But I think I'm over my Thunderbird passion.
It's like spending the last 12 years with your high school girlfriend, only to realize you don't really care for the ordeal as much as you once did.
Think in the spring I'm going to cut the ties and sell it, or part it.
This ain't no "I'm mad, sad, drunk, or whatever" induced feeling, but in the past 2 months, I've not thought about the car once, other than to push it in the shop so the snow and leaves and mice wouldn't get in it.
Vinnie...want another project?
No way. The Sport would NOT allow another Bird to be in the driveway. Now, parts.......that's another story.
I know the feeling...every time I take the convertible out now, I think to myself, "Man...this thing really is a squeaky, bouncy rattletrap." It rides like total . It gets horrible gas mileage. In fact, it's got exactly two redeeming qualities: it's fun to drive, and it has a top mechanism that works. Sometimes I wonder why I even keep the ed thing around. With a lot of issues that needed or still need addressed around the house, it's not like I have any spare cash to throw at the car. Most of the time I actually prefer driving the '84 because it's got a decent enough ride and is really quiet.
So yeah...why do I keep it?
Oh. I remember.
It may be a beat up old cooch, but it's MY cooch. ;)
Keep your chin up. If it's meant to be, you'll find a way to keep it. But you also have to know when to let it go. That's the tricky part, finding that point.
in the words of thunderchicken to be exact
,..........
"Fox Birds and Cougars are like herpes. You can never get them totally out of your system. No matter how long you go without showing any symptoms, they will flare up again at some point"
Gotta agree with that....
If some people knew how true that saying is they may shy away from our foxes more!!! I had a Tbird from the time I got my license til up until about 4-5 years ago. I had everything from 83-88, 2.3-5.0(even a 5.0 HO swap), good looking to total rust buckets. All of a sudden I decided Id had enough, got rid of the 2 I had and never looked for one another one. Well low and behold I suddenly found myself looking for one(which is also how I found this site). I guess I just needed a break from the addiction called fox tbirds. If I had even the slightest idea that I would be back to them I would have never gotten rid of the 87 3.8 and the 88 5.0 sport(the one I swapped the 5.0 HO into), I would have taken the best parts of each and made one good one. Ill be keeping this one as long as I can keep the old girl still functioning, and Im on the lookout for another possibly low miles(may have a line on one). Think about it long and hard before you do anything because who knows if you do sell it and decide later down the road you want one agian, the prices could be thru the roof as the numbers of fox tbirds and cougars dwindle down.
Same cars, same sig pic, same everything for me. The number of Cougars may change but extreme cirspoogestances are the only thing that would take that number to 0. Been an '83-'88 Cougar fan for 28 years and don't see it stopping.
But that works for me...understand we are all different...yadda, yadda open mind and such.
Do you have anything else in mind, focusing on the Mustang or giving the car hobby in general a break?
What Eric said.....
I haven't drove my 87 since 2003..... but I keep it because its been with me for almost my entire adult life. If I never drive either one again, I'm good with that, and I enjoy knowing that I did all the work on them, and that people still love to come over to see them.
I've been driving an '88 Thunderbird since 1987. It's just part of me. Plus, they are getting more unique by the year. NOBODY around here has one, and when we go to any car event in this area, the Sport draws a lot of attention, nobody else has one. The Sport has pushed the limits lately, but she managed to apologize at the last minute.
BUT, if you're selling parts, let me have a list of what you will have so I can buy them from you.
We all go through cycles in life. Even with our favorites car. Sometimes we push so hard to accomplish something with our projects that we get burnt out from it and then wonder why we do what we do. I have sold a few cars over the years thinking I needed to get rid of them only to find out 2 years down the road I wish I had it back. There are times when something must be done and as Eric said the tricky part is knowing when that is. Think it through and you will find the answer.
you could do what I do and push it aside for a few months then go back and do some things. All in all I love the birds but there is a point when enough is enough. Beau, I'm here for you thick and thin, anything you need let me know.
Sometimes it's not so much the Fox T-Bird/Cougar thing that you lose interest in, it's a particular car. That's what happened with my '88. It was the only Fox car I ever actually did any of the things I'd always wanted to do to a Fox car (T-5 swap, TC rear, built suspension, TC interior and sheetmetal, etc) but even after owning it for 7 years I just never bonded with that car. I've mentioned the main reason here before: It wasn't my first choice in Foxness. In fact it was way down the list. First choice would have been a four-eye Bird, a close second would have been an 87/88 Cougar, third would have been an 88-92 Mark VII LSC, and way down in fourth place was the '87-'88 Bird that I settled for (and even then I'd have preferred a TC or even a Sport over my base model). Sometimes when you settle for something no amount of work can make up for the fact that you've settled, so I sold it. And while I do miss having a project car that I poured a lot of blood, sweat and tears into, I don't miss that car.
