Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums  

That's awesome! I love a dark blue interior.

Nice!

Last time I got a tip, "hey there's a thunderbird you'd like over on so-and-so road". I drive clear over there and it's a rotten old 1979 for $4000. Not my style, lol. I never get the good tips

^^^ LMAO been there done that. It always seems to be a tip for something barely relevant. And in dubious condition. And wanting the moon for it. Funny stories.

Mark 7's....yeah I just love those things. Maybe someday. A little jealous can't lie! Cannot WAIT to see the pics of these machines, they sound like real dimes...

Well both of you welcome to Mark VII land :hick:. Being that you both have 5.0 Fox Cougars the Mark VII isn't much different. Well except that it has a 5.0 HO from the factory. Most of the systems are the same as a full loaded Fox Thunderbird/Cougar with two exceptions: the air suspension and the ABS system. Being that I've been living with a '91 Mark VII LSC for over two years I have some pointers on each system.

Air Suspension:

Forget the "it's sooooo expensive when it breaks and it's unreliable" bullshiznit. It's really easy to fix. The "it's sooooo expensive to fix and unreliable" label come from poor people who buy the things (or any old luxury car) and have no money to fix them correctly when out of the ordinary parts fail. If you can't afford the car when it's new you certainly can't afford to fix it when it's old . Don't bother with a coil spring conversion. It's a $500 dollar waste. You can replace all the air springs for $500 or less. The air suspension is really simple to fix. First things first when you buy the car preform maintenance on the suspension air dryer: http://thelincolnmarkviiclub.org/documents/tech/airDryer.pdf Other than that you may have to replace some O-rings on the system. Those are readily available at your local hardware store in the plumbing section. Air springs are cheap (you can get all 4 for ~$400) and can be changed out in your driveway with hand tools. You don't even need a spring compressor just a ratchet and a pair of pliers :hick:. The only component of the air suspension on my Mark VII I've had to replace is the driver's side rear air spring solenoid. It failed open and would cause the spring to deflate. It was $30 for a new one at a local Advance Auto (which had it in stock!). Everything for the air suspension is available from the aftermarket (Arnott and Suncore are the preferred vendors) except the ride height sensors. Fortunately they virtually never fail.

ABS:

The Teves II ABS in the Mark VII is great. When it works correctly. If it needs repair outside of an accumulator or pressure switch you're SOL as far as other new parts. If the pump or valvebody of the Teves is bad prepare to pony up $900-$1000 for a rebuilt unit. I've had to replace the pressure switch on the unit in my Mark VII. It was leaking break fluid through the electrical connector. Apparently they do that when they go bad. The pressure switch is still available new from AC Delco for less than $100 (yes I know GM part but many late 80's early 90's GM cars used the Teves II ABS system and it's the same as the pressure switch in the Mark VII). I like to keep my cars original but once this Teves system dies I'm converting it to regular power brakes using a SN95 master, booster, and prop valve. This system is so old/hard to find parts for that yes it's worth replacing unless you must, must, must have the car completely original.

For Paul:

You're going to want to upgrade the engine. Yes it's a 5.0 HO but it's in a car that weighs 3700lbs with no driver. It will hit 60mph from a dead stop in about 7.8-8 seconds. Barley faster than most 4-cyliner econboxes and 4-cyliner mid size sedans. The difference in acceleration between my Thunderbird (3550 without driver, 3705 with me in it) and my Mark VII (3720 without driver, 3870 with me in it) is astounding when driving the cars back to back. The Thunderbird has about 120hp more and it feels like it. I really think that a Mark VII at minimum needs a 347 to be fast, due to the weight.

I really do like my Mark VII. I prefer the 90 and up dash to the 84-89 version for the control placement. I think the 88-89 "turbine" style LSC wheels are the best Mark VII factory wheels. I like them much better than the BBS style wheels on the 90-92 Mark VII LSC. I found a set of 88-89 wheels locally and swapped them on my Mark VII. Now I have the car with the dash board I like best and the wheels I like best.


I think you guys will like your Mark VIIs. After all they are basically a Fox Thunderbird/Cougar .

so did you two do it like the show ,, dickering?

Some preliminary pics:

The 89:












The 91

They both look good. Is there some damage on the driver's side rear quarter on the 89 or is that just a reflection?

The 91 has the sport seat delete option. That's kind of rare. My 91 has sport seats in it (virtually identical to the seats in the 89). They are pretty neat as they have power lumbar and bolsters.

this circled area is the only damage on the car.  The rest is reflections from  in the garage.  The drivers lower seat needs a good leather conditioner and a air freshener for the cabin.  Other than a missing folio in the glove box with the manual, its a really nice and well cared for low miler.