New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

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New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

August 04, 2015, 04:57:10 PM

Howdy folks, I'm KC.

In July, I accepted an '83 Thunderbird in trade for the labour of replacing the engine in a '90's Honda as a favour to a friend. As near as I could tell it was a rotten hulk of a car, but it did run/drive and did have a clear title, and as a runner, I figured I could sell it for profit easily enough. Well, it turns out that it isn't too bad off. I like it, and have taken to driving it around as I tinker with it. I think I'll keep it for a while.

The funny thing is that I have never aspired to own a Thunderbird. Sure, I have admired them from time to time, but they were never on my list of gotta-have-one vehicles. Interestingly enough, I actually rode in an '83 or '84 Tbird loaner car as a kid when the family '84 Tempo was at the dealership for a sunroof install. Until last month, that was the only 'Bird I ever sat in, and it was only briefly as we went out for Chinese food, and then returned home. Though my memory is fuzzy, I do explicitly remember my mother griping because it had a red interior that she disliked immensely. I do recall thinking the car was pretty neat, but I must have been 7, so just about anything would have qualified as neat at the time. I mean, I thought the Tempo was pretty cool, if that tells you anything. (Still kinda do, actually. It was a great car.)

Enough rambling about the old days; I have a car to tell you all about! Due to its state of cleanliness when I received it (Or lack thereof) the car has been nicknamed Dirtybird. It's not much to look at from the outside. Gone are the original wheels, whatever they may have been, and in their place are a set of worn, but serviceable '87-'88 TC wheels. A most unfortunate Wintertime meeting with a utility pole last December has left the driver side of the car very marred, but it is reparable. Surprisingly, rust is very minimal, and a quick inspection on a lift revealed a delightfully solid underbelly. Inside is a surprisingly nice chocolate brown velour interior. Sure, the dash has a crack and a bit of discolouration on top, and the driver side door panel has been assaulted with a sheetmetal screw through the vinyl in one very obnoxious spot, but the inside is mostly complete, and really very nice for a 33-year-old driver. The original odometer reads 55,000, and from the vehicle condition, I believe that to be 155K, rather than 255K or more.

I can't seem to find a picture of the car from when I first brought it home, but it was covered in moss and mildew, despite having current tabs. I actually had to scrub the entire exterior with a tire brush and undiluted Purple Power to get it clean, as nothing else seemed to touch the grime. I then went ahead and gave it a quick and dirty polishing with a rotary buffer equipped with a worn out wool pad and some lumpy Meguiar's Ultimate Compound I had laying around. It still isn't clean, but it looks far less derelict now than it did a few weeks ago.

Beneath a wad of blue duct tape I found enough of the shattered driver side mirror to patch back together and keep in service with Q-Bond, and then a quick hunt on eBay resulted in a fresh mirror insert for $11 shipped. It's ugly, but it will work until a proper chromed replacement can be found. I haven't decided whether to repair or replace the door and fender yet, so excuse the horrible body damage for now.

I have also replaced nearly the entire brake system, except for the pipes and hoses which are in excellent condition, the front rotors which I was able to have turned, and the booster which still works fine. Despite the fresh brakes, performance is still pretty miserable. The wheels will certainly lock up, but pedal travel and feel is terrible, and the bias feels off. Thanks Ford? If I can find the parts to upgrade them later I will, because these things obviously sucked from day one. I dislike having to spend money on mediocre brakes, but they were too far gone to leave alone, and donor cars are scarce in these parts. Adding insult to injury, the of the right rear axle is a bit bent, and i didn't notice this until I had installed new drums, wheel cylinders, shoes, and a hardware kit. I am not dropping $50 on a used axle for a floating rear end, so that axle can stay bent. Where is an '87-'88 TC rear axle when you need one? Not anywhere near me. (Well, a guy three hours away has one for sale on CL, but he wants $600 for it. (What? Uh uh. Nope.)

The AC system was retrofitted by the original owner at some point in the past, but it was low on charge. A little extra oil and a recharge has it working great, which is good, because it was hot this past week! I could not be happier with the performance of the AC, but the blower motor has now taken to shrieking and the resistor pack had already blown the thermal fuse before I acquired the car, so it looks like I will be replacing more parts soon. Random fact: Did you know that Mt. Rainier is a volcano? Yep. Fire, death, and destruction awaits us all here in Western Washington State.

