Somehow, gazing on this mid-‘80s Thunderbird I spotted near San Antonio, the first thing that popped into my head was the name famously suggested by poet Marianne Moore when she was asked to help come up with a moniker for what eventually became the Edsel. Ok, maybe ‘Utopian’ is a bit strong, even if the 1983-88 Thunderbirds were major hits for Ford, but there’s certainly an, er, turtle-y aspect to it. This looks to be a base version; Apparently the high-mounted center brake light identifies it as an ’86.
www.oldcarbrochures.com
Ford’s initial attempt at building a personal luxury car off the mid-sized Fox platform, sold from ’80 through ’82, missed the mark as far as the public was concerned, with sales pretty much going off a cliff. A drastic transformation from angular to aerodynamic styling for the ’83 model year, however, turned things around. Moreover, the rounded contours of this car are widely considered to have paved the way for the radical shape of the ’86 Taurus, which could fairly be said to have permanently transformed the public’s expectations for domestic styling.
www.carsdomain.com
My own experience with one of these dates back to summer ’85, when I took advantage of a hefty promotional discount at Hertz and rolled out for a long weekend with a white (ugh) rental T-Bird, equipped with the base 3.8 liter Essex V6. At the time, I recall being less than impressed with the thing, but then it was probably unavoidable, based on what I was mentally comparing it to.
Firstly, my expectations were perhaps a bit distorted by fond memories of an earlier Fox-based vehicle. Around ’79 or so, my parents, not ordinarily known for driving factory hot rods, had somehow ended up with a brand-new Mercury Zephyr ES. Almost forgotten today, it was a bit of a sleeper; ours was equipped with a 302 V8 and a suspension package that made it one of the best-handling and best-balanced domestic cars I’d ever driven. I had a lot of wheel time in the Zephyr, and given that the T-Bird was heavier, with a weaker engine and traveling on the base suspension, it shouldn’t be surprising that it felt wallowy and slow by comparison.
unknown, via Flickr
Then there was the fact that my daily driver at the time was an Audi 4000 5+5 (illustrated car is not the precise model but mine looked very much like it), another fairly sprightly performer, with fewer horsepower (100 vs 110) and one less cylinder than the V6 ‘Bird, but hauling around at least 600 fewer pounds. A more fair comparison might have involved a higher-spec T-Bird with the 302 V8, or better yet the boosted 2.3 liter four-pot of the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, but they were a bit thin on the ground at Hertz that day. Yeah, I know; different cars intended for different markets, and the T-bird was a thrashed rental, whaddaya expect?
Lastly, there was the interior, a festival of velour and plastics and a little too grandfatherly for my tastes. As I recall, my rental had the optional electronic gauges, but I could easily have done without. Bottom line: while a smooth and sedate ride, and coherently styled in a modern idiom, the Thunderbird came off as a little stolid and visually at least, just didn’t evoke the magic of, say, the early ’60s ‘Bullet ‘Birds’.
Nearly thirty years later, I’m feeling considerably more charitable to this generation of T-Bird. The styling remains handsome and relatively clean of line, and the color of the featured car (looks like Medium Sand Beige), even though worn, is a bit more flattering than the dead white of the one I drove back in ‘85.
It seems bone stock, but look closer and there’s a bit of a mystery: check out the dog-dish wheel covers! Yes, cop ‘caps on a T-Bird. Review of period brochures indicates that full ‘luxury wheel covers’ were standard on this generation, so it’s not certain how these ended up on it. Obscure delete option? Liberated from someone’s junked Fairmont? I’ve no idea.
In any event, although faded, this veteran is solid, rust-free and complete. Although I admit I didn’t appreciate it at the time, with a bit of age on it I think this car cuts a rakish figure, and I’m glad to see it still rolling.
Note: A rerun of an older post.
looks like some rust between the rear window and the trunk [boot] lid…
Nice car, styling has aged well, much better than fraternal twin Cougar with its awkward notchback. One problem with the FOX platform was the four-bolt pattern on the wheels, which diminished the style of the optional brushed steel wheels, giving them the look of tires lifted from a Pinto.
I briefly owned an ’85 Cougar, written up in this short post:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-outtake-1985-mercury-cougar-the-classy-thunderbird/
I wasn’t that impressed…
We could wonder if the 1980 T-bird was introduced one model year earlier in 1979 or having the Fairmont Futura as the T-bird if it would have done better?
