Thinking about getting this 97

CDsDontBurn

CDsDontBurn

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Joined
Sep 24, 2023
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716
Location
USA
Vehicle Details
97 Thunderbird Sport
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1997 Ford Thunderbird​

$4,800$6,500

Details​

  • Condition
    Used - Good
Rare find! Original owner family. Parked in garage for over 25 years so paint and interior in good condition. AC works great. V8 motor runs great. Transmission has been serviced. Over $3k spent to upgrade old suspension. 82,000 miles. Selling due to upcoming cross country move . Cash only. No trades.

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Last edited by a moderator:
Talking it out with my wife further, as much as I'd like to get this pristine 97, it would be a terrible financial move to make on our part.

We have the money to buy this car, but that money we have is earmarked for additional home improvement projects, not a car purchase.

We (I) are staying the way and not buying another car, no matter how awesome it is.
 
Selling the Honda would also offset the price of this purchase.

The question would be if I would still keep my Pearl one if we're to get this one. 🤔
 
And what would I do with two T-Birds?

Keep one as spare parts? Have one be the project car?

TBH, a big driver to even considering this is my current situation with my Honda.

If the problem is what I think it is, the fix is probably going to come out to be around $1,000.
 
Drive them!!

Can you drop the downpipes off of the exhaust manifolds and go for a quick test drive? That would help diagnose plugged converters/exhaust. It will be loud and annoying for about 5 minutes, but it is a pretty definitive test. Can you rent a fuel pressure tester and connect it on the rail anywhere to monitor fuel pressure when it experiences trouble? Do you have a scanner that you can stream data on to look at fuel trims? My guesses without seeing anything or knowing anything about your car is either plugged exhaust, or insufficient fuel delivery (pump or partially plugged filter).
 
The Honda has all the symptoms of a clogged cat, except for the CEL. But anything that restricts air from going in or out would cause that. I’m a big believer in never overlooking the obvious, so have you checked your air filter for a restriction? I know you’re pretty meticulous with maintenance, but I have seen before where a rodent built a nest inside the air box, and it all got sucked into the air filter and plugged it up, and the car would idle perfectly, but couldn’t rev over 1500rpms under load.
 
KevinVarnes said:
Can you drop the downpipes off of the exhaust manifolds and go for a quick test drive?
Click to expand...

Yes and no. About 13yrs ago my OEM CAT was stolen where the perp cut off the flanges where the OEM CAT would have bolted on. Because I was a poor kid at the time, I did the cheapest legit replacement possible and so the replacement was welded directly to the cut pipes, no flanges.

I can drop them at the "J-pipe" but then my exhaust would be hanging out completely. I'd have to drop more than half my exhaust system so I don't drag anything I don't want damaged.

The process of just doing it makes me not want to do it.

TLDR; yes I can, but I've been dreading it and haven't done it as a result.

MadMikeyL said:
The Honda has all the symptoms of a clogged cat, except for the CEL. But anything that restricts air from going in or out would cause that. I’m a big believer in never overlooking the obvious, so have you checked your air filter for a restriction? I know you’re pretty meticulous with maintenance, but I have seen before where a rodent built a nest inside the air box, and it all got sucked into the air filter and plugged it up, and the car would idle perfectly, but couldn’t rev over 1500rpms under load.
Click to expand...

I know. I just want to do an easier test that's not so involved. See above, lol.
 
Pulling the upstream O2 is a good test. Even if it is still restricted, that amount of extra flow should allow it to rev and accelerate a little bit better. Also only pull one bank at a time, since likely only one bank is restricted, so that will determine which bank it is.
 
MadMikeyL said:
Pulling the upstream O2 is a good test. Even if it is still restricted, that amount of extra flow should allow it to rev and accelerate a little bit better. Also only pull one bank at a time, since likely only one bank is restricted, so that will determine which bank it is.
Click to expand...

On the J30A1 v6 Honda engine, there's only a singular primary O2 and the singular secondary O2 sensor. Pulling them off isn't a big deal, as the primary O2 sensor is on the J-pipe (lower manifold, pre-CAT) and the secondary is on the CAT itself.
 
CDsDontBurn said:
Selling the Honda would also offset the price of this purchase.

The question would be if I would still keep my Pearl one if we're to get this one. 🤔
Click to expand...

Getting rid of the car with history in the better color(sorry, not a fan of light prairie tan…except when the light catches it just right making it look pearl white lol) kills this idea for me.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Getting rid of the car with history in the better color(sorry, not a fan of light prairie tan…except when the light catches it just right making it look pearl white lol) kills this idea for me.
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The color is definitely not my favorite, but this is an otherwise perfect car.
 
CDsDontBurn said:
The color is definitely not my favorite, but this is an otherwise perfect car.
Click to expand...

But is it the car you want to build is the question? It’s not going to be perfect anymore with a manual swap etc. anyway. They’re only original once.

