Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Topic: Why T-Birds and Cougars ?? (Read 4319 times) previous topic - next topic

Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

March 30, 2005, 01:42:34 AM

What is it about the Cougars and T-Birds that make them special to each of you ?

I was in high school when the 87-88 body styles came out, and I wanted one for a long time. I slowly moved away from them because I really didn't have plans for a 'new' car until years later. My first was a 4x4 Dodge Ram Charger (74) with a removable top and 318 motor. I drove the out of it, and had it in mud well above the bottom of the doors. I couldn't kill it, but eventually parked it for something more practical.

I have had several new cars over the years, but again, I didn't even consider the Cougars until recently. Even then, I wasn't looking for one. I sold my 03 Cavalier and started looking for something more interesting and fun. Wanted something I could put wide tires on, raise the rear end, and just play around with it. I am not a mechanic, and in fact, have always hated working on cars. Why the change now, I don't know. My wife asked me the other evening if I was looking for my youth again, and I responded that I still had it, and laughed, but I do wonder if this is why I knew when I found my 87 that it didn't matter what I had to do to it, it was coming home with me. My 13 year old refused to ride home with me, said it was embarrassing. I have to agree with him, it does lack in the 'cool' department, at least right now. I finally convinced him it would probably be his first car, so now he wants to get involved a little more. How do these cars keep us coming back for more? I have read threads from some of you that have had your cars for a very long time, and have probably spent ten fold what they are worth, so why? Why do we do it? Anyone??

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #1 – March 30, 2005, 02:11:10 AM

each one of us has a different reason really

my car was given to me, almost as an apology from my father for having my 71 Scamp towed, and selling a 1980 Porsche 924 that was promised to me, and when i saw this dull, red, chromed out 3.8L, i hated it, thought it was ugly, grandpa car, POS, whatever you could think of calling it

after a while, i got over being angry, and started to check the car out, cleaned it up, polished it, got some wax on it, and i was in denial, i said i didnt like it, but i loved it, i found the original forum on EZboard, found Carmens site, and got hooked, about a year later, i started modding it, mostly in the interior

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #2 – March 30, 2005, 02:47:18 AM

felt the same way about my first one..(87 3.8 base tbird, grey on grey). got it cause my dad wouldnt let me get a mustang. i drove that for awhile and then sold it and bought my second tbird (88 sport 5.0 loaded cept for leather and roof light blue on blue). at the time i thought it had the same 5.0 as a mustang. tinkered with it then sold it after about 2 years. drove a 92 tempo gls (2 door 3.0 6cyl stick) till my gf wrecked it. bought a cheep 92 subaru loyale wagon 4x4. drove it till i was sick of it and bought a tc. 5.0 ho t5 allready almost done. finnished it, loved. got a great offer on it and sold it after about 9 months. the kid totaled it within 2 weeks. continued driving the suby till i got my mark viii. few years later got rid of that and got my ranger. bout a year ago i bought the sport for dirt cheep. only thing it needed was the windows fixed and a radio. started tinkering with it 2 months ago.

seems i always end up eyeballing the tbirds (primarily the 87-88 fox). everybody has a mustang. ive always been a ford fan but i always like to be a little different. i like the extra room in these cars and they look 100 times better than a fox mustang. the way they have been falling through the cracks in my area makes me like mine that much more. guess i will always have a soft spot in my heart for them. wont stop me from owning a cobra though.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #3 – March 30, 2005, 07:25:49 AM

Ask your son if he wants to ride around in this: :D
This is why of love theses cars:Their potential!!!!!!!!

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #4 – March 30, 2005, 08:19:29 AM

My love affair with these cars started way back when the '87 came out, when I fell in love with the clean lines and round tail lights of the 87 TC. It wasn't a REAL love affair, though, as my first car was still a few years off.

