New to the T-Bird Community January 17, 2007, 09:36:58 PM Yesterday, I just took possesion of my grandparent's 1983 Thunderbird Heritage. They previously had a 1964 T-Bird and the '83 was the last new car they purchased. Anyway, the car is original with 95,000 miles on the clock. Interior is beautiful, no tears or fading - just needs cleaning. The body is ok - a couple of dents and dings - Grandma's eyesight was going before her driver's license did. The paint is original and just needs a good buffing. There are a few things I'd like to fix sooner rather than later like an electronic fuel gage that only reads when the tank is fuel and then registers empty, a driver's side window that takes three hands to operate (one to work the switch and two to yank it up), and a radio that only hums through the speaker. A complete tune up and safety inspection are tops on the list as well. I was wondering if there is a specific tech manual (Chilton's, Haynes, ect) that anyone would recommend. I'm looking forward to many good times with my T-Bird. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #1 – January 17, 2007, 09:46:40 PM Welcome. The Heritage is a very uncommon car these days. Is it a V8? Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #2 – January 17, 2007, 09:58:35 PM 5.0 V-8. One interesting bit I learned from my father about this car. My grandfather had a stroke in the late '70s and he sometimes would say "NO" when he meant yes. When they were placing the order and were going down the option list, when they got to the cruise control option (which I understand was standard) my grandfather kept saying "No". So they had to do a special order to delete the cruise control. I don't know how rare that would be....by the way, is there a way to decode the VIN similar to what can be done for Pontiacs through Pontiac Historical Services? Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #3 – January 17, 2007, 10:02:48 PM I have how to on my car domain. Eric has one too. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #4 – January 18, 2007, 01:18:04 AM Quote from: OgreBird;1243395.0 V-8. One interesting bit I learned from my father about this car. My grandfather had a stroke in the late '70s and he sometimes would say "NO" when he meant yes. When they were placing the order and were going down the option list, when they got to the cruise control option (which I understand was standard) my grandfather kept saying "No". So they had to do a special order to delete the cruise control. I don't know how rare that would be....by the way, is there a way to decode the VIN similar to what can be done for Pontiacs through Pontiac Historical Services?i know a few chicks that must've been stroke victims as well...(i debated whether or not to post this. sorry if you take it the wrong way, but i just had to say it.) btw, did the car come from central texas? Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #5 – January 18, 2007, 02:22:08 AM well to answer you question, They are both good and I would get em both, one might have something the other doesn't, also if you plan on keeping the car for a while, try and find a shop manual.My 2cents oh and nice inheritance Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #6 – January 18, 2007, 06:56:49 AM As far as the chick/stoke thing, no worries. Pop smoked 2 packs of Camel nonfilters for years and had made his own kegorator long before you could buy one. Chicks - that's two X chromosomes. I know. 5 daughters. Any way, I will check out the Car Domain pages when I get a chance and plan to pick up a manual at my local Advance Auto. The car is from Eastern PA, but was garage kept and never driven in the snow. I do plan to keep it. The girls like it better than my '69 Firebird and '80 280ZX. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #7 – January 18, 2007, 09:53:26 AM Wecome aboard, so you live in PA then? Hey, if you ever have the chance, post up some pictures of the birds and the nissan.As said before both manuals are helpful and if you need more information for something, post about it and we'd be glad to help. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #8 – January 18, 2007, 10:01:04 AM welcome aboard congrarts on the inheritance but Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #9 – January 18, 2007, 10:15:50 AM My brother used to own a '79 280zx. Pretty interesting car. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #10 – January 18, 2007, 01:17:31 PM Welcome to the wonderful Tbird/Cougar world. Are you near Philly?Chris Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #11 – January 18, 2007, 02:01:25 PM Welcome aboard.To good have you here. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #12 – January 18, 2007, 10:09:52 PM I grew up in Reading, PA - where the T-Bird came from. I live in Western Maryland - cumberland, MD. I will post some pics of my fleet as soon as I can get one of the kids to help me with that. The Firebird has been a 27 year project since high school. I bought the 280ZX about 18 months ago to have something fun and cheap to autocross. We have a great automotive community here in cumberland. The hold 6 autocross events at the airport and are adding a hill climb this year. Thanks for the warm welcome and I will be tapping into the collective technical expertise. Hopefully, I can add to it as well. Quote Selected
New to the T-Bird Community Reply #13 – January 19, 2007, 09:30:13 AM Welcome to the forums!I've been in cumberland quite a few times. It's a beautiful city. When Charter Communications was still around, I would work with the media people for advertising on Channel 8. I used to live in Morgantown, also.It sounds like you have a great project car. I'd like to see some shots of the interior; especially the non-cruise steering wheel. Quote Selected
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