I had an opportunity a few years ago to “body swap” my car to a twin perfect 94 or 95 Cougar in the same color as mine the only difference being the lack of moonroof. I just couldn’t do it, mines not perfect but it’s still way way above average and has 20 years of sentimental value (well 15 at the time).

Selfishly as someone awaiting your build it would be very anticlimactic for it to be a different car. It’s up to you but that’s my $0.02
 
XR7-4.6 said:
But is it the car you want to build is the question? It’s not going to be perfect anymore with a manual swap etc. anyway. They’re only original once.

I had an opportunity a few years ago to “body swap” my car to a twin perfect 94 or 95 Cougar in the same color as mine the only difference being the lack of moonroof. I just couldn’t do it, mines not perfect but it’s still way way above average and has 20 years of sentimental value (well 15 at the time).

Selfishly as someone awaiting your build it would be very anticlimactic for it to be a different car. It’s up to you but that’s my $0.02
Click to expand...

This is the other side of what I'm feeling. I don't think I'd want to do much to it, if anything, or if I want to build out what I was planning for my Pearl one.

My wife has also said to keep both where the new one would be the DD and the other would be the project car. I know several of us here have / do that, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do.

And yes, these last 7 / 8 years of parts hoarding only for it to go to another car is anticlimactic.
 
Don’t buy that car to build it. If you want it, buy it to replace the 400k mile Honda. The pearl bird is the one you have had for so long and the one your kids know, and that’s the one that should be your forever car and be built the way you want it. The tan one would make a great daily driver. With only 80k on it and a freshly rebuilt suspension, it probably has another 200k in it before needing any major work. What do you expect to spend on the Honda to keep it going another 200k miles? If the answer is more than $5k, then the tan bird as the new daily is the sensible choice.
 
Theres more donors in CA than there are probably anywhere else in the world. The knuckle I needed shipped from there

Though I'm surprised they havent already arrested the guy trying to sell one in California
 
MadMikeyL said:
Don’t buy that car to build it. If you want it, buy it to replace the 400k mile Honda.
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This is my wife's argument here.

MadMikeyL said:
The pearl bird is the one you have had for so long and the one your kids know, and that’s the one that should be your forever car and be built the way you want it.
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This right here too. My son keeps asking me when we're going to start building the T-Bird. I'm still a few parts short right now though 😅.

MadMikeyL said:
The tan one would make a great daily driver. With only 80k on it and a freshly rebuilt suspension, it probably has another 200k in it before needing any major work.
Click to expand...

This is my wife's other argument. She has been saying that she would love to see me in a new car (2018+), but when I showed her this, she said this is perfectly fine because of the low mileage making it basically like a new car.

MadMikeyL said:
What do you expect to spend on the Honda to keep it going another 200k miles? If the answer is more than $5k, then the tan bird as the new daily is the sensible choice.
Click to expand...

I was looking up replacement catalytic converters on RA, Summit, and FleaBay earlier. The cheapest CARB catalytic converter I found was $550-ish. I might have better luck at a muffler shop for a universal fit that needs welded on. But I'd rather get it with flanges and everything to be more OEM, so it'll be a bit more.

All said and done, assuming that the performance issues with my Honda are in fact the catalytic converter, repairs would be right at $1,000. This low cost of maintenance is a big reason why I hang onto my Honda. T-Bird repairs wouldn't be this cheap.
 
I really don't know what advice to give here...

I agree with those who said not to "build" this car; it's a lovely daily driver as is (though personally I'd add a custom shift knob!).

I also like the color, but my taste is irrelevant here.

Think of it this way:

Need a new car:YESNO
Great car is available:
YESGreat!Now what?
NODamn!Great!

So your situation is better than "Damn!", but worse than "Great!". That's privilege!
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
So your situation is better than "Damn!", but worse than "Great!". That's privilege!
Click to expand...

I'm in a shady "in-between" situation here for sure.

I think the admiration of this car is beginning to wear off for me. I am sure if I talk to my wife about it more, she'll say that it's ok to go look at it at least.
 
Go look at it. If it’s solid, offer him $3500, and if he says yes, you have no reason not to take it. If he says no, and you’re still thinking about it next week, call him back and offer $4200, and he’ll probably take it.
 
CDsDontBurn said:
it's ok to go look at it at least.
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Duh. You'd be crazy not to look at it.

The issue I have with it are the standard wheels. It's got leather, CD player, V8, spoiler,... but no upgraded chrome or 16" wheels? That's odd. Easy to fix though. I like those wheels on my car fine; maybe because they contrast more with green.

The question is: do you want it, or do you think you should want it (because it's so rare in this condition)? Only buy it if you want it.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
The 16 wheels were only available with the sport package, the rear spoiler otoh was optional on all LXs
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If I get this, I'd have the wheels from my Pearl T-Bird I'd put on.

1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
@CDsDontBurn
How would it make you feel if you called the seller, and he told you the car has been sold?

If you'd feel indifferent, that would be an indicator that you don't really want it.
Click to expand...

I know I'd be a little bit sad, yeah.
 
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