Mine started in 1998, after I suffered (enjoyed, actually) a very beat-up '86 Stang coupe. I was tiring of the tiny backseat, and even tinier trunk, hell, one night some friends and I went camping, well, my future ex-wife at the time and another couple went out to the lake to get drunk and score....whoops, wrong story..
So I was tired of the tiny Stang's lack of legroom and f*ck-all else, so I spotted a clean Tbird with chrome wheels at a local car lot. I popped in one day as I was heading to work, and drove it. It felt like a rocket (albeit with a 3.8) compared to the Stang, with much better steering and handling etc...that I immediately fell in love with it.
My only regrets were A: not keeping the Stang (it was nearly paid-for) and B: popping the hg's on the Bird 2 months after I bought it.
I didn't drive it very long, but it gave me an uncurable addiction to FoxBirds...:hick:
Here's the only pic I have of it...RIP
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l110/fordtruckfreeek/vehicle%20pics/beaufirsttbird-1.jpg)
So anyway...how did y'all acquire the Tbird or Cougar that gave YOU the sickness? ;)
My first two cars were Firebirds, a '78 Trans Am (which I loved) and an '80 Formula (to which I was fairly indifferent). I was growing bored with the Firebirds and started checking the local used car lots. I came across what was advertised as an '86 Thunderbird at one of them and immediately fell in love with it. I test drove it and was quite impressed that the V6 would run rings around my Formula's 301. They were asking $3k, and would only give me $1000 for my Firebird, so I walked. I decided to sell it private and buy a T-Bird private. It went in the paper and after a few weeks it sold. That white '86 (which turned out to be an '84) was long sold, so I then started my search. The first one I looked at was a light sage green '85. I looked at several after that, both Cougars and T-Birds (all four-eyes - 87-88's were still too new), but kept coming back to that '85. I ended up buying it, and my love for it grew the whole time I owned it. It grew even more after I unwisely traded it in on my ill-fated MN12. It was enough to make me decide to always have one.
My grandfather is kinda to blame he first bought a 67 with a 289?(i believe), he then sold the 67 for a mustang 2 with a 4 cyl. When he was done with the mustang 2 he traded it in for the 87. I was born in 85 around the time i was 5 i asked my grandmother when i could have it.
My dad has owned a 1988 Thunderbird since 94, I'm born in 92.
Been growing up with it.
And 2 years ago I bought my own 88 Thunderbird 5.0 :)
My parents bought mine 7+ years ago from their cousin....... i loved that car, but the parents neglected it..... 9fist mark in dash,.. original shocks/suspension.... the only thing new on my coug is the rims, paint, tv, water pump,... and the $2 hose in the fuel tank...and spark plugs/ cap/ rotor....
I enjoy every minute of that worn out fox.... one day it will be B.F.A......
i was 13 and helped my dad pick out a "new" car when our $1 plymouth duster died. we test drove a few things; a mustang, an escort, looked at an aerostar....and found a 87 tbird parked out back.
this car still had a price on the windshield from the last months tent sale and was slated to go to auction. dad muscled the dealer into a test drive, and sale at a price lower than on the window.
from age 14-16 i spent alot of time cleaning that car, earning my right to borrow it after i got my license. from age 16-19 the tbird was nicer than any of the buckets i owned, and i regularly borrowed dads car for special occasions.
took me a while to get my own, and i dont see me not having one ever again.
My problem is that I am a car-guy. I suppose it couldn't be helped, as my parents are car-people too. My father and I started playing with cars when I was 13-ish, restoring a very nice 1961 Impala. Over the years we have worked on many a car including the 1961 Corvette I borrowed from him to take to my senior prom, and a 1966 Chevelle convertible we built as my first car.
The '66 received an LS-6 454 crate engine into which we swapped a roller cam. I ran it at the local track a few times, running a 12.30 most of the time, though one night I did manage two runs at 12.01! Never could get that magic 11.99 though.
We were pretty much a GM family, and even now I am in the process of building a pro-touring style 1972 442 convertible. Several years ago I purchased a very cherry MN12 Thunderbird, and thus began my foray into blue-oval products. The bird was nice, but a little incident with a member of the deer family eventually lead me to sell it. Later I acquired an asc/McLaren and a 1986 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park wagon. I sold the asc recently, but the wagon is still my hauler. In fact, I just picked up a replacement rear window for it, the original having died Thursday evening when the upper latches let go despite the window being in the raised position.
