What did you do with your Thunderbird Today?

Changed ps fluid. Whine is mostly gone. Probably gonna do it again fairly soon because i only drained the res and refilled/ bled a couple times. I probably should of drained the system but i had a pump and thought i could just do the suck it out and refill method
 
I added supplemental rear turn signals/brake lights.

Now I know anything that relies on double-sided tape is at risk of straddling the realm of tackiness, not to mention that I bought these strips for $5/pair in the Walmart clearance aisle.

The result is pretty cool though! First I wanted to integrate something into the trunk panels, but I didn't want to mess them up. So I placed the strips into the gap between the trunk lid and the bumper; they fit perfectly.

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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
I added supplemental rear turn signals/brake lights.

Now I know anything that relies on double-sided tape is at risk of straddling the realm of tackiness, not to mention that I bought these strips for $5/pair in the Walmart clearance aisle.

The result is pretty cool though! First I wanted to integrate something into the trunk panels, but I didn't want to mess them up. So I placed the strips into the gap between the trunk lid and the bumper; they fit perfectly.

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Not a fan tbh it reminds me of how people mod Nissan Altimas with “DRL” strips
 
I wouldn't mind it as much, if the length matched the rest of the trunk lights. But I do think it's a bit overkill..

A cool mod would be sequential thru the entire rear panel
 
Did a little looking around.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Also found exhaust rattle this morning. 3rd resonator/ cat.

Good:
The interior is in fairly good shape besides the drivers side seat, and The underneath is pretty mint for an old car.
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Bad:
i do got new strut rod bushings and had an alignment done, but the front suspension is looking pretty crunchy. Could use some shocks and some other goodies. There is also an emissions related cel and a small coolant leak somewhere. Seems to come and go around the res area.
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Ugly: It could use some paint, the hood has some good spots where rocks came up and hit it, and there is a dent in the rear passenger side quarter.
Corner lights and some weather stripping could use some love too.
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From a distance she looks pretty though
 

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1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
What do these do? They look redundant, no?

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Toe compensators. They’re not strictly necessary but they do serve a purpose. They essentially limit the control arm from excess movement (effecting toe) due to the rubber bushing’s compliance. That translates to more neutral handling/stability, without them the rear end is more prone to oversteer.
 
Kenz said:
Iirc some people eliminate them with a washer stack, when switching to poly bushings. Saw something about that back on the old forum place. It might have been Matt but not sure
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I took mine out when I put in poly bushings, stiffer bushings make them more redundant since they’re essentially doing the same job….


However… I formed that conclusion with the advent of UMMV/Delrins, but having lived with polys only I’d recommend running the toe comps with Polys too, they still have give compared to those and where I don’t think their deletion hurts handling at all, I do suspect their elimination paired with more compliant poly bushings may contribute to wheel hop
 
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