoc. races this season.

I was hoping to to attend most of the local races this season pete but it all depends on how work goes its been pretty slow lately , but hopefully I will hit a couple.

ALMACK · 01-28-2017, 09:33 PM

Looks good Fred !

fred goodwin · 02-05-2017, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALMACK

Looks good Fred !

Thanks Alan!

hutt1 · 02-06-2017, 12:41 PM

We are doing good with it.. We have our new turbo back from Charlie after his wreck and long hospital stay.. The turbo we ran last year was a high mile mile turbo out of a junkyard. So I'm interested to see the difference. Hoping to spend a day on the chassis dyno this spring also...once its back together. I did a lot of the same stuff you did like manual rack, bump steer, adjustable struts, caster camber plates and so on..Keep us informed on your progress.

Scott

fred goodwin · 02-12-2017, 08:51 PM

[QUOTE=hutt1;526100]We are doing good with it.. We have our new turbo back from Charlie after his wreck and long hospital stay.. The turbo we ran last year was a high mile mile turbo out of a junkyard. So I'm interested to see the difference. Hoping to spend a day on the chassis dyno this spring also...once its back together. I did a lot of the same stuff you did like manual rack, bump steer, adjustable struts, caster camber plates and so on..Keep us informed on your progress.

Will do scott! as soon as I make any changes I will update this page, I too am interested in seeing the gains if any in one of charlies turbos,i am also using a JY turbo that seems to be fine for now,keep me posted on your dyno dat! thanks......fred

fred goodwin · 09-05-2019, 09:41 PM

well after a break in the racing program because I moved to Kentucky! I finally got to run the tbird again,this time with a stick and it didn't run to bad! 13.05 @ 102 in Q/S !
still lots of little things I want to try over the winter and im looking forward to next season!
here is a video thanks to alan mackin!

stk1219 · 02-07-2020, 05:56 PM

This is a older post by I have a chance to pick up a 87 T-Bird Turbo coupe. Was thinking of slow build to stocker by starting as bracket car and remove as much weight as possible. The car has 100K with auto trans. What would be first few things to do, ie tires/ wheels (what sizes). Does the rearend need to be swapped if so to what, gearing, ect. I'm thinking of dime rocket budget with junk yard and swap meet finds. Just looking to run little under index and having fun.

01-27-2017, 09:39 PM	#21
fred goodwin Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: shopville kentucky Posts: 80 Likes: 175 Liked 33 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. Actually I almost forgot For the 2017 season I received a very pleasant surprise! the 13.40 that was 4 tenths under the Q/SA index is actually 65 under the R/SA index, NHRA removed a little HP so my car now runs R/SA! Sad thing about this build is I took lots of pictures with my phone every step of the way,unfortunately I crushed my phone with all the pictures! well not all of them,I still have some saved to facebook. first picture is when I just took out the old factory motor with the power rack and pinion, I have seen guys just loop the steering lines but that looks terrible and this is a budget build so a Rock auto manual rack was not bad and a flaming river is WAY out of the budget, so being a cheap skate went with the Depower option (free),then I bought some scott rod customs AC/heat,wiper motor and AC box drain block off plates (very nice stuff actually), I got a used trans and converter from the IHRA J/FI turbo tbird record holder Mike Ismay,I bought a used quarter stick shifter from a friend, another friend had a rotted to death mustang with a dealer installed FMS 4.11 8.8 with almost no miles on it! bought that car for $1000 stripped it and sold most of the parts for $1500 so the rear and sway bar were FREE! then back to craigslist! and found a very nice set if centerline warriors? I think that's what there called,the 4 rims with some decent race front tires for $250, stripped the tach and gauges out of my red tbird along with the 255 walbro fuel pump and fuel regulator! next I needed to buy a big 3" down pipe! hmmmm $150 not in the budget, so I made one out of some pipe scrap I had laying around! Attached Thumbnails Attached Images Last edited by fred goodwin; 01-28-2017 at 02:22 PM.

01-27-2017, 09:49 PM	#22
fred goodwin Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: shopville kentucky Posts: 80 Likes: 175 Liked 33 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. People have asked me why I changed from the red 88 to the blue 84? well the picture of the turbos will tell the story! the one left is the 88 turbo and the right is from the 84! and here is a picture of my home made down pipe! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by fred goodwin; 01-27-2017 at 10:00 PM.

01-28-2017, 10:34 AM	#23
Pistol Pete VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Punta Gorda Isles, Fl. Posts: 1,613 Likes: 3,217 Liked 760 Times in 203 Posts	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. 65 Under is Great Fred, a bit more tweaking & you could get it to 1.00 under. Bring the car to the assoc. races this season. __________________ "Pistol" Pete Dutko

01-28-2017, 09:33 PM	#25
ALMACK VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Bardstown, KY Posts: 1,930 Likes: 100 Liked 329 Times in 117 Posts	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. Looks good Fred ! __________________ Alan Mackin Stock 3777/ SS 3377 P/SA & SS/PA Fox Thunderbird I/PS '95 Mustang GT

02-06-2017, 12:41 PM	#27
hutt1 Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Portland, Tn Posts: 123 Likes: 0 Liked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. We are doing good with it.. We have our new turbo back from Charlie after his wreck and long hospital stay.. The turbo we ran last year was a high mile mile turbo out of a junkyard. So I'm interested to see the difference. Hoping to spend a day on the chassis dyno this spring also...once its back together. I did a lot of the same stuff you did like manual rack, bump steer, adjustable struts, caster camber plates and so on..Keep us informed on your progress. Scott

02-12-2017, 08:51 PM	#28
fred goodwin Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: shopville kentucky Posts: 80 Likes: 175 Liked 33 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. [QUOTE=hutt1;526100]We are doing good with it.. We have our new turbo back from Charlie after his wreck and long hospital stay.. The turbo we ran last year was a high mile mile turbo out of a junkyard. So I'm interested to see the difference. Hoping to spend a day on the chassis dyno this spring also...once its back together. I did a lot of the same stuff you did like manual rack, bump steer, adjustable struts, caster camber plates and so on..Keep us informed on your progress. Will do scott! as soon as I make any changes I will update this page, I too am interested in seeing the gains if any in one of charlies turbos,i am also using a JY turbo that seems to be fine for now,keep me posted on your dyno dat! thanks......fred

09-05-2019, 09:41 PM	#29
fred goodwin Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: shopville kentucky Posts: 80 Likes: 175 Liked 33 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. well after a break in the racing program because I moved to Kentucky! I finally got to run the tbird again,this time with a stick and it didn't run to bad! 13.05 @ 102 in Q/S ! still lots of little things I want to try over the winter and im looking forward to next season! here is a video thanks to alan mackin!

02-07-2020, 05:56 PM	#30
stk1219 Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 4 Likes: 0 Liked 5 Times in 1 Post	Re: Not exactly a dime rocket but close. This is a older post by I have a chance to pick up a 87 T-Bird Turbo coupe. Was thinking of slow build to stocker by starting as bracket car and remove as much weight as possible. The car has 100K with auto trans. What would be first few things to do, ie tires/ wheels (what sizes). Does the rearend need to be swapped if so to what, gearing, ect. I'm thinking of dime rocket budget with junk yard and swap meet finds. Just looking to run little under index and having fun.