as the title states.. what makes you love your bird/cat so much?
for me, it started with the fact that the 'aero bird' is dubbed as 'ford's last muscle car,' which is completely true.. MN-12's are considered a 'luxury sport' and mustangs are technically a 'sports car.' since i owned my 88 sport, it's grown into much more than just the 'muscle car' appeal
so lets here your story!
32 MPG, very quick, very comfortable, great for long travels, great for just cruising, very stylish, dependable, and cheap to fix when it does break. What's not to like?
the look of the 4 eyed front is what drew me to it initially.. and that link back to NASCAR.
having a 5.0 was a conveniance, with so much potential.
but i just love that its different to what everyone knows of around here.
i wish that were a bit more true for around here.. i'd rather see none at all than the poor, beaten up rust buckets i see all the time :(
IMO they are the best cars ever.
They're not too big, not too small, they're quick, agile, elegant, and classy. They combine the best elements of a sports car with the best elements of a luxury car.
Some folks when they think of a Thunderbird or Cougar, think of the old classics from the 50's and 60's. To me these cars peaked in the 1983 - 1988 period. Especially the Cougar. When I think "Mercury Cougar", what I see in my mind is a four eyed beauty from the 1980s, prowling the highway in style.
I would rather have one of these than any other car.
I got the car for free didn't really like the way it looked but it grows on you and now i am completely in love with the way the four eyes look!
Can't beat the sound of a 2.3 turbo and the beauty of a four eyed bird, plus I love the vent windows in my 83
My 85 Cougar has those vent windows too. Cool stuff.
i repeat..
i want vent windows :(
I think he meant the fact that his is right hand drive.
Yes you do :) This is the first car I've had with those and it's really cool to roar down the highway with the vent windows open.
i think he was saying in another thread that when he took it to a show, people kept staring at it because they didn't know what it was.. lol
i know i do.. my ford trucks all had them and it made it perfect for smoking when it was raining or freezing cold outside.. they also bring in a TON of air when you open them all the way, cruising down the road in the blistering heat.. that's what i love most about them lol
My '84 Cougar has alot of sentimental value. It was my Uncle's first car(bought in '86), he was killed by a hit and run motorist, who had been writing on the car and he tried to chase them down. I got it 14 years later as my first car. He babied it, and there was a duffle bag with all of his cleaning supplies for it in the trunk. The car is absolutely Pristine. I'm in love with the four-eye front end(why I bought an '84 'bird too), the 5.0 is such a shagy engine, they are extremely comfortable, ride quality and handling is superb. I couldn't ask for a better car.
I would drive my Cougar every day of every year, and not blink an eye. I absolutely hate driving my Jeep after getting back in the Cougar. When I get the T-Bird cleaned up and a new motor in it, I will more than likely use it as a daily driver. Nothing beats these cars.
This...
Theres only a handful of 80's tbirds in AU, so no one knows what they are. very unique :P
When did the vent windows get phased out?
i like em!
i don't know, but they seem to be a semi-rare option.. i know they didn't make it to the 87 birds/cats
LOL. For me, The aero bird was the first of the sport luxury cars, not the last of the muscle car. To argue otherwise would be complete insanity in my book. They had great potential but the mustang took priority. They were great cars in their day though. It's important too keep things in perspective. I remember arguing with old timers about their old cars like the boss 302. fantastic car but a slow, sloppy dinosaur in current terms. That's just how it goes....
not to start an argument, but the aero birds have been dubbed 'ford's last muscle car' by numerous publications because of it's size, comfortable interior and (ready for this 1? it's pretty stupid-funny) 'powerful like the muscle cars of the 60's..' the 'better' handling and more comfortable interior didn't come as a 'luxury' thing, it was more of a 'time period correct' characteristic
I love the Sport because I'm the one she chose. Remember Arnie? The kid who bought Christine in the move? It's kind of like that.....but less evil.
That doesn't make them right. Everybody has their opinion. There is nothing "muscle car" about them.
im original owner,it reminds me of my youth
I was given a 3.8 87 TBird in high school after I blew the engine in my Buick TType. It was slow, but drove like a dream, and I had a lot of fun in it.
So after getting tired of trying to fit into Mustangs, I picked one up.
