Lessons learned from the Registry thread

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Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #30 – March 13, 2007, 11:07:38 AM

For those V6 and V8 cars with the power antenna, the other spot was left intentionally blank for future expansion. Obviously Ford never expanded. :) But it does make a nice spot for an aftermarket switch. I've even cut out that hole and adapted a factory fog light switch to run other things.

One thing we're very fortunate about is that the 1985-88 dash is very flexible to add stuff, whether they be switches or radios or other 1-DIN sized features. A lot of newer cars don't have room for stuff like that. Another nice feature is the manual power antenna...that way you can play a CD without having to put the antenna up. Of course, that can lead to a frozen antenna motor eventually...

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #31 – March 13, 2007, 01:34:06 PM

Quote from: Cougar5.0;133959

Yeah, my 20th also came with the 2.73:1 7.5" open rear - puke.

Is the rear-end the main reason you describe the 20th as an "LS"?

I thought that the sway bars etc. indicated some of the other features included in an XR7 package :shrug:

I stand Firm that the 20th Anniversary's have XR-7 suspensions for the fact that when i fudged my black rub strip up when i called Ford to get replacements they told me it was an LS with XR-7 suspension package.

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #32 – March 13, 2007, 02:12:03 PM

Quote

I stand Firm that the 20th Anniversary's have XR-7 suspensions for the fact that when i fudged my black rub strip up when i called Ford to get replacements they told me it was an LS with XR-7 suspension package.

In essence that is true...20ths featured the sport handling suspension as standard. In fact the 20th and 1987-88 XR7 suspensions probably all were the same, save for the standard open rear end on the 20th.

But the 20th was NOT an XR7. It was an LS with the 20th Anniversary Option. Similarly, the first-gen Aero Cats had option packages for the LS and XR7 models, which each featured their own order code on top of a standard Cougar (GS). It was rather backwards the way that Ford required dealers to order a specific car model. I don't know if that system was a holdover from the 1970's or what, but it could be pretty confusing for the uninitiated. I sure hope it's not the same way today.

I've been gathering information from the dealer order books and let me tell you, there were some strange requirements for some of the models. As much as we like to think of these cars as "something for everyone", a lot of things were rather limited when it came to ordering one. But there are also some rather surprising things that were welcomed. I particularly like that fact that almost every option could be ordered a la carte, outside of a preferred package. That made individuality a certain thing, something that most of today's cars lack. Naturally that led to many different combinations, and thus the discussions here about what was standard and what was optional. In a nutshell, if someone tells me their car has something that both the brochures and the order book state could not be possible, I tend to agree with the person, as the "proof is in the pudding", so to speak.

There were just so many strange things that could have happened. Take, for example, Ric's 1985 GS. He ordered the optional hood stripes, but on his car the stripes end on the header panel, not at the edge of the hood itself like nearly all other cars I've seen. Years later he actually found one of the guys that hand-painted those stripes on at the Lorain plant, and when asked, the guy told him "it depended on what mood we were in that day." So how's THAT for a definitive answer! LOL! Those guys could have been drinking up a storm the night before, come into work all hung over, and decided, "Let's screw with people and make the hood stripes longer today." And believe me, that's a small sample of what happens in an assembly plant.

Any given day, anything was possible.

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #33 – March 13, 2007, 02:17:42 PM

Quote from: Aerobird Motorsports;133967

Vinnie,
Thunderjet302's car is another example, loaded out the hilt. Be happy you actually got a 5.0 in a FILA and take some axle pics, until then I don't want to read 3 page speculations about mythical monster axles in 79 Fairmont's. Sorry for the rant man but I'd like you a lot more if you weren't so annoying :hick:

Just to rub it in/ pat myself on the back, my car was even more loaded than Thunderjet's it had the floor shifter + everything his had including the TC seats. Minus the paint though, was the two tone paint an option, or something dealers just did?

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #34 – March 13, 2007, 03:00:48 PM

Quote from: Aerobird Motorsports;134243

Got a pic? On Layla it's the Ride Control switch and foglight switch, neither of which an LX would have.

You sure it's not the premium fuel switch you've got by the ride control and power antenna? I haven't seen as many TC's as you, of course, but every one I've seen had the fog light switch in the light switch panel left of the column (including my car, which isn't a TC but has a TC panel with factory fog light switch)

Quote from: DakotaEpic;134274

Just to rub it in/ pat myself on the back, my car was even more loaded than Thunderjet's it had the floor shifter + everything his had including the TC seats. Minus the paint though, was the two tone paint an option, or something dealers just did?

