96 Ford Thunderbird??
Posted by yaska515@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 53 comments
96 Thunderbird. Very good shape. It has 170k miles. I am pretty sure it needs a head-gasket.
The car is in immaculate condition and I paid too much for it. Either thinking of doing an engine swap or fixing head gaskets. Used engine with 100k is $500. Car already has a shift kit and cold air intake.
I saw some Turbo kits on EBay for $1800. Is this worth it? Can I turn around and sell for 14k if I fix it all up and throw some turbos on it? Superchargers are pricey so doesn’t seem worth it.
I personally feel this car is cool but I need other people to feel cool about it once I get bored and sell it.
AmericanDed@reddit
If you really want to do something special which would require very little work, do a terminator swap. Won't be cheap though
nochinzilch@reddit
Just fix it up nice and drive it.
RustBeltLab@reddit
lol
BaconNPotatoes@reddit
Those drove real nice. The 4.6 is a pretty good little engine.
No a $500 used engine isn't going to let you sell it for $14k, no matter what you do to it. Unless it's a complete teardown to bare block and rebuild with new parts.
djsilentmobius@reddit
I love that they think they can "add some turbos" and make it worth 5x.
Ok-Square360@reddit
And not even a good turbo kit, some $800 eBay junk that’ll have cracked welds within the first 100 miles and have a warped manifold flange straight from the box.
pooo_pourri@reddit
“Can I turn around and sell for 14k if I fix it all up and throw some turbos on it?”
Lolol bruther please let this be a joke
yaska515@reddit (OP)
I meant if I modded the car to go faster. I know as is I cant get anywhere close
djsilentmobius@reddit
This isn't a video game.
lentilSoup78@reddit
Exactly. Seasoned car guys generally want an unmolested car to start with. Don’t expect to make money on a modified car.
blahyawnblah@reddit
People don't like buying cars that are randomly modified
superluke@reddit
Anything other than original will lower the resale value. There's no market and anyone looking will assume the mods were poorly done or (eww) eBay parts.
pooo_pourri@reddit
Naw that’s not how that works even a little bit. I mean I guess you could try……. But for most people, that thing would be like 1k tops with an eBay turbo kit and I think that’s being generous. Modding cars makes them less valuable like 99% of the time. Cheap parts on kinda shitty cars tanks their value. But even If it was like a really nice turbo kit, it wouldn’t be even close to 14k.
Sorry if it comes off as dickish but i think you need a reality check on this one bruther. It’s a cool car, buts an old t-bird with 170k, it will never be worth much
booty_fewbacca@reddit
It will actually be worth less than when you started most likely
Pyropete125@reddit
As long as you need to find someone who wants a turbo t-bird with stcks of cash.
IRMasheener@reddit
It might be worth $14k if they put a $12k coyote in it.
devilscalling@reddit
Had the 3.8L supercharged. Ate 5.0L mustangs like nothing and my brothers manual SC was even quicker
majornerd@reddit
I too had a sc. loved that car.
Even met one of the lead engineers on the project. He ended up putting the engine in a sand rail. Neat guy. Terrible decision.
Toto_nemisis@reddit
I found a very clean supercoupe with like, 80k miles. It was mared down to 10k from 12k.
Man these cars were cool back in the day! They really coild take a beating in highschool.
LVBeatzMusic@reddit
Nah dude if you turbo it, you're keeping it
Triggerz777@reddit
Gangster
navlgazer9@reddit
My brother has had six of these
Very affordable
v8 rear wheel Drive Independent rear suspension
Easy to work on , Handles better than a mustang
I Wouldn’t bother with a turbo ,
If you want it faster , I’d find a Mercury marauder version of the crown Vic and get that engine And out a five speed behind it .
Same brother also has a Mercury Marauder and that thing is plenty fast , And the thunderbird weighs less than a crown Vic
Hungry-Job-3198@reddit
The only difference the marauder had was an aluminum intake, different exhaust and programming
OlYeller01@reddit
The Marauder was powered by the 4.6L 4V, not the 2V. It was pretty much the same engine that came in the ‘03-‘04 Mach 1 Mustang minus the shaker hood scoop.
Trying to make a 4V work in a T-bird would be very challenging, and tearing apart a more-valuable-than-you-think Marauder to throw it in a clapped T-bird is kinda silly.
There’s obviously exceptions, like finding a totaled Marauder for cheap. But you’d have to fight off all the Crown Vic guys for it.
TP_Crisis_2020@reddit
These are cool if you like them and you want to drive them.
They are not cool if you think you will be able to flip them.
There is ZERO demand for 90's thunderbirds on the used market, unless it's a SC. Non SC's - that thing would be $2k-3k max on marketplace after it was fixed.
Havinng said that, I bought a clean low mile '93 tbird to fix up and drive because I think they are super cool cars. I paid $700 for mine.
jesusrambo@reddit
Any specific quirks? I just came into possession of a ‘93 5.0.
Picked up GT40 heads and an Explorer intake for it, haven’t put em on yet. Trying to figure out the header and exhaust situation
TP_Crisis_2020@reddit
Headers are going to be a nightmare. Foxbody shortys won't work without some modifications to the stock steering shaft. I'm not sure what to do there as nobody has made 5.0 MN12 headers in many years.
I know that the intake manifold on the Tbird 5.0 is the most shallow one, similar to the 94-95 GT SN95. I don't think the explorer intake will fit under the stock hood.
Yes, the AOD is probably the biggest weak link. I have a M5R2 5 speed from a SC that I am going to swap into mine to get rid of the AOD.
The capacitors in the ECU are a common quirk to expect, I would pretty much count on having to have the computer recapped.
Unorthodozer@reddit
It would have to be a a Coyote swap with suspension mods in order to get anything close to $14K.
navlgazer9@reddit
Is this the V8 ?