At least, that “Aerobird” isn’t evil as the 2 red T-birds who appeared in Knight Rider season 3 2-part episode “Knight of the Drones”. 😉
When an automotive design still looks appealing, and can seamlessly integrate into modern traffic forty years later, it is a unconditional success. Especially wearing fully out-of-place dog dish hub caps, and tired paint. In a forgettable colour.
Such a remarkable early ’80’s turnaround for Ford, given all the mistakes they made in the 1970’s. I will always tip my hat for Ford’s design leadership, during that era of big change. The oddball EXP/LN7, obvious styling oprhans, before the aero-era began.
Ford drastically needed to overhaul their styling, and this car certainly did the job. In the first few iterations, Thunderbird had always had a sporty element to its proportions and styling, but gradually that had become lost and it became just another coupe – until the Box Bird, when it degenerated to an overdecorated two door sedan.
I have issues with the size of the C-pillar (I’d prefer more window) and the amount of front overhang, but that last seemed a perennial Ford issue. Otherwise, well done.
This generation of T-bird is so close to being worthy of the moniker, but isn’t quite there. Hardly a compliment, but a lot better than the “not even close” ’80-82. Also, coming out of the malaise era, they were a breath of fresh air, and I have to admit there is one that I want: an 87 or 88 Turbo Coupe (with a stick shift, of course).
Stylistically, the 87/88 turbo coupe was the closest to being a worthy Thunderbird, so I’m inclined to mostly blame the grill and headlights. I’m not sure why the Mark VII got flush headlights while the T-bird/Cougar was stuck with sealed beams another four years. Looking at the rest of the car, it’s mostly there.
The other issue that comes to mind is that the most powerful and sporty version wasn’t that powerful or sporty, and few were sold that way anyway. Maybe it would have been more memorable if they’d just had one sporty suspension setup and only the V8. Better yet, offer a convertible. Sadly, they would have sold half as much, but I bet MORE would survive today, and you’d definitely hear more stories about how “my neighbor had one of those when I was a kid.” Another aspirational name that kept getting watered down until nobody aspired to own one anymore.
In ‘83, I was looking for my first car out of college. It was between a ‘83 Thunderbird and Cutlass Supreme. The Supreme won out and I was very pleased with it for 12 years. I wonder if the Thunderbird would have been as reliable?
I still have a soft spot for the ‘83 thru ‘86 Aero Birds.
The biggest issue I have with these Tbirds is the 104″ wheelbase. The 80-82 and closely related Lincoln Mark VII used a 108″ wheelbase and I strongly feel that would have helped its proportions in what was otherwise a very good styling effort. The weak powertrains are another story. Ford was clearly trying to preserve performance hierarchy reserving th 5.0 H.O. to the Mustang and exclusivity with it in the Mark VII LSC but in the long term appeal of these being relagated to the turbo coupe the troublesome 3.8 and the exceptionally weak low output 5.0 as the top V8 puts these cars at a severe disadvantage in the zeitgeist. G bodies today prosper in the hot rod world but these get left behind in spite of having an equal amount of aftermarket access as Mustangs do, but they’re just not iconic designs in the culture like Grand Nationals or Monte Carlo SSs
Big part of that is the Thunderbird name. GMs G bodies were clear evolutions of prior A body nameplates, where Thunderbird seemingly got stuck onto whatever Ford was proud of at the time. the 83-88s would have been fantastic Fairlanes or Torinos, but Tbirds? eh…. I give Cougars more of a pass strictly because this chassis was as Mustang related as the classic first gens and its styling while not nearly as iconic as the 67-70s definitely had some 71-73 in it. But what is Thunderbord about this besides the emblems? The Eggcrate grille is its most distinct feature and it only calls back the 72-82 era few are fond of
I have a real thing about poverty caps. I see them all the time at car shows and this is not what I saw coming into may family’s shop. Dog dish hubcaps were a sign of being a cheapskate and were at the time pretty rare. Even the lowly Chevrolet Biscayne usually had full wheel covers when I saw one.
Saw no “Biscayne’s”, outside a car shows, with wheel covers.
Whenever I see dog dish hubcaps, I automatically think “police package”. Like maybe there’s more performance hiding in there. I know 2 door police cars weren’t common, but they did exist. Maybe that’s the reason for that at shows.
Either that, or a total option delete package to remove weight and go faster, but in that case you might as well delete the dog dishes too.
This was the Ford everyone had been waiting for after a decade of bloated barges. The Fairmont showed that Ford could create a basic good car, and this Thunderbird showed that Ford could create an exciting new look.