What did you do with your Thunderbird Today?

XR7-4.6 said:
I've tried them all, I prefer sticking primarily to the factory look. All black looks like an actual Hitler stash lol blacked out fins make it look like a BMW imitator :BMW:
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I specifically chose Charlie Chaplin to not mention the Austrian painter lmao
 
Not much point dodging around it now, we're talking BMWs lol
 
Vacuumed out the trunk and test fit the junkyard Ford Five Hundred spare that I got a few years ago, which hints at another mod to come. All my plans have layers to them.

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Anyway, it's going to be nice to have a flat trunk floor again soon. I forgot what that was like because I've kept a fifth wheel full size spare in here for 21 years.

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I also started planning out an audio upgrade. The RSTB has always been an impediment to having a decent subwoofer setup, but I think I finally have a workable plan that I like. Whenever I start working on that, I'll also clean up the amp wiring back there.

I really need to move on from that 8" loaded Kicker unit that's pointing in the worst direction possible for bass output. I know I could fix it pretty easily today by standing the sub up in front of the RSTB, but I don't really like that idea or placement either.
 
Good to know that wheels from a Five Hundred fit as well!
 
Yeah, I'm trying to remember now why I went with a Five Hundred spare instead of an SN95 Mustang or Crown Vic one aside from this being available at my local junkyard that day. I think it was the combination of a 17" wheel and a total wheel + tire diameter that matches our cars.

In theory, an S197 or S550 spare should work too, at least for wheel size. Apparently, the Marauder had an 18" spare, but if you ever wanted to find a spare wheel that costs more than an full-sized alloy one, there you go.
 
I have a five hundred one as well, 17 is perfect for the hub swap/cobra brakes
 
Took my Thunderbird to a car show today. About 130 registrants. Everything from antiques, muscle cars, tri-fives and trucks to local police old patrol cars and drag strip cars. Couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a Mustang or Camaro. I got an award for best '86 and up Ford, although after separating out the Mustangs the late model Ford class was pretty sparse.\
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Today I got the driveshaft on my 96 swapped out for the 93 Mark shaft. I knew my stocker was damaged from it being spit out 4-5 years ago, but but I didn't think it was this drastic.
 
Jim3inVirginia said:
Took my Thunderbird to a car show today. About 130 registrants. Everything from antiques, muscle cars, tri-fives and trucks to local police old patrol cars and drag strip cars. Couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a Mustang or Camaro. I got an award for best '86 and up Ford, although after separating out the Mustangs the late model Ford class was pretty sparse.\
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That 68 Charger behind you🤤
 
1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
Now you have to do something about those fading B-pillars
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And a lot of other stuff, too! I coulda wiped them down with motor oil. That old trick works wonders on faded chrome trim (anodized aluminum), shine them up for the show.

I pretty much just washed and vacuumed it for the show. No expectations, mostly to support a good friend of mine who goes to that church and was their technical expert in hosting the show.
 
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Looks like you’re good for another year Jim!!

Joe
 
How soon till we get that sunset walkaround Martin :)
 
Got this today, but not 100 certain it would work. It’s not the actual part number for the bird, but it’s still for a 4.6 base car.
It looks like the only difference is this one has dual outlets and the other only has the dual me that comes out straight. Any install tips?






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I made some audio upgrades today. I replaced my old entry-level JL Audio TR570-CX 5x7" front coaxials with Alpine R-S68 6x8" coaxials with pivoting tweeters. It's nice to finally have a proper 6x8" up front with a wider and taller cone surface, and the pivoting tweeters are nice considering I didn't want to spring for components and figure out where to mount the component tweeters.

For 24 years, I used posterboard-backed foam rings that I cut to seal the gap between the TR570-CX's basket and the Ford speaker mount adapter.

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Can I hear a difference? Sort of. The highs did seem to be a little more detailed, but I don't do much critical listening in the car anymore and I didn't do an A/B comparison that would have been interrupted by a few minutes of swapping speakers anyway. I was satisfied with what I heard though.

UPS also delivered my new Alpine SS-SB10 subwoofer today. It's only the second loaded enclosure I've ever found that fits under Johnny Langton's rear shock tower brace and doesn't get in the way of the spare tire well. It took a little maneuvering, but it's not going anywhere without far more effort than it took to move my old 8" Kicker enclosure.

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Alpine only announced this new ultra-slim line of loaded enclosures in January. There's a 12" model and this 10". It's got more punch and low-end rumble than the Kicker and is much more in line with what I wanted out of a sub in a car ("I swear I'm not a basshead," I tell myself as I sit in front of the 10" ported sub under my desk, or the sealed 15" Rythmik Audio sub in my family room home theater), but I was also kind of hoping for more. There's only so much that physics can accomplish though. I still have to do more tuning too because my audio levels are all screwed up now with the new gear.

After this, I've got some wire organization to do. I got some split wire loom on Amazon for the speaker cables, and I should also get a new pair of RCAs to run the sub channel pre-outs from the head unit to the amp rather than feed the sub a speaker-level signal. I didn't do it 11 years ago because I was being lazy and then I never went back to finish the job. Maybe I'll get all new RCAs while I'm at it because the two pairs of blue 18' RCA cables I used in the pic above coming in from the right have minimal slack and are stretching tighter than I'd like.
 
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