BE Nice! to my 80

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BE Nice! to my 80

October 17, 2004, 02:51:41 AM

OK as the title states be nice! This is my poor 1980 t-bird when I got 'er out of storage (buddies yard) This spring. It has since recieved a pair of doors which dont 'flap' in the wind like wings, new fuel line, regular hood and aircleaner assembly for winter, a few patches in the rear wheel wells, and some spray paint to make it all match. Future plans call for the 351W from a wrecked 79 econoline, Disc 8.8 rear, and new paint. Will try to get some better pics with the car all in one colour.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #1 – October 17, 2004, 09:15:08 AM

Scott, looking good! I like the fact you are restoring one of the forgotten Birds. What are your parts interchange options? Fairmonts, Granandas, etc?

Chris

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #2 – October 17, 2004, 11:16:48 AM

Those are fox cars too so they should have similar suspension and chassis components. I know the dashboard is identical to ones they used to use in the old midsize LTD's.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #3 – October 17, 2004, 03:45:23 PM

Interchange is pretty well the same as the 83-86 thunderbirds, and the dash board is the same one used in 83-84 tbirds/cougars and some ltd's and grand marquis. The fox body fairmont, granada, zephyr are all similar just a little shorter wheelbase. Despite having so many similar platforms Parts are still a PITA to find. Spend alot of time in farmers fields with a hammer and crescent wrench! The auto wreckers think t-bird parts are gold plated :rolleyes: so I usually try to find a cougar which is almost half the price or a fairmont which is almost free to get parts off!

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #4 – October 17, 2004, 04:37:54 PM

My camera is a POS but you get the idea

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #5 – October 17, 2004, 10:56:17 PM

that body style is a class all in its own, i love it

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #6 – October 18, 2004, 01:18:02 AM

As I remember, the dashboard in my '84 LTD (Same as your '80 T-bird) and in the '84 Cougar were a bit different. However they shared the same flat "T" design. I'm sure they're interchangable with each other, but I think they have some differences, at least in the dashpad and trim panels, if not throughout.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #7 – October 18, 2004, 01:48:22 AM

Silly northerners and your naked trees.

Personally, I find nothing wrong with that body style T-bird. I wouldn't give up my aero-Bird for it, but in the absence of that, I wouldn't kick that Bird outta bed for eating crackers.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #8 – October 18, 2004, 02:17:30 AM

It kinda grows on ya after a while, and at the time a $100 original owner car was sweet as hell to a 16 year old kid! If it werent for the t-bird who knows I migh still be driving the hyundai or godforbid the cavalier!!!!

Ifixyawata
I thought the only differences were the dash trim and guages? I know the cougars (atleast the 80-82's) had silver guages and of course the trim said cougar instead of thunderbird but thats all I've noticed

Hey one of those "naked trees" blew over the other night and almost hit the house :eek: That woulda been cool

And if you look over the roof of the tbird in the second shot you can see the top of an 83-86 cougar ;) They're beginning to gather and soon they will TAKE OVER!!! :D

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #9 – October 18, 2004, 02:24:51 AM

Maybe I'm confused. All I know for sure is that the dash between my '84 Cougar and my '84 LTD were different. I was pretty sure that the '83-'86 Midsize LTD and Marquis shared a dashboard with the '80-'82 Thunderbirds and Cougars.

'83-'86 LTD Dash: (This is the same style as yours right?)

'83-'84 T-bird Dash:

The above are the only differences between the two dashes I was trying to point out. For all I know they could be the same underneath, but you can see the differences in the knee bolster panels, dash cap, and other items.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #10 – October 18, 2004, 02:33:31 AM

nm I'm just confused! read below for an explaination.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #11 – October 18, 2004, 02:41:16 AM

Quote from: tbirdscott

It kinda grows on ya after a while, and at the time a $100 original owner car was sweet as hell to a 16 year old kid! If it werent for the t-bird who knows I migh still be driving the hyundai or godforbid the cavalier!!!!

My first "daily driver" was a '78 Pinto in -brown. As terrible as that car was, (it ate 4 starters while I owned it, and the engine literally exploded a week after I sold it) it grew on me.. so yeah, I know where you're coming from.

Quote

Hey one of those "naked trees" blew over the other night and almost hit the house :eek: That woulda been cool
And if you look over the roof of the tbird in the second shot you can see the top of an 83-86 cougar ;) They're beginning to gather and soon they will TAKE OVER!!! :D

I should take a picture of the area around my house, including some of the dead trees from earlier forest fires.. and then let you figure out how we dealt with the fact that we were in the field of maximum winds from Hurricane Charley. (and then some of Frances, and some of Jeanne) They said on that Hurricane Summer program (on the National Geographic channel) that Charley's max winds extended about 5 miles out from the center. Well, that's how far we were from the eyewall, so.. (I had initially estimated our top winds here to be around 120.. now I find out we probably got the full bag, 145+.. wow)

No wonder I couldn't figure out why water spots have been blasted into the grille of my T-bird..

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #12 – October 20, 2004, 11:18:28 PM

I had a bronze 1980 tbird with a 255 v8. I wish I knew then what I know now about fox fords, It would have made a fun project being carb'd and all. Yours ought to run like a bat out of hell with a 351.

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #13 – October 21, 2004, 02:43:39 AM

No 351W yet

winter came up to fast, So I'm hoping the 255 will last the winter :rolleyes: 200 000km driven by an old man means old man oil and changes are few and far between :barf: but atleast everything is well greased!

And today cleaning the snow off, my sleve caught the hood ornament and snapped it off

so anybody know where there is a 77-82 t-bird sitting? you know autowrecker, backyard, parking lot?

Re: BE Nice! to my 80

Reply #14 – December 15, 2004, 04:02:21 PM

Well, I know this thread has been sitting for a couple months, but I have a couple things to add since I have an 80 XR-7 and 2 83-84 Tbirds/Cougars.

-The dashes are not the same as the 83-84s. They are similar, but not enough alike to swap parts. I can dig up a couple pics later if you don't believe me :D

-They are a Fox chassis, but with a 108" w/b. The driveshaft is longer (obviously) and the control arms are different. I know for certain the uppers are longer than the 83-88 Tbirds and the lowers may be as well (haven't measured those).
The front suspension is the same as any of the other early Foxes.

Mine has the 302..but is not being driven...has trans issues (ie. it leaves like a sieve)..but will move around under it's own power. It's in hibernation for the time being though, stored in a friend's garage w/ my 84 XR-7.
It has the Sport interior option with the Recaro seats...they're orange ..yup I said orange. They need refurbished like the rest of the car....but they will be orange again.

Anyway, good to see another Boxy-Foxy here.