Bruce's brother-in-law, Marvin, set him up with a 750-cfm four-barrel carburetor, along with a trick return-style fuel system that uses a 140-gph electric fuel pump. Edelbrock's Victor Jr. intake manifold got the nod for induction duties.
 The racing seats dropped some...  The racing seats dropped some 96 pounds from the interior, and we're sure the owner-fabricated rear-seat delete helps as well. |  Thunderbirds come with a rather...  Thunderbirds come with a rather large fuel tank for long highway cruises, but swapping it out for a lightweight fuel cell helped cut the fat from this fowl. |  Bruce Richards refers to his...  Bruce Richards refers to his car as "Senior Citizens Gone Wild," and you can find more of it on the Thunderbird and Cougar Club of America's Web site. Look for his username, "392bird," and you can find some good shots of the mods he needed to make this ride move in a minimal amount of time. |
With the raised deck height of the 351 block and the Victor manifold pushing the carburetor farther up in the air, a cowl-induction hood was needed to free up some room under the hood, but it wasn't enough. Not satisfied with using a 2-inch-tall air filter to feed the hungry 393, Bruce added a Cougar hoodscoop to the bonnet, which more than doubled the space.
The exhaust system had issues as well. Considering the late-model Thunderbird was never equipped with a 351, and modifying them in such a manner isn't the most current trend, headers were almost impossible to find. So Bruce tweaked a set of BBK 351 Mustang headers that run to a custom 2.5-inch H-pipe and out through a pair of DynoMax Bullet mufflers.
The headers necessitated a change in the steering-column geometry, which Bruce was able to handle through some aftermarket parts. Another fitment issue was the Canton 7-quart oil pan Bruce intended to use. It interfered with the K-member so he notched the K-frame and boxed it in.
Bruce's old-school ways pushed him toward a C4 automatic transmission, but, coupled with the 4.30 gears housed in the IRS out back, it didn't make for a streetable combination so he called Lentech for one of its Strip Terminator AOD units. A TCS 3,500-rpm torque converter transfers engine output through an aluminum driveshaft from Precision Shaft Technologies of Clearwater, Florida, and finally to the factory IRS that's been beefed up for strip duty.
As Bruce noted, the Thunderbird's IRS was similar to the '99 Cobra's in that it used 28-spline halfshafts, whereas the '01-'04 Cobras received 31-spline units. He called Raxles of Gainesville, Florida, which specializes in performance half-shafts for imports. It fabricated a heavy-duty set of 28-spline units for the T-bird, then Bruce added a Billetflow differential brace.
The aforementioned 4.30:1 ring-and-pinion work with a Detroit Locker differential, and the factory rear spring and shocks were traded for Cobra shocks and Eibach springs that are complemented by a pair of airbags. At the front you'll find a custom set of QA1 coilover shocks with a 90/10 ratio.
The 17x9-inch Cobra R wheels that feature the Thunderbird's 4.25-inch bolt pattern do nothing to make this 'Bird look lightweight, but their design does add to the subterfuge going on here. You see, Bruce's Thunderbird weighs a mere 3,250 pounds-some 660 pounds lighter than when it rolled off the assembly line.
One look under the hood shows that all of the emissions equipment has been ditched, as well as the air-conditioning components and various wiring harnesses that were present for the fuel-injection system. The front sway bar, miscellan-eous bumper pieces, and carpet padding were all removed, as were the underdash HVAC compo-nents and the rather large stock fuel tank. A pair of Jaz poly seats dropped another 48 pounds per chair, but Bruce isn't done yet. "I need to reduce the weight more for the upcoming rollcage," he says. A manual steering rack is coming, as are lightweight drag wheels and tires.
Other future modifications call for a new torque converter, stiffer subframe connectors, and a centrifugal supercharger. "I'd like to use a reverse-mount ProCharger with about 7-8 pounds of boost, and I'll probably have to switch carburetors," he says.
As of this writing, Bruce's Thunderbird has run a best elapsed time of 7.30 seconds at 93 mph in the eighth using 275/40-17 BFG drag radials, which have generated a best 60-foot time of 1.70 seconds. For you quarter-mile guys, that's in the 11.10-11.30 range.
Bruce is quick to thank his wife, Mary, for her support in his speed endeavor, and his friends and family members who have helped along the way. When he isn't cruising with his buds in the Stampede USA Mustang Club (he's the only non-Mustang member), look for Bruce this summer at the track, but don't think his T-bird is easy prey. Its thunderous exhaust should be warning enough-if you hear a little whistle, just turn away.