it has some rust but not really bad body rust. The lower edge of RH door panel, the black metal trim at the base of the windshield, the wheel covers have some corrosion. It was mostly kept in an open carport - out of the weather but still humid in MD.
Some of the plastic moulding is curling away from the body. (the short pieces) The rubber window seals are cracked.
The interior is pretty nice except for headliner falling down
I'd like to get it running then get rid of it. only saw one sold for over $1000 on ebay and it looked like mint condition. not sure where else to look to figure out what it might sell for if I spring for a transmission
I have a 1984 Thunderbird 3.8 V6 35,000 miles with a blown C5 Transmission. Can't seem to get a good idea on what something like this would sell for if I got it back on the road.
If its a $500 car, then obviously not worth buying a $700 transmission.
If I disassemble it for parts I have to deal with the storage issue for a couple years I guess.
It has some issues with the trim, the headliner falling down and a little rust.
No tag on the transmission. Previous owner bought a "rebuilt" trans
Narrowed it down to the slip yoke not going all the way in. Apparently it was left stuck in the 2 inches and the rest of the 4inch insertion depth rusted - which is why it made me think it was going all the way in like it used to. (only 2 inches of shiny)
Anyway, tried to find some foriegn object laying in the seal area that was blocking the yoke, but found out the yoke hits up against the bushing and/or the housing because the output shaft does is not aligned with the housing.
I guess a py "rebuild" job.
Tried to shove it around to force it, but can't budge the output shaft.
Now have to figure the cost of another transmission over what I could get for a 84 Tbird 35k miles- It has the 3.8L
My overall length from front of bell housing to tip of outer rear seal is 33" not 31"
Somehow my C5 is 2" longer.
Also my 58" original driveshaft only has 2" of the shiny part, not 4". When I slide on the output shaft that shiny part matches up with the rear seal. I wonder if there is something in the transmission that the yoke hits up against that is some kind of adapter that can be removed to accomodate
I think there is a difference in the rust on the yoke seen at the 4" mark. Maybe the shiny part at 2" was preserved by the plastic wrap in storage, and it is just coincindence that it lines up with the trans. seal. Still doesnt change that it wont go in another 2" though.
So if I have the C5, with a 7 inch bell housing, and the trans. mount lines up with the crossmember, I wonder how I end up with extra length.
The original driveshaft slides easily up the output shaft until it hits something. At that point the rear seal (outer seal) matches up with the shiny/rusty demarcation so I know the driveshaft is going as far as it is supposed to.
If I had a too big bellhousing, wouldn't that put the trans mount too far back beyond the crossmember?
everything is original except the transmission(and bell housing) The driveshaft slides easily on the output shaft until the shiny part matches up with the seal so I know its going as far onto the shaft as it did with the original trans.
Its definitely an issue with the transmission. There is no tag on the transmission.
If a C5 doesn't have the hump on the bottom of the pan does that mean the entire pan depth is greater than that of a C4?
If it is a C4, and I just cut the driveshaft down, what would be the potential problems with running a C4 in it? Any ideas?
Thinking about trying to find a junkyard C5 from a 1984 Tbird etc. That way I wouldn't have any compatibility issues. I guess
It has the original 3.8L engine and original driveshaft. The Cert. Label says it had a C5.
I checked the photos on the rangerstation site. My trans. does not have the big hump in the pan like a C5 and it looks exactly like the C4 in those photos. It has the slight hump on the driver's side of the pan just like in the in the C4 photo.
It looks like the previous owner was sold a C4. Got as far as the driveshaft issue then gave up.
Ended up with a 1984 Tbird that has a "rebuilt C5" installed but not finished because "the driveshaft wont fit".
Apparently it originally had a C5, so I was thinking maybe they put in a C4 or ??? It looks just like a C5 though. Can't find many differences to identify.
The problem is that while the driveshaft slip yoke slides onto the output shaft of the transmission all the way down to its original position, it won't fit back on to the differential yoke by about an inch too long. Cant get the drive shaft onto the transmission any further, and the shiny part lines up with the seal, so I know its going in as far as it used to.
The only non-original part is the "rebuilt transmission" so I'm wondering if anyone knows how to identify whether or not its actually a C5 and/ or there were changes made to the length of a C5 etc.
Will probably have to try to shorten the driveshaft unless someone has a better suggestion. Any ideas?