If they ran it much after it blew a gasket then it may have other problems
Milkshake in the oil filler cap ?
My brother has owned a bunch of these V8 rear wheel drive. Not expensive and easy to work on
LS Chevy engines take turbos well but I dunno about the modular fords
Turbos are usually more trouble than they are worth .
yaska515@reddit (OP)
Yes 4.6 V8. I believe its the 2 valve. Clean oil. Just coughs some white smoke and it starts. Drives and runs well
booty_fewbacca@reddit
The plastic intake manifolds liked to crack on these, could be coming from that
foxjohnc87@reddit
A busted intake would only leak externally. Like the other commenter mentioned, on a 4.6l 2v, it's very likely to be worn valve seals.
r_golan_trevize@reddit
White (bluish grey, smells like burnet oil) smoke on start up is probably valve stem seals. If it does it on takeoff after idling for a period of time, like at a long stop light or in a drive through then it’s definitely valve stem seals. Common issue on this era of 4.6Ls and would be my first suspicion, especially if it’s otherwise running well, unless you’ve got some reason to think it’s got a blown head gasket, which are not very common on these motors.
Intake cracks are another common issue. If it has the original intake with the plastic coolant crossover tube, they typically blowout suddenly at the thermostat housing with a total loss of coolant. If it has the updated intake with the aluminum crossover tube, they start cracking where the tube attaches to the flange on the intake and starts with a small leak that gradually gets worse. In both cases, the leaks are external and won’t show up in the tailpipe.
These cars do burn off a lot of condensation in the morning - there’s a lot of surface area in the exhaust system for water to condense on with, like, 30’ of dual 2-1/4” pipe. This will be clearer than coolant smoke and odorless whereas coolant in the exhaust from a blown head gasket will more opaque and smell like pancake syrup.
navlgazer9@reddit
Have you done a compression test? and a leak down test? Looked at the spark Plugs ?
And the latex glove on the cooolant overflow tank test?
And checked for combustion gases in the coolant ?
Won’t take long to do All those tests and they will tell you if it has a blown head gasket .
missinmy86@reddit
White smoke could be condensation. If it goes away after warming up your car is probably fine
No-Locksmith-9377@reddit
The 2v does not take to turbos well. It needs build or a swap. You could always do a big engine build to actually get over 450hp.
Id just LS swap and add turbos or do a coyote swap. You could have a lot of fun with a cheap LS swap and a turbo.
Look up Sloppy Mechanics.
Footinthecrease@reddit
14 Grand?! US? A $500 junkyard motor and an eBay turbo in a 90s tbird... 14 Grand? Only if it comes with 11-12 grand in cash in the trunk.
BWFTW@reddit
That interior is absolutely awesome. I love those seats.
Dude_Love_1974@reddit
$14k? You'd be lucky to get $3500 for it.
CognitiveRedaction@reddit
How much did you pay? You said "too much," which would explain why you're wanting 14k out of it
Triggered-cupcake@reddit
Those things have WAY too much glass. Cooked you in the summertime.
Ok-Square360@reddit
Coyote, T56, coilovers all around, and a 3.73 trac lok rear end. Maybe after about $15k worth of parts and $15k worth of labor, it’ll be worth $10k.
The 2V motor is worthless as a performance platform when the Coyote and the 4V. If you want the 4V in this chassis go and find a good Mark VIII, which has a lot of the performance parts already done, and can be had for $5k or less.
Some_Conference2091@reddit
Not a chance. There are plenty of good examples around with way less miles. I found one in less than a minute with 30k original miles that's supercharged asking price is $14k.
jbriks@reddit
14k lmao. I hate the times we live in, everybody needs money so much that become delusional. A 30 year old Thunderbird with 170k + miles and a cheap swap and turbo equals 14k. That thing will be sitting on marketplace for a VERY looonnggg time
Glum_Introduction755@reddit
14k? Lol, no. The last one of these cars I owned was in decent shape with about 85000 miles and I paid 3k for it. After about a year I sold it for 2.5k.
Ok-Comfortable-5955@reddit
White smoke at start up sounds like oil from valve guide seals, not a head gasket. That would be my educated guess as a dealership engine tech in the early 2000s
Solid-Wrangler-1554@reddit
I've seen light gray blue smoke as oil but I've had the intake leak coolant into one of the first cylinders and cause some white smoke. That's where the coolant crosses over here they crack and make there way into the cylinders
Solid-Wrangler-1554@reddit
Juat saw one same color going for $750 on marketplace Columbia sc had a blown head gasket I thought for that price it's worth fixing it up and maybe investing 1k into it but it's not going to bring even 3k on a good day theres almost no market for these and only sell when they're in good shape and running well or low mileage originals that goes for almost all thunderbirds. Almost no one dreams of having one unless it's a nostalgia thing. I'd buy one because my parents had a few thunderbirds growing up they were 70s models and my parents last thunderbird was a 1979 it was15 yo had under 100k miles and cost them $450 I took my driver's test in it in the late ,90s.
Mission-Elevator9374@reddit
14000 quarters maybe
Traditional_Ad_1360@reddit
Nefty hot air intake.
yaska515@reddit (OP)
Well I meant if I modded the car to go faster. I know with it how it is I can even get close.
nostradumbass7544678@reddit
I can hear that 90's Ford interior plastic creaking just by looking at a picture of it. I'll be nice and say that hood is definitely a bold choice. And these were never cool. Not then, not now. They were comfy cruising cars that retired men bought to drive to the golf course. Now they're just old gas guzzlers with squishy suspension and 90's Ford Quality®
nestosancho@reddit
I had a 95 mercury cougar, I miss that car so comfortable.