Oh, and for the past week the car has been sporadically misfiring badly under light cruise conditions (serious bucking when that happens), and occasionally dying at low speed while coming off throttle, so it looks like I get to play EEC-III detective. I guess I better go shop for an buttstuffogue voltmeter, or get my oscilloscope fixed soon so that I can pull the codes and see if this 'bird can show me where it hurts.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good shrink? I think I must have lost my mind to have decided to daily this thing, but darn it, the car is an absolute pleasure to drive. I even love the digital dash that looks like an Atari barfed all over it, and the premium sound system with the electronic tape deck isn't bad sounding at all. Why didn't someone tell me that I needed one of these things before? I've put 500 miles on it so far, and it just keeps getting more awesome, even when things break.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #1 – August 04, 2015, 05:16:06 PM

Welcome to the madness. This was my 84 bird when I brought it home. Sadly it isn't much better now, just cleaner. I'm amassing parts for a rebuild.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #2 – August 04, 2015, 06:43:39 PM

Thanks! Hey, your '84 doesn't look bad at all like that. It's at least ten times cleaner in that picture than mine was. I was afraid to park mine anywhere before I scrubbed it for fear it might be mistaken for a dumped derelict vehicle.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #3 – August 04, 2015, 07:28:58 PM

Lol mine was off the road for 21 years. Basically all bolt on sheet metal was bad. Here's where it's at now. Amazingly enough it only has 42,000 miles on it

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #4 – August 04, 2015, 11:17:35 PM

Quote

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good shrink?

No shrink in their right mind would see someone with our addiction.

Don't worry, your in the right place here.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #5 – August 04, 2015, 11:22:40 PM

Welcome to insanityville! :hick:

I love to hear stories like this because it shows what can be done with determination and effort. The results will show it was a diamond in the rough. Sure it would just be easier to call a wrecker and have it hauled off for s, but that's the easy way out with no reward or satisfaction. Your determination is admirable!

Couldn't have picked a better car either, (I might be a bit biased owning 2!!) 83's are the best!!! :D Just had my Heritage out today and yes they are a pleasure to drive!

Keep us posted and see if you can find a picture of it in it's original 'green' condition. Interested in seeing the interior too.

Rod

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #6 – August 05, 2015, 03:38:09 AM

If you have about 3 days and a lot of popcorn i can share my 83 Thunderbird adventures with you. I will try and post some links to some of my adventures and some big news is pending so keep an eye on the forum. Welcome to the looney bin, you are a natural for this place..... if you had a working voice module in your 83, (yes it was an option on Heritage) you would elope with your car and never return.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #7 – August 05, 2015, 09:11:54 PM

Quote from: jandmmustangs;450331

Lol mine was off the road for 21 years. Basically all bolt on sheet metal was bad. Here's where it's at now. Amazingly enough it only has 42,000 miles on it

As a guy that has had several Franken-cars, I see nothing but beauty here. Besides my sleeper '00 Sebring convertible (what?), every car I have had that wasn't new was built from pieces. It's like I can't not have a project or three in progress. The Tbird is an exception, as it is really, really solid. Sure, I could save time swapping the fender and door out if I could find them, but what is there has almost no rust. If it weren't for the previous owner using the rocker panels as jack points, I wouldn't need to touch them. It's pretty exciting to have such a solid car for a change.

Quote from: bodyman

No shrink in their right mind would see someone with our addiction.

Don't worry, your in the right place here.

I thought being a shrink precluded being in one's right mind? It looks like maybe we're the normal ones!

Quote from: rodsterh

Welcome to insanityville!

I love to hear stories like this because it shows what can be done with determination and effort. The results will show it was a diamond in the rough. Sure it would just be easier to call a wrecker and have it hauled off for s, but that's the easy way out with no reward or satisfaction. Your determination is admirable!

Couldn't have picked a better car either, (I might be a bit biased owning 2!!) 83's are the best!!! Just had my Heritage out today and yes they are a pleasure to drive!

Keep us posted and see if you can find a picture of it in it's original 'green' condition. Interested in seeing the interior too.

