92 TC Specs/advice

[Bill Murray]

I may have posted this before and if so I apologize. Anyway.

Does anyone out there have access to or would be able to point me to a site to get a copy of a road test for a 1992 Town Car?

I inherited my Mom's TC last March and am going out to California this week to pick it up and bring it back to my home in the Atlanta area. It is the penultimate little old lady from Pasadena car with 40,000 very easy miles on her. Mom was 89 when she passed on, so it was rather little used the last five years or so. Always pampered/serviced and garaged.

While this may irritate some of you, I own a Lightning pickup and a '98 Continental and am used to a little bit of performance and have some ideas about this vehicle. In essence, I would like to get about 300-320 reliable hp out of the motor. A little research has led me to think, at least, about a supercharger, heads and exhaust as well as the usual filter/chip stuff.
It is an Arnold Palmer Signature Edition and I intend to leave the exterior/interior totally as original save for possibly tires.

I am not at all familiar with the breed, but I believe it has a 4.6 SOHC with 190 hp (single exhaust). One major concern is that my Dad said the dealer indicated that the air bag suspension should be replaced/overhauled and it was just south of $2k to do this. If so, bummer. I had hoped it had a normal coil spring suspension system.

I know there are several of you out there who have modified SC's and Continentals and I hope to get some input on what might be possible with this car.

Thanks in advance.

Bill

[Richard J. Parker]

See http://www.dj-e.f2s.com/Lincoln/index.html for a review.

See https://www.arnottindustries.com/Shopping/index.asp for air suspension parts. Towncars only have rear airbags. You can buy two rear bags for $110 each and a compressor for $150 for a total outlay of $370 and install them yourself with Arnott's detailed instructions. You might do the rear bags first if the compressor seems to work. The vent(lowering)function sometimes goes first, which is part of the compressor. Search this board for more information on the subject.

See http://www.kennybrown.com/ for performance for a price. Check out the "Panther" which is basically the same car.

[Lscman]

As for stock performance, the best performing mid-'90's TC's with the HD/trailer towing 3.55 gear and dual exhaust option ran around 16.2's. There are excellent supercharger kits available for the sister Vic that could be easily adapted to bring the performance envelope within Impala SS territory. They provide low 15 second 1/4 mile times on the lighter Vic with similarly wide 255/265 tires & 17x8.5" wheels. If I recall, Vortec sells such a kit for a Vic and it was reviewed in either Super Ford or MM&FF. In development testing, it was determined the 4.6L SOHC pistons could only withstand a certain amount of boost. Their kit was at the threshold and provided about 3/4 second improvement in 1/4 mile over stock. That kit should get the TC into the mid 15's with stock gearing. With 3.73's & good exhaust, you might see 15 flat. That will be enough to scare VIII and SS owners. Any more boost will break the motor, unless you use it very sparingly and get lucky. Early SN-95 GT's had the same problem.

------------------
Rick, Road Track Terror in my '88 Mark VII LSC. See ya at Northeast Events! Pgh, PA

[Bill Murray]

Richard/LSCMAN:

Thanks to both of your for your input. This is exactly what I was looking for. Obviously, this will become a bit complicated and it was good to find out the inherent weakness of the pistons with too much boost.

I can also see that even with a blower and all the other usual mods, there is only so much one can get out of a 4.6 in a heavy vehicle. My Lightning, modified as it is, should do the 1/4 in 13.2/13.4 on street tires. I had hoped to approach that with a blown TC, but I think there is just not enough torque/cubes to do the job without major engine work and it may not be that streetable as I had hoped.

Still, we will see and I will keep you apprised of what I do.

Bill