The last pic show the steering wheel with the T-Bird emblem I found in a salvage yard more than 10 yrs ago... I always thought that would be the final piece I would put on the car when the restoration was done... Guess somebody else will get the priveledge!
Time for my project to go… I’ve done a lot in the last year, but it needs more time than I can give it! This car sat in FL for several (5+ years) at Dad’s house before I started working on it. Dad bought it in 1988, it was a great car at the time.
New since June 07: Power Steering Pump Rack & Pinion (factory 15:1 ratio)- included inner tie rods All PS Lines Outer tie rods Tires: (4) P225/70/14 (about 5k miles on this set) Front brakes: pads, calipers, brake lines (both sides) Rear brakes (wheel cylinders both sides) / Shoes (Rt side)—still have the new set for left side (where’s the time?) Fuel tank / straps / pump replaced March 08 Throttle body rebuild (original injectors) Sensors: O2, IAT, Coolant temp, others…
What works: Radio- works ok… currently no RF speaker (attempting to fix PW motor), display light is out, but all functions still work. AC: last charged 6+ yrs ago… functions, but cycles on/off due to low pressure (can’t find a place willing to put in ½ pd of R12 without draining the whole system and making me pay for a leak test…) Auto climate control: get the flashing light because it won’t control the recirculation door- temp control, dash/floor/defrost, fan control work fine Full digital dash: all works. Appears dim in bright daylight conditions, but I think that’s normal (been that way for 20 yrs that I remember.) Power seats: work great Power mirrors: work great
What doesn’t work: Power windows: RT Side has stripped gear, LT side has a dead spot (works occasionally- not reliable) Power locks- completely non functional Rear window defroster: broke!
Paint is old, faded, ugly with surface rust on top… rust on underbody aft of fuel tank (rest of underbody appears good). Body is straight except 2 small dings (both happened in my garage--- dropped a box on top of the LT fender… bicycle? slid into door--- both are small and highlighted in picture 3)
Interior is bad… heat degraded all all the plastics and the sun faded / destroyed the cloth. Currently has seat covers on the front… back seats need help
Engine runs, but doesn’t seem as strong as it was 20 years ago (really- with 153K miles who would have thought!) This is a stock 5.0L TBI engine. Rear main leaks. Transmission shifts goods, also leaks small amount (front seal?) driveshaft/ rearend have no problems.
Wish I could keep it, but just not enough time or space. I hope somebody can find a way to keep this one out of the bone-yards! Post or PM with questions.
Thanks to all that helped / advised in the last year I’ve worked on it. Who knows- I may get another some day, but for now I’ve got to let go.
Price: not sure! I'm hoping I could get $800-$1000 with the straight body, but I know the condition of the interior and the oil leak take away... of course price is negotiable with someone willing to keep this one on the road (I'm an old sentimental fool--- don't want to see this one go the the crusher)
Still working on the old '85 30th Anniversary T-Bird. I changed the tank recently (all new tank, pump, filter). First time in 8 years the car had a full tank of gas run through without breaking the fuel system open somewhere (sat for 7 yrs... after engine repair ended up with routine filter changes... 3 per tank of gas!) After getting low on gas, I stopped to fill up and the tank was eiter pressurized or had vaspooge applied. I don't remember the car doing this before, and I thought the tank was supposed to be vented. Does this happen to anyone else? I live in TX, so I thought maybe it's pressure from the heat, but wouldn't it still vent through the charcoal tank up front? All the EGR stuff is still hooked up as original. Do I have a problem?
Well, chased wires around again... cut one wire that I don't know where it goes (previously unplugged trunk and hood light, so it could be the long run to get to them...) has worked for 2 days now- about 60 miles drive distance- to work and back... everything that worked before works now... keeping fingers crossed!
Can't tell exactly, but the body syle was around from 78-81. We raced that style car on dirt tracks back about 15 years ago. the fox chasis handled good on the dirt, but the car was just too heavy to keep up with the off brands (SBC in a properly built camaro... we had a overbuilt cage made of heavy-wall pipe... we were giving up close to 400 lbs...) It was always a lot of fun! That's were I got the love for the fox body cars!
Is that a Zephyr (Mercury), or a Fairmont (Ford). I see the Futura name on the side, and I thought that only went with the Fairmont.
Nevermind--- not the actuator--- found out that the acutator positon shows 0 ohms in one spot, 8k when turned 180 (open all the way in between)--- apparently this is right, but the control is not providing the ground to run the motor- so I need a control head. this car's more fun everyday!
Just to keep this one going (and e-jack somebody else's post!)- I now have a problem code 04--- the outside recirculator door actuator--- checked it out and the motor runs, but the wiper (reostat?) inside never shows anything but an open... I opened the case, but it looks like I'd have to destroy the lever arm to get full access to the wiper.
Finally- My Question- Where can I get a new (yea right!) or remanufactured (HAHA!) or decent used actuator? does anyone have a part number? I've tried fordparts.com with the numbers printed on the side (couldn't read them well, so they may be wrong), but it doesn't show up. Any help is appreciated!
