1983 Ford Thunderbird Heritage review from North America
"Ford's only perfection between muscle and luxury!"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Windshield wipers go down properly about 85% of the time. (Seating against the windsheild vs middle of windshield)
CFI unit rebuilt at 120,000 miles.
Pass. seat motor dead and replaced at 130,000, but seats are in excellent a+ shape after all these years! They are like auto lazy-boy seats!
Headliner sagging at 80,000 miles.
2nd water pump at 135,000 miles. (First owner installed one before selling car).
Ford's well known leaky driver side valve cover problem is present.
Whole digital dash went out in 2001. Took 1 month to completely rewire the dash and sensors.
Gets about 14mpg. Not bad.
General comments?
I love this car. After owning 3 90-93 mustangs, 2 which are convertibles, I will never go back. The wheelbase is slightly bigger, the car handles way better at highway and city speeds. Only thing I wish is that is came with stick available from the factory. Also, the star wars dash instruments have much to be desired for.
I would recommend this car to anyone looking for sport luxury.
Recommended reviews
| 1983 - Thunderbird 1983 Ford O/D 302 V8 This is an excellent car for the modest muscle coupe enthusiast |
|
| 1980 - Thunderbird GT 5.0 H.O. V8 An adequate car with the potential to be a truly great car! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1983 |
| First year of ownership | 1988 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | V8 302 CFI Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 8 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 65000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 135000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford Mustang |
| Date of Entry | 10th September, 2002 |