My Former Tbirds August 11, 2009, 09:28:54 AM My old 1985 Tbird.Mustang 5.0 emblems were added to the fenders. I had a NOS 1977-79 Thunderbird hood ornament I used. The turn signal lamps were changed to clear from a 1983 Cougar. The Thunderbird nameplate on the back was added from a 1996-97 model. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #1 – August 11, 2009, 09:30:16 AM The w red interior! The original leather on the wheel was removed and I installed a new wrap. I later replaced the wheel with a four spoke from a Ford Tempo. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #2 – August 11, 2009, 09:32:01 AM The 1989 Tbird.The original nose was bashed in at the center. Hard to tell here but the hood was bent in between the headlamps and headlamp mounting panel was broken and the headlamps could no longer be aimed. I replaced the hood and bumper cover with the 1996-97 specific Cougar parts which yielded chrome bumper moldings and the Cougar chrome hood molding. The grille was fabricated from an Audi TT lower air intake grille with the 1996-97 Thunderbird emblem attached. The mirrors were also painted body color and chrome late model Taurus wheel covers were added. The rear has the hand me down Cobra wing from my 1994 Mustang convertible. This wing was also used on my 1985 Tbird though the pictures above don't show it. I embellished the left taillamp with a Sport emblem. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #3 – August 11, 2009, 09:33:28 AM More shots...The Cougar grille opening and chrome hood molding with the fabricated grille and 96-97 Bird emblem. 1994 Cobra-style wing.Chrome Taurus wheel covers. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #4 – August 11, 2009, 09:34:48 AM The interior. The sole modification is the boot around the auto shifter.Oh yeah I forgot to include the fact that I wrapped this wheel in leather as well which it never had originally!I loved the way this car drove and handled with the independent rear suspension. I really felt this car was a huge step up from the previous generation Birds in terms of design proportions and handling, though I missed the more enclosed rear quarter windows and less slab sides of the 1985. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #5 – August 11, 2009, 09:47:55 AM Pretty neat man, I like all of em! Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #6 – August 12, 2009, 08:47:16 AM You've had some nice looking Birds! Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #7 – August 12, 2009, 09:01:24 AM Quote from: 1Bad88tbird;286329You've had some nice looking Birds!Thanks! I miss those cars a lot more now than I ever thought I would. The greatest thing was they were paid for when I bought them. For as long as I had the 1989 Bird I had the 1985 the whole time. I had hopes of keeping the 1985 and restoring it but after I traded my 1989 Bird for a 1999 Mustang I never thought I would ever get around to restoring the 1985 so I sold it to a co-worker. I got the 1985 with 169,000 miles on it in 1997. I managed to get it up to 245,000 miles as a daily driver and the person who bought it kept it going. I wonder if he still has it? That was over five years ago and I have changed jobs since so I have lost track. Not long after I traded the 1989, I seen it parked in downtown Charlotte. It didn't take long to sell obviously!Looking back at the dash designs of the MN-12 Birds, I really like the 1989-93 style better than the newer ones. However I always wanted the redesigned LED trunklid taillamps. After changing the front bumper cover for the 96-97 Cougar one, I wanted to get a matching rear bumper cover but at the time they were obsolete and all I could get were Tbird ones. What is not shown in the pictures is the matching Cougar bodyside cladding with the chrome moldings. I never got around to taking pictures of it with them installed. My only remaining trace of the 1989 is the cornering lamps that I removed because there was no space for them to be mounted on the 96-97 Cougar bumper cover. I had the trim bezels painted blue to match but I was never able to use them. I still have these cornering lamps with the bezels and when I look at them the blue color still looks nice. I may use them on the 1984 I am restoring since I will be removing the moldings that are in horrible shape and impossible to find. The interesting thing is the cornering lamp housings are the same as the ones used from 1983-88 with just new trim bezels to make them look finished on the newer cars. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #8 – August 12, 2009, 09:20:47 AM I'd say you defenately got your use out the 85. Did it have the 6 cilinder or the V8? I had an 85 a few years ago, I bought it used of course but I didn't know how beat it was until I had it for a week or so. It fouled plugs something awful! I tried non-foulers on the plugs, that didn't help, so I just kept buying cheap plugs and put them in as needed until I traded it in a year later. I actually made out pretty good with it, I traded in a 79 camaro plus 800 for it, then when I traded it in they gave me 1100 for it. I almost fell over when he offered that much for it. I guess it was behaving itself at that moment. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #9 – August 12, 2009, 09:41:59 AM Quote from: 1Bad88tbird;286338I'd say you defenately got your use out the 85. Did it have the 6 cilinder or the V8? I had an 85 a few years ago, I bought it used of course but I didn't know how beat it was until I had it for a week or so. It fouled plugs something awful! I tried non-foulers on the plugs, that didn't help, so I just kept buying cheap plugs and put them in as needed until I traded it in a year later. I actually made out pretty good with it, I traded in a 79 camaro plus 800 for it, then when I traded it in they gave me 1100 for it. I almost fell over when he offered that much for it. I guess it was behaving itself at that moment.Mine was a V8! Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #10 – August 12, 2009, 10:06:27 AM That's what my 88 is, I've never had a major problem with it either. It's been a great car. Quote Selected
My Former Tbirds Reply #11 – August 12, 2009, 01:38:57 PM I really like that 89, that looked cool. Nice job! Quote Selected
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