I don't have the full evtm--- I have pages that have been pulled from here for the wiring / lights. I would love to have the full evtm, but don't know where to find one or what a reasonable price is.
also- haven't had time to do anything with the car... hopefully I'll get back out to it later tonight or tomorrow night...
I started at the fuse block, following the lt green/yellow. found it split right off the fuse block, one of them went through a connector (with about 11 other wires)- figured it would be a good way to split the circuit in half. after disconnecting the plug, checked with the c/b--- circuit worked- dash/radio memory, mirrors, locks, lights... don't know where the other wire went to, but I couldn't find anything that didn't work (trunk/hood lights still unplugged, so not sure on them). I wanted to get an idea on current pull, so I plugged in a 7.5A fuse- fuse didn't blow--- low current is good! Went back and plugged the connector in, 7.5A fuse still in and working. Apparently the car just wants me to unplug/replug various connectors once a month! I'll let you know if the problem comes back.
---EDIT---- All the above is true, couldn't duplicate the issue in the garage no matter how many cables I moved, pulled, wiggled. Had the fuse in for approx 2.5 hrs (2 hours in garage--- interior lights working, tried all the accesories) with about 20 min drive time (just over 20 miles on the interstate), when the speedo up and disapeared due to another blown fuse- put the c/b back in, and just constantly resets. I was traveling straight on a calm interstate (no rough action, no potholes) when the fuse blew... It's back to always poping the c/b sitting still. Still chasing around...
yep, checked door wires// wiggled all available harnesses (within reason- haven't pulled the carpet out!). I agree that the sitting for a week is probably a coincidence, but I thought maybe somebody has seen this before with one of the elctronic units (hoping to short-cut the problem with somebody else's experience!)--- has anyone heard of the electronic dash causing any of this? Still looking at all the wires. I'm getting tired of chasing this light green/yellow wire around the car- but I'll have to keep going.
no... car sat for 6 yrs with burned piston... no electrical problems, no fuse problems until about 4 months after driving it again.
after fixing motor, had to clear out all kinds of animal leftovers (grass, fur, twigs--- either small birds or field mice) from the AC plenum and air intake area. fixed a few chewed wires under hood area, but all interior wiring was untouched. No electrical problems or electrical work done prior to this fuse problem. Nothing done to fix this problem- but it "fixed itself"?? when it sat without power for a week.
Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier- I was in the shop changing the fuel tank, pump, and cleaning the sending unit--- I have a functional gas gauge again!
I haven't tried listening on AM, but there is no difference for the radio on FM. the fuse only controls the memory. I think I understand your point on AM--- the minor power flux might show up in the speakers anyways- I'll give it a try if I can get the circuit to work again.
As it is right now- the CB (yea, already went that route after 2 packs of fuses) breaks the circuit after 20 seconds of being installed (sounds like I'm back to a dead short). it does it with doors open, closed, radio on/off, key on/off--- short story- ALL THE TIME! the only way I fixed it last time was to let the car sit for a week (yea, not a real fix obviously, but I didn't do anything and it started working fine). This brings up another question--- what device would give up after having power on for a couple weeks, but reset if you kept the fuse out for a week?
I've used the online wiring diagrams, and even pages from the evtm, but neither shows the whole story on the circuit. the evtm (actual wire diagram) doesn't show anything about the circuit going to the radio memory and I can't find how it connects to the cluster memory (which I'm guessing is why the speedo blanks out).
It's just frustrating--- rebuilt my first motor 25+ yrs ago, worked engines, trans, electrics, bodywork... never had anything beat me up like this! Thanks for any help I can get!
Working on a '85 T-bird 30th Anniversary special. the car sat for 6+ years with bad motor, I'm trying to resurrect it. It's running now, but I'm having problems with fuse #8. With no associated electronic work, the fuse started blowing. chased around behind the dash, couldn't find any problems- took the radio out, headlight swith out, unplugged the following: PW switch & relays, pwr mirror switch, pwr locks, and key/door buzzer. Fuse still blew (instantly when plugged in- like dead short) Let car sit 1 week (had to buy more fuses!), replace fuse- no problem. Installed everything- radio, all connections from above--- still good (for 1 week). Blew again after opening trunk- found trunk light on same circuit. unplugged trunk light (and under hood also- just in-case)- no problems for 1 month plus! Now it just blew again after a hard right turn. I know it sounds like a bad wire somewhere, but I'm hoping someone as a better idea than to disassemble the whole car looking!
Also, the car has full digital dash. when the fuse blows, I loose speedo and trip minder on the dash (tach/gauges still function), radio memory, interior lights, mirrors, pwr locks (not sure what else).
the location and colors match up to 1 of the plugs on the factory "amp" (not sure how it amps without a power input???) on my 85 T-bird with premium sound (No equilizer). I'm guessing it's been hiding on you and suddenly decided to jump out and scare ya!
Update... I guess if I pay attention, the other plug for the amp has the yellow wire (12 V) and black wire (GRND)... I guess THAT's where the power is coming from...
