I just bought a turbo engine from a thunderbird, but the guy who sell it to me, wasn't sure from the year,
so I wanted to know, if the 86 87 engine have something different?(except the hp) I mean, any composant like the upper intake,the turbo? something noticable?
Does it have a intercooler?
Does the turbo outlet point straight up in the air?
Is the valve cover straight on top or does it have a recess for the intakes?
86 uses a Garret T3 turbo, while the 87 uses a smaller IHI turbo. And like 351wcoupe mentioned, 86 turbo feeds right into the TB, 87 valve cover has a recess under the TB.
ok if its an 85-86 its still very good and the one that I would prefer. check and see what color the top of the fuel injectors are.
I started with an 87 merk engine(same as your TC engine) and used 88TC electronics and intercooler and I was good to go.
The reason for the rated HP difference between the 86 and 87/88 TC is all to do with the intercooler. 86 didn't have one, so it could not run as much boost as the 87. Nothing wrong with an 86 engine. You need to find a large VAM with wire connector, some kind of boost control valve, and away you go. Once you get an IC, you can crank up the boost and make more power than the 87 because the 86 has a larger turbo.
The one thing I'm worried about is the head. I've heard every head from 83-86 didn't have hardened exhaust seats. Which in time with a lot of abuse started cracking. Now some people say that most of these heads with cracks are still good and used in cars like my SVO.