The two-tone was factory. Is your car a Sport or LX? I had only thought the floor shifter was only available in Sports and TC's, and the TC seats only in TC's and 88 Sports

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #35 – March 13, 2007, 03:29:55 PM

I know for a fact that in 87 it was possible to order a LX with a floor shifter and sport seats factory. There's a guy in the T-bird club with one and it's factory original 25,000 mile car. In 88 you couldn't as far as I know order a LX with a floor shifter and console. You had to get a Sport to do that.

Quote

Just to rub it in/ pat myself on the back, my car was even more loaded than Thunderjet's it had the floor shifter + everything his had including the TC seats. Minus the paint though, was the two tone paint an option, or something dealers just did?
Today 01:12 PM

Sport seats didn't come with power recline though:flip:

j/k:D

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #36 – March 13, 2007, 03:31:58 PM

What do the TC seats even look like? What differences are in them? I know my seats have lumbar support and several other controls, but thats about it.

One last thing: Stop turning this into an E-peen comparison thread

. hahaha

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #37 – March 13, 2007, 03:36:15 PM

Sport/XR-7/Turbo Coupe seats are all the same. They were also used in Mustangs of the same era. They're just collectivly called sport seats.

Fine I'll stop being an ass about my options :D

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #38 – March 13, 2007, 03:38:20 PM

Quote from: EricCoolCats;134247

For those V6 and V8 cars with the power antenna, the other spot was left intentionally blank for future expansion. Obviously Ford never expanded. :) But it does make a nice spot for an aftermarket switch. I've even cut out that hole and adapted a factory fog light switch to run other things.

One thing we're very fortunate about is that the 1985-88 dash is very flexible to add stuff, whether they be switches or radios or other 1-DIN sized features. A lot of newer cars don't have room for stuff like that. Another nice feature is the manual power antenna...that way you can play a CD without having to put the antenna up. Of course, that can lead to a frozen antenna motor eventually...

Ah now I know.

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #39 – March 13, 2007, 03:42:59 PM

HAHAHA

Carm,
You got me on the switch, it's the ride control/prem/power antenna panel. The fogs are with the headlights. Been sooooo long since I actually SAT in the car instead of under the hood... :hick:

TC seats are high-back buckets with headrests and power lumbar. They could be bolted to power or manual racks.

As for the LX/Sport/buckets debate....

I have a customer in Bellingham with an 88 TBird, base, not even an LX, with very few options. Those options are: 5.0, floor shift, full console, buckets, power windows/mirrors. That is IT. It's got the chrome window trim so I know it's not a sport (guy's owned it since the early 90's). It looks like some Mustang guy tried to order a "sleeper" TBird then figured out it wasn't an HO!

You guys *may* want to check out the new For Sale - Leads section, I put up a LOT of interesting fox's...

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #40 – March 13, 2007, 03:43:39 PM

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #41 – March 13, 2007, 03:44:06 PM

Quote from: thunderjet302;134291

Sport/XR-7/Turbo Coupe seats are all the same. They were also used in Mustangs of the same era. They're just collectivly called sport seats.

Fine I'll stop being an ass about my options :D

Hahahaha. Cool, glad to see I have the cool kids seats then :D . They are extremely confortable too (at least mine are).

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #42 – March 13, 2007, 03:51:11 PM

Quote from: Aerobird Motorsports;134295

HAHAHA

Carm,
You got me on the switch, it's the ride control/prem/power antenna panel. The fogs are with the headlights. Been sooooo long since I actually SAT in the car instead of under the hood... :hick:

TC seats are high-back buckets with headrests and power lumbar. They could be bolted to power or manual racks.

As for the LX/Sport/buckets debate....

I have a customer in Bellingham with an 88 TBird, base, not even an LX, with very few options. Those options are: 5.0, floor shift, full console, buckets, power windows/mirrors. That is IT. It's got the chrome window trim so I know it's not a sport (guy's owned it since the early 90's). It looks like some Mustang guy tried to order a "sleeper" TBird then figured out it wasn't an HO!

You guys *may* want to check out the new For Sale - Leads section, I put up a LOT of interesting fox's...

Hmm the 88 brochure dosen't even list the floor shifter as an option on the base or LX. According to that the only way to get a floor shifter is to order a TC or Sport. So what do ya know the dealer info was wrong again:hick: .

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #43 – March 13, 2007, 03:59:05 PM

Does anybody know if someone could've (or did) snuck an HO Tbird or Cougar out of the factory? That'd be awesome :D .

Lessons learned from the Registry thread

Reply #44 – March 13, 2007, 04:23:10 PM

His car *could* be an 87, I honestly can't remember. I didn't believe the car until I saw it, it's only got 60K miles and is VERY nice.

NO HO snuck out, we know that for a fact.