Thunderbird's and Camaro's

[HM12460]

Gentlemen! I've decided it is time to buy a cheap kinda fun car. It will be car #4 for us, and as such, will not be expensive. I have my sights set on a 1996/7 Ford Thunderbird with the 4.6 V-8 or a 4th generation Z-28 (prefer 1993-97) with a 6 speed. I'm after a nice, clean, low mileage, winter stored car at a reasonable price. I have previously owned cars like these back in the day when they were newer. I like the LT-1, in spite of being a pain in the rear to work on. The 4.6 'bird is a known reliable car too. I find them both to be totally cool, and plan to evict the old lady's Buick from the garage. Comments welcome! I just missed a good deal on a 1997 T-bird at Fox Ford in Grand Rapids, MI.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

"cheap kinda fun car" is hinting but not specific, just a weekend driver ? planning to mod ? drag ? info..

As you question stands a clean well kept Camaro would be my choice.

 

[Corvette Owner]

A 4th generation Z-28 (prefer 1993-97) with a 6 speed will not be cheap ! So sorry, I guess it is cheap !

I'm a Chevy guy, I vote for Z-28 !

 

[ls1mike]

How much are you looking to spend? LS1 cars have come down a lot.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
How much are you looking to spend? LS1 cars have come down a lot.


Exactly. I was thinking the same thing. An LS1 w/T56 or a Mach 1/Cobra would be nice choices.

 

[95busa]

I have to admit to a love affair with the LT series of engines. I drove a Caprice with an LT1 on the job for a few years, took a few rides in LT1 Vettes. Fell in love with her. After all these years she still does it for me. Not as flashy as a Tuned Port set up, not as plasticky as the LS1 series. Always looked like an exotic engine to me, made the right noises, revved like no other SBC (back then), would smoke tires going into second at 40 mph in my police car...what a ride. Now I have the LT4 in my Vette, the pinnacle of the LT series. Every time I drive her its a new page in a book of awesome. I would definately roll with the LT1 Camaro with the six speed. Throw an LT4 hot cam kit in her and a good tune, nice pipes and an intake and you have 350+ HP on tap. Real LT4 heads and an intake to go with the hot cam and you will be knocking on 400. Or [censored], drive it like it is. No shame in a low 14- high 13 second car that tops out at 155mph! Throw some nice pipes on her so you can hear the good stuff and call it good! Make sure you get a 95 or later with the vented Optispark though. Much better design, takes a great deal of the pain out of the deal.

 

[Spazdog]

I don't personally care for that particular era of Thunderbird.

They are overweight and underpowered.

The '02-'05 Thunderbird is a much more interesting car than it's immediate predecessor. Unfortunately, it's going to be as reliable as it's Lincoln LS near sibling. That's not good.

If a 3600 lb 210hp Thunderbird is acceptable, maybe you should include a 5-speed 205 hp 3400lb 3800 V6 Camaro to the list. Or a '98+ V6 Firebird. Good looking cars.

A 4.6 Mustang GT would be every bit as reliable as a similar year Thunderbird...and a lot more fun. Not to mention that it would crush the T-bird's 9.0 second 0-60 time. It's narrower and doesn't have the Thunderbird's IRS, but it also doesn't have the Thunderbird's weight.

 

[MillerMan]

Having owned 3 (92-95) Cougars, two bought new. My favorite is the 92/93 5.0 V8. I have also driven many other 90 through 96 cougars/T-Birds for a period of time (company cars that were my driver (Not shared). yes I would have two in my driveway at night.

ya the 4.6 had more higher rpm power but the 5.0 had more mid range torque.

 

[SteveSRT8]

No offense, but how is a Tbird a fun car?

Micro small interior, underpowered, not a great car at all IMO. The Camaro is a really fun platform, and with very minor mods is a reliable powerhouse.

If your fun includes driving I can't see the Tbird.

 

[Spazdog]

Me personally? I'd want to go a little bit older on the Thunderbird.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I was thinking there were no 'fun' Tbirds after about 68!

 

[Spazdog]

The Turbo Coupe was fun. For that matter the Super Coupe was fun but it broke frequently and had all the plumbing of a turbocharged car. The Super Coupe felt a lot faster than it's 7.5 sec. 0-60 time. (that's right. A 2012 Camry SE V6 beats the Super Coupe to 60 by well over a full second)

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I was thinking there were no 'fun' Tbirds after about 68!


The fox ones weren't bad, and were as mod-friendly as a Mustang based on the same platform.

 

[Ben99GT]

MN12s weren't bad either. At least nothing a little 4.6 4V or Coyote swap wouldn't fix.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
MN12s weren't bad either. At least nothing a little 4.6 4V or Coyote swap wouldn't fix.


No, they were just heavier. Though from what I recall, they handled a lot better.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
MN12s weren't bad either. At least nothing a little 4.6 4V or Coyote swap wouldn't fix.


No, they were just heavier. Though from what I recall, they handled a lot better.


They were heavy for the time but they weighed about 3700 lbs with the iron block 2V, not much more than a 2011 Mustang GT.

 

[97tbird]

Great choice....

My 1997 Tbird with sports package - 165 k miles now and still going strong, with only 1 mechanical repair to date (cat. converter)...

This car has been absolutely dependable...
find one with the sports pkg if you can - the bigger swaybars, stiffer shocks/springs, and bigger front brakes, and 16" wheels do make a pretty big difference in handling vs. the non-sport version....with the sports pkg, it handles very decently for such a large and heavy car...

Mustangs are oh soooo common - Tbirds have the feel of a bit more exclusivity and class, and not every 17 yr old has one and you don't see one every 5 minutes. That alone is reason enough to avoid Mustangs, IMO (of the same era, at least)

This pic was taken on the day it turned 150k miles:

join www.tccoa.com

lots of good info there on Tbirds....and you can learn how to mod it cheaply to get some 'fun' out of it...It's a heavy car, as people already said, and certainly not fast, but fast enough to be a dd, and can actually be fun, in certain ways...it's a smooth hwy cruiser, and very, very solid.

 

[MillerMan]

my 93 Cougar 5.0 was great for towing my 2000+ pound bass boat around on long trips. It was a very durable, dependable car.
It had a nice smooth ride and was rather quiet. Was it a sport car that was fast? No, But That's not what I bought it for. I wanted it for long trips. Also they were very safe cars at the time. My Insurance agent told me they were the safeist car on the road. (cheap insurance for me).

 

[Jarlaxle]

The problem around here was that most MN12's rotted to powder...especially the rockers.

 

[LoneRanger]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog

Me personally? I'd want to go a little bit older on the Thunderbird.


When I graduated college in '86, I really wanted a new Turbo Coupe T-Bird, but they were way out of my entry level salary league at the time. Still think they're kind of cool.