The Death of the T-bird -
On September 22, 2007 I was driving my bird home from a golf tournament.
I happened to be in a "lead-foot" mood.
Coming out of an S-curve in 3rd at around 80mph, just as I was reaching for 4th...POOF!
I lost the majority of the power and blue smoke began pouring out in the rearview.
At 283k I knew immediately the bird had probably met its end, and after limping it 15 miles back home I was all but certain the engine was beyond repair.
Whether I could have fixed it or not was beside the point. My new wife and I had a baby on the way and she wanted a 4 door. So the bird was sold to a local Performance Ford shop for $250 and she was hauled away. Those 83-88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe's really are GREAT cars if they're taken care of. I've missed it.
As a replacement I found a '00 Contour with about 100k on it locally. It has a lifeless 2.0L, but it's reliable and maintenance is pretty easy.
The soundsystem was transplanted, and has evolved quite a bit since the death of the TC.
That will be continued on my Contour page.