And so we come to the newest member of my automotive family, my 1988 Turbo Coupe. I've always liked them, dating back to the '87 or '88 I once got to drive. That car belonged to my at-the-time-girlfriend's mom. Even then I was quite impressed by it, and so when it came time to buy something "cool" but not too crazy, I decided it had to be a Thunderbird Turbo.
Well, I guess I strung that out as far as I could! In any case, that's my story!
Shiny Side Up!
Bill
Well I've always been a car guy and could always name every car I saw on the road (Since I was a kid and I can even do it at night). My first car was a 79 Mustang Ghia that ended up with a 351W, to be honest I had completely intended on having Mustangs for the rest of my life. Over time they began to get boring and the 79 was not that great of a car so I got a 91 SHO, this too began a new passion and I went between Mustangs and SHO's a few times but I had met a friend who's dad LOVED Fords and had this VERY DUSTY (Those who have seen the photos know....) 85 Mercury Cougar XR7. I had inquired about its story a few times and had even asked if he'd sell it but he always said no. We at some point started hanging out after a long time of not doing so and he told me $150 and I get the 85 XR7 and a 86 5.0 Cougar. I jumped on it and the rest is history...
Maybe someday I'll get working on it!
I found my 88 Sport in the back of a repo lot nearby. I had a 1981 Mustang Hatchback with t-tops that leaked. After securing financing for it (this was back in 1991 and with the the help of my mom as a co-signer), I had my Bird.
My wife wanted to buy a Mustang, but in 1987 she saw a TV commercial for a Cougar and decided she wanted one of them. I got her to wait until the fall because I had read somewhere that the 88's would have duals (exhaust) on the V8s. In October we started visiting Ford and Mercury dealers, we drove a Turbo Coupe but I wanted a V8. So it came down to price shopping between a T-Bird Sport and an XR-7. We knew we would have to order the car because the only interior color the cars on the lots had was that red. As it turns out, the local Mercury dealer gave us the best price and on 10-19-1987 we ordered a black XR-7 with a smoke cloth interior. The car was built on 11-20-1987 and we took delivery on 12-14-1987. The odometer read 5. A couple of weeks ago I watched the odometer turn to 123456 but I didn't have the camera with me. It needs to be repainted and I have most of the parts to convert the exhaust to true duals. My 16 year old son is eyeing the car but now he's talking about a truck (whew!). I have to take some pictures of this car.
My 88 T'Bird (RIP) was my first car. I got it in 2004 I was 15 and I paid $150 for it. I worked my ass off and got it fixed up and road worthy for when I got my license. None of the other kids in the neighborhood could figure out why I was out in the driveway working on that multi-colored heap instead of doing something else lol. Then of course they found out it had a 5.0 after the brake stand in the driveway:evilgrin:
After that I had 11 more cars and out of all of them my favorites were the three foxes I had, 88 5.0 'Bird, 87 3.8 'Bird and my baby the 86 5.0 Cougar. Of course I cant forget my 86 f150 4x4 which I miss dearly.:punchballs:
My first car was an 84 XR-7. My dad bought it (used) for himself. When I turned 15, he gave it to me, rusty and with a bad turbo.
It ran like ass. I didn't know anything about cars, and my dad said if it needed any work, I'd need to get a job to fix it. So I got a job, a haynes manual and went to work on it. I had a year before I was old enough to drive it anyway.
I replaced the fuel pressure regulator, 2 bad injectors and the bad turbo. Wow, what a difference! It ran great. Then as a father-son project, we painted it. He had the seats recovered as a gift too. I really liked that car... But it was all the rage when I was in school to have a v8. So I found an 87 xr-7 at a local car lot. I traded in my 84, and got the 87.
I spent my whole high school life driving the out of that 87. Two engines, three AODs, and 3 rear ends of racing, and hard pizza-delivery miles.
One day I drove past that car lot and my old 84 was sitting there in the back, all dusty. I stopped to ask what was up. They said the motor went bad, and I could have the car for $300. I said I would be back in a week. I came back a week later and it was gone. A mechanic up the street bought it. As I was driving home, I spotted it at a shop, up on a rack. I thought "well, at least it will be back on the road".
The next day, the shop burned down, with my old car inside.
RIP 1984 XR-7. You started it all for me, and I miss you.
