i'm buying a 96 t-bird for $500 , mechanically seems like a cool fun car , what does the peanut gallery say? recommendations? heads up? free "mods" ? better mpg?
i'm buying a 96 t-bird for $500 , mechanically seems like a cool fun car , what does the peanut gallery say? recommendations? heads up? free "mods" ? better mpg?
For $500, who cares? Hard to go wrong, that's practically scrap value. IIRC, that should be the 4.6 motor. There are plenty of upgrades out there for it, depends on what you want and what your budget is. Forget the fuel mileage thing...the car is a big heavy wallowing machine.
$500 is pretty much top dollar for these unfortunately. It's a non-PI 4.6 SOHC weezer with plug-popping issues, a slushbox only, and a heavy IRS (some MN12's got an 8.8 carrier, and even fewer added LSD).
You will get crappy mileage and there's not much you can do to improve them without spending $$$ (suspension is 1-off, wheels are a bizarre bolt pattern, non-existent aftermarket, etc, etc).
But, then again, it's $500. Drive it until the wheels fall off and scrap it (after selling the cats). You can't lose. 
like javelin said, as long as you don't go hog wild spending money on it, you can have yourself a pretty low total cost of ownership.
google search "j-mod"
you need to service the transmission anyway...
ok, so i got it, it's got 116k , aftermarket 17's , and it's all stock except for ducktaped LF headlight and mismatched hood. .... it's cool .
Pull those wheels ASAP. The bolt pattern is bizarre, with very very few aftermarket wheels available, but it's "close enough" to a common pattern that people kludge stuff on them anyways. I've seen way too many TBirds end up in a JY with a busted hub, etc from this and have personally witnessed a failure at speed on one from it.
Just check them out and make sure they are the right wheels. If not, it should be easy to sell them and buy some stockers.
they're heavy for their size, but very comfortable drivers. i had a 95 cougar last year for a couple months that i got for $300, i enjoyed my seat time in it as a comfortable daily type car, my buddy needed a car bad though to get to work so i gave it to him.
Swap a 5.4 into it. LOL
I had a 1988 5-speed Turbo Coupe, that was fun for a while.
All V8 MN12 cars have the 8.8 rearend. The 4.6 in that spec makes 205 hp and 280 lb-ft. The car should weigh somewhere around 3600-3800 pounds depending on the options. Mileage should be 25 mpg or so if it's running right.
For $500 you're getting power everything, AC, cruise, tolerable power and mileage. The aftermarket isn't good, but it isn't quite as terrible as Javelin suggests. I used to frequent TCCoA for info on the V8 Thunderbirds (I have a 95 V8 and 94 Supercoupe), but the signal to noise ratio got too high, so I'm only on SCCoA now. While that site is SC specific, you can find lots of good info on maintaining and upgrading pretty much everything but the engine there. Supercoupe Performance is a good vendor to find parts for the car. If properly maintained, that car can go well over 200k on the stock engine. FWIW, I never had any problems with the plugs or heads on my car.
On a 96, you should check to see that the intake manifold has the metal coolant crossover at the front. If it's a plastic crossover, it WILL crack, no doubt about it. Another problem spot is the TRMLP (TRansmission Manual Lever Position) sensor, which tells the computer what gear you've selected with the shifter. When it goes bad, you'll get random downshifts. Fixing it is easy and will cost maybe $125 for the part.
Free mods? None come to mind, but 99-04 Mustang GT calipers bolt on and work with the stock rotors. Mustang guys are always selling their take-off calipers cheap. Research the J-Mod to improve transmission performance and life. Get a trans cooler. 3.73 gears will wake up the performance a little bit, but you'll have to get into the heads if you want it to go fast.
My bolt-on, stock long block 95 V8 could never manage better than 15.60@89 at the drag strip, but there are plenty of guys who have put in the work to put these cars in the 12s.
Conquest351 wrote: I had a 1988 5-speed Turbo Coupe, that was fun for a while.
Completely different car. Not a single part is shared. TC was the last of the big fox chassis cars. I used to own one of every color of them...
yeah for me basically it's going to be transportation, but if it can be slightly fun and practical i'm all for it , it seems like with enough imagination it could be a fun project car , i'm just not really making that my goal, since my rx7/ls1/t56 project is taking full mental control atm .... but would the 98+ f-body calipers fit???
The 99-04 Mustang calipers are similar to the 98-02 F-body caliper, so easier to stick with them. Plus, there are a lot more Mustangs out there to get them from, V6 and V8 GTs had the same calipers.
