Racing a NHRA Stocker Ford 2.3 Turbo 4 cyl....observations and experiences from a big fan of 429-460's

First, I still love the 429-460s.

But after this past weekend, I must say I am impressed with the potential of the the Ford Turbo 2.3L fuel injected engines.
That little 4 banger was getting the job done.

As some of you are aware of, myself and the former car owner Marty Buth were on a mission this past weekend at Bowling Green to set the NHRA Q/SA record in my '86 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe that I bought turn-key from him in Dec. 2012.
He agreed the day I bought it that he would help set the record and help with the tech teardown.

We set the car to weigh 3290 lbs. with me in it. That was 10 lbs heavy over the minimum of 3280 for the class.
The index for Q/SA is 13.80.
The current record for Q/SA is 12.80 and 99 mph.

I would need to run a 12.79 or quicker to set the record.
Our first pass was Sat. morning sometime around 10:30 am.
The car ran a 12.36 @ 106 mph. (which made it the # 2 qualifier at 1.438 under)
The # 1 qualifier was Gary Summers with his T/S 1978 Mustang 302 running 1.636 seconds under.

The backup run has to be plus or minus 1 % of the 12.36 in order for the 12.36 to be official.

A few hours later I rolled the car out of the staging lanes into the burnout box and noticed the water temp was cooler than the first run.

Well, the car ran a 12.57 @ 105 mph....outside of the 1 % limit. Since the 12.57 was quicker than the current record and not within the 1 % backup, then the 12.57 stands as the official record.

Note: The AFR data logger later showed the EFI system was in power enrichment mode on that 12.57 pass...that would explain why the car slowed down.
The water temp was too cool and the car didn't like it.

Anyway, we went thru teardown o.k. and it was a waiting process because there were 4 Stockers and 3 Super Stockers in teardown but there were only 2 Div. 3 NHRA techs checking stuff.

BTW: Congrats to Jeff Colvert with his new record of 9.12 @ 148 mph in his FE powered 1969 Super Stock Mustang. That's gettin' it done right there !

Well, everything passed and we put the car back together by 10:00 pm.

The next day the car ran the same and I went 2 rounds in Stock and 3 rds. in Sportsman ET.

The only things on that 2.3 Turbo that are not stock would be the AFR brand header, the Comp Cams "cheater" cam (.378 valve lift), the MSD digital 6 , and the SDS EFI system.
The upper and lower intake as well as the turbo and cylinder head are stock. (only a back cut on the valves are legal)
Shortblock is stock except for NHRA approved TRW forged replacement pistons.

Trans is a C-4 with a low stall 8 inch convertor. The 2 step is set at 2750 rpm. ( No trans brakes allowed in Stock)
4.56 gears in the rear with 30 inch Hoosier slicks.

That's the only trick parts on the car's suspension.
Stock 1986 control arms, quad shocks, front struts, etc.
All it has are air shocks. ( that explains the body twist seen in the pic below)
It runs on 116 octane C-16 VP fuel. ( The highest octane allowed by NHRA for Stock)

The car sure is a blast to drive and I never thought a 4 banger RWD car could be so much fun !

That is pretty impressive! I have always liked those cars. I had an 87 turbo coupe 5 speed that was alot of fun, especially on twisty roads. You are going really quick with that little motor. Not alot of folks can lay claim to an NHRA ET record. Congratulations!

TJ

That's gettin it done with only 1/2 an engine. Pretty cool. That thing looks like it leaves hard. Congrats.

Good job Alan! That's a great accomplishment! I always pay close attention to your signature. You have an impressive "fleet" and I always gotta check and see what has been added.

CONGRATS! My favorite classes are the stockers . Setting records in spite of a catalog of rules. you should be proud.

Damn that's cool, I've always wanted to run one of those classes.

Alan,very cool story and cool car just like the other cars you have.What was the 60ft time on the 12.36 pass, turbos really wake things up.I have a EcoBoost V-6 in my F-150 Supercab 4X4 they are fun to drive with Turbos on them.

Later Mark.

Are 2.3 parts hard to find?

Dang Alan...I didn't realize that car was someone off of here...I'd have stopped by and introduced myself. I didn't get to see but one pass you made, as I was in the lanes for the Pro class. My brother was going on about your car though lol...

Congrats Alan,Thats purty dag gone cool brother.

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Here is pic of the two timeslips of the record runs and the 60ft. on the 12.36 was 1.623 and that is the top pic in the first post.
This also is my best overall run with the car at the 3290 lbs. raceweight to date.

(Took a nap with my reaction times ! LOL )
Actually, NHRA would not give us single lane record runs so my thinking was to let the faster Camaro in the other lane get way on down track before I made my attempt. Plus, it gave me more time to spool up for maximum boost.


Strangely, the current NHRA record for P/SA is 12.36 @ 106 mph. And that class is 183 lbs. lighter than what I ran in Q/SA.

I can tell which pic in my first post is the first run because after the first run, one of the NHRA tech officials was not too pleased I did not have a NHRA sticker on the car.
So he gave me 2 stickers and I put them on the glass above the door handles right across from the IHRA stickers.

Car slowed down .2 sec after that.....LOL

were is the video ?? I want to hear this 2.3

bruno wrote:were is the video ?? I want to hear this 2.3

I sure wish I had video Nick.
I had thought of hooking up my GoPro inside the car, but unfortunately I have one of the first generation models with the crappy sound problems those had.

I'll keep trying to see if someone in the stands got some video.

Yep....I was "buzzin' a third of a dozen"

Dave C. wrote:Are 2.3 parts hard to find?

Dave:
To answer your question, yes it is getting harder every day to find parts for these.
When I got into the 83-88 T-Birds in 1992, junkyards were starting to fill up with them and by 1998 the cars were super cheap.
I miss those days of easy to find parts cars.

83-88T-Bird Guy wrote:Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Here is pic of the two timeslips of the record runs and the 60ft. on the 12.36 was 1.623 and that is the top pic in the first post.
This also is my best overall run with the car at the 3290 lbs. raceweight to date.

(Took a nap with my reaction times ! LOL )
Actually, NHRA would not give us single lane record runs so my thinking was to let the faster Camaro in the other lane get way on down track before I made my attempt. Plus, it gave me more time to spool up for maximum boost.


Strangely, the current NHRA record for P/SA is 12.36 @ 106 mph. And that class is 183 lbs. lighter than what I ran in Q/SA.

I can tell which pic in my first post is the first run because after the first run, one of the NHRA tech officials was not too pleased I did not have a NHRA sticker on the car.
So he gave me 2 stickers and I put them on the glass above the door handles right across from the IHRA stickers.

Car slowed down .2 sec after that.....LOL

That 60ft time is better then my Mustangs when i ran a 11.27 at 122 mph.

Later Mark.

I got my "Paper Trophies" today from NHRA.
I suppose that makes it official.

Congrats

Congrats Alan,proud of ya brother.

Cool, but I wish they would have spelled "valve" correctly.....

Thanks again guys.
Yes, I wish they had spelled the "Valve" word right, but it still comes up o.k. on the search engines.


Let's see, for my next adventure, the Super Stock P automatic record is 7.40 in the 1/8th, and with a little cam change....