New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it November 06, 2005, 02:51:28 PM I had a '87 thunderbird, light blue, V6 with over 200,000 miles on it. I got the car in 97, and it only had 80,000 on it at the time. It was my Grandmothers and I loved it since she got it and was lucky enough to get it. Back in 2002, I had to let the car go. The flywheel has missing teeth, the oxygen sensors where rusted, would have needed to be blow torched off to be replaced, and cadalydic converters were clogged collapsed. Basically the car needed too much repairs, and being under my parents rule at the time I got a ford Focus instead of fixing it. I really loved the car, even learned to drive on it. That said the body also needed alot of work, as well as the interior needing work. So perhaps it was for the best. I had been entertaining the idea of trying to pick up a New Mustang or some other fancy new car, but as of late I have been thinking how much I would rather pick up a only '87 or comprable body T-bird and restore that for use as a second car. So that is what brings me here today, I found this place searching for Thunderbird websites. So I am thinking about how much I would love to pick up a only T-bird for use as a 2nd car. I was wondering what choices to I have. I know that model comes in a V6 and a Turbo, does it come in a V8 as well? Likewise, what years have the nose, basically the same shape as the '87? Also, any advice in this endevour, anything I should know or look out for? Thanks in advance for helping a newbie, I hope I posted in the right place, and I hope to stick arround for a while. :D Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #1 – November 06, 2005, 03:15:58 PM Welcome.You can check out http://www.foxthundercats.com/ for some great information on T-Birds. You can also take a look at http://www.coolcats.net which is more geared towards Cougars but much of the information is exchangeable between the two.Take a look at both sights as they tell you what to watch out for when buying a car as far as trouble spots and such are concerned.To answer a couple of your questions now...Yes a 5.0 V-8 was available along with the 3.8 and the 2.3.'87's and '88's are practically the same as far as the body goes. Turbo Coupes were a little different than the V-8 and V-6 T-birds in the nose.Any more questions or concerns feel free to post.:D Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #2 – November 06, 2005, 03:18:08 PM 87-88 were known as aero birds. they are the only 2 years with the fox body ant that type of light. the turbo coups (4cly) had a different hearer pannel between the lights. the other tbirds had a grille. there are also v8 tbirds as well. ford used the passenger car 302(5.0) rather than the mustangs 5.0 HO in them though. they were rated at about 150 hp wher as the mustangs H0 puts out 225 hp. the turbo 4 cyl puts out 190 with a standars shift transmision and i think around 150 with the automatic. not sure what the v6 put out but its less than both.babys awake..byebye Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #3 – November 06, 2005, 03:29:59 PM Thanks Dude, I'm looking over that site, my bird looked just like the blue one in Thunder Chicken's sig. At that site you give me (which is his right?) it lists the 3.8L as having 120 HP, which I find really surprising since my Focus with a 2.3L 4 cyclinder automatic has about 150 HP. That is just strange, I would have expected more from it. The Turbos are 4 Cyl, that is also surprising, I guess I didn't know much at all about those cars. Yeah if the Aero birds only came in 87-88 then I at least know what years to look at. I definately like the grill on there. Reading through here though, it looks like a decent number of you folks have been swapping other engines into the car, there a reason people do that with the T-birds, do they just take to it well? It is definately something I would enjoy doing to one of them. I also get the impression using Mustang Engines are a popular opton, since they are both Fords I imagine. Having been thinking of getting a Mustang and really wanting an old Bird, that could be the best of two worlds. Although doing that would be a long ways off. Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #4 – November 06, 2005, 03:49:36 PM To maintain the "luxury car" image and to keep a T-Bird and Cougar from being direct competition with the Mustang, we got a lower output version of the 5.0.There are several reasons why a lot of us put Mustang 5.0's in our cars.First off, if the Bird or cat already has a 5.0 in it, it is a direct swap. No major modifications have to be made.Second off, we are all, for the most part, egotistical speed freaks. Due to the components used in the factory 5.0 for Birds,we can't use all the fancy aftermarket go-fast parts available for Mustangs. By putting a Mustang motor in, we have to capabilities to do just as much to the motor as any Mustang out there.You can really swap just about any motor into these cars depending on your desires, mechanical ability, and checkbook. The 5.0 is a popular choice as well because it is a guaranteed formula that manages to give just about everyone the results they desire without outrageous cost. You can do other swaps than just a 5.0 obviously. Putting in 351's is another popular choice and even a 460 will fit relatively well. Theres even one guy here who has a 500 Caddy motor in his.Build to your hearts content or keep it stock. It's all good:D Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #5 – November 06, 2005, 03:56:23 PM Ok, I think I can definately say, I am going to enjoy getting an Old Aero-bird and fixing her up alot more than i would enjoy buying any new car. :D Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #6 – November 06, 2005, 04:46:42 PM Quotemy bird looked just like the blue one in Thunder Chicken's sig. Dude, my car's as white as the driven snow :D As for the Focus having 150 horses, the T-Bird/Cougar 5.0 is way down on power for its size, but it does partially make up for it with torque. A Focus engine, even with the same horsepower as the 5.0, would not move one of these 3800 pound beasts Welcome aboard Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #7 – November 06, 2005, 05:00:18 PM Quote from: Thunder ChickenDude, my car's as white as the driven snow :D As for the Focus having 150 horses, the T-Bird/Cougar 5.0 is way down on power for its size, but it does partially make up for it with torque. A Focus engine, even with the same horsepower as the 5.0, would not move one of these 3800 pound beasts Welcome aboardThanks :) . The two far away images look light blue, my bad. Could be my laptop screen being funky. Oh yeah the Torgue, that is anouther reason I wanna get a T-bird. My old T-bird was my grandparents, which they did move their camping trailer with. They don't make any kind of transports that are light enough for a Focus to pull. In addition to wanting something for fun, learning to fix myself, and just the memories, I am also a camper and having something than can pull a small cargo trailer with tents and clothes in it certainly beats buying and SUV or a Dodge Magnum. On the pro-Focus side, at least with two people and the thing loaded to the brim with as much camping gear as possible, it still gets 32 miles per gallon when driving at 80mph. I can get over 400 miles to a tank on that car, if it is all highway. Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #8 – November 07, 2005, 04:20:34 AM the v-6 cars pretty much get the short end of the stick. If you drive a 5.0 car, next to a v-6, you will be surprised how much faster the 5.0 really is. The 5.0 is alot more common then the 2.3T, and its usally cheaper then a 2.3T as well. I have three cougars,(virtally Identical)and all three were around $1000 all together. I have two 5.0's and a v-6. of the 5.0 and the v-6, I would ge 5.0 no matter what. Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #9 – November 07, 2005, 08:27:35 AM I believe all the T-birds from 83-88 were called "aero-birds", the 87-88 just have the single lights up front not the "four eyes" that the 83-86 birds have. the 87-88 also have the newer header panel and not the huge grill.edit: duh on me, welcome. and hope you find what you are looking for!! Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #10 – November 07, 2005, 09:30:54 AM Quote from: shame30287-88 were known as aero birds. they are the only 2 years with the fox body ant that type of light.All '83-'88 are Aero birds, just the '87-'88 have the revised styling and headlights. Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #11 – November 07, 2005, 10:15:42 AM Welcome to the board, As your decinging to do you engive i would definatly look at the 5.0 ho. Hands down Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #12 – November 07, 2005, 07:10:49 PM Ok, I got anouther question for you folks, I keep hearing mention of a '87 sport. What was that? From what little I have picked up it sounds like it had a digital dashboard speedomitor, but normal cloth seats. If so, that is the one I had, with a V6. Do I have this right, or am I all confused? Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #13 – November 07, 2005, 07:16:31 PM that sounds like the lx to me Quote Selected
New Member, Had a T-bird and miss it Reply #14 – November 07, 2005, 08:15:04 PM All Sports had the V8, so your V6 model wasnt one. If by "digital dashboard speedometer" you mean just the speedometer, that's the base instrument cluster. A full digital cluster (digital tach, multi-gauge, tripminder) was optional on base models and standard on LX and Sport (87 model). Quote Selected
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