anyone know anything about the mach 1 edition 88 thunderbird TC's? I have this little brass plaque below my shifter...
Post up a pic.
That's it? That's all you're giving us? Pics Man !!! We need pics !!! Let's see the car,plaque,the whole thing.
There's plenty of Mach I info over at the NATO site:
http://natomessageboard.com/
They've been covering those cars for years. Simply search for 'mach I' and you'll find what you need.
I still wanna see a pic man! Its rare enough to see one with the window decals, Ive never heard of a plaque!
Wow I forgot all about this thread,,, i will up some pics here in a moment.... Detarnishing the plaque atm..... i have the window decals... Mach 1 edition and a plaque that is on the trim around my gear shift... it reads
1988 Thunderbird Turbo
Special Edition Mach 1
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0449.jpg)
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0448.jpg)
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0447.jpg)
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0446.jpg)
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0445.jpg)
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0444.jpg)
I googled a Mach 1 TC and yours is the only Mach 1 TC I found. So I don't know.
Well the Mach 1 sticker is correct and original, but not those stripes. Someone did a little customizing on the appearance of the car.
yeah the stripes arent original... they are freaking stickers... someone stuck stripes on i... tacky... im gonna replace them with real painted stripes... because i kinda like them... But yeah liek i said i cant find much information...
That is an insult to the word 'customising'. ;)
Worse than stickers. He used black masking tape and did a really bad job of spray painting stripes on. It looks like he ran out of paint too. It's pretty bad when you don't even peel the tape off.
Interesting find, though. I've only heard of a handful and seen a few, this one included. Same colour and plaques.
That car is seriously rough! :hick:
Yeah its rought but it wasnt running when i got it.. so she has come along way.... now i gotta find some ungodly parts.... door panels, kick panels, shift boot, im gonna put it back to original then put 4k in the motor.....
When u have them redone u should think bout Gold strips they pop out more than black.
The bright red ones(paint code 21) and the pewter(never seen one) paint are the Mach-1 versions... Was a sales promotion in the spring of '88, AFIK all are built in May or June '88... Most have lost the slickers in the last 20 years, including my red one...
slickers?
he ment stickers
it was just a paint code and stickers pretty much
its just a regular TC under the paint
still rare though... only 1k made total
gold...good god whats wrong with you...
the red paint sucks and, asside from the (puter) ones wich ive never seen as well is all that sepperates the mach 1 turbo from a regular turbo coupe, save for the stickers and plaque.
it was just a sales scheeme. i wonder how much extra dealers pulled from them.
id love to get ahold of a clean 88, paint it a decent mach 1 ish color (maybe competition orange), drop a dohc 4.6 mach 1 engine in it with a fiberglass hood modded for the shaker. i like my stang but would LOVE everything thats in it installed in a clean 88 tbird
screw the mach 1 engine
Lol
I came across one several years ago and it caught my attention because of the bright red color, which I knew was not in any of the literature and started looking into it more.
From my “research” this is what I have pieced together so far:
The Mach 1 edition was basically a last “hurrah” if you will at the end of its production run in June/July 1988.
Ford offered the Turbo Coupe in two colors that were not available on the Thunderbird previously and were not even available on any other Ford/Lincoln/Mercury at the time, Bright Red & Titanium Frost
They were “pull ahead” colors that were going to be used on 1989 & 1990 model vehicles.
There is no known documentation to say how many were built of each color, but I ran into a couple of Ford employees at a car show held on the grounds of the world headquarters in Dearborn a few years ago that were familiar with the car and they both agreed that it was about 500 total.
Again, I stress that there is
no known documentation to back this or any other production number up.
Other than the special paint color and a small 1/4 window decal, there is nothing different about them than a regular 1988 Turbo Coupe.
I agree, I have yet to see a plaque on any of the cars I have come across. I wouldn't doubt that an enthusiastic previous owner or possible the selling dealer themselves had it made for the car.
So far I have come across about a dozen or so of these cars and all have been the Bright Red color and all were built in May or June of 1988 (production of all 1988 Thunderbirds officially ended on July 31st.
I have yet to see one in the Titanium Frost color, there has been some claims by some on the message boards to have seen them, but no one has produced proof of one in that color.
Many of the owners of these cars don’t know that they have a limited edition car, and I even ran across one guy who had owned the car for a couple of years and never noticed the window decal.
Other than what was printed on the window sticker (and subsequently the invoice), this is the only documentation that has surfaced so far “explaining” the car.
