I purchased it used in Fayetteville, NC Feb '97 with 44,000 miles and moderate body/interior damage. Now (Feb '04) has 107,000 miles, much of it on German autobahns at 100+ mph. It is maintained in perfect mechanical condition. The interior has been completely restored (or upgraded). I'm saving money to do all the exterior body work and re-painting.

General Note: This car is my daily transportation, and it's parked outside in all weather. Although I would really love to implement a lot of "show car" styling ideas I have seen, I always have to compromise if it would reduce "practical daily all-weather driving" ability.

==================================================================================

Performance Mods: need engine picture

None yet (daily driver, plus I'm almost totally ignorant about working on cars). I'd be interested in your ideas! But please bear in mind that I'm not interested in quarter-mile times. I spend hours at a time touring at high speed (right at the chip limit of 106mph), slowing only for traffic and stopping only for gas. Anything that will improve extended high-speed driving, please let me know.

==================================================================================

Exterior Mods:

Removed dealer-installed pinstriping. (Why do they do that? It sure didn't improve the looks IMHO).

Substituted Cooper Cobra GT 215/70R15 "T" rated (118mph/190kph) all weather tires.
Update (Feb 04): one of the back tires developed a slow leak and was replaced after six months. The replacement developed a sidewall bulge after two months, and Cooper now has the Cobra "on back order" which suggests to me that they are having other quality problems... At the recommendation of my local auto store, I now have Cooper Lifeliner Touring tires on the back. They have the same "T" speed and "all weather" ratings as the Cobra, plus an updated tread pattern.

Disabled the power antenna. The stock mast kept getting bent/jammed/frozen when driving at high speeds/in cold weather. I always hated the way that thing looked anyway. And who needs an "automatically extended" antenna when listening to CDs or tapes? Installed "hidden" antenna - see Interior Mods section.

Added nose bra from Ford. Added GTS "carbon fiber" headlight covers (daytime use only).
Substituted clear 3457 bulbs for amber 3157NA inner front running lights and rewired sockets to use the brighter filament. My thanks to ShadowDragon for the idea and "how to" explanation. They work well as daytime running lamps, too. 3457 are slightly brighter than 3157 (40 candlepower vs. 32) and fit in same socket.
Replaced clouded/leaking headlamp lenses, and substituted Ford Racing Ultra White (DOT) 9007 headlamp bulbs.

Added Tenzo 200 cheap oval amber fog lamps. I used to have the "ion" color, which weren't great, but were okay. I'm using the "gold" lenses at present. Very pretty! The night shot doesn't do them justice. Unfortunately they're essentially worthless if you really need to drive in fog.

Substituted clear front corner lenses. need photo

Originally substituted amber ultra-brite LED bulbs from Jam Straight for the 3157NA outer front running lights/turn signals (they appear white when off), but I didn't like their "spotlight" effect. (Pictures above all show the stock bulbs). Am now using Sylvania Silverstars, which I much prefer. They appear bluish when off.

Added GTS "smoke" tail light covers (only for show. The corners are not covered when I'm driving).
Added rear mud flaps.

Added trunk lid wing (low profile three leg with LED brake light).
Removed "Thunderbird LX" rear badge.

Substituted red ultra-brite LED bulbs for 3157 rear tail/brake lights. Then replaced those with 3457 bulbs. The Jam Straight LEDs have a "spotlight" effect that doesn't really take advantage of the Thunderbird's outer plastic lens. It actually looks brighter with stock bulbs. (Photo shows stock 3157s).

Substituted white ultra-brite LED bulbs for 3156 back-up bulbs. Then went to 3457s because the LED "spotlight" effect is not as bright here either. Am now using 50 watt Halogen bulbs after reading a tip on the TCCoA forums.