1993 Ford Thunderbird LX from North America

Summary:

I would never buy another one

Faults:

First my car's headlight went on and off in the middle of the highway on a very foggy day. Then we fixed that and my back lights went off.

After that my car overheated several times and caused my heads to break. Anyways, this car is nothing but trouble.

General Comments:

This car is really fast and comfortable.

However it's not reliable and need more space.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th January, 2002

1993 Ford Thunderbird LX 5.0L V8 from North America

Summary:

If you want to beat almost any other car on start up (and surprise them), get a pre-'94 V8 Tbird :)

Faults:

Right windshield is knocked loose, rattles at even low speeds, but with it up, there is no problem :)

Fuel injection went bad at 139,000 miles.

Throttle was knocked loose, idled at 450rpms.

Transmition never replaced :)

Regular tune-Ups, oil-changes, and other general maintenance.

General Comments:

This car is seriously a very good car, I have not had many problems outside of normality with it.

The car is beyond just "quick," as I have beat many Mustangs, Probes, Eclipses, and even one 3000GT on start up (Yes, I street race with this un-modded puppy). The handling could be better, but it's about right for a 2 ton car, and being 200 inches long. I have timed my 0-60 to be high 6 seconds! If you think that is slow, a stock Eclipse is almost 9 seconds :) And I'm driving the Automatic version, imagine what the Manual could do with a good driver!

The car will also spin tires to show off to all the "bad boys," simply put in reverse, step on it, and quickly shift to first gear, and you'll be spinning for almost 10 seconds!

As for safety, I have crashed 3 times in this, and totally demolishing the other cars (totaled 3 cars in a 4 car accident!), while leaving my car with nothing more than a broken headlight, and a broken fiber-glass front. Insurance easily covered them though. I would highly recommend this car for a teenager, as it is very safe, and they can show off to their buddies! I personally would not let a teenager drive the V8 or Super Coupe Thunderbird though, I would give them a V6, which is still very good, but they won't street race like I do, and you will be assured of your child's safety!

As for problems, there are none really, other than it's not-so-great handling. But it's more than fine for under 80mph driving.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st September, 2001

2nd Sep 2001, 12:30

Are US teenagers actually allowed to drive v6/v8 cars? In the UK, huge insurance premiums stop this from happening. For example, to drive a 1100cc 4 cylinder car would cost a 17 year old well over £1000 to insure - anything over 2 litres and most insurance companies will refuse cover.

29th Sep 2001, 22:33

Yup... kids in the US can and do have 6's, 8's, it's all fair game... I'm 17, and I have the 3.8L 6 version... not as fast as the 8, granted, but still pretty darn quick... I know several kids with large V8's, around here it's not the size of the engine, it's the grades and actual car brand it is... you could have a pickup truck with a V10 pushing 310 horses, but it's all low RPM and towing, so it doesn't go anywhere quick... or you could have a 200 hp 4-cyl (Acura RSX Type-S) that rockets here and there... it's all in the car.

1993 Ford Thunderbird LX 5.0 from North America

Summary:

These cars are bargains considering their performance, looks and comfort!

Faults:

Trasmission shifted roughly when I first got it, but I had all the old tranny fluid (the stuff looked AWFUL!) purged out and replaced. THEN I had the regular transmission service where they removed the pan and cleaned the screen, replaced the gasket and stuff, and added a bottle of expensive synthetic additive (forgot the name of the stuff now).. all of that ran to around 125 bucks, but it sure did improve things DRAMATICALLY.

Another problem I had (still do have) is that the front struts did not do their job in controlling bounce. As all the shock books show the same struts for V6 and V8, I suspect that the V8 is just too heavy for the stock units... I would love to get this problem resolved if I do keep this car.

Another problem is that the front end has slop and it vibrates and pulls under braking... it is getting BAD.. the service guy would not even attempt to do a front end alignment, he told me it needs tie rod ends, but I pulled them and could not see significant wear... I am considering having the front end completely gone through hopefully with quality aftermarket and parts and struts if I can find out good source.. Anybody have some suggestions?

General Comments:

Basically I really love the looks and handling/performance of this generation of T Birds... so much so that I am seriously considering dumping a bunch of cash into her OR buying a later year T Bird if they are significantly better platforms to improve upon.

I want to find out the differences is between the 5.0 HO V8 and the 4.6 found in later years.. can anyone help there?

I also like the looks of later bird's front ends so much so that I am considering installing parts on my '93 to upgrade it even if I don't trade up on the whole car.

Oh yeah and the car does dribble oil, from where I'm not sure, and it does lose coolant... I'm considering "shotgunning" the whole cooling system with a new water pump, radiator, hoses and everything else involved.

E-mail me at doughcv@aol.com if you can enlighten me!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th August, 2001