CoogarXR
I'm a Ford truck guy, always have been always will be. But driving a truck everyday 100 miles for work isn't economical....well at least not these days. At some point I needed something better on gas, I got a Dodge Shadow 5sp. 2dr that was good for the job, until I wrapped it around a telephone pole. In a pinch I needed a car, and a friend had his enduro car handy, so I gave him $200, drove it home, added a window, exhaust, tires, and away I went....for another 50,000 miles. During those miles, I realized how fun these cars are, and the potential to make them better. I then got another car from FLSTCI71 and am slowly working on it today. I've been looking off and on for an older Capri bubbleback for an I6 project, and last week I was going to buy an '85 Cougar 5.0 until the seller backed out after a week's worth of agreements. So I could safely say the bug is still getting bigger. I got the first Tbird about a year before I joined here.
well i came from parents who wasnt into cars all that much. my dad really didnt care what make he drove. my mom is a cheby person . so how i became a ford nut came from two uncles thank god. my first car was aan 1986 olds derby calasis (mispelled), then when i got my girlfriend pregnent in high school (now my wife of soon to be 12 years in sept.) ii got my first ford 1980 t-bird gave to us by her moms boyfriend miss the box . my dad hated that car so much he said he would give me he's truck and buy my wife a car if i sold the bird and being 18 i jumped on it . skipin ahead to 2003 i got my second ford and the only brand i will buy now:D skipin again to march 2008 i was lookin to replace my taurus witch i just gave to my neice . i was fixing a furnace for my dads rental and the renter was selling a 88 t-bird sport pic is in my avatar. got it for $700. well on dec. 27 2008 it meet deer i cried loved that car. it will always be my fav. then on jan 9 2009 i went to illinios bout an 45 mins below chicago and got my t/c for $600 and now i want anouther fox bird to make a dd so i can restore the t/c
my first bird wan an 85 elan that i got from a friend for $100. i had just sold my pro streeted 73 mustang and needed another toy. i kept the engine/trans from the stang and swapped it into the bird ( 460/c-6). i always loved the 83-86 birds and after getting it together and driving it i was hooked. rode and drove better than any fox stang i owned. i regret selling it every day. i've owned 4 birds now, 85 elan,86 tc,86 5.0, and the 86 elan i just bought. i'm not selling this one! here's a pic of my first one........
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g89/emeraldcoupe/passside1.jpg)
Scroll down to October, trick or treat!
http://usedmagazines.com/cgi-bin/site.cgi?query=car+%26+driver%2C+1982&stpos=0&username=64.124.140.226&referredby=&searchstart=sicor12&email=&buttonlocation=&stype=AND
(sadly, the site won't support linking to its images)
1984...I was seven. Both my father and his father each had 1984 Maroon GS Cougars.
1994...I was old enough to get my own - 1987 Black LS.
2002...I was able to afford buying more Cougars.
2009...I have four.
2002 My dad owned an 88 that was built pretty well and had a nice custom paint job. Later on that year I got my own 84 Cougar and Kept it until 2008 (when it met golfball sized hail)
Now I own an 86 Xr7 and 88 Turbocoupe.
Currently, the turbocoupe is the fastest car I have ever driven by far.
I was 14, dad bought his 1983 turbo coupe was love at first sight :D buddy of mine had an 85 5.0 in high school and in 2004 I bought my first 88TC now here about a month ago the second 88TC and dad wants me to come get his 83. these are by far the coolest cars on the planet.
I was the way way! When I was born my father had a 1966 Mustang and later a 1967. On of my aunts had a 1967 Falcon I used to ride around in while another aunt had a 1967 Galaxie. In 1971, my parents bought a brand new LTD Brougham in dark blue. I always remember that entire experience when they went to the dealer and bought the car. I remember as well the funky little black rubber tips they used to put on the new keys. As you can see, I developed a particular liking to Fords very early in life.
At one point my Mom bought a red 1974 Mustang II notchback and I loved it. As I approached 12 she ended up with a 1976 Torino wagon. I used to have a station wagon fetish when I was little because I liked riding in the cargo area all the way in the back. When the 1972 Pinto wagon came out I liked that too.
