My neighbor had a navy blue and grey and I will admit that I loved it. I was only 12 and the neighborhood with her two sons would load my brother and I as well as her two sons and take us to the country club to go swimming all summer long. I guess I am in the minority, but I will be honest, I felt like someone when we got in the car and hit the country club pool and was able to be served with "anything we wanted" to eat from the country club restaurant!
I've got the only FOX Body 1982 Thunderbird COnvertible they made by Coach Builders Limited in Florida in 1982. Mine has the 255 V8 with 4 speed overdrive and it gets 23 mpg highway. Love this car. I love the smaller body with the 70s styling.
Seems like a great candidate for a convertible retrofit. The worst quality of these cars were their awkward proportions, and putting the top down probably did a lot to iron that out.
My parents had this same car in that same shade of burnt orange. It was shoddy. All the chrome was actually plastic covered in foil. The plastic covers over the pop up headlights fell off, and it had leaky seals. It was always in the shop when dad wasn't working on it. Poor, poor, poor quality!
Funny he mentions the Fuel Tank being difficult to fill due to bad air circulation. Ford still couldn’t get it right on my 05 Mustang. Had to have the nozzle half way out and squeezed half way to prevent the pump from shutting off the fuel flow.
We had a neighbor across the street, a senior widow, who bought a new yellow 80 or 81 Thunderbird. It seemed to be a nice car. But the Thundermont was not my favorite generation. I like the original 2 seater, and all of the 4 seaters that followed it in the late 50s and through the mid 60s. I also like the 80s aero Birds, and the 89 - 97 T Birds.
It’s a wonder people bought any American cars back then. Crappy styling, bad workmanship and barely acceptable mileage for cars that size. Japanese cars were eating our lunch then, and for good reason.
I hated these 'Birds. I love the car's history but this was the worse generation for me. Thankfully the '83 T-Bird was on it's way to make things better
I'd have thought this car would be rated for 5 or 6, rather than 4 passengers; it was basically an enlarged Fairmont and that could carry 6 people as long as they liked each other. It seems like a big improvement over the Torino based model on paper, but I guess the stubby looks and mediocre assembly quality were the main reasons it was so hated.
IMO the Tbird shoulda died in '71 if not '76 instead of a Ford Mark 5/6 or a Torino/LTD with style, in other words gone back to a sporty roadster without being a Mustang. This version should have been an Elite or a Monarch coupe.
I did not think much of these at all... Cheaply built and problematic... I didn't like them again until they had the TurboCoupes and especially, the SuperCoupes!
US car makers were just entering the down size category and hasn’t mastered that class because pre 77 model year Cars of America were actually quality crafted.
The Thunderbird Ford wants you to forget about. The 83 thunderbird was a big breath of fresh air.
My favorite malaise (1975-1992) era car besides the 77, 78 amc matador coupes.
This Thunderbird is so good looking 😍
My neighbor had a navy blue and grey and I will admit that I loved it. I was only 12 and the neighborhood with her two sons would load my brother and I as well as her two sons and take us to the country club to go swimming all summer long. I guess I am in the minority, but I will be honest, I felt like someone when we got in the car and hit the country club pool and was able to be served with "anything we wanted" to eat from the country club restaurant!
I really loved the diamond jubilee I wish I could find a mint one after the third we got a mark 6 two door I miss those days
I've got the only FOX Body 1982 Thunderbird COnvertible they made by Coach Builders Limited in Florida in 1982. Mine has the 255 V8 with 4 speed overdrive and it gets 23 mpg highway. Love this car. I love the smaller body with the 70s styling.
I agree, but I think we're the only two people on earth who love these T Birds. People trash these cars.
@@drewburk6309 and the worst sbf (255) ever made !
A Ranchero version of the Fairmont was made also.
@@waterheaterservices yep the Durango
Seems like a great candidate for a convertible retrofit. The worst quality of these cars were their awkward proportions, and putting the top down probably did a lot to iron that out.
The resemblance to the Fairmont is because it is a slightly dressed up version of the Fairmont.
you must be blind doesn't look anything like a Fairmont.
@@DA90027 it's on the same fox platform
@@sutherlandA1 the platform is the same but to me they look different. Fairmont had metal bumpers etc.
@@DA90027 metal bumpers , not my 1978.
My 82 T Bird Conv looks nothing like a Fairmont full width tail lights hideaway headlights similar body yes but to me they look nothing alike.