Well to start, my dad bought a new 5.0 Cougar in 1983 that he kept for almost 10 years, and my uncle had a 1984 Cougar with the 5.0 he kept for several years. So in our family they're just considered a nice car to have.
It's everything I like about fox Mustangs except it has more room inside, more trunk space, and it's far more comfortable.
Because it's a fox chassis, it benefits from the Mustang's aftermarket support.
For me, this is the ultimate car. I can see the potential in it, and it will be awesome.
My car has sentimental value. Aunt bought it new, Dad bought it and drove it for several years. I inherited it at 17 yrs old and daily drove it in High School, college, and up until about '04 or so. Lots of good memories in the car. I used to routinely smoke my buddy in his '84 Monte w/305. The cars seemed quick at the time, but now I know both were really slow, lol.
I remember my aunt driving the car home to Indiana from Louisiana when I was 7 or 8. The 'bird would have only been a year or two old at the time but it seemed like such a fancy, hi-tech car at the time. Digital dash, the equilizer for the radio, she even had a "bag phone"! First time I ever remember seeing a cellular phone in my life. I thought it was amazing you could call someone from your car.
Yeah I can dig it. That's how I feel about my Cougar. It's like the car chose
me instead of the other way around.
I was meant to have this car. :)
I loved mine because my grandmother owned it since almost new, and I worked on it a lot. I had mine painted, swapped motors in it, changed the seats, lot of stuff. It was a POS when I got it, and it was still a POS when I traded it in for a 2010 Genesis Coupe 3.8 M/T.
I did what I could with it(wish I did more) for the 5 years I had it. I beat on it something fierce. After the frustration and aggravation of always wondering if it was going to break down, or what not, I was still proud of it. It's the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into it that made me love it. Driving it as a DD after I put the motor in it, made me feel like I had accomplished something. In the grand scheme of things, I didn't accomplish shi*, I spent my time working on a car no one gives a shi* about, but it still made me feel good.
After reading some of the responses here today, I called the dealer I traded it in at just to see what I could find out. After some calls, it turns out it was sold to a junk yard on 4/15/11 and crushed in June. The yard was actually a place I bought some parts for the car at some point in high school(circa 07-08). They didn't remove anything off of the car. Made me a little sad.
When i traded it in, there was so much wrong with it I couldn't use it as a DD anymore. But in hindsight, if I could go back, I would. It'd have kept it and either parted it or worked on it. Oh well.
I love em cuz I was a huge Ford fan as a kid and the Tbirds smacked the chevy's around in NASCAR starting in 83. (Big Davy Allison fan). I was only 16 or so and saw an 87TC at a car show, and was in awe, nothing like that car on the road at the time... I am in the process of getting mine ready for a run at the 150MPH club at Bonneville. It's a 50th B'day present to me from me, but I am hoping to do it in 2 years....we'll see.
do you mean 40th birthday? the numbers don't add up.. lol
You need to call me up before you get out t do that. I live in magna utah, about a 60 min drive from boneville. I would love to see your car and watch it run. If there is anything you need when your driving through town or anything, let me know.
that would be pretty sweet to see a bird blazing across the salt flats of bonneville
My T-Bird is parked in my parents driveway, and today my Mom asked me when I was gonna move it. I told her when I trade the Jeep for a truck I'll haul it away on a car trailer. She said "well I know the Junkyard is getting ready for another round of crushing soon". I said, "if there is any Cougar or Thunderbird about to be crushed I will buy it, I cannot allow such a thing to happen." I'll throw her '03 VW Beetle in the crusher before a Four-Eye.
I like 'em because they're not "bellybutton" like a Mustang, yet take pretty much every mechanical upgrade that said Mustangs can. They have a softer, more sculpted body line than the same year Stangs, and to me it makes it look like the car is in motion while sitting still. It's NOT the "last musclecar" or whatever shiznit some overpaid geezer at some dumbshiznit magazine wrote....but it WAS one of the last true domestic rear drive SportLuxury coupes produced...
I've had 4 '88 cars...all engines available...the TC I had never ran, so by far I have to say the 5.0 is the clear winner...the Sport, that is...although it's a dream-turned-nightmare in real life.
