“Aero Birds” are seriously under-appreciated. Members of Ford’s Fox platform, but slightly stretched for bigger folk who enjoy legroom, the Thunderbird was supposed to be the classy step up from the boy-racer Mustang, the car for the adult who still wanted some performance. Or, at least, that was the line of fertilizer spewed forth by some ad guy trying to make the T-bird look good. What really sold the car was what Awesome Bill from Dawsonville did with it at Talladega, a speed record for a stock car that is still standing today. This particular Craigslist find was built a year before Bill Elliot tore Talladega a new one, and it’s not even remotely close to performing like that stocker. But we’re still on board, and here’s why:
For $950, we can overlook a missing corner light and chrome trim. No, it’s not like the later Thunderbird with the composite headlamps, and yes, it’s painfully stock, but let’s remind you: DIRT. CHEAP.
The low cost of entry is the enticing prospect with this black ‘Bird. The body looks rather straight, the paint appears to be at least 10-footer quality, and sometimes painfully stock is a good thing…it means you aren’t cleaning up someone else’s bodging. Picture the nose down a touch over 17″ wheels. That’s already an improvement, right?
Welcome back to the Eighties! Whorehouse Red and a digital speedometer flanked by gauges…well, at least everything is together and appears functional, and the interior isn’t totally trashed. That steering wheel needs to be, though…
Oh, fantastic: 3.8 liters of disappointment. At 120 horsepower, the nicest thing we can say about the V6 is that it was pushing 1980 V8 horsepower. This needs to hit the scrap pile ASAP. Call in a 5.0. Call in a Coyote. Hell, we’d even go for a supercharged 3.8 out of a later Thunderbird over this. With four grand left over to play with, though, engine replacement should be a breeze! Just remember to get the headlight and marker trim first to bring the visuals back up to snuff…
Had an ’85 with the 5.0. Had a local shop run true duals off of the dual cats they came with. I even had those hideous, ridiculously heavy, steel wheels with molded rubber centers. I painted them black before that was popular.
I really liked the car up until the full electronic dash started going crazy…then, it was time to go.
So much sleeper potential there. I’d probably see if I could find a wrecked ’96-’04 Mustang and swap the drivetrain over, see if I could do this on a GRM $2017 Challenge budget.
Great place to drop a 351 Cleveland and keep the AOD….. ask me how I know. Incidentally, the trailing arms are one inch longer than other Fox bodies so standard “lift bars” won’t work. (there are aftermarket bars available in the proper length, tho). The 10-inch brakes and their corresponding spindles require some rework to get ’99-’04 Mustang struts to fit. ’99-’04 Mustang rear shocks bolt right in; so it is possible to create a fully adjustable suspension. The 7.5 ” rear will live
with a girdle on it (the axles in the 7.5 and 8.8″ rears are the same). I’m planning on swapping to an 8.8″ with a 4,86 gear, eventually).
Could be a great car for the new hot rodder.Hot shit when it was new,my boss used to let me dtive his 85 ,was better equipped than this one.