I still love the FoxBirdCats, but even now after having gone without one for two years I'm not sure my next project car will be one. Next time I think I'm gonna go back to my first ever car and find myself a '77-'78 Trans Am. My '85 V6 Bird was my first NICE (or even presentable) car, but my first car was a '78 Bandit T/A, black with gold chicken, and I've longed for another one ever since. The first one was a $600 piece of shiznit that took every nickel I had just to keep it running, but I'm no poor teenager any more, so this time around it'll be a nice one. I'm thinking 100% stock body and interior, but with an EFI LSX/T56 swap to make it reliable. I actually have a bit of a history with second gen F-bodies - my second car was an '80 Formula Firebird. Car #3 was a '66 Galaxie 500, and only after that did I get into T-Birds with my '85...
Another possible next project would be a 78-82 Corvette, again with an LSx powering it. I have always, always, loved the looks of those cars (what can I say, I was born in the early 70's and was an impressionable young lad in the 80's, when these cars were everywhere), and you can buy them dirt cheap. The LSx would be necessary because late 70's Vettes with their smogged, carbureted small blocks, performed even worse than stock FoxBirdCats...
Of course I certainly wouldn't pass by a nice four-eye Bird or anniversary Cat, but it would have to find me - I'm not going looking for one. And it would have to be spectacular...
The Sport and I have really bonded. We have a pretty good relationship. The issues the car has had haven't been the car's fault. it was OLD parts that had far exceeded their use, or, damage caused by a substandard part.
Here is a photo of me and my brother BARRY. Compared to today's cars like my LS3 turbo Camaro it is a DOG. But this photo taken 43 years ago says it all. That car is memories and this photo was taken in our shop. Things change time goes on but MEMORIES ARE FOREVER. Good luck my friend. And i am sure you will build another dream car in the future!!! Peace. HAY BARRY I LOVE YOU BRO!!!
(http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx46/proguns/005-3.jpg)
I have had so many cars up to this point. Very few did I ever bond with.
My 86 gs 5.0, loved this car, put near 90k on it. $110 police impound, and it looked like it too. As it was my first car, I fell in love with it.
Second was my 87 3.8 bird, bought as a b-day present to myself for turning 18. I liked the car, but never bonded with it, and longed for a 5.0 again.
3rd was a 86 5.0 ls, lower mileage, but became my dads car. He got rid of it when he remarried. Never really cared for this car either.
4th was another 87 cougar, 3.8. I hated this car, the roof was tweaked and the back two 1/4 windows were smashed in. A telephone pole fell on it and the owner was going to junk it. I gave him the same as the junkyard, just so it wouldn't get junked. The transmission was screwed and quickly went out. Hated this car, and ended up junking it.
5th was a 87 5.0 bird. Bought site unseen, owner trailered it up to me, and couldn't start it because it had a dead battery. I threw a new battery in it to find a rod knock and bad transmission, as well as a hood that wouldn't open. I actually spent every weekend for about 6 months fixing it up, swapped a new rebuilt engine and "warrentied" used trans into it. Got it running real well, took it around the block and it dropped 2nd and 3rd, never got it into overdrive. Got my money back, bought another 87 5.0 bird for $400, same price as a used junkyard trans.
6th bird, 87 5.0 bird was supposed to only be a donor for the transmission. The car was actually in better shape and ran fine after swapping a fuseable link into it. I hated this car at first, but it never really let me down. I put nearly 80k on it in 2 years, owned it for 4. 2 years of pizza delivery, and winter commuting at 500+ miles a week took its toll, I was trying to blow it up. I constatly dropped the shifter to first at 75 mph trying to blow it up, so I had an excuse to throw my new 0 mile engine in, along with a bunch of mustang stuff. After me and the wife fought over me keeping it, I junked it for $350 because I couldn't afford to get it back on the road, never really bonded to this car, but really liked it.
7th 87 5.0 bird, my buddy wreaked his 89 4 banger stang and couldn't find another to replace it. I talked him into this car, drove it for a year and is planning on going back to school and doesn't want the added expense of a car. He called me up to tell me he is junking it, so I picked it up off him for $50 more then the junkyard, just to help him out.although I strongly prefer the 4 eyes, I love this car, and have already bonded to it.I haven't even owned it a month yet, but I have already swapped the seats to gt style buckets, added a center console, repaired and replaced tail lights, and am planning on doing a couple more small things this weekend. Added a stereo, speakers, and going to do a trip cmputer and fix the thermostat. Planning on a 5spd swap to replace the odless auto.
