1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe from North America - Comments

Well I just got the car and after driving it for a couple of days it started leaking coolant and it turns out it needs a new water pump and the thermostat needs to be resealed.

Well, I was in need of some money so I had to trade in my beautiful 1994 Cadillac Sedan Deville for some cash and another car. I picked the Thunderbird mostly because of it's looks and I had no idea of how well it performed. When I test drove it I went easy on the gas, but noticed the turbo kick in in second gear and it seemed to pick up quite fast for the small amount of gas I was giving it, but I didn't investigate the car's speed any further. After I bought it and drove it a little I could tell that the turbo could really make the car take off, but I didn't do much in the way of acceleration because I wanted to treat the car gentle for a while to see if I could see what kind of condition it was in.

Well, one night when I went to see someone and I was following the directions to their house I found out just how powerful this car was! I had not seen a certain landmark and I had driven for a while looking for it so I decided to turn around to see if I had passed it. Well it was late at night and I saw noone in sight so I just made a U-turn in the rather large road that I was driving on. As I was about 75 percent done with the U-turn I decided to give it some extra gas and drop the clutch out faster than usual to see how much it would peel out. Well, the next thing I knew I was sitting sideways in the middle of the road because the car had flipped itself around when I spun the tires! Now keep in mind, not only did it whip itself around in about a half circle, it did this without even giving it nearly as much gas as I could have or dropping the clutch out as fast as I could have! As soon as I had gotten my bearings and realized what had happened my respect for the car increased tremendously. I could not get the spin-out out of my mind for a day or so and I could not stop my exstatic wonderment that I owned this car. Don't get me wrong, I have had some nice cars and some fast ones, but never anything like this. And power is not the only thing this car has going for it!

It handles like it is glued to the road. It stays flat going around corners or curves. And now that I have told how much of a sports car it is, there is even more.

The ride is comfortable most of the time and the suspension can even take some fairly big bumps without feeling much of it in the inside of the car. I have heard that most sports cars have a harsh or somewhat uncomfortable ride, so that is a big plus for the T-Bird right there.

Also, even thought it has sports car handling, it is still a fairly large car, so if you prefer something with bigger car looks than the average sports car, here it is.

And while we are talking about looks, this car is gorgeous. Even intimidating. Especially in black, which I think is the only color I would ever choose for it.

Although it is very impressive on the outside, the interior is quite 80s looking, but not ugly. When I get the money I will probably restore this car or buy one in better shape and customize it, especially the interior.

So although I have been mostly a luxury car fan for my driving years and have never cared much for sports cars, this T-Bird that I came across just because I had to sell my other car and it was the best looking one I could find has opened up my eyes to a whole new world--the sports car world. And although there are lots of them out there, I would still probably choose this one because of it's combination of performance, comfort, looks, and gas mileage (about 30 mpg).

This car is so fun to drive that once late at night I was reading reviews on it and they got me so excited that I just had to take it for a spin even though it was so late.

So if you are looking for high performance, a nice ride, striking looks, and good fuel economy at a low price, this car would definitely be worth looking at.

Your right, from one 88 thunder-bird owner to another. These cars are amazing and very powerful. Glad to hear you like yours as much as I do mine.

I also own a 1988 Turbo Coupe, which I bought from the original owners - a middle aged couple.

Wow, what a machine... especially for a 20 year old car.

I believe these cars are "keepers."

It is nice to here someone else talke about these cars like I do I have a 88 T bird that I got about 2 mouth ago and I just love it the power is un blivebile for what it is I am 15 fixing to be 16 my dad has a 85 T Bird that I was going to fix up mods are comeing soon to my car.

I came across this car looking for something to drive until my Camaro was rebuilt. Well, the Camaro is done, but I still have the car. I have done few mods, but the 5.0L guys look at me in a state of "awe" when I pass them (at what my friends tell me on their speedo is about 145mph!) Never had a problem so far, other than keeping tires on her! The car pulls 16 lbs boost like nothing. A good job, Ford! Long live the turbo coupe!! Oh, I paid $1000 for the car, which now has 137,000+ miles and is still running strong.

I have an 88 turbo-coupe, that I got from my dad. it has 115k on it now. its been setting for a while. he just drive it on the interstate b/c they are not a very good city car. I've had some problems with it since it sat for so long, but I'm slowly fixing it my fixed problems were: headlights where cloudy, they quit cause a wire bunt, valve cover gasket (which is a pain to change), paint, temp gauge sender, fan switch sender, heater core (another pain), master cylinder and slave cyl for the clutch, boost contoll solenoid (which I removed, which caused me to have 17.5lbs in all gears quick), water pump, and thermostat. They were not too bad to fix, and not too much money. I still have one problem, it will idle up on its own and I can put my hand over the intake and it will still run. I don't have any leaks in the intake lines, cause I turned it off then on and I done it again, it acted right and died. if you can help comment please. I know a good sight for owners: www.turbotbird.com/

I too own a 1988 Turbo Coupe. I have liked these cars since my early teens. For many years and have always kept my eye out for one that had a good deal. I am 26 now and I finally found one that I chose to buy- that's when the real fun began. I never had any idea what these cars really were. This is by far one of the best cars to own. It is a sports car, race car, luxury car, family car, and travel car all in one. It even has the look of a mean in-your-face yet mellow look to it. I have only had one trouble problem which I can't seem to figure out, maybe someone nows and could post an answer for me and others. My turbo has always worked perfectly, but the oil feed line needed replaced- no problem there- I took it apart, fixed the line, put it back together and now my boost isn't working right. I normally got 12lbs.psi. but know have to give it full throttle just to get 5lbs.psi. at high rpm. I think it could be vacuum related.

I have a 88 turbo coupe that I love, but there is a few things that I cannot figure out. I was hopeing that you guys could help. The first thing is that the car keeps blowing the front cam seal and I have no idea why. The other things is that the car makes a vaccume when it running. When you take the oil cap off it sucks the cap back down. It does not suck it back down so hard that you cannot take it off, but enough so that you can definately tell any ideas would be great bboggs23@yahoo.com.

I bought my 88 turbo coupe for 700 cash need to fix ignition and get new tires to drive it steady, but for now I have it rigged up to go joyriding it is extremly quick and I live in colorado so when the snow falls I can sit in 1 spot all day goin round and round I raced my brother he was in a 87 integra about 1 mile I couldve changed the station before he got done I love this car I plan to do custom paint and body to it before working on the engine since it runs strong anyway 66k on it I'm the 3rd owner and I will not sell this car it is truly a masterpiece I have not seen 1 in my city since I bought it so it has to be pretty rare anyone have simple ideas to improve the hp please let me know

e-mail me at

madmaninhalo@yahoo.com.

I have a 88 Turbo coupe I bought new in 1988. It has 71,600 miles and looks and drives like new, or close to it. When it starts building boost, it will break the rear tires loose in second gear on dry pavement. Set your cruise at 70 and it will get 28 miles per gallon. How can you not love that?