As an owner of both an 88 Sport 5.0, and an 87 TC I can safely answer the question by saying you aren't missing much. Yes the TC top speed is higher in the 140 range vs the 5.0s 120ish. But other things such as turbo lag, little bottom end power, and very high maintenance costs compared to the 5.0 make them pretty equal overall. While many can flame about mod improvements to make the TC faster, very few will truthfully acknowledge that ultimately more power can be extracted from the 5.0. A simple TB and intake swap to the 5.0 HO intake and TB will make a huge difference in the 5.0s performance (stock tb is smaller than the TC tb!)
I enjoy both cars and have no plans to part with either one. But if I was in search of maximum power and had to choose between the two I'd go with a 5.0 HO motor with twin turbos which can give you a streetable car in the 500-600 hp range (which is what several mustang owners have done reliably for several years). Now that is the Tbird Ford should have built...
Quote:
Originally posted by Paul Johnson:
unless you have driven a tc - you don't know what you are missing -
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