OT: Know anything about Thunderbird SCs?

[Umby]

Hi all.

I'm looking for a new DD and I stumbled across a nice '91 Thunderbird SC with 95k for cheap.

My question is do these things have any "typical" problems I need to look for and how reliable are they and for how long?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanx!

 

[GSP393]

My dad has a '90 SC, it's a highway killer. Has an endless topend, but his has been well maintained. I don't know how one that's been ragged hard would hold up. He also has an '89 SC for parts.

 

[grey5.0beast]

I like their blowers

 

[68torinogt]

i have worked on and driven 2 of them neither one had too many problems one had 150k and one had 20k and the high milage car would kill the low everyday anytime. the only thing we replaced on both was the A/c system but it is common and simple if need be . and just remember the simple stuff is difficult due to limited space . a tuneup will be an all day or weekend adventure depending on skill. we had it down after a few times.

i would say if it looks good and drives good i would consider it.

 

[68torinogt]

I like their blowers

i think one will fit on my truck.

and i forgot to mention in the last paragraph that the high milage one we did have to put a blower on due to the pully shaft breaking. we opted to buy a new one but it could have been repaired.
http://www.supercoupeperformance.com/Default.aspx

 

[Curse]

I would say you go to the SCCOA, and read up if you are considering buying one. I use to have a 94 SC, I loved that car. But problem after problem forced me to get rid of it. Parts are becoming obsolete by the day, there is little to almost no aftermarket support for them and working on them is a nightmare.

 

[carbed87]

i have worked on and driven 2 of them neither one had too many problems one had 150k and one had 20k and the high milage car would kill the low everyday anytime. the only thing we replaced on both was the A/c system but it is common and simple if need be . and just remember the simple stuff is difficult due to limited space . a tuneup will be an all day or weekend adventure depending on skill. we had it down after a few times.

i would say if it looks good and drives good i would consider it.

yeah, it looks like an f-body under there

 

[Strype]

My friend has had one for 5 or 6 years...



It's been sitting in his yard for at least 2 years so I'll ask him for ya if you'll remind me tomorrow

I don't think he had many issues

 

[z2o_what]

i have a '90 sc, i got it 3 years ago, put around 40k on. it currently say has 173k, but the odo. broke about 3 months befor i quit driving it.

the only problems i've had with it were the crank sensor, and i think the slave cylinder is leaking.

and the power widows come off-track alot.

but my car was well taken care of (1 owner) and i've heard alot of ppl clam the head gaskets tend to blow after 130k.

 

[RsStanG1987]

I test drove one that had 60k on it and it blew.. I swear i dont even think the supercharger worked on it. Any stock mustang would hand it its ass. And it was horrible on gas. Get a taurus SHO for a daily driver..

 

[90]

Get a taurus SHO for a daily driver..

agreed!

 

[z2o_what]

I test drove one that had 60k on it and it blew.. I swear i dont even think the supercharger worked on it. Any stock mustang would hand it its ass. And it was horrible on gas. Get a taurus SHO for a daily driver..

wtf? when mine was stock it would run right with a stock 5.0 .

and its pretty reasonable on gas (you must have taken a long test drive to determine that it was hard on gas)

an sho would be a cool daily driver, but im just not a yamaha fan

 

[RUNINAGT]

IMO no on the SHO. It's still a Tauras!!! I had an 90SC that I sold to one of our tire techs. It seemed to have an endless issue with coolant leaking. Leaked oil as well, and YES the tune up was an all day deal. Had a very hard time removing one of the plugs due to the SC.
Now I will say it was a very fun car to drive and yes it was very quick. I hung with stock Stangs with confidence. Mine was a 5-spd. It would bark 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Never took it to the track though??
Gas mileage, dont really remember, I do remember I only used premium gas in it. I still only run that in my Stang. Mine was in good shape body and interior wise. Motor had its leaking issues, and trust me every thing was pricey to repair. We considered putting a 302 in it but then decided NAH.

 

[brian15]

I test drove one that had 60k on it and it blew.. I swear i dont even think the supercharger worked on it. Any stock mustang would hand it its ass. And it was horrible on gas. Get a taurus SHO for a daily driver..

i almost made that leap untill i looked at replacment parts for the sho ....... hard to find , pricey , and that thing would be a pain to work on

 

[Strype]

My buddy put a pulley on his and was rolling with my 95 Formula- fairly impressive

 

[GT_Rich]

I drove one for three years - I LOVED that car. Bought it with 50k miles and sold it with 80k miles - only problems I had were motor mounts and a/c system. The car got a consistent 26mpg. With an aftermarket exhaust and OD pulley on the blower, they should run low 14's all day. Not bad for a 3700 (at least) pound car.

 

[8950HO]

They are heavy cars and I think the 3.8L is known for blowing head gaskets.
The 3.8L engine is known for getting rough at higher rpm`s.

I was talking to a guy at a gas station years ago who had a newer SC.
He was adding oil and said the engine liked using oil.

 

[RsStanG1987]

wtf? when mine was stock it would run right with a stock 5.0 .

and its pretty reasonable on gas (you must have taken a long test drive to determine that it was hard on gas)

an sho would be a cool daily driver, but im just not a yamaha fan

The guy let us drive it for the afternoon like a new car dealership would do. honestly the thing felt like a boat. Im convinced that from a stop any stock stang would eat it. The damn thing would barely chirp the tires when i dropped the clutch at 2500 rpms.

 

[RUNINAGT]

The guy let us drive it for the afternoon like a new car dealership would do. honestly the thing felt like a boat. Im convinced that from a stop any stock stang would eat it. The damn thing would barely chirp the tires when i dropped the clutch at 2500 rpms.

Not mine, it was quick. I got mine with 90k on it and only paid $600.00 for it. Got it from a family member. He was told the head was leaking. I got it replaced the radiator and drove it for almost three years, dogging the piss out of it of course. Like I stated earlier though it always had a coolant issue, but never left me stranded for that reason. Had it towed before for dieing but dern I cant remember why. I know it was ignition related.

 

[GSP393]

It's not an off the line rocket, with stock gearing it's a highway cruiser. I bought the 90 SC which my dad has now in '93 and it will dust most cars on the road when you get up to speed. As far as gas mileage: Colorado to Texas on one tank.