By the time I turned 17 and sed together a few hundred dollars to buy a first car I had just about forgotten about T-Birds. I just wanted something with a V8, because all of my friends were driving Chevettes, Escorts, Pony's, etc. I couldn't afford a Mustang but found a '78 Trans Am. I loved that car but eventually it became unroadworthy, so I sold it and bought another Firebird ('80 Formula). I was getting bored with Firebirds, though, and was driving down the local main drag and saw a white car in a sales lot that really caught my eye. It was an '84 V6 T-Bird. I knew absolutely nothing about these cars, but I knew I liked the looks of this one. I wanted to trade my Firebird in on it, but the lot would not give me a good trade in value, so I went home and put the Firebird up for sale.

By the time the Firebird sold the T-Bird had long been sold, so I set off in search of another one. Didn't know anything. Didn't even know that Cougars and T-Birds were essentially the same. Didn't know the interior changed in '85. I just knew I wanted one. I eventually found a light sage green metallic '85 V6 'Bird. This was a very basic 'Bird - no EFI, no power options, no cruise, no air - it didn't even have a passenger's side mirror! It was enough, though, to cement my love for these things. I've since owned five (four T-Birds and a Cougar).

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #5 – March 30, 2005, 08:36:47 AM

Well for me it goes back to when i had my Z28.
I use to go mustang hunting on the weekends and did very well.
There were a few old guys with there T birds that always sayed to there own.
Now this is like 13 years ago and u had old cars and new stangs fighting it out.
Import racing was not realy anything.

Anyway with my little 400 done to tits 9inch and lader bars i had a quick car.
Tommy morana of Afordabale proformance had 84 T bird that ass raped me 3 ways from sunday, 460 with toploarder and a 9 inch,
other people all had 351s with superchargers and the respect for the mustang on storaids started right there.

i had 85 RS capri and 88 cobra. There nice cars but ride and extra room of T birds and cougars is much better. Also fact that your stang just got ass raped by a cougar is priceless

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #6 – March 30, 2005, 08:43:46 AM

Anything you can do to a Mustang GT,you can do to these,but they're better looking,more room,not everyone has one,they'll run like the wind in comfort.I'm on my 8th T-Bird,and wouldn't want anything else.The one I'm driving now is the one I'll never let go of.It's special to me because I built the car from the ground up.A lot of time and love.Once i get the H.O. bolted under the hood,it'll be a whole new world.Even after owning the car for 6 years now,I still like looking at it.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #7 – March 30, 2005, 06:23:06 PM

Why do I have a Bird(actually 5), cause I'm to ed old for a Mustang!!!! I like the birds cause they have a reasonable amount of room, arn't big attention getters and can be modified easily. Really love the looks of the '87-'88 TCs, but have always thought Ford should have produced a sister car with its styling, features and available HO 5.0/5 speed. Since they didn't I built my own, and if anything happens to this one, I'll bucher another TC...

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #8 – March 30, 2005, 06:28:44 PM

My cougar was my first car, imagine being barely 16 with a $110 dollar 5.0 car, that your dad says that is okay to wreck. The car fits me very well. I am over 6'4" over 200 pounds and have been since I was 16. I am not comftorble driveing my freinds cars because of how small the are. I could not hope for a car that fist me better. I have also gotten another cougar since then.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #9 – March 30, 2005, 07:04:12 PM

Quote

My first was a 4x4 Dodge Ram Charger (74) with a removable top and 318 motor

My father bought a '78 Ramcharger 4X4 new. It had been special ordered by a contractor (this was back when you could special order vehicles) who then went bankrupt before buying the truck. It was extremely rare because of its options. In 1978 Dodge made Ramchargers (SUV's before the term SUV even existed) and Power Wagons (pickup trucks). My father's was a Ramcharger Power Wagon. It had a 440 4-bbl engine, 727 tranny, full time 4WD, full floating 8-bolt axles, 33-12.5-15LT tires, the "Power Wagon" hood, and of course the Ramcharger's trademark removable roof. All of this was factory installed. The salesman told my father that it was one of 5 Ramcharger Power Wagons sold in Canada. We actually did see another one when we moved to Calgary in '79, and the owner and my father became CB buddies (the Flinstones version of messdage boards I guess).