I went 4 years without a bird/cat, but I need to have one now. I think we all come to the point where we need to be in another place. Some of us come back, others grow and move on to bigger and better things. I have a feeling I will always have a bird/cat whenever possible.
Or several years! :hick: My car sits in the same spot down at our farm and gets started every couple of months. :( The part you can relate to is I've been
ok with it. The transmission is dead and the last time it ran it was very poor with only 20 psi of fuel pressure and
I didn't care. Until yesterday at the Ford swap meet in Columbus Ohio (20 minutes away from me) when I bought the bell housing and flywheel I need and at Jegs later in the day bought some new ARP flywheel and clutch bolts, all for my T5 swap I have been talking about for YEARS. I know exactly what you are talking about because I am just now coming out of that funk,
years later. Hell I've logged into the forum two days in a row now, I havn't done that in YEARS!!
If I had a heated space I'd probably do something to it over the winter..the cold makes my carpal tunnel and left hand hurt like no other.
If I take a winter break, maybe next year I will have it on the road..
I had to take a break from mine for a little while. I should have my black one done by Feb. Maybe.
I should have the Sport done by 2015.
I've had mine almost 10 years. Hard to think of when I'm only 21. I stopped driving it back in 08. I really only started working on it 2 years ago. To be truthfully honest I hated the bird when I first got it. I really did. Then when I stumbled across this forum somthing glicked dude. I can't tell ya now how much my heart sinks when I see a decent one in the yard. I have over $6k wrapped up in my car now. Somedays its more or less I don't have time for the old girl anymore but then I snap out of it and come to my senses. If you get rid of it now you're gonna lose out and regret it the minute it leaves. No one and I mean no one will even offer you half of what you have in it. Had someone offer me 1500 for my bird cause it didn't run. As it sits now in the shop. I said some very strong words followed by a very very very un nice GTFO of my garage.
Don't give up bud just take a bird break.
Yeah, think I'm just bored with cars in general. Been on a gun collecting spree lately, but wifey says NO MORE.
Maybe it's time to order some car parts now :evilgrin::D
Generally during the winter time I buy parts I need or want and do the work in the spring. During the next month or so, parts are easier to get. So many are selling parts cheaper for funds for Christmas, or to pay off Christmas expenses, so, cheap parts. Plus, I can't part with the Sport because I could not stand to see somebody else drive it. It would go to parts before being sold outright. Now, I'm off to hunt for more parts.
I let my neighbor talk me into selling my 83 to him. He told me how his son loved it, and they would make a father-son project out of it. It was my ex-delivery car, and it was looking terribly rusty, and needed brake lines again. He happened to catch me at the very moment that I was sick of it. I sold it to him for $450. It ran and drove perfect, just didn't stop more than a couple times before the brake fluid was gone... But I digress... He took it home, packed it full of his belongings, and used it to leave his wife. He rode off into the sunset, and I thought I would never see it again- that is, until I ran into his son. I asked him if his dad was enjoying the car, and he told me his dad, for some reason, junked it. It happens to sit in a junk yard that I pass every day on my way to work. I can even see it from the street, peering over the fence at me, with the hood and doors open. It makes me sick. I wish I never sold it. That was a great car. It sure didn't deserve the end it met.
I have a feeling a lot of guys here have had their car for a long time and have just gotten tired of it, or it's just that your tastes have changed with time. Either way, This world does have a lot to offer. Life IS too short.... go have fun!
Do whatever you need to do to feel better. Just don't do anything you might regret. Just remember, you are always welcome here at the forum, and if you leave, you will be missed.
That's true, I was tired of mine in it's current configuration, so when it blew a head gasket
three years ago, I've just let it set(it has been stored inside)... Now I'm finally getting the goodies together to put the 331 in it but it'll be carbed, as I plan on it mostly being a stripper... Already have a fresh AOD with Lentek valve body, a set of Drag Lites and most of the engine goodies... We've been together since the summer of '97, guess I'll keep her awhile longer...
As far as bonding, it hasn't happened with the Supercharged '03 Marauder... It's a nice, nice, nice ride & I even won street class with it the one time I raced it(far more consistent than the iffi'n EFI setup on the Bird), but it's time I found it a new home...
I saw a Marauder at the gas station a few days ago. They sure are nice.
I think I'm going to rebuild the 50 dollar 5.0 that had coolant in cyls 2 and 6 and and toss in a nice cam and top it with P heads, and an Exploiter intake lol.
I don't have a lot of money into my car, but time wise, I'll never get a penny out of it, not that I ever planned to.
I'd like a TFS 1 cam...anybody want to make me a package deal on that, and a mass air setup? I'll also need an A9L, too. lol
Gonna do the engine after the first of the year, and do some work on the car in the spring, after I gather some more parts i want.