I've had my 84' T-Bird Elan for about 4 years now and I've always wanted to know the story with the Elan option, if there is one.
Does anyone know what Elan means, or is it just FoMoCo's way of saying "The Power Everything Option".
If anyone knows anything about the Elan story, maybe someone will also know why "Fila" teamed with Ford on our Fox T-Bird's.
Just Curious.
Elan was just the base 'Bird, it was called LX in 87/88. You could get a non-Elan one, but hardly anybody did. Same thing with the fox Mustang, they had the Ghia that became the LX.
Fila contracted into a special run, which is not unusual. AMC had Pierre Cardin Javelin's in 71-74, and Levi Gremlin's from 70-76. Ford had (and still has) Eddie Bauer on it's Exploders/etc.
Thats one of the cars I want to own some day (but probabally wont) just think its cool.
The Fila bird was something Ive never, and still dont quite understand. You slap a tennis shoe logo on the car and now you have a Fila bird, was Fila ever a top player in the shoe market anyway? I just picture cheap shoes when I hear Fila, if they are even still in business.
Elan--spirited selfassurance; verve; dash; ardor
Bottom to top of the line for '84:
Base; Fila; Elan; Turbo Coupe
No clue, I always thought E'lan was a power everything and Fila was a "rare" package. Not quite sure of what is is or why they did either of them really?
My mom used to have a 77 Levi Gremlin with the big six (200 ci I think). Two years after I was born my parents got rid of it and bought a Plymouth Voyager.
so how many colors of elans are there? so far I have seen 3 and just till recently I thought they were all blue :dunno: I saw a red one that some old lady drives.
My '84 E'lan was silver.:D
Fila's only came in white
Elans were the LXs of the 84-86 Birds. In those years it went Base, Fila, Elan, Turbo Coupe. In 87-88 it went Base, LX, Sport, Turbo Coupe. The Elan was just the luxo Bird like the LX.
Ive seen an Elan in sandalwood. Its in a J/Y Near me. I got my tripminder out of it :)
My élan was red when I bought it, but that obviously changed. :D
They came in dark gray and red too. I think I saw one in black, can't remember.
You also got a Fila gym bag and towel with the car, not to mention the Turbo Coupe seats with unique suede coverings and floorshifter. Filas rule.
And the Elan was just tha 1980s freshening of the Heritage luxury group from the 1970s. Nicer seats than the base model, stuff like that.
I don't have the floor shifter. I have the white seats and the bag though.
ive seen 2 elans in black. one i was trying to get off my old tattoo artist.
No floor shift? Wow, never seen that before. Does it have the Turbo Coupe style seats or the Elan seats?
Can you post a pic of the Fila bag? Am I asking too many questions? ;)
The Fila bag is still at my freinds so I have to go get it. It was his car for 5 years aftr all. The pics of the car are all on my cardomain.
The Fila option also included a standard 24 month/24,000 mile warranty with where all other Thunderbirds had a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty.
Brent
Something I didn't know. Didn't Fila's only run 84-85? Oh yeah, I ment to ask along time ago, Does anyone else on here have a Fila or am I the Red Headed Step Child?
Read posts #1 and #14...
Yeah, he has an E'lan, Not a Fila. I asked if anyone else had a Fila
22
my elan is silver 2
No one has mentioned the real reason to order a Fila in the first place, the most powerful motor available in an aerobird (until the intercooled TC), a 175 HP SBF.
How do you figure?
Usually with algebra, why?
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Boulier1.JPG)
:moon:
Those wooden computers are just too hard for me to learn.
A 175hp throttle body 5.0 in a Fila??? Nobody mentioned it cause it never happened...
Cuse me me while I go to john before I piss myself... :rollin:
Thread from the Dead?
Back in my youth I owned a 78' Diamond Jubilee thunderbird, loved that car...
I never drove one, never cared. Throttle body? Who knows, never looked under the hood. Just taking the salesman at his word.
And that's why we don't take the salesman's word for it :D I wish it was true though.
IIRC, in '84 the Mustang GT came with a 175HP carb'd 302. Yes or no? The Fila came with that motor, so said the guy at Ford. "Salesman" was a poor choice of words, the guy was a service writer. We had this conversation while getting my TC serviced.
True? beats me. All I know is I've read lots of things that don't jive with my experience and/or recollection. 83-85 TCs rated at 155 HP? Maybe, but that's not what was advertised. All 83-85 TC motors the same? Doubt it.
I parked my "old" one next to a guy one time. Lucked into catching him as we were leaving, talked TC shop for a while. He had bought his '85 TC at the beginning of the model year, while I'd bought mine at the end. The motor in his looked like it was straight out of an '84. As compared to mine, different pipe off the turbo, different intake and a few other things that escape memory.
Believing don't make it so, but I consider him a reputable source for a starting point. I'll say it again, I never cared about the Fila and still don't but one of the purposes of this board is information dissemination, right?
Is there anyone that has a Fila on this board now (that isn't banned)?
That was a 4bbl carbed 5.0 engine... NO FOX T-Bird ever came with a 4bbl carb from the factory... AFAIK all '83 up 5.0 were fuel injection... Even if some of the Canadian models were carbed, I can gaurentee, none had a 4bbl HO...
IF he stated it was the same, 175hp, etc... He was lying..
Except for Turbo Coupes a 5.0 could be had in any year Fox Bird... Fila, base, Elan, all got the same engine...
Pay no attention to any posts concerning a certain member who owned one.....He was a fountain of mis-information.
maybe this will help you out.
enjoy everyone,, been holding on to this link for a while now,, and it works fine.
http://www.syssrc.com/html/museum/html/sims/javaslide/
I've got a red one... anyone wanna buy it? its for sale..
(http://www.bleachdesign.net/images/tbird.jpg)
Holy big pic Batman!!
I dunno how much are ya asking?
Yeah, sorry... didn't realize it till I had it there...
I want $900 for it, just want it gone.. runs and drives, good condition.. I am in washington
I have an 85 Fila 106K, two owner,nearly perfect Fila. These are charcoal pastel gray light with dark charcoal gray accents on bottom. park one next to white and the difference is noticeable. 5.0 cfi 140-145hp
I forgot to mention it is a feature car in THUNDERBIRD FIFTY YEARS, by Alan Tast, a book with pictures and excellent history of all birds.My car on pages 138 thru 142.
Hello
I have a 86 elan. From what I have found out is its one of the last ones. Built in nov 86 I think. Im 3rd owner and I know the last owner of the car. He drove it like a grandma and he knows the 1st owner. She used the car for going back and fourth to work. The car has 250000 km on it. I have driven the piss out of it in 12 years and it still runs great. I also had the car upto 142 mph. It had a 93 cobra computer reprogrammed with no speed limiter on it. The best fuel millage I got out of it was 32-34 mpg. I was running the car at 140 km/h. Best $1000 I ever spent. What else can I say about the best car I have ever owned.
igiveup