1988 Ford Thunderbird Reviews

My heater core ruptured at the hose cap weld on the core. This is my first major breakdown with this T-bird. There is a lot to this repair, but it's not impossible. Just time consuming. The dash and instrument panel must be removed. The install was much faster than the tear down. I documented all stages of the repair by photo, because I had a hard time finding references for this fix.

I am back to enjoying my favorite car again.

Replaced leaky valve cover gaskets.

Repaired windows that were falling off tracks.

Replaced fuel pump.

Station numbers stopped working in the radio (radio works fine).

Dash has age cracking.

Trunk springs are broken & won't hold the trunk open.

Replaced alternator.

Replaced heater core.

Replaced plugs & wires.

This has been a great car. The engine runs perfect (5.0). I have gotten speeding tickets & the car can move well when needed.

The car handles well & has a great ride -- not a ride of a small car, yet it's not a huge car in itself.

Seats are very comfortable.

Nice air circulation when both windows are open.

Gas mileage is very good.

I have used this car as a daily driver since the day I bought it -- it's been a great reliable car over the years I have owned it, with the normal wear & tear of parts of a 21 year old car wearing out.

I will drive this car until it rusts out from under me. New cars are not an option as they are too complicated -- made of plastic etc.

The only way I will part with this car is if someone gives me top $$ & they want to restore it to original condition.

Too bad they don't make new ones. I would buy a twin if it was made today -- this car is almost like a bro to me -- it's a fine 21 year old -- maybe I will buy it a 6 pack for its birthday (age 21).

Front struts rattle.

Front wheel bearings needed replacing.

Seats are not the best.

This is the fourth Thunderbird I have owned, and quite possibly the best. It is the LX model, so as far as options it is pretty bare bones.

The saving grace for me, of course, is the V8. it has a good amount of torque, but at 150hp it could use a little help in the get up and go. However, with plenty of aftermarket resources to choose from, this is only a temporary problem.

If you are considering a T-Bird with a V8, get the Sport model. You get much better seats, a quad shock set-up and a better rear end gear set. But by all means STAY AWAY FROM THE 3.8L V6 MODEL. Believe me, your wallet will thank you and you won't have to worry about the head gaskets going to hell.

Cheers.

Woah. Don't know if I have the time. Ha. OK

Power steering rack.

Brake problem (common), ABS problem.

Fuel leak.

Quit running for some odd reason.

Tranny went out.

Tie rod.

As a long time car guy, being pretty good with a wrench, I picked up my first 1988 Turbocoupe. 1200 bucks, and it had just a fuel leak. Well, I fixed that.

BAM power steering goes. Fix that.

BAM car quits running. It ended up running on its own power LOL.

BAM tie rod goes out. Fix that with a wheel alignment.

Well I put a full tank of gas in her, BAM tranny goes out. I have had it with this car I decided. Sold. I cannot afford to keep this crap up.

Total invested - 4500

Total sold for - 500

Yeah, so you may understand how angry I could be.

But, all of this aside, I sure do miss that car. I loved it to death. I put a K&N on it, and did much restoration work to it. It was actually a darn good car, except for the trans and brake thing. The brakes got hard as a rock (not the booster...) and that was it. I paid 500 to get the parts to fix it. But I really liked it.

It performed well, and handled amazing for a car of its size. For a heavier car, it is stunning how well it handled.