Regardless, these cars are uncommon, and getting more so every day...save 'em. I wish I still had the shell of the TC, and the first Bird....they'd have made decent bodies if someone needed..
that's why i strongly disagree with hcor and 'fox restoration'.. a lot of the cars he was picking clean (at least that i have witnessed) were completely saveable.. nothing against him personally, we all need to make bank somehow, but i couldn't do that to fox birds.. i've often thought about going to junkyards and picking up any fox birds/cats i can and save as many of them as possible, while using the unsaveables for parts/part outs.. it's a bit of a kick in the nuts every time i see another car being parted out in the classifies
Haystack....i will take you up on that.
I am 45 now, just trying to knock it off my bucket list early!
i'd love to get hold of one of the last TC's.
they really do have a nice style
I'm in a debate whether I want to put a 2.3T or a big, cammed out V8 in my T-Bird. It's gonna be a nasty car all around. Lowered, wide tires, tons of power. The way it should be lol.
My vote is V8, just love that sound.
Hi everyone, new to the forum. It's great. I love my bird 87 LX soon to be LX TC combo, because I bought it brand new in 87. Drove it for 8 years and gave it to my son. He drove it for several years and gave it to a buddy of his now I have it back and in the process of restoration/restomod. Took out the 3.8 going back with 5.0 with console and floor shift. Hope I can find the body side trim somewhere as mine is bent from a couple of dents. Anyway it has a soft spot in my heart. I also was a big Nascar fan and loved it when the birds were kicking ass. I have an 88 TC as a donor car I will be parting with when I am finished the only thing it won't have is the radiator mount ( had to take that for the LX) Keep the fourm going I am glad I finally found others that love these cars as I do.
^^^Welcome! It's a given...these cars are an addiction..very few have been cured. lol
I love the birds because it was the first car I ever owned it although met its demise at the hand of me and a dirt road ditch. I have owned 3 87-88 birds and the truly main reason I love them is the fact they are different every one and there dog has a fast mustang or camaro and when you pull up to the line in a bird people give you this funny look like what are you going to do with that then you show em
For the '87-'88 Cougar LS with most options:
Mild and simple elegance
Tasteful aesthetics
It doesn't look too dated even 24 years later
Comfortable ergonomics
Comfortable ride
Modern convenience options such as MPG and auto climate
Durable and reliable
Shared platform with mainstream cars
No mainstream appeal (or awareness) so there is little concern parking it most places allowing for more opportunities of enjoyment
They are very affordable to buy (due to their minimal awareness), run, and maintain
The '88 XR-7 is all the above plus a mild sporty look and feel.
The '88 Cougar looks good in both monochromatic and mild chrome forms which for most cars, is either one or the other. These can look good both ways.
I've always had at least one since high school.
I fell In love with these cars back when my driver was an 80 Formula Firebird (some time in the very late 80's). I was growing bored with Firebirds (the 80 was my second, the first was a 78 Trans Am). I saw a white 84 T-bird at a local used car lot and pulled in to check it out. They wanted $3000 for it. It was advertised as an 86, but knowing what I know now I know it was an 84. They wouldn't give me a decent trade value on the Firebird so I drove away (funny, now you'd be able to buy four fox birds with what that firebird would be worth). I sold the f-body privately but by this time that white bird was long gone, so I started searching the classifieds. After looking at several cars I bought my first fox, a light sage green 85 v6 bird. The car was a stripper - the only options it had were metallic paint and full size spare. It was actually an extremely rare combo - the light sage green paint was rare enough, but even the few of those that existed usually had sandalwood guts - mine had charcoal. With the v6 it was dog-ass slow (but about par with that 301 pontiac) but I loved it. It cemented my love of these cars and was only the first of many. I sold my last one and am currently foxless but will find the right four-eye bird someday...
I love a cammed V8 for sure. My Cougar will be getting a very nicely built Dart 347 pushing in the neighborhood of 550+. I loved power adders(mostly for the sound) haha. I know their function and purpose, but a supercharger whine is just as shagy as the rumble of a V8. The sound of a Turbo spooling on a 2.3 that is cammed is a close second for me. Since I have a V8, especially in a few of my cars, I have considered a 2.3T project. A V8 would be an easy swap. I was thinking a 460 haha, just a monster motor that's carbed and I don't have to worry about Fuel Injection. It would have Nascar style side pipes, lowered on some FR500s.
