Everything. The absolute worst car I've ever owned. The fuel-injected engine, electrical system, "brain box" (computer chip set), air conditioning, and exhaust system were constant headaches despite regular maintenance. Without a doubt the most expensive car to upkeep in my experience.
I'm glad I had AAA service when I owned this car, given the number of times it needed to be towed. My understanding after the fact from a mechanic was that this particular model year T-bird (1984) was plagued with problems and that other model years were better. I've liked Ford products as a rule of thumb, but this one was a real lemon. A comfortable lemon, but a lemon nonetheless.
You bought a dud.. Every once in a while the manufacturer will slip out a defective vehicle, this is common with mopar. Not very common with Ford and Chevy, however. This is a rare occurence; bad luck on your part.
I have a 84 Tbird and after 5 years I put in a new motor. I'll never sell the car because it is a well built and beutiful car. You just had the bad luck of getting a lemon.
I purchased a 1984 t-bird with 160,000 miles. The engine had not been rebuilt, but it ran fine. The water pump started leaking as a result the engine overheated and the heads warped. This was the start of its problems. I rebuilt the engine completely heads and all. The back freeze plug blew out and the engine overheated and the heads warped again. Another 400 dollars down the drain. The aluminum heads are a bad idea. Also one of the spark pulg threaded hole stripped. Aluminum is to soft of a metal to have just a threaded hole the hole should have a steel insert that the spark plug threads into. This car has an engine designed for a person that keeps a car for less than 100,000 miles and then trades it in.
I just bought a 1984 T-Bird 302 auto, only problem is the
charging system, I put a new battery in it and regulator
and it does not charge. I guess I'll look into it further.
The car overall is very nice looking and was well kept
and the price of $300.00 was cheap even with some repairs.
I bought a 84 Tbird 2 years ago and I love it.
About a year ago, I got a hold of a 89 Lincoln Mark VII.
I took the H.O. 302 out of it and put it in my tbird.
I have bought an 84 Thunder bird and it has been one of the best vehicles I've ever owned. I bought it for 500 dollars and it has had no major problems in the last year that I have owned it. It has 121,000 miles and still no problem. I would recommend this car to anyone, its luxurious, powerful, and just a beauty of a car.