1986 Thunderbird swap

plsaville · Jun 8, 2009

Hay yall, so I am new to posting in these forums and am hoping you can help me out. I recently found a 1986 thunderbird with a 2.3 turbo; I current have a 96 ranger with the 2.3 as well. After I install the turbo and pipe everything in, does anyone know of any issues i will have? The main thing I am wondering about is my computer. Will the maf sensor be able to handle it or is there something else I will need to do? Look forward to hearing from you and thanks for any info you may have.
Phil

red85 · Jun 8, 2009

Check out the stickies in the forced induction forum. The pistons in your Ranger are cast and will not handle high boost. Max safe boost with those pistons is about 5 psi. As for the computer, if you have an EEC IV setup, it's just changing the pinout to match the TC computer. You'd be better off swapping all the TC stuff into the Ranger. It would be alot easier in the long run.

plsaville · Jun 14, 2009

I found so good info on the other postings, but had a friend suggest swapping a computer out of a 89 mustang 2.3T. I would imaging there would be a little wiring involved. Does anyone know whether it will work or have any other ideas?
Thanks again for the help
Phil

Bill G · Jun 14, 2009

If you have the entire car the easiest thing to do would be to swap all the turbo stuff into your Ranger. If you have money you could use your Ranger computer and get aSCT tuner for it. If you are just starting out I would suggest that you start with a stock turbo swap and then modify after you get it running.

shadetree · Jun 15, 2009

No. The 96 is OBD-II and the computer connectors and wiring are entirely different. Changing the wiring from the t-bird and making it work would be a nightmare. It is best to use your existing MAF sensor. The t-bird is speed density, and doesn't work near as well.

You can use your existing computer and re-tune it. Check with Jess at www.rangersrevenge.com on how to do this.

shady

plsaville said:
I found so good info on the other postings, but had a friend suggest swapping a computer out of a 89 mustang 2.3T. I would imaging there would be a little wiring involved. Does anyone know whether it will work or have any other ideas?
Thanks again for the help
Phil

The 89 Mustang did not have a turbo. Last Mustang with a turbo was early 87 in the SVO. They only had turbo's for 2 years in the Mustang, 85/87.

shady

1986 Thunderbird swap

plsaville

15+ Year Member

red85

15+ Year Member

plsaville

15+ Year Member

Bill G

20+ Year Member

shadetree

15+ Year Member

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