SnowyOwl
Newbie
Hi folks, newbie posting here! Bought myself a T-Bird about three months ago. It is my first Thunderbird, and the same time it's the first American car I've ever owned. This is noteworthy since I'm posting from northern Europe, and you don't see too many American cars around here (especially cars of this age, older ones you'll spot more often in the summertime).
Attached is a photo from two months back, just before the first snow. In the background you can see my Fiesta, somewhat of a different type of an automobile
So the car is a year 1994 model, 4.6 engine, first exported to Netherlands, and from there to Finland around 2014, IIRC. It seems to be in an almost full stock condition, only sign of "modding" is some aftermarket anti-theft system which still blinks a LED but doesn't seem to do much else. Bought it from an elder who had lost their driving license. Deducing from all the scratches and dents, his license was perhaps revoked a bit too late, but all the exterior imperfections made it affordable to buy.
I've collected a small list of to-do's with it:
- Starter fails to engage on cold
- Engine stalls if pushing the pedal (or even just engaging the gear) on cold
- Power door locks not working
- Radio is not working
- Something worn out on driver door probably, since shutting it sounds like shutting a tractor door
- Power windows not working too well
- Headlamps performance is the worst I've yet witnessed in my life
- Odometer not working
- Rust in many places, including front shock absorber mounting points
- Lots of dents, scratches, and sun-burnt paint coat
It also had some great TC shudder, but that got pretty much fixed with transmission fluid change. The only problem with the transmission seems to be delayed 3-4 shift, which I'm not entirely sure if it's just a feature with an all-stock 4R70W. Odometer shows 69k miles on it, though in reality it's probably around 70-75k miles driven.
I'm very much impressed with the amount of information and community available for these cars, the 4.6 modular engine and the 4R70W transmission. I mean, for example, you can easily find rebuild guides and videos for the transmission - that is the sort of dedication that you won't find for pretty much any Euro car. Not to mention all the information dedicated to these very Thunderbirds, available on this site and the old TCCOA forums. For all the problems I listed above, only the radio/stereo issue is something that no-one else appears to have encountered
I've really enjoyed the smooth ride of this car, though during countryside wintertime, the RWD equipped with winter tires baked in 2006 is sometimes a difficult combination. Having a sack of sand in the trunk helps a bit, and maybe new set of tires would as well..
What is of more PITA is the availability of spare parts around here. I mean plenty of parts appear still very well available in the US, but e.g. for the odometer gears from the LA speedometer gear shop, the shipping cost is a rather salty $38.00. And going to a local junkyard for pulling off any parts isn't much viable either, since these cars just don't exist here. What makes me lucky is that my local parts store is specializing in American cars, being only one of the few stores doing that in this country. I was able to find basic oil filters etc. from their shelves, with almost reasonable prices as well, although their catalog is mostly for cars from before the 90s.
A fun detail for the end: The Finnish nickname for my Thunderbird is "Tunturipöllö". It's easier to pronounce than Thunderbird in case Finnish happens to be your first language. Tunturipöllö translates to Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), hence my username here as well.
Cheers,
- Tatu
Attached is a photo from two months back, just before the first snow. In the background you can see my Fiesta, somewhat of a different type of an automobile
So the car is a year 1994 model, 4.6 engine, first exported to Netherlands, and from there to Finland around 2014, IIRC. It seems to be in an almost full stock condition, only sign of "modding" is some aftermarket anti-theft system which still blinks a LED but doesn't seem to do much else. Bought it from an elder who had lost their driving license. Deducing from all the scratches and dents, his license was perhaps revoked a bit too late, but all the exterior imperfections made it affordable to buy.
I've collected a small list of to-do's with it:
- Starter fails to engage on cold
- Engine stalls if pushing the pedal (or even just engaging the gear) on cold
- Power door locks not working
- Radio is not working
- Something worn out on driver door probably, since shutting it sounds like shutting a tractor door
- Power windows not working too well
- Headlamps performance is the worst I've yet witnessed in my life
- Odometer not working
- Rust in many places, including front shock absorber mounting points
- Lots of dents, scratches, and sun-burnt paint coat
It also had some great TC shudder, but that got pretty much fixed with transmission fluid change. The only problem with the transmission seems to be delayed 3-4 shift, which I'm not entirely sure if it's just a feature with an all-stock 4R70W. Odometer shows 69k miles on it, though in reality it's probably around 70-75k miles driven.
I'm very much impressed with the amount of information and community available for these cars, the 4.6 modular engine and the 4R70W transmission. I mean, for example, you can easily find rebuild guides and videos for the transmission - that is the sort of dedication that you won't find for pretty much any Euro car. Not to mention all the information dedicated to these very Thunderbirds, available on this site and the old TCCOA forums. For all the problems I listed above, only the radio/stereo issue is something that no-one else appears to have encountered
I've really enjoyed the smooth ride of this car, though during countryside wintertime, the RWD equipped with winter tires baked in 2006 is sometimes a difficult combination. Having a sack of sand in the trunk helps a bit, and maybe new set of tires would as well..
What is of more PITA is the availability of spare parts around here. I mean plenty of parts appear still very well available in the US, but e.g. for the odometer gears from the LA speedometer gear shop, the shipping cost is a rather salty $38.00. And going to a local junkyard for pulling off any parts isn't much viable either, since these cars just don't exist here. What makes me lucky is that my local parts store is specializing in American cars, being only one of the few stores doing that in this country. I was able to find basic oil filters etc. from their shelves, with almost reasonable prices as well, although their catalog is mostly for cars from before the 90s.
A fun detail for the end: The Finnish nickname for my Thunderbird is "Tunturipöllö". It's easier to pronounce than Thunderbird in case Finnish happens to be your first language. Tunturipöllö translates to Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), hence my username here as well.
Cheers,
- Tatu