Rod

I was in it too far to have it hauled away for s when I took it in trade. (My labour only on that engine swap was $400, so that's my initial purchase price.) Title, plates and registration was another $120. Now I am really in trouble, because the new brake system cost me $250 in parts alone. If I sold it for $1000 today, I would just break even on parts and labour.

Yeah, I am kind of partial to the interior of this '83. I dislike the dash and the door panels and the steering in the 3.8 powered '86 at the yard. From what I have seen on this site, I am probably in the minority.

I'm on the fence about the paint. Part of my wants to stick to the original paint colours, but part of me thinks the car would look superb in pearl white. I might make my decision based on whether I can obtain the original "copper" side and trunk stripe kit. Besides those two options, what else can you do with a brown interior?

Quote from: MY83T

If you have about 3 days and a lot of popcorn i can share my 83 Thunderbird adventures with you. I will try and post some links to some of my adventures and some big news is pending so keep an eye on the forum. Welcome to the looney bin, you are a natural for this place..... if you had a working voice module in your 83, (yes it was an option on Heritage) you would elope with your car and never return.

I have plenty of days, so feel free to share. lol!

What gave me away? The erupting volcano license plate mod? If Mt. Rainier ever erupts, I'll do it to my real plate, too. You gotta have a sense of humour to get through life in a place this grey, wet, and pr0ne to tsunamis and earthquakes while living in the shadow of several dormant volcanoes, and sharing a house with a nurse/crazy cat lady... Or... You know... You just have to be a little nuts.

I don't even know yet what options my car has. I hear no sounds at all with the key in and door open, lights on, etc. It might have a voice module, or it might not. I had an '87 Dodge with the EVA once, and it was pretty entertaining, so I would love to have something similar in this car.

A few more pictures here. Forgive me, but I haven't had time to do more than give the interior a quick once over with the vacuum. If anyone knows where to find a red reflector for the driver door, or the proper steering wheel center, I would be very happy. Other than a deep cleaning, a little vinyl repair, some mild dye touchup on the seats where they faded, and a new set of floor mats, the interior is pretty much good to go.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #8 – August 05, 2015, 11:49:30 PM

There is a door and fender in the junkyard here in San Diego. Chances are there is also very little rust.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #9 – August 06, 2015, 02:03:24 AM

Your car is a pretty uncommon color combo. Two tone charcoal/silver cars abound, rarely seen in Two tone with your scheme. I like it, the brown interior looks really nice with it. From what i can see, the dash, console lid and door panels look great. I might have the steering wheel center and the door lens you need too. You are missing some badges... left rear trunk is missing the Automatic Overdrive badge, and the 2 lower front fenders should each have a "electronic fuel injection" badge. These were unique to 83 cars. A few curious things you might like to know about the 83 model...

1. Last year for Heritage designation (élan through 84-86)
2. Coolant overflow/washer fluid bottle are unique to 83
3. Front marker lights in lower bumper are clear only in 83, amber 84-86
4. Center console in rear has 2 lights on either side that are absent in 84-88 cars
5. steering wheel is unique to 83
i am sure there are other anomalies, thats all i can recall for now

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #10 – August 06, 2015, 03:09:24 AM

Quote from: Lightningbird;450373

There is a door and fender in the junkyard here in San Diego. Chances are there is also very little rust.

Thanks for letting me know. Depending on scarcity, I may have to go that far for parts. I haven't looked too hard yet, but I did find what might be a decent door and fender on an '86 in the yard closest to my house. $75 for the door and $50 for the fender isn't too awful for what appear to be decent parts. I would have looked closer but the natives (wasps) were getting restless.

I will pull the fender liner and the door panel on my car soon for inspection and see if my parts can be saved, or if I need to shop for replacements. The fender I am not too worried about, but the door, in my body shop experience, really needs to be reskinned, and I doubt skins exist for it, but if I have to cut in the paint for a replacement door, I may as well swap the fender too and save myself an hour of work.

Quote from: MY83T;450375

Your car is a pretty uncommon color combo. Two tone charcoal/silver cars abound, rarely seen in Two tone with your scheme. I like it, the brown interior looks really nice with it. From what i can see, the dash, console lid and door panels look great. I might have the steering wheel center and the door lens you need too. You are missing some badges... left rear trunk is missing the Automatic Overdrive badge, and the 2 lower front fenders should each have a "electronic fuel injection" badge. These were unique to 83 cars. A few curious things you might like to know about the 83 model...