81cpcamaro wrote: The 99-04 Mustang calipers are similar to the 98-02 F-body caliper, so easier to stick with them. Plus, there are a lot more Mustangs out there to get them from, V6 and V8 GTs had the same calipers.
i have a pair of fbody ones sitting here is why i even ask...
got underneath it today to do oil change and inspect it, not too bad overall... seems like a solid little car. i made my own hood pins but other than that all seems ok so far.
ok, just in case anyone stumbles upon this later , the bolt pattern is 5x108, (like taurus and volvo, jag, ferrari .) you can use SN95 Mustang front hubs, 99-04 Mustang GT front rotors (if you're reusing the stock front calipers, new front hub retaining nuts. For the rear you'll need 99-04 Cobra rear hubs, hub retaining nuts and I recommend replacing the wheel bearings if they're not very new. As for brakes, you can either A) redrill the stock rear rotors to 5x4.5 or B) get 99-04 Cobra rear rotors and Fast Ed's caliper relocation brackets. Note that option B does not work well with 89-92 Tbird calipers; the 93-97 calipers are a better choice.
it's a 4.6L v8 so most anything you would do to a mustang / crown vic / mk8 / explorer/ f150/ van..... anything with a mod motor applies, they do make headers and exhaust for the car, available on summit racing,along with other parts, adtr.net is a good supply for parts as well ( not specific / but interchange)
gas mileage seems to be ok , car is comfy and seems like a performance bargain if you wanted a "cheap rwd irs v8 american easy to work on and improve" kinda car .
Not much to add on mods, as my 95 V8 was stock while I owned it, but it was the best long distance car I've ever owned. Comfortable seats, and the suspension was just right for soaking up bumps, but still being firm enough to handle reasonably well. If I ever find a 94-95 V8 with the color change purple/ gray paint in good shape, at a decent price, I'll probably buy it.
ok so more findings,a trans cooler seems to be very recommended, a u-haul truck transmission pan gives you the added benefit of a drain plug , i researched the J-mod and seems like an awesome idea.... could i or would i do it ? i'm not sure ...
PI heads/ intake manifold seem like an awesome idea since static compression jumps to 10:5:1 , is it worth doing to a $500 car ... i'm not sure .
mk8 alum driveshaft is an upgrade , i'm unsure if it would work if one would want to change the trans to a 5-speed. ( probably not)
the engines seem to do well with bolt ons , most seem too expensive to me at this time. i replaced the worn tires with some i had laying around, went from 225/55/17 to 245/40/17 . verified wheels are correct bolt pattern, seems someone cared enough to get hubcentric rings as well.
You'll blow $500 just on timing chains, guides, and gaskets to do the head swap. Better off with a complete JY motor IMO.
stealthfighter1 wrote: mk8 alum driveshaft is an upgrade , i'm unsure if it would work if one would want to change the trans to a 5-speed. ( probably not)
The 5-speed is not a very realistic option for these cars. It has been done, but the problem is that because the distance from the motor mounts to the shifter hole in the body is a lot longer in a T-Bird than it is in the Mustang, the shifter from a T-45 will come up directly underneath the radio. An old company called MN12Performance made a shifter extension box that made the swap possible, but that company is long out of business.
The only factory 5-speed MN12s were the Supercoupes, which used the M5R2 transmission, which only fits the SBF bell housing pattern. It won't work with a mod motor, and even if it did, it's a lousy transmission.
A T56 could work, but the swap would be prohibitively expensive.
Edit: B&M makes a finned aluminum pan for the 4R70W/AODE that has a drain plug, and offers a 3-quart increase in fluid capacity. That, a trans cooler, and the J-mod will make for a healthy transmission.
A friend had a 95 Tbird with a PI 4.6 from a 99 Mustang and 3.73 gears. That was a pretty fun car, the gears seemed to be a good match for it. Ever since then I have wanted to get one for myself.
it seems to me like the car overall can be made into a really nice GT platform, 5x114 conversion, cobra brakes , a few nice motor options from bolt on to swap ( a 5.4L sohc sounds good to me )
so far to me it's a comfortable car , and decent for when i'm in a hurry ...
where can i find a Grant steering wheel adapter ( installation kit) or does something crossover that fits ?
stealthfighter1 wrote: where can i find a Grant steering wheel adapter ( installation kit) or does something crossover that fits ?
SN95 Mustang steering wheel stuff will fit the Thunderbird. The cars are different platform, but Ford used the parts bin whenever possible.
Also, while the 5.4 is doable, I think a much better, and much easier, engine swap is the 4.6 DOHC from the Mark 8. The 5.4 is very tall and will require an enormous hood scoop. Besides, since the 5.4 and 4.6 use the same heads, I'm not sure the 2V heads flow well enough to support the larger displacement. The DOHC, on the other hand, will be a virtual bolt-in.
Another nice option is the aluminum 4.6 SOHC from the Explorer. Only 20 hp less than the Lincoln engine.
oh ok cool,thanks
also.... i started my week by having my manifold blow up as i was pulling in to work monday morning...
at least it was at work and not in between, and i did not work a double which helped me be able to knock it out that night at work in about 2 hrs....
other than braking the temp sensor everything went smooth. . . and also i know the speed limiter is set @ 105mph... :)
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