I sometimes go to my storage unit, just to be around the Cougar. That car has so much meaning to me. I even look at my tattoo everyday and think about my Uncle and my car. I love every second of driving that car. When I'm driving it, my mind goes blank and I don't have a care in the world, it's the greatest feeling.
i vote 2.3T if you already have a smallblock car.. i love the sound of a small block + turbo, superchargers on a smallblock are overrated in my book.. but i vote 2.3T, as many people (myself included) have thrown the turbo motors in the garbage, so to speak
My 88 was the first car I bought with my own money. It's one of the best car's I've owned. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it if I can help it.
Loved the radical body style at the time and the quality. The doors and trunk close unlike any other car.
Oh and I love the vent windows on both of my 83's. :hick:
I like that they're different and I like the sleeper granny rep. Even though they're not that fast stock, the 5.0 make alot more torque than most of the on the road now days. They may catch me but from stop light to stop light not much can hang with the torque of them old 302s.
This,
...this,
and because it was the car that I learned mechanics on. Me and the Cat have gone through a lot together. It takes a lot of hard work to make a DD out of a 20+ year old car. And thats exactly what I did with it. And like some other people have said, its got all the good qualities of a Mustang, with none of the suck qualities of a mustang. The only thing I with they had was factory verts. And its just such a cool car. I can't really describe the pride that I used to feel driving down the road in that thing, even with a huge dent in the side, fading paint, and a slow ass 3.8, its still just so cool. I've done a lot of work to it, and still have a lot to go. And I cannot freaking wait until I can get it back on the road. It literally used to make me happy just to walk back to my car when I would walk out of a store or out of work or whatever, and just see it sitting there. It's really crazy weird actually, just how much I love that thing.
same here on both counts.. i used to love the looks i got when i got in the blue TC and fired it up.. at first i had to rev it to 18-2000RPMs off the bat to get the POS GM single wire alt to kick on.. people would whip their heads around so quick when they heard the turbo start to spool.. i can't wait until spring to start driving her again, i want to take her to the track and see what that 413 can do.. at least this time, they can't mistake it for a mustang like they did with my capri! >:L
Don't count on it, I can't tell you how many people have said to me "nice Mustang"........ :wall :disappoin :disappoin
i usually get 'what kind of car is that?' in reference to my TC's, since the emblems are all removed.. i've never had anyone call them a mustang, thank god.. lol
I have a car or truck from each decade, except for the 2000's. As a Ford guy, it seemed only proper to pick either a Mustang or Tbird. I also like to buck the trend on everything, and so the Tbird was it. Then after driving one for awhile, I realized how nice it handled, comfortable, and that you don't see one on the road everyday.
I like the look, lines of the fox birds. Especially the 4 eyes. It just seems to fit me, not too big and not too small. Comfortable to drive and most things easy to reach. I had stangs, 83' GT & 86' vert, but felt too cramped.
I love mine 'cause she's a slut, I love a good slut...
What publication was this??? I'll be sure to never subscribe...
don't remember.. i was 16 when i read up on them, when i got my first bird, 9 years ago ( i feel old now!)
Honestly, I bought my first two Tbirds as parts cars. I was looking to do an engine swap into a Triumph and needed a donor.
The 1988 I towed home was so nice that when I got it sorted out, I decided to drive it for a while. Then I was totally hooked. these cars are so nimble for their bulk, it's amazing. They handle way too good for their size. The TRUUUUUNK!! I never have had a car with so much room back there. And it has so much class and luxury. I can't wait to drive it. Going to work is the best part of the day!
I am a total convert. Had I not driven one I'd never have known how sweet these cars really are.:ford:
I bought my first (of many) Fox T-Birds in 1992.
I was looking for a cool highway cruiser because we were relocating the operation I worked for to North Carolina.
I wanted to travel back to KY every other weekend.
My brother suggested I look at T-Birds. They were still out of my range (cost wise) but I eventually bought my 83 Heritage with a running but wounded 5.0. (pic below was shot on it's way to my house)
I soon got hooked and started buying a bunch of the 87-88 TC in the late 90's. I must have had over 17 of the 87-88 TCs over the years.
I love the interior space and how cool they look. Plus, a 460 fits really nice in it.
I'm still the only regular at our track with that body style. (the gray Bird in my sig.)
BTW: I still have that Heritage.
(http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s3/83-88T-BirdGuy/83Heritage199202.jpg)
First car.