Mom needed to sell the Torino wagon after seperating from her second husband so she took me shopping for a used car. I helped her find a blue 1974 Mustang II notchback because I always liked her red one. We were lucky enough to get misquoted the price of a used Pinto so she got it for that price. About that time I was approaching 14 years old and was hoping for a car of my own. Of course every young boy was watching Charlie's Angels at the time and I liked Farrah's Cobra II. I found one at a Buick dealer used car lot for $1700 and my father bought it for me. I didn't even have my license yet. It seems like it sat forever before I turned 15 and could get my permit. I drove it a few years during high school. That was back in the days when Stevie Nicks was peaking and it was just an epitome to ride around with the 8-track tape player playing "Edge Of Seventeen".
One day the oil pump went out on the Cobra II. By then the 1979 Fox Box Mustang was out a few years but after the new 1982 Camaro came out I defected and ordered a 1983 Camaro with T-tops. It was a sensation in it's day and I was hooked. I just didn't feel any passion for the Fox Box Mustangs and it became a matter of style over loyalty to Ford.
In 1984, I bought a 1978 Ford LTD II 2dr hardtop in two tone jade green with a 351 V8, green vinyl bucket seats, ful intrumentation and a console with a floor shifter. I had no idea so many years later I wish I had that car still. The intention of getting the LTD II was to get rid of the Camaro and keep things afforable. I ended up with both cars the entire time and later traded them both for a 1985 Z28.
After the 85 Z28, I bought a 89 Grand Prix then switched back to a 89 Camaro but a convertible. Later I bought a 1992 Firebird with T-tops.
When the 1993 Firebird came out I wanted to trade for one of those. However, I waited long enough to see the 1994 Mustang come out and suddenly my passion for Mustangs and Fords in general was reborn. It was the Mustang I so wanted them to build instead of the Fox Boxes with no identifiable styling cues.
So I bought a 1994 Mustang convertible in Laser Red which had to be driven out of the showroom floor.
Being young and stupid I did anything I could to get what I want. I got in way over my head making $450 per mo. payments and it finally caught up with me and I had to give the car back to Ford.
I had to get a car. I was not going to settle for something I did not like. I always liked Thunderbirds in general but not enough to buy one. Besides they were more expensive luxury cars at the time. However, being so related to the Mustang in platform and looks, I found a 1985 Tbird V8 in red. I fell in love with it and didn;t realize what I had missed by never buying one new when they first came out. Memories of my 1978 LTD II came back being a larger two door car, a V8 engine and a big back seat. I got the Tbird with 169,000 miles and drove it several years until it reached 245,000 miles and sold it to a co-worker who just kept it going. However, I was annoyed with some problems the car was having. I was not as mechanically experienced as I am now. The A/C never worked either.
I found a 1989 Tbird with cold A/C and jumped right on it. I remember going from the 85 to an 89 was like night and day in the handling department. So it was cool to experience that as if it was a new car to me just like finding a good old movie you never seen before.
The transmission in that 89 Tbird was starting to concern me. Of course my answer was always trade it in. So I got me a 1999 Mustang coupe in red. I think that had to be the worst Mustang I ever owned. It was like riding in an oxcart. Quality was shoddy. Even my 1994 Mustang convertible was much better.
Back in 2003, I became annoyed that I could not haul stuff or get anything to fit in the Mustang. I became more home oriented and do-it-yourself, so I bought a 2003 Ford Escape. I loved it and I still miss it today. I fell on hard times and got laid off. I couldn't make the payments so gave it back to the bank.
For the next few years I made do with beater cars, a $500 1991 Nissan Stanza which I totalled running into the back of a Neon. I replaced that with a $500 1991 Chevy Lumina sedan that became my Pull-A-Part scavenger hunt car. I would buy all kinds of interchangable Pontiac and Buick interior parts and mix and match things for a diffent look. It had no working a/c, the RH power window would not go down and it had terrible drivability problems.
I had to do something, so I managed to get one of those bad cradit no problem loans and got a 2005 Cavalier coupe. I kept it a few years. Meanwhile the new 2005 Mustang came out and I never thought I would ever be able to afford one.
Things got much better over the past few years and I so wanted another car that I had a passion for. Remembering my Cobra II, I had simple thoughts of just buying a used white 2005+ Mustang and putting blue stripes on it. Over the years I kept having reoccuring dreams about that 1976 Cobra II. I kept inquiring about new Mustangs but could never get the deals to work out right. For me it was walk and never be screwed again. Then the right car came along, a white 2008 Mustang Pony. I purchased it and it felt like I was reunited with a long lost friend. The reoccuring dreams of the Cobra II stopped. I have been happy with this car ever since. However there is only so much you can do to personalie a car before it becomes too much. It's a V6 car so what was the point of me doing performance mods. I did a lot of the usual appearance mods with the satin aluminum interior bits, sequential taillamp action, chrome taillamp surround and MUSTANG decklid lettering, and black-out front parking lamps. Anyway, I am still doing what I did 30 years ago.. driving a white Mustang listening to Stevie Nicks playing a more intense rockin' new live version of "Edge Of Seventeen Live in Melbourne Australia".
