How much does this weigh?

blight · #1 01-10-2005, 11:34 AM

How much will the 89' thunder bird (with a 5.0)weigh after gutting it except the seats- this also includes removing the airconditioning (but keeping power steering and the alternator) and using an electric fan.

Also with this done how much horse and torque will it take to run 13 flats in the quarter mile?

which of the 89-92' year range thunderbirds is BEST for drag/0-60 times?
I know this is not ment to be a "sports" car more of a "touring car" but still need to know for a my buddy i already am working on my mustang and don't care too much but he has no internet right now and "needs to know".

fmfgnarly · #2 01-10-2005, 03:31 PM

I have an 86' v6, and as i remember from when i weighed it, it was 3200lbs. I dont think yours would be very much more.

RickwithaTbird · #3 01-10-2005, 06:01 PM

to run a 13 flat will take a lot of work. Gutting the car will help you gain MAYBE .15 seconds in a 1/4 mile if youre LUCKY. I imagine the car is running about 16 right now (if its stock). So try to get it to 13.15 before gutting the car in hopes of a 13 flat.

blight · #4 01-11-2005, 09:17 AM

well how much power as said before is he looking at needing?

what fuel controller for this do you recomend then?

modle?

he is buying this not me...

money is not too big of a problem with him. He does not care much.

I told him to get a mustang but he likes the bodystyle of the thunderbird better... oh well.

Anyhow how much power is he going to need to run those times?

That is the real question here.

Also was there a convertable version of the 89-92' year range?

why does this take "alot"? tacktion problems i know about- but he can fix that can he not- and with little money correct. He does not want the sc for the fear of head gasckets blowing on him btw.

RickwithaTbird · #5 01-11-2005, 04:07 PM

Im not big up on engine knowledge, but Ive got a couple remarks. first, I like the thunderbird body style better than the mustang too, so Im taking his side of that one.. there was a convertible Cougar concept car that I have seen, but never made production in either cougar or thunderbird, and about it taking a lot... 3 seconds is a lot of time to chop in the quarter mile. Look on www.tccoa.com and there is access to a list of the fastest tbirds around, and their 1/4 mile times. I havent looked in a while so I forget, but it might have a list of mods, and HP and Torque for those cars as well. That should be pretty helpful. Oh yeah, I was going to say about the SC's blowing a head gasket... if he is going to be doing enough work on his bird to run 13's I think he could swap head gaskets no problem. It was just the factory gasket that was weak, not that the car "ate them up". But however, there are more readily available parts for the V8s, so I think it would be easier to accomplish the goal with the car he picked anyways. But if he did want an SC opposed to a V8, and his only concern was the head gasket, then thats my view on it.

J_ROC812004 · #6 01-11-2005, 05:12 PM

man that would be kind of sweet if u could get a convertable. i think i will do that when i pimp my car out. make it into a convertable. lol

flewthecoupe · #7 01-11-2005, 11:03 PM

Depends on the rearend, transmission, tires, etc. But I think you know that. Just some examples:

My '67 Firebird pushes 252hp and 363lbft of torque at the rear wheels. With 3:36 gears and a muncie 4 speed it'll take a 1/4 mile at 15.4 with slow 2.7 60' times for a 3600# car at over 5000' in elevation. Getting good traction and reducing 60' times will net a mid 14 second run at this altitude and a mid to low 13 second run at sea level.

My brothers '69.5 Roadrunner pushes 390hp and 490lb/ft of torque at the crank, hasn't been dyno'ed so I don't know the rear wheel power. It has been reported to turn high 12 second quarters at 3800# with a 4:10 (or is it 4:11, don't remember) rearend and an 883 4 speed.

For the weight of our birds, shoot for 350-400hp/tq at the crank to get good 13 second results.

RickwithaTbird · #8 01-12-2005, 02:16 AM

flewthecoupe is my role model...
anyways look on tccoa.com in the gallerys, and go to "custom body gallery" and you can see a thunderbird that was turned into a convertible. The interior is totally pimpified too. Its kinda "hombre" pimped out with 14" gold wires and gold trim, but its definitely something to see.

blight · #9 01-12-2005, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flewthecoupe

Depends on the rearend, transmission, tires, etc. But I think you know that. Just some examples:

My '67 Firebird pushes 252hp and 363lbft of torque at the rear wheels. With 3:36 gears and a muncie 4 speed it'll take a 1/4 mile at 15.4 with slow 2.7 60' times for a 3600# car at over 5000' in elevation. Getting good traction and reducing 60' times will net a mid 14 second run at this altitude and a mid to low 13 second run at sea level.

My brothers '69.5 Roadrunner pushes 390hp and 490lb/ft of torque at the crank, hasn't been dyno'ed so I don't know the rear wheel power. It has been reported to turn high 12 second quarters at 3800# with a 4:10 (or is it 4:11, don't remember) rearend and an 883 4 speed.

For the weight of our birds, shoot for 350-400hp/tq at the crank to get good 13 second results.

Thank you so much- you are the first one here that posted a decent post. you have to submit your car at that tcco whatever thing and it is not MY car so i can't do anything about that. Now those numbers are around what i expected. It takes about 320 for a lx 5.0 mustang but they weigh alot less than the birds.

now is the 350-400hp/torque with or without gutting it except the seats? He wants to gut it except the seats the front seats are going to be racing seats. then he is going to cover EVERYthing that is reasonable to do so with black vinal cloth stuff. He wants this to be a daily 13 second show car deal. How much do you think he will spend on to get the 350-400hp/torque mark (with smart buying- he works at a shop so he can get parts for cheaper also i think it is like 30% off) anyhow?

Thanks again.

flewthecoupe · #10 01-12-2005, 04:18 PM

How much work does he plan on doing vs. a machine shop?

blight · #11 01-13-2005, 09:02 AM

everything except suspension and exhaust. he can purchase it all through his body shop so money again is not too much a factor for him.

flewthecoupe · #12 01-13-2005, 04:09 PM

Basic machining of the block and heads will run him into the neighborhood of a grand, as a guess. Other parts like a new crank, cam, intake, etc. will be his major expense.

Quote:

now is the 350-400hp/torque with or without gutting it except the seats?

Has nothing to do with hp/tq. This will only affect times for 1/4 mile, 0-60, etc. I believe the rule of thumb is 100 lbs is worth .1 seconds, don't quote me on this.

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