Is a Fox body the same across the board? I don’t think so. There’s “Mustang”, and then there’s “everything else”, it seems. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of good in that second category, but it’s still filled with second place finishers. Nobody is in that big of a hurry to build a Thunderbird over a Mustang, you know? It’s not that bad, actually…and with the work that we recently saw on the Dirty Cougar project, we have proof. (You’ll see an update soon, we promise!) But for now, let’s think about this: do you really need that V8? Stop rolling your eyes, it’s a legitimate question. If you’re willing to walk past a Monte Carlo SS for a Grand National, the answer is no, you apparently didn’t need the V8, you just want the power. That’s fair. So let’s take a look at a nice and neat 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe for a moment and see if you still clamor for the V8…
The only knock that we can give this car is that it’s packing an automatic. And for 1987, that’s getting nit-picky. Everything else about this T-bird is spot-on: the Turbo Coupe trim that brought in the grille-less nose and those cool triple-hole tail lights, the hood with the twin ducts, the foglamps in the bumper. The T-bird might be overlooked every time for any other 1980s performance offering on the market, but the turbocharged 2.3L four has the ability to be a proper rocker. We’re digging the rolling stock and this is one of the few cars where we can argue for the silver paint, combined with the black body strip and the blackout trim. You can call it an underdog, you can consider this your fuel mileage car, you can boost that little Pinto engine to the moon and freak out the uninitiated. But don’t change a thing where the looks are concerned…this upper-crust Fox is great!
Styling still looks good after all those years .
That is still quite a good looking car.
My dad had a 1988 burgandy red very nice solid car tons of options and v8 guys would get so made when they got beat by this car just another nice car from the 80s that i miss
Have a 1983 Turbo Coupe, great car, handles great, never been in snow, 75k, still has original metric tires and wheels, clock still works, ac, needs headliner, rubs great, original exhaust, original hoses underhood, clear coat starting to fade on hood, roof.
I had an 89 with the 5 speed and it was a great car and I have missed it ever since! I raced many cars with it and you had to know how to drive it in order to make a presence. The adjustable suspension was very helpful when put in firm mode, rev the engine, drop the clutch and speed shift, this tank could really move!
I had an issue with the computer telling the electric fans to cool the engine and made the Phoenix summer of 92 very miserable so I installed a clutched fan on the motor and solved the issue but it stole a lot of power!
I was so surprised to see my car used as a representation of the Thunderbird in your article. Thank you for that! I had an 85 Turbo Coupe in high school. The tag on this 87 is the same tag I had on my 85 as a personalized plate. Its a reality check when a tag you had in high school is now qualified as an antique auto tag.
Thanks again for show casing my car in your article.