The opportunity for me to get a 1984 Thunderbird came about because my step-mother, the original owner had one sitting in the driveway neglected and unused for many years. The homewoners association started complaining to my parents. They offered the car to me because they knew I liked working on cars and felt I could do something with it. So I took it and became excited about reliving the experieces I had with my past Tbirds and the fact I would have an interesting project to work on.
After I got the Mustang, my initial intention was so keep the Cavalier and sell it outright so I would not get screw with negative equity on a loan. I mean it makles to sense to get a negative equity loan when I would still be paying for the majority of the Cavalier and not having it. It turned out to be a good thing because my Mom had a 1992 Camry that the transmission went bad. There was no way she could afford to buy another car being older on limited income, so I gave the Cavalier to her.
I never get sick of the style of the first Aero Birds. I never get sick of Tbirds of any year. There was always something unique with a little bit of interesting oddity about many of them.
So here I am with two Fords and I don't see myself buying any other brand ever again whether it's new or used.
I was 15, and my dad hada black (almost identical to Dan's) '84 ls with a 3.8. After warping the heads on a trip down to Florida, getting them replaced on the way back, he decided he had had enough of it and gave it to me:shakeass:
After that car ped out, I bought an '88 Tempo (what a POS), then a 92 Taurus( that car was the shiznit, I put like 150xxx after I knew the odo had already turned over). Well then I saw a 20th (had no idea what it was then) at a local used dealer for 1500. I snagged it as soon as I saw it, with 500 down and financed the rest. It was in exceptional condition, the interior was perfect, mint dash, brand new looking seats, ect. On my way home from work, I got t-boned by an illegal mexican and totaled the car......I miss that car everyday like I lost a parent or something.....Then, after moving up here to Tennessee, I found one for 500 bucks on CL down in Clearwater Fl, contacted the owner, She said it was rusty around the bottom of the doors, and it needed a power steering hose. Well, I bought it even though the power steering pump was bad (drove 800 miles in it with no PS) and ended up parting it months later due to the lack of ability to fix the rust......I would give anything to have the 'ol rustbucket back now that I am Cougarless:mad:
My first car was a 81 XR7. I enjoyed it, but it was kinda boxy compared to other cars and the huge taillights. Then my younger brother got a 83 Cougar LS.
The styling and body seemed eons ahead of the boxy 81. The 5.0 CFI seemed to have more instant off idle torque than my gutless 81.
About 5 years later, I spotted a nice looking 85 LS with the 5.0. It had 70K on it, this was in 91'. It was a Medium Regatta Blue car with blue interior and full digi dash. I really enjoyed that car, it drove and rode beautifully. I drove that car through my later college years (alot of good memories). It was one of the smoothest idiling engines I had ever seen.
My brother later got a red 88 XR7, and I really liked that style also, eventually becoming my favorite style.
I eventually sold my 85 with about 110K on it, needed something with 4WD to get around in the winter. I have had several Mustangs since then, but always missed the ride and style of the Cougar. I have sold my Stangs now and enjoying my Black 88 LS 5.0.
One day my parents and I all took a ride over to this guys apartment complex "to pick up my uncle", And we all went over to this dark blue '84 T-Bird with primer splotches all over it.
After my parents give it a lookover~My dad says, Like your new car?
I'm like: ???!!! Haha.
Uncles friend lived at this apartment complex, And had the t-bird he had acquired and drove for only a couple years before letting it sit forever~Until the apartment management started complaining and threatening action.
So one day this guy mentions to my uncle "Know anyone who needs a project car?" and my uncle mentions this to my parents and now it sits in my driveway.
She only costed the price of towing (About $55)
I was like 15 at the time.
At first i was really excited (Teenager+Car), But then i realized how much work it needed i freaked out, But it kept calling to me as it sat... I would go out and play around with it and think of tons of great things i could do with her... she won me over!
Now i dont ever have any plans on getting rid of her, My first car...