1. Last year for Heritage designation (élan through 84-86)
2. Coolant overflow/washer fluid bottle are unique to 83
3. Front marker lights in lower bumper are clear only in 83, amber 84-86
4. Center console in rear has 2 lights on either side that are absent in 84-88 cars
5. steering wheel is unique to 83
i am sure there are other anomalies, thats all i can recall for now

The paint codes are 9Q and 9P, desert tan and light desert tan. The car was originally purchased in New Mexico, so maybe it was camo? Heh. I don't think it's terrible looking. In fact, it has grown on me a bit. I already own a brown Mercedes, however, so people are going to start thinking brown is my favourite colour.

I mostly love the walnut interior, as it's just so rich. I feel like I am soaking in a hot tub full of decadent cocoa when I am behind the wheel. That sounds ridiculous, but that was the first thought that entered my head on the drive home with it. I love the steering wheel in this thing. It is exceedingly comfortable, and it looks fantastic. The leather is even in particularly fine condition. Yeah, the dash has a crack, but the sun-faded 80's Pound Puppy covers the crack nicely, and he was included with the car when the dying first owner passed it on.

Inside of the car, besides the red reflector for the driver door and the wheel center, I think the glove box light lens is missing, so I guess I can add that to the list. Also, the left center dash vent isn't brown and doesn't match the wood dash, and is instead simply black. I think it may be a replacement, seeing as all the other dash vents are brown. The rear view mirror is loosing a lot of silvering around the edges as well, so that is something else to address at some point. In other words, it has plenty of little things to be tinkered with, but it's pretty nice. The first thing I will do besides cleaning in there will probably be to replace or repair the buzzing driver door speaker, and pull the radio to see if I can get the segmented LED display to display things properly so that I can tell what station I have tuned in.

I did have the remnants of the automatic overdrive badge, but only the tail end of it, so it read only "erdrive." It was also barely clinging on, so I removed it and saved it. I still have the side moulding, but it is all curled pretty severely at the ends, and the driver door piece is a little ripped. I don't expect that it will be reusable, but maybe I can fake it with some trim from that '86 in the yard. I had no idea that the car should have had the fuel injection badges on the fenders, but I suppose I will have to hunt for those. Perhaps they were used on some other models? The driver side clear front marker is shattered, but present, and I'll probably just carefully glue it together for now so that it stops filling with water. Clearly I have a few parts to gather!

I have picked up on a few of things that are specific to the '83 models from reading the forum over the past few weeks, but I had no idea that the coolant/washer fluid tank, and the neat lights in the rear of the console were specific to the '83 models. I'm still on the fence about what to do with this car in the future, but for now I will just continue driving it... And now that it just rained and my back and butt are soaking wet, maybe try adjusting the doors and replacing the weatherstrip? Wow. This thing is like a water park ride when it rains. That's just not okay with me.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #11 – August 06, 2015, 03:13:20 AM

Oh yeah. A turn signal/horn stalk would be nice. Not sure how I forgot that is missing.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #12 – August 06, 2015, 04:00:27 AM

I am digging the tc wheels.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #13 – August 08, 2015, 12:32:15 PM

Quote from: Kadams4458;450378

Thanks for letting me know. Depending on scarcity, I may have to go that far for parts. I haven't looked too hard yet, but I did find what might be a decent door and fender on an '86 in the yard closest to my house. $75 for the door and $50 for the fender isn't too awful for what appear to be decent parts. I would have looked closer but the natives (wasps) were getting restless.

I will pull the fender liner and the door panel on my car soon for inspection and see if my parts can be saved, or if I need to shop for replacements. The fender I am not too worried about, but the door, in my body shop experience, really needs to be reskinned, and I doubt skins exist for it, but if I have to cut in the paint for a replacement door, I may as well swap the fender too and save myself an hour of work.

The paint codes are 9Q and 9P, desert tan and light desert tan. The car was originally purchased in New Mexico, so maybe it was camo? Heh. I don't think it's terrible looking. In fact, it has grown on me a bit. I already own a brown Mercedes, however, so people are going to start thinking brown is my favourite colour.

