new member August 07, 2005, 09:15:46 PM Hi all, Just thought I'd leave a post real quick. I just picked up a 88 thunderbird turbo coupe from a buddy 3 days ago. Been doing abit of research today to find some info on it and this is the first decent forum I've found. The car has 224k on the body. 63k on the engine. Got it for 500 bucks so I can break into the domestic market. I must say though after 3 days I love the car! I'll be around quite abit seeing as I know nothing about the car yet other then that fact it's fun and I want to get it into perfect shape. Hope to chat with you all soon!! Needs alot of work but I'm ready and willing!-Temp Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #1 – August 07, 2005, 09:26:41 PM Welcome A-Board.... :hick: :D Glad to hear about another Fan of fox-bodied car....Very nice for the price... Any known troubles?Tip : Add the "HTTP : //" in front of your link if you want em to work.... Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #2 – August 07, 2005, 09:30:38 PM I do know that the powersteering belt needs to be replaced *makes alot of noise at low rpm* and there is a fitting for the powersteering that needs to be replaced. Other then that struts and bushing are a must since it makes abit of chirping over bumps. I'm willing to it all since it'll help me understand the car abit more. two nights ago it was so much fun smoking some little riced out honda without even trying. I'm in love with this car Thanks for the heads up on the [img] every board seems to be different these days. hehe Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #3 – August 07, 2005, 09:38:46 PM If you need a great place for technical info and how-to, you can also go to CoolcatsIts dedicated to Cougar, but everything applies to both cars... (The only major diff are the Taillights, the front end and the Quarter Panel windows...). If you have any other questions, feel free to ask here... Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #4 – August 07, 2005, 09:43:54 PM Very cool. I'll be replacing the stereo in the car tomorrow with the stuff out of my 93 protege. I cant handle no music for long even though work is only 2 minutes away. hahIt does have abit of body rust which is to be expected of a car with that many miles. That kind of stuff with get fixed after I have the engine pulled out and redone. This car won't be half assed *I hope* I'll end up getting the door on my protege replaced here soon once a junk yard wants less then 400 dollars for a door. Then this hunk of shaginess is going into the shop for awhile for a rebuild Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #5 – August 07, 2005, 10:14:07 PM Welcome aboard!Not too shabby of a car you have there. Good luck with it and have fun. Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #6 – August 08, 2005, 12:45:06 AM another 500 dollar turbo coupe! nice findas for the chirping over the bumps, i could be anything, my doors chirp over bumpsalso, remember, the shocks and struts on these cars are hard to find, you can slap some regular old shocks and struts in it, but you lose your ride control functions Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #7 – August 08, 2005, 01:22:59 AM Oooh didn't even think about the ride control for the struts. I've only used it on Firm so far so I'm not sure how much of a difference auto vs firm makes =X Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #8 – August 08, 2005, 01:46:09 AM its a big difference, auto is constantly changing, firm is just...firmthe problem with most struts, firm ride is more firm than most aftermarket struts, so you can put new shocks and struts all around, and they wont be as firm Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #9 – August 08, 2005, 02:17:21 AM awww poop. I'll have to look at it and see if I can just replace the coils and bushings if so I'm set Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #10 – August 08, 2005, 08:23:07 AM nice car and welcome. If you are doing driveline first, just don't let the body get to far away from you. I lost a capri cause I did the drive line but the body was so bad when I was done it wasn't salvagable. I was going to do the body when I was finished, but the floors were falling out and the rust got away from me (yay michigan winters) Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #11 – August 08, 2005, 07:04:34 PM The rust isn't too bad *yet* The front wheel wells are rusting on top alittle. I may try and find replacement pieces and go in to get them painted and whatnot. Quote Selected
Re: new member Reply #12 – August 08, 2005, 07:18:26 PM I played with the cool little switch for the shocks earlier on the highway when it started getting towards the bumpy area. BIG difference between auto and firm I was very suprised Quote Selected