I just bought a mustang, the guy said it was turbo.... I told him to just bring it over and I would buy it.... (great price) He trailored it over, first thing I notice is the Cobra hood, like my friends car around the block (mint 302 car, how rare is that????).... So it has a cobra hood.... black leather interior.... 4 speed manual.... its a 1981.... DRAW-THRU TURBO SETUP!!! that thing.... well, it sucks... literally.... has these goofy louvers on the back too.... Anyone have any insight to this? BTW, Im a newbie, so take it easy on me, I know some other forums that kill over the simple stuff new people dont know.... Thanks, Andrew
Like the dsmtalk.com forums. Before I knew what a Turbo was and how it worked (We all went through that phaze) I asked for some info and they started going freaking insane and ripping me apart. I was all screw you guys and your subpar cars.
Yeah, sounds like you found an early Turbo Cobra. They were produced from '79 - '82. They were the "hot" Mustang of the day when the 5.0L was pretty anemic. Sounds like you already know the downside of the draw-through setup. Not very reliable, and limited for power gains.
well... think I could push 15 psi through a stock motor, with stock 77 2bbl carb? stock n/a motor.... the motor in the car is trashed.... i think I need timing at around 15... no vac advance... but the n/a mustang wont start unless its 25+ before cranking ..... what to do?
probably better to covert to EFI if you want to run 15psi. I would get a merkur wiring harness, computer, intake,and injectors. there are only a few wires to hook up and you can ditch the carb, make it more reliable, powerful, and better economy. Dr.
My friend my almost bought a '79 Cobra. It was a 5.0, the 2.3T Cobras are alot more rare. I'm not crazy about the hood graphics though...
are you kidding? the graphics are fords answer to the firebird. I dont like them that much either actually.
IIRC the Mustang had a 302 in 79 and in 1980 the 255(4.2L) V8 was introduced. It is the red headed bastard stepchild of the Ford smallblock V8 family. The motor was so hated and was a sales loss that Ford brought back the 5.0L in 1982. The carb turbo is not bad, its just misunderstood. It actually runs pretty good if setup and tuned properly. The stock carb turbo had 6psi and forged pistons. You would probably need water injection and definately premium unleaded. My 84 2.3L turbo was running 14lbs of boost non intercooled but the 84 motor is running 8.5:1CR.
