Rodeo's Ride

General Information​

Year: 1997
Make: Ford
Model: Thunderbird LX
Color: Light Demin Blue Clearcoat Metallic
History: I needed to get a new car to replace the 1993 Tempo that was self destructing before my eyes.

I always loved these cars and was hoping to find a nice one. It's May of 1998 so buying brand new wasn't an option. My wife and I stopped by a Ford dealer in the area and there it was! A left over demo with only 6600 miles, salesman tells me it was buried in the lot and forgotten. It's as close to as a new Thunderbird as I'm going to get. Here in Massachusetts, if a car hasn't been registered and under 10K miles it can still be sold as a new car.

Not a lot of options. Bare bones! Plastic steering wheel and shifter, manual drivers' seat.

Modifications​

Drivetrain
Removed air silencer
Keith Falerios Ram-It kit
Auto Specialties Performance Under drive pulleys
JLT Oil Separator
Tuned by FordChip
Taylor Spiro Pro 8mm spark plug wires (blue of course!)
Motorcraft AWSF34PP spark plugs
Mandrel Exhaust Systems 2.25" exhaust tubing kit
Magnaflow 2.25" dual in-dual out resonator
Dynomax Super Turbo mufflers

Interior
Drivers power seat
Leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter
Triple gauge pod
Auto Meter gauges
Removed upper brake light, installed Delete Package Tray Panel
One touch power drivers window
Leather shifter boot
Removed ashtray, installed DIN cubby
Aluminum Door Sills

Exterior
Factory rear spoiler
Molded Ford mud flaps
Limited Edition style side stripe
Philips CrystalVision Ultra Headlight Bulbs

Audio
Pioneer DEH-2100IB headunit
Pioneer TS-A6880R 4 way speakers

Suspension
Vogtland springs/Bilstein shocks
Ford OEM SC lower control arms
Rebuilt front end using all Ford/Motorcraft/TRW parts
ADDCO 1 1/8 rear sway bar
DLF rear sway bar bracket kit
SC rear sway bar endlinks
SCP rear endlink rebuild kit
Rancherlee Front Strut Tower Brace
SC L braces with stock V brace
Johnny Langton chassis braces
Solid rubber transmission mount
Poly tranny crossmember bushings
Poly differential mounts
Powdercoated AzzKicker Rear Differential Cover Brace

Wheel and Tires
16" Thunderbird Sport Rims
OHTSU FP7000 225/60/16 tires
Mark VIII-Sport front brakes
Ford front and rear rotors
EBC pads