My father cried when he traded it in on a Voyager minivan in '84. He traded it on a Friday, called back Monday to buy it back, but it had already been sold. We still saw it around right up until a few years ago.

Being a kid I loved that truck. It was big, it was mean, and it was tough. I have very fond memories of my father driving us around with the roof off. If it's possible for me to love an SUV as much as I love T-Birds, the '74-'79 Ramchargers would do it. I will find and restore one some day, and build it into a blue and silver Power Wagon clone.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #10 – March 30, 2005, 09:01:26 PM

The styling of the '87 TC really caught my eye when it first came out, which doesn't really happen with too many new cars. Well I was working construction during the summers at that time, so I bought an '80 F250 4x4 instead. Fast forward to '94, I had built a 351 that I was looking for a vehicle to put it in when I found a georgous midnight blue '85 T-Bird. I drifted off to the old muscle cars for awhile, but when I sold my Torino(insurance restrictions were extremely tight on that car plus i needed money), I went back to the fox body Tbirds and Mark VIIs for the love affair that was started with that '85. The main reason though, there's nothing better than lining up with a Z28 in your comfy Mark VII or Tbird and blowing it's doors off. Even though I'm getting the Torino back, I will still always have a Mark VII or Bird. BTW, if I ever think about selling again after I get it back, ya'll have full permission to kick some sense into me.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #11 – March 30, 2005, 09:32:22 PM

My first car was an 86 Cougar LS that I got for $200 and put about $1,000 worth of work into to get it back on the road. I loved that car to death. When I sold it because it was having some minor issues I didnt have the money to resolve I missed it. Then, the friend I sold it to crashed it, what a sad day that was. I had an IROC, I had a few other cars that were fun, but never compared to the cougar. So, every day I bowsed the papers and I eventually found the XR-7 that I currently own.

The car is great, but what has kept me around has mostly been the great friends I have made because of the car and the internet combined. It's also nice to stand out in the crowd, funny how the little mustang punks react when they pull up to me at a stop light and hear the exhaust... heh.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #12 – March 30, 2005, 10:01:14 PM

Why Tbirds and Cougars?
Because they're not Mustangs.....

I had my share of Fox Mustangs after switching from the Mk1 water-cooled VW's (loved my Scirocco's). This was in '90 or so. Had an 82 5.0 Mustang GL. Good car. Quick and I shouldn't have sold it. Got my first TBird in '94. It was an 83 5.0 car. Mainly because it caught my eye and the price was right. Had it for a while, gave it to the wife as a daily when we got rid of her 79 Mustang.
I bought my 83 in '96 after some old woman killed my 80 Capri RS Turbo (SVO drivetrain). From that point on I slowly weened off Mustangs (I started working for KB's about that time and the "Mustang Crowd" really started to irk me..and I saw the ed things every day. I also started vering away from the 5.0's as well. I got rid of the 82 GT roller and my last Mustang was the 79 Pace Car (notice a trend?...79-82..the best looking Mustangs/Capris) that was my ex's driver (turbo car) until the divorce. She kept the house...I kept the cars. I sold it to help fund things.

To me the 83-84's Tbirds/Cougars are the best looking of the bunch, esp when done right. The 85-86's are ok..but things like tail lights and dashes turn me off.

I don't like having the everyday or "normal". The '87 Ranger is the most mainstream of the bunch..and it's turboed...

I can look at the lines on the Tbird for hours. I think it's something that Ford got right on the first try.

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #13 – March 30, 2005, 10:28:16 PM

Im to tall to fit comfortably in a stang, and Im pretty cheap so the Tbird fit both criteria. :)

Re: Why T-Birds and Cougars ??

Reply #14 – March 31, 2005, 12:19:26 AM

i liked the style of it and it was different from what everyone else had