I mostly love the walnut interior, as it's just so rich. I feel like I am soaking in a hot tub full of decadent cocoa when I am behind the wheel. That sounds ridiculous, but that was the first thought that entered my head on the drive home with it. I love the steering wheel in this thing. It is exceedingly comfortable, and it looks fantastic. The leather is even in particularly fine condition. Yeah, the dash has a crack, but the sun-faded 80's Pound Puppy covers the crack nicely, and he was included with the car when the dying first owner passed it on.

Inside of the car, besides the red reflector for the driver door and the wheel center, I think the glove box light lens is missing, so I guess I can add that to the list. Also, the left center dash vent isn't brown and doesn't match the wood dash, and is instead simply black. I think it may be a replacement, seeing as all the other dash vents are brown. The rear view mirror is loosing a lot of silvering around the edges as well, so that is something else to address at some point. In other words, it has plenty of little things to be tinkered with, but it's pretty nice. The first thing I will do besides cleaning in there will probably be to replace or repair the buzzing driver door speaker, and pull the radio to see if I can get the segmented LED display to display things properly so that I can tell what station I have tuned in.

I did have the remnants of the automatic overdrive badge, but only the tail end of it, so it read only "erdrive." It was also barely clinging on, so I removed it and saved it. I still have the side moulding, but it is all curled pretty severely at the ends, and the driver door piece is a little ripped. I don't expect that it will be reusable, but maybe I can fake it with some trim from that '86 in the yard. I had no idea that the car should have had the fuel injection badges on the fenders, but I suppose I will have to hunt for those. Perhaps they were used on some other models? The driver side clear front marker is shattered, but present, and I'll probably just carefully glue it together for now so that it stops filling with water. Clearly I have a few parts to gather!

I have picked up on a few of things that are specific to the '83 models from reading the forum over the past few weeks, but I had no idea that the coolant/washer fluid tank, and the neat lights in the rear of the console were specific to the '83 models. I'm still on the fence about what to do with this car in the future, but for now I will just continue driving it... And now that it just rained and my back and butt are soaking wet, maybe try adjusting the doors and replacing the weatherstrip? Wow. This thing is like a water park ride when it rains. That's just not okay with me.

Here are a few of the missing items you need from eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-s-Era-Plastic-Ford-AUTOMATIC-OVERDRIVE-Emblem-NICE-SHAPE-/371142848202?hash=item5669d66eca&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1982-1983-1984-FORD-ESCORT-EXP-MERCURY-LYNX-LN7-TURN-SIGNAL-HORN-STALK-NEW-/360862345286?hash=item5405126846&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1984-1985-1986-Ford-LTD-Electronic-Fuel-Injection-Trunk-Lid-Emblem-/151386682940?hash=item233f59763c&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1983-1984-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-DOOR-ARM-REST-LENS-LH-/371117998654?hash=item56685b423e&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1980-1981-1982-FORD-THUNDERBIRD-FACTORY-STEERING-WHEEL-CENTER-PAD-EMBLEM-NEW-/390767323850?hash=item5afb8c2aca&vxp=mtr
FYI all the dash vents should be black regardless of your interior color scheme. If they are brown, then they were painted.

New guy here - Got myself an '83 Heritage 'Bird, and I think I like it

Reply #14 – August 08, 2015, 03:35:45 PM

That last post of mine was a wall of text, wasn't it? Sorry about that, I just get a little excited at times. I happen to love working on all kinds of machine and electronics, and when something new catches my attention, I sort of lose myself in it for a while. Thankfully, the girlfriend understands!

David, thanks a ton for the links. I will probably jump on that turn signal stalk and maybe hunt for the wiper stalk, too, since mine has a crack in it. I figure if I have to pull the column apart, I may as well fix the whole thing in one shot.

Is that steering wheel emblem correct for the '83? The wood grain doesn't seem to match what is on my dash, but seeing as I never saw the original, Maybe that it's how it was.

As for the brown vents... They sure look factory from casual observation, but I will look closer and get good photos of them soon.

Alright, it's back to resting for me. I upset my old spine injury last night, so I will be taking it easy for a few days. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!