“I want a cool car to drive every day. Not too outrageous, not too bland, just something that I won’t see twenty of on the road, that people will all turn and look at as I drive by. That kind of car.” Boom…here you go. MN-12 Thunderbirds aren’t really loved around here…Brian isn’t a fan, and most people kind of have a “meh” attitude about them. I personally think they are radically underrated and once again I’m taking a stand to prove it. This time, however, I’m carrying an ace shot with me, a tubbed 1991 Ford Thunderbird that is just about day-one clean with a Pro Street conversion done to it.
Ignoring the “Pro Street” part about this Thunderbird, what you have here is a super-clean 1991 model, in an unassuming silver color, with a stock interior that isn’t hacked up. No flares, no scoops, just a rear spoiler that looks like it was raided from a 1990s Mustang, yet works well. You’ve got all of the driver comforts you could want: power windows, power locks, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning, tilt wheel and cruise. Just from that vantage alone the car is driver material, but let’s look at the hard bits of the car.
Underhood is a 5.0L H.O. engine that, from where we sit, appears to be stock. No information is given on any internal work, but the seller notes a PCM flashed by Ford, and it sure sounds healthy thumping through those Flowmasters. Transmission is an overdrive automatic with a shift kit and the Ford 9-inch rear holds 4.10 gears. Without knowing more about what’s going on in that engine, we’re forced to think that it’s just a mild street machine…but what it can do is drive. No finicky big-block, no open hood or scoop issues…none of that mess. It’s a nice Thunderbird that has a bit of punch for a street car and a look that is serious. You could go ahead and give this thing all the horsepower you could want. Or, you could drive it to work, park right next to the boss’s Audi, and watch his face twinge as people ignore his brand-new status-mobile for a twenty-five year old Ford.
Always liked these style T-Birds, can’t understand the lack of love for them. They are heavier than the Mustang but to me rather have comfort and style.
I had a 1992. It was a great car and I’d buy one again in a heartbeat.
The removal of the independent rear suspension, and replacement of a 9″ must have taken a lot of time and money. I wonder how it handles though.
Hey guys that is my car it runs and drives like a brand new car handles wonderful
I Like it!
i have a 94′ tbird LX 4.6..was the first car i purchased new..and have kept it..has 320K miles on the engine..and looks feels fairly new..no rattles or loose bits..i pampered it and love it completely..i swear by the mn12 series thunderbirds as the best american made car of the past 35 years
I’m shocked your odometer has lasted that long. Mine stopped at 189,000 miles (although I continued to drive it for years after not knowing the true mileage) and if you look at a majority of craigslist ad’s for these, mn12’s, they usually say odo stopped working at xxx,xxx.
Gee, I wonder why I like this? Too bad mine is in storage unit purgatory. I really miss it.
Wait… Is that a Lumina wing on it? I kinda like it!
I like the styling of these T-Birds as well but they weren’t the best platform for drag racing since Ford stretched the wheelbase by 9 inches over the previous T-birds. But the ride sure improved with the longer wheelbase and fully independent suspension. Except for the 2002-05 models all previous T-Birds throughout the namesake were the styling basis of the Lincoln Mark series. I have a Mark VIII based on this 10th Generation T-Bird and love the styling.
That is my car guys it runs and drives perfect