Let’s look at some realities for a second: if you’re looking in the five grand range for a car, and it’s going to be your one and only for a while, you aren’t hunting down a Camaro that needs an engine or a truck that has been rebuilt twenty times over and doesn’t have one stock part on it aside from the frame. You need dependability and daily-driver qualities that will get you there and back home again. Normally, this means letting out a huge sigh before dropping coin on some soul-less little crackerbox, right? Not always. There are plenty of options for a decent ride that has some sport and can still pull mileage that doesn’t look like an outright dork-mobile.
Take this 1995 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe. Ignore Lohnes’ ranting on why this thing is a travesty and look at it for what it is: a supercharged V6 coupe with a five speed that has rear-drive, looks well-kept, and has been treated to a random upgrade or two here and there just to make things interesting, yet to most looks dead-stock and respectable. 230 horsepower and 330 ft/lbs of torque are at your beck and call, and yes, five-speed manual transmission because the automatic would just suck. It’s not going to be the NASCAR Thunderbird that bellows and screams, but instead it’s going to be the jack-of-all-trades. You might have to wait for the smaller pulley, chip and cat-back after spending $4,500 on this Bird, but in the meantime you can enjoy the car now in any situation.
Craigslist Link: 1995 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe
All it needs is for those hideous and tiny wheels to be replaced by some steel wheels similar to those used on NASCAR cars. One of these would fetch about £3000 -3500 in the UK as its not a V8.
What I would do is put the motor into a Ford UK Capri Mk3 and install a 302 into the T Bird and sell it on at a profit to cover the upgrades to the Capri to handle the extra power. But there again I could just keep it – thereby having two fine Fords almost for well under the price of a modern but sadly FWD so-called “hot” Ford,
Incidentally, a couple of years ago I saw a fine Fox Body Mustang for sale locally with a cool body kit and wheels going for £3500. At that price I snipped it up and it sits in my garage…
Had a 1994 Supercoupe. One of the best highway cruisers I’ve ever been in. Gobs of low end torque too. I shoulda never sold it.
Always loved these birds. Heavy, but have much potential.
I had a black 95 5-speed identical to this one (when it was stock) for many years. As Eliot said, fantastic highway cruiser, and lots of torque for playing around town. Had Koni Sports + Eibachs and SN95 Mustang Cobra brakes on mine, a few power add-ons, and 18″ then later 19″ wheels & tires. Even used it at some open-track days, surprised a few people because it handled very well with the SLA front suspension and IRS, despite its girth.
That looks like a nice daily driver if the interior has held up. Sometimes I wish my Regal had a manual transmission driving the rear wheels. But finding a Super Coupe in this good shape with a stick would have been a real challenge.
My folks had a 5 speed 91 SC. It was a lot of fun as a 16yr old.