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Topic: Finally picked up one of these (Read 1139 times) previous topic - next topic

Finally picked up one of these



Saw this 1987 V6 Tbird listed on Craigslist with 127k miles for $1000. Runs and drives well enough. Needless to say I jumped at it.

I'm heading on a cross-country road trip this summer/fall, and I'd like to use this for it once I get it cleaned up. It's in dire need of some basic maintenance, so once I get the truck sold I'm just gonna take the money from that and dump it into this.

Guess this is where I start asking for tips, reference material, etc. I had a 1990 MN12 bird with the same engine and that was a fantastic little machine for road trips: Really comfortable for driving long distances, and good fuel economy, and I'm excited that this '87 will hopefully hold true for the same reasons. I'm very unfamiliar with the Fox setup tho, so what should I be looking for on this thing in terms of things that usually go wrong, etc.

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #1 –
YOU Sir are in the right place. Welcome to the forum. Ask lots of questions, and ignore those who say "didn't you do a search". The rest of us will help you the best we can. Good to have you aboard.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #2 –
Oh, things that usually go wrong...Hmmmm...heater cores, they suck to change, but it really is manageable. Headlights get super yellow. Those are hard to find brand new. As is most everything "Thunderbird" specific.
'88 Sport--T-5,MGW shifter,Trick Flow R intake,Ed Curtis cam,Trick Flow heads,Scorpion rockers,75mm Accufab t-body,3G,mini starter,Taurus fan,BBK long tube headers,O/R H-Pipe, Flowamaster Super 44's, deep and deeper Cobra R wheels, Mass Air and 24's,8.8 with 3.73's,140 mph speedo,Mach 1 chin spoiler,SN-95 springs,CHE control arms,aluminum drive shaft and a lot more..

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #3 –
Welcome!!

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #4 –
Welcome. Aod trans? Replace the clip on the trans kickdown cable if it hasn't already.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #5 –
Welcome to the site! This is definitely the place to be if you are into Fox Birds.
 

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #6 –
thanks for the welcomes.

and yeah, it's an AOD transmission that's slipping a bit (to be expected for a 26 year old car). I'm looking into possibly getting it rebuilt, but I'm not sure yet. it's either rebuild the AOD, or cut a hole in the floorpan and swap a manual into it. really depends what costs are going to be.

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #7 –
The 3.8 TBI is quite abit different from the MN12 3.8...
You can do a 4R70W swap...that would be cool

Travis

Finally picked up one of these

Reply #8 –
Welcome.  I think you'll be surprised how well your 87 will be on long road trips.  Having owned both an 88 TC and an 95 SC and traveled both over many miles of Oklahoma roads, I found the 88 TC to be a much more pleasant road car than the 95.  The TC just seemed much more planted, a softer ride, much better build quality as far as road/wind noise and rattles AND the driving position was much more comfortable in the TC.  Also, with the 5 speed stick the gas mileage was excellent.  As far as issues with the V6 bird, might want to keep an eye on head gaskets and the cooling system.  Good luck!