Picked up a new project - 1993 Coupe

TTSaleen · Jan 13, 2026

Picked up a new project.
1993 Coupe - Twin Turbo, LS engine, TH400 trans. Has ran 5.40's in 1/8th and 8.60's in 1/4.

View: https://youtu.be/tcpDDyBVBms

gkomo · Jan 13, 2026

Nice! What are your plans for it?

AeroCoupe · Jan 13, 2026

Liking the LS out and putting a Coyote in it. Kidding (not really)!!! Clean car man.

86HO5.0 · Jan 13, 2026

Nice Notch!! Agreed on ripping out the LS for a Coyote swap.

I'm not against LS swaps as I have one in my Volvo 240 wagon, but an LS in a Ford is wrong IMO.

86HO5.0 · Jan 13, 2026

OP--What part of NC are you from? I'm planning on moving to the Raleigh area later this year, can't take any more of MN Winters or this state in general.

TTSaleen · Jan 14, 2026

@86HO5.0 - I live outside of Raleigh in a town called Willow Spring.

Tore it apart to figure out the issue.
Determined the pistons were hitting the heads, effectively pushing the heads off the block and blowing the head gaskets!
Gotta fix that and repair the head that got torched and then put back together.
This setup should allow the car to go faster than previous 5.40's/8.60's to something like lower 5's such as 5.20's to 5.30's on these GT3582 turbos.

So the plan is to fix it and race it and squeeze some impressive track times out of it.

Here's the problem I found today.

View: https://youtu.be/PJJZTiP6x9A

hoopty5.0 · Jan 15, 2026

Torched! yikes.

TTSaleen · Jan 18, 2026

Installed a rear cover (much needed) and also while inspecting my new foxbody, I found more problems to fix.
The Strange Race version of the 35 spline axles have twisted.
This car launches hard and I saw the 5/8" studs were bent, but never expected the axles to be a problem. The driver side is bad, the passenger side is not as bad.

Praetorious · Jan 24, 2026

Yeah i would go blind if i saw that engine in that car,lol,it is a beautiful car though and a beautiful shop,if i had that i would never stop working on cars.

Those are some big valves in those heads,what caused that piston to hit that head? was there something rolling around in there? When you have Axles that look like that is when you know you are putting serious power to the ground, is that head fixable or is it junk? sorry for all the question,im just a curious person.

TTSaleen · Jan 25, 2026

Praetorious said:
Yeah i would go blind if i saw that engine in that car,lol,it is a beautiful car though and a beautiful shop,if i had that i would never stop working on cars.

Those are some big valves in those heads,what caused that piston to hit that head? was there something rolling around in there? When you have Axles that look like that is when you know you are putting serious power to the ground, is that head fixable or is it junk? sorry for all the question,im just a curious person.

Thanks. Yes the shop has definitely enabled me to work on stuff much easier!
They are 2.04 intake valves and 1.57 exhaust valves.
The interference was from the piston crown touching the head. My new engine builder (Redline Speed Shop) said they can massage the pistons slightly to clear and/or run a thicker head gasket. Will know when they fix my heads (they said that is no problem) and reassemble it to check piston to valve clearances.
So I should have this engine back together in about 3 weeks (waiting on parts).
Ryan

Praetorious · Jan 25, 2026

Cool, i hope you get it running good ,since one piston hit the head how come the other ones didn't? im guessing the builder didn't check piston to head clearances in the manner he should have? ive built a couple of engines before but basically copy and paste stuff, nothing radical.

TTSaleen · Jan 25, 2026

Praetorious said:
Cool, i hope you get it running good ,since one piston hit the head how come the other ones didn't? im guessing the builder didn't check piston to head clearances in the manner he should have? ive built a couple of engines before but basically copy and paste stuff, nothing radical.

Each head showed marks where each piston was hitting in the same area. He did check it and had over .010" of clearance. However he didn't take rod stretch into account. Basically a thicker head gasket would have been a way to fix it.
I'm getting the entire engine gone thru to ensure the block deck surface is flat in addition to other things since water went thru the oil.
Minimally it will have all new bearings, oil pump, timing set, plus head repair and all clearances checked/verified.
I predict it will be a monster when I get it back in the car.
Ryan

TTSaleen · Jan 25, 2026

limp · Jan 27, 2026

The 31 spline axles I have used in many cars seem huge to me... I can't imagine bending those splines on 35 spline axles.... Really sticky tires with some big horsepower....

TTSaleen · Jan 30, 2026

Almost got the car ready to fire up. Sent injectors off to Fuel Injector Clinic to flow/test them before completing car.

For now, got my Bogart RT wheels on it (17" front, 16" rear) and adjusted the front coil overs down about 5 turns.
Also installed LED lights in the gauge cluster, a V8 tach replacement for the 4 cylinder one, and Makers Garage license plate housing with LED lights.

AeroCoupe · Jan 30, 2026

Soooo we will be expecting some time slips as weather permits. Oh, and if possible some smokey burnouts with audio please.

TTSaleen · Feb 6, 2026

hoopty5.0 · Feb 6, 2026

The fact that the machine shop got you knocked out in less than a week is unheard of. Go buy a lottery ticket while youre at it. I like the LEDs, I need to do that. I had a Chinese LED company reach out to me on Instagram and offer to send me a set for free to review. Havent responded yet, not sure how I feel about it...

TTSaleen · Feb 7, 2026

Did a test drive yesterday in neighborhood and tested out the 2 step.
So far so good!

Check out my new engine cover. LOL! For the LS Haters.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/0ADYLUVpL7E

AeroCoupe · Feb 7, 2026

Well all you really did with the cover is put lipstick on a pig. I'm kidding! Car looks and sounds great! Will follow along to see some time slips.

Picked up a new project - 1993 Coupe

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now i can hopefully expect to receive the shaft

lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes

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mechanicus terribilis

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wrap a little cheese around it and its a done

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lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes

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mechanicus terribilis

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lube between the nut and the face. I know my lubes

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