1983 Ford Thunderbird review from North America

Windshield wiper motor would not stop wiping. Replaced motor unit.

Engine idle at cold start as set by factory is way too high. Engine does take over 5 minutes to reach operating temp. with a new thermostat too.

Carburetor stalls on acceleration, have to feather throttle to prevent stalling.

Engine kept overheating due to gradual occurences of engine coolant loss. Very slow drip leak at the water pump 'weep hole' was the culprit.

Typical Ford 3.8 V6 bugaboo... leaking valve cover gaskets. Aluminum cylinder heads expand/contract differently than the steel screws holding down the valve covers, so they eventually back out and don't hold the gasket anymore.

Seat belt latch failures. Spring in latch fails over time with use and falls apart. Replaced with wrecking yard units.

Typical Ford headliner cloth de-lamination from its foam pad. Was thumb tack riddled until a wrecking yard replacement was found.

Very wide turning radius forces me to stop and back up a lot. Factory setting of the rack and pinion steering ratio is to blame. Upgraded unit from newer T-bird would solve this.

The interior is in excellent shape. The seats are still very comfortable, all of the electronic controls still function and are in easy reach. Lots of lighting everywhere as well as places to store small stuff or papers.

This car is quiet on the road, and it rides very well on the freeway. There is a factory 2 channel amplifier and 6 speakers built into this car, so the music play is decent for a car over 20 years old.

The 3.8 V6 is OK for grocery getting tasks, but the 5.0 V8 would give this car more vitality!

The body lines are still pleasing to look at and the silver paint has not faded yet either.