So much niceer than the thing this replaced, updated galore, too bad they ruined it in 83🤦🏻♂️
My parents had this same car in that same shade of burnt orange. It was shoddy. All the chrome was actually plastic covered in foil. The plastic covers over the pop up headlights fell off, and it had leaky seals. It was always in the shop when dad wasn't working on it. Poor, poor, poor quality!
That ‘Bird going through the cones handled like a tuna cruiser. Body roll galore still.
Funny he mentions the Fuel Tank being difficult to fill due to bad air circulation. Ford still couldn’t get it right on my 05 Mustang. Had to have the nozzle half way out and squeezed half way to prevent the pump from shutting off the fuel flow.
We had a neighbor across the street, a senior widow, who bought a new yellow 80 or 81 Thunderbird. It seemed to be a nice car. But the Thundermont was not my favorite generation. I like the original 2 seater, and all of the 4 seaters that followed it in the late 50s and through the mid 60s. I also like the 80s aero Birds, and the 89 - 97 T Birds.
best one was the 77 -79
"LED Readouts"? Try VFD Readouts.
Absolutely correct. The 1983 TBird and Cougar changed the vacuum florescent displays to backlit green LCD's . Still no LED's at that point...
Doesn’t get more malaise than this.
Today, very few put up with 13.6 MPG. Direct injection and computerization have a lot to do with that.
And CVT's like it or not
AMC: “Bet nobody will ever design a car as ugly as the Pacer.”
Ford: “Hold my beer.”
It’s a wonder people bought any American cars back then. Crappy styling, bad workmanship and barely acceptable mileage for cars that size. Japanese cars were eating our lunch then, and for good reason.
I hated these 'Birds. I love the car's history but this was the worse generation for me. Thankfully the '83 T-Bird was on it's way to make things better
What a difference to the '76 in the cone course!
I'd have thought this car would be rated for 5 or 6, rather than 4 passengers; it was basically an enlarged Fairmont and that could carry 6 people as long as they liked each other. It seems like a big improvement over the Torino based model on paper, but I guess the stubby looks and mediocre assembly quality were the main reasons it was so hated.
Explain how that mark 6 at the end with the 351 also got 13 mpg like the 302 tbird, either ford's suck up gas or their calculations were off
Apparently that was the maximum fuel consumption that Ford engineers were able to achieve.
IMO the Tbird shoulda died in '71 if not '76 instead of a Ford Mark 5/6 or a Torino/LTD with style, in other words gone back to a sporty roadster without being a Mustang. This version should have been an Elite or a Monarch coupe.
1980 seemed to be a very bad year for paint quality on most vehicles.
These were so ugly. They looked like a sad tribute to the ‘77-79 T-Birds.
Just a retrimmed Fairmont
Absolutely.
The Eightiesgod has spoken...
Great video love the Car, I know that Ford did bring back the t-bird back in the early 2000's but I think that it could have been better
The retro 1950s styling was fairly convincing ... until you got a glimpse of the dashboard.
I have one..... bought it for $400. I overpaid.... Its a turd
I did not think much of these at all... Cheaply built and problematic... I didn't like them again until they had the TurboCoupes and especially, the SuperCoupes!
What an abomination! And the awful build quality.
You are an idiot. Mine is still on the road and in great shape. I bet your wife's snatch is an abomination.
Those can go in the "abomination museum" next to the Cadillac Cimarron and Lincoln (GRANADA) Versailles! : )
Disaster crap car almost killed off the T Bird! These smaller cars got horrendous mileage too!
US car makers were just entering the down size category and hasn’t mastered that class because pre 77 model year Cars of America were actually quality crafted.
The worst era of the T-Bird's IMHO, I actually saw one at a parking lot a few months ago, the car didn't appear to be in the best shape either.
With that horrible fit and finish it's no wonder the well-built Japanese cars took over.
The kind of American quality that made Japan famous.
@@waterheaterservices japan didn't have the styling or cool factor though, build quality yes absolutely but cool? Nah.
@@beck8880yah. 😤
One of the worst t-bird styles ever!!
LED’s in 1980 !
This report got it wrong. Those are vacuum fluorescent display gauges, not LED.
@@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703 However, we still had LED technology back in 1978! I had a handheld football game with LED lights as the players.
don‘t u mean LCD?
@@jankypop-a-matic58 You didn't have LED.
Pretty harsh.