It was posted by someone on the NATO message board and he said it was an insert that he found in his owners manual.
*Thunderbird Mach 1 Turbo Coupe
*Description of special paint colors
1990 Titanium Frost
"This is a promising new execution of a type of paint which is expected to become highly popular and widely available within the auto industry within the next 2-3 years. It represents a reliable, mass production interpretation of the expensive flip-flop pearl paints used on custom show cars over the last decade. In normal light it appears to be about halfway between Driftwood clearcoat (6B) and silver clearcoat metallic (92). From different angles, however it appears to be a true silver metallic, while from yet additional angles it can appear to be a pale gold metallic or a silver with the slightest hint of red. Rest assured, the affect is very subtle, and in good taste,and should be an excellent compliment to Turbo Coupe's rounded aero styling."
1989 Vermillion Red
" A much brighter red than has recently been available...similar to, but with more red (less orange) than the Probe signal red (C2).
The current generation ( 1987/1988) Turbo Coupe was never painted in any type of non-metalic red until now. This color will be available in 1989 on Thunderbird, Mustang, and Escort. People who have seen 1989 prototypes finished in this color report that it is an outstanding paint color."
*Paint samples not available
"Due to program timing, and the difficulty of obtaining samples in Field Manager count for the twelve partiting Districts, we will not attempt to provide you with paint samples. Please use the above descriptions with partiting dealers."Brent
:cougarsmily:
Pics of the Plaque or B A N.
On a side note, did Carpimp register under another name? The stripes look like shiznit.
The best part about this is that it appears that our new owner here has apparently re-painted the stripes, put some beige hood scoops in it and now thinks its worth $9000.00
Linkey:
http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/835925207.html
This just looks too close to the pics on the other page NOT to be it.:toilet: :mad: :hick:
Here are the pics of the plaques...
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0439.jpg)
(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h288/gothymp/100_0440.jpg)
wow that explains every thing
wow that explains every thing
I THINK I can see "1988" in the second pic. Either way it looks VERY homemade and im 99.9999999999999999999% sure it didnt come with the car.
Take it back, 100%.
it did come with the car.. already ran it by the dealership here in Franklin... Matlock Ford.....
oh and birdman who cares how much i try to sell my car for.. it is my "car".. you ever been homeless birdman? ever slept in your car? My apartment burned down and I lost everything... so about the only thing i have of value is my Tbird.... and the only break i got going for me now is a nice family let me move into their garage... otherwise I would still be in the parking lot at walmart...
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=19558
And I am not carpimp.. dont lump me in with that idiot... that was the dude that stole right?
well, the plaque "may" have been dealer installed but no way thats OEM.
9Gs...srsly?
Why not?
Actually, ive been there.
My car was towed, my apartment burned Down, I lost my girlfriend, And i lost my job all within the space of one week. This hapened while i was 300 mils away from home at collage.
My family basicly told me tough shiznit. I had NO help in getting back on my feet. I spent 6 months on the street through a wisconsin winter. Some of the coldest nights i had to spend at local homeless shelters next to addicts and dangerous drunks.
Make you feel any better?
It needs some serious paint work, but it has potential. The red looks seriosly oxidized. The stripes are your choice..... id rather have them gloss and a bit narrower. You will NEVER get 9k for it. with the condition of the paint, its MABEY a 900 dollar to 1500 dollar car.
Sorry to burst your bubble. I paid 3K for my black 88, with the griggs setup and under 70K miles.
x2 i only paid 1800 for my car with 25,000 original miles and perfect interior condition and nice exterior with no oxidation or rust.
Guess this means my red one with a banged up RF fender ain't worth at least $8500???
I was hoping to make a 20x profit... Man I'm deflated...:(
Keep in mind that both of the examples above are pretty smokin deals.....
but Ive NEVER seen an 88 go for more than 7500, snd that was a mint VERY low milage car.
There is one near me now listed for 7k, mint with 19K on the clock......it +nt moved in a year of advertising it.
So I guess the $420.00 I paid for mine was a good deal???
(http://mysite.verizon.net/turbocoupe50/P6110108.JPG)
wanna sell it?
Yeah, sure...$8500...:rollin: And I'll throw in a good RF fender...
YOU KNOW THAT'S A GOOD DEAL....:D
I'll give you a grand.
:)
well...it is a super rare mach 1 after all.....
im actually semi activly seeking an 88 roller with turbo coupe/sport interior. i want the power roof though....