I’ve always wanted a 2.3T in one form or another and have been searching for something for years. The ideal car would be fuel injected and white. I never thought it would actually be an SVO though. I can’t tell you how many cars I looked at before I found this one. I saw it on Ebay and instantly knew it was the one. It wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t a bucket either. All it needed was some TLC to be perfect. It was from Texas so I know it was rust free. It only had 77k miles so I snatched it up on day 2 of the auction. This was in December 2009 so I haven’t even had it that long. It arrived at 8 at night and it was freezing out but I didn’t care. It was a good feeling to roll her off the trailer – she was all mine! My fiance Gina took some awesome pics of the SVO’s arrival – Click Here for the gallery.

It had a few mods done to it when I got it which included: 3″ DP, 2.5″ dual exhaust with Dynomax mufflers, ported intakes (unconfirmed as I haven’t had them off yet) & 4.10 gears. When I got it I immediately ordered a Gillis Boost Valve to cure the surging boost issues SVO’s are known for. I also had to bump up the boost a bit too. But it wouldn’t take the extra boost so a fresh tune-up was in order. Forced4 was the answer for new Motorsport plugs, wires, cap & rotor and PCV valve. I also got a new fuel filter while I was at it. After the tune up 19psi was no problem. She was running super smooth now and pulled strong. I recently acquired some T-bird Turbocoupe parts including an intercooler (already installed) and a couple of E6 manifolds. I will eventually get around to porting one of those but for now they are just sitting the basement waiting! A Forced4 valve cover evacuation kit and HD intercooler hoses round out the performance mods for now!

A set of Bullitt pedals were a must as was an a-pillar mounted boost gauge since the stock gauge doesn’t go high enough anymore! Those are the only visual modifications but more are soon to follow I’m sure!

I also starting getting her all detailed up. I’ve buffed the paint, stripped and refinished the wheels and detailed the interior. Additionally, I “re-fuzzied” the dash panels which made a world of difference. I also installed a new set of tri-bar pony floor mats. I’m in the process of re-doing all of the exterior charcoal trim too. It’s a slow but steady process – there is a lot of trim so I’m taking my time and doing it right. I should be done this summer (2010).

It wouldn’t be normal of me if I didn’t take this car to the track. Drag racing is in my blood I guess. I wasn’t expecting much just a hope to get into the 14’s. I was rewarded with a 14.2@96.69 on the first run of the night (Friday June 18th 2010) . I was super excited and I knew 13’s were right there. I tried altering my launch technique since the first run spun a bit (2.2 60 ft.) but that didn’t work too well as I didn’t get into the boost soon enough. This resulted in a 14.7@97 and a 14.6@96.x. I was happy though of the consistent MPH as it was super hot out and my runs were fairly close together.

I figured I’d let her cool for a while and get some food. After an hour or so it was time to make one last pass. I knew I needed to be in the boost right away but I couldn’t come out too hard as it would spin. I cleaned off the tires and staged shallow. Not sure exactly what I did but it involved slipping the clutch at around 5 grand . It worked because a 2.0 60 ft. and 3 power shifts later I was rewarded with a 14.0@97. I was stoked to say the least. At the same time though I was a bit annoyed I didn’t get into the 13’s – BUT, I quickly realized that was silly – smiled as I looked at the time slip one more time and decided to not press my luck with the super cool night air ahead but to head home. I’m sure the cool air would have helped – but I’m not sure I had another launch like that in me…yes it was that good.

Overall I love the car so far. It’s my daily driver and super fun. It reminds me of when I used to daily drive the Capri – let’s hope I don’t get as crazy with this as I did the Capri!