My car is an original V8 car and still has the stock K member in it for now. But I can still get you the measurements if you need them.

 

At the risk of exhuming a corpse of an old thread, has anyone since had FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE installing a fox Mustang turbo kit (any brand) in a fox body Thunderbird since this 8 year old thread began?? I've been modifying my 86 5.0 fox Thunderbird with Mustang pieces and always seem to find differences where there were not supposed to be any.

No one wants to shell $$$ out for a kit, even an ON3, with the assumption that it "might" fit a Thunderbird only to end up hacking it to pieces. I already have a Vortech V2 SQ I can put on it, but I would rather have the turbo on this car.

Any updates?

 

I will be installing a CG Fab, 5.8 liter hot side kit on my 1985 turbo coupe and there should not be any issues that I can see. I also have a MM k member and arms for it. The only thing different is that you need to use spacers on the bird as the member sits a bit different than on a fox stang. Other than that it is just different length exhaust. I am still getting all my parts together but have the engine, trans, turbo, and hot side, still need Holley hp and nine inch rear.
I am interested to hear any other comments, thanks for bringing back this old thread.

 

I have an ON3 fox Mustang kit for my 86 Elan 5.0. I'm running the stock K member and converting to a 4R70W transmission with a Quick 4 controller. The A/C is being removed for the time being, with the option of putting it back on at a later date. The old 140K 5.0 runs well, but is not suitable for forced induction. A forged piston replacement based on a C9 block, topped with ported GT40 heads and intake is in the works.

Most of the comments I read on the forums say this or that part SHOULD fit a Thunderbird due to the fox underpinnings. In practice, I've found that, "close, but no cigar" is a better term. There are subtle differences everywhere that require parts unique to the Thunderbird. I have modified some fox and SN95 Mustang stuff to work out of necessity.

 

Should be a cool ride when you get it built.
I would like to know what parts you are talking about that needed mods.
I am using sn95 brakes, 99 spindles as they work with the mm crossmember and also a cobra brake booster. As far as the k member goes, the bushings for mine are 5/8 inch so I doubt the crossmember would be a problem, but I have not done this yet so I cannot say for sure. I have a shit load of parts and will begin building this winter.
I have also previously built a 1994 mn-12 bird that was a super coupe and built a nice 5.0 efi with a 4r70 combo. I did not use a shift controller but used a pcm from a 1995 GT auto car and repined the harness to work with the trans. It worked great and I used the jmod also. There are some good sites with info on this.
Tccoa.com
Click click racing.com
I only new about the Bauman controller, will say it is a very good trans that can handle decent power.
Are you on the fox bird and cougar forum?
There are some guys on there who might be able to answer better than myself.

 

Thanks for the links.

I used an 8.8 disk brake rear 3.73 out of an SN95. This required fabbing up new brake lines, as the soft line brackets from the SN 95 would not mount properly on the Bird frame rails. Also had to drill the frame for the SN95 quad shocks. It worked well, however.

While some owners claim that SN95 front struts will fit the Thunderbird, I found the threaded end of the strut piston shaft to be too short on my SN95 Sachs struts. There are not enough threads protruding through the upper mount cap to permit threading of the locknut. If you could compress the rubber mount bushing enough to start the nut, you would have insufficient threads to engage the locking feature. I was able to use SN95 front springs, but not the struts. I do think I could have used a threaded coupler to extend the threads, but decided to go with the Thunderbird Monroe's to keep it simple.

The fox Mustang Prothane LCA bushings I installed on the stock Thunderbird LCA's required shaving on both ends to allow installation between the mount brackets. This may be an issue on a Mustang as well, given that poly bushings do not compress like rubber. Not a bolt on and go.

I'm running 17" Mustang Bullitt new takeoffs on the front and rear. The rears fit perfect, whereas the fronts required spacers due to the spindle dust caps contacting the center caps of the wheels. Also bought a set of fox over the axle 2.5 tail pipes that will require heating and "adjustment" to clear everything.

Like I said, Mustang stuff may or may not work, depending on the part of the car one is working on.

I did convert over to a T Bird SC front rack to change the steering ratio.

From what I can see, the ON3 Mustang hot side will work provided it clears the T Bird stabilizer bar and mounts. I expect the cold side to be more of a challenge due to the differences between the Bird and the Mustang bodywork forward of the radiator support. Only time will tell. At first glance, the overflow tank may have to be re-located to allow room for the intercooler.