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felix1978
Member Joined: 01-August-2014 Location: Wentzville, MO Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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Posted: 04-August-2014 at 11:53AM |
Hello, I just discovered this site recently and I am so glad
to have found a place that has information about cars like mine. I have a 1978
Thunderbird, and it took me a while before I realized just how much it shared
with the earlier cars and how much knowledge there actually was out there for
performance and restoration on these 70s Fords. My car still wears its original
Russet Metallic paint, ordered as part of the Sports Décor Package that
included the Chamois vinyl top and color matched Polycast wheels, belt line
trim, trunk straps and interior. The interior is stock down to the factory
AM/FM stereo in the dash and the 36 year old speakers in the doors. Underhood
it has the 351M mated to a FMX transmission and the standard 9-Inch rear axle.
My car has been in my family since 1979 when my grandfather traded in his ’74 Nova for it at the local Buick and Pontiac dealer. My grandfather used the T-Bird as his daily driver for many years before he retired and it was garaged for several years. Ever since I was a child I had always loved the car and had often played in it and insisted that my grandfather take it out and drive it. I can remember being in the passenger seat and staring at that large dash when he finally relented and took me for a ride. After a family vehicle emergency prompted the car’s returning to the ranks of the daily drivers I began to drive the car I had loved since my childhood to high school and when I graduated my grandfather gave me the car as a gift. Since then the T-Bird has been my daily driver on a regular basis, only sitting when it needed repair work or I was unemployed and could not afford to drive it. Now I am employed again, the Bird has been brought back to service and I have been driving it every day for the last three months. But the car is now 36 years old and is nearing 200 thousand miles and the little things are starting to wear out. The motor starts and runs like a champ but as it has never been out of the car and never received any major work it is beginning to show its age and wear as well with some oil leaks and a slight knocking at startup. The body is in pretty good shape for as old as it is, there is very little rust for having been a daily driver for so long and the original paint still shines and looks good, but the vinyl top is peeling badly and the trim is all faded. An accident last year left the driver’s side a little crunched up and missing some trim but the car still looks pretty good in my eyes.Sorry for all of my long rambling, I just never expected to find a place where my car would be something people know about and don’t look at like it is some oddball from a forgotten era. I will try to post some pictures of it below. Scott In back is my '66 Impala Vehicles in background are not mine Don't mind the mess in the background, was dismantling an old mattress for disposal and recycling the springs Edited by Regul8r - 17-August-2014 at 5:19PM |
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1978 Thunderbird
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antlerfiend
Senior Member Joined: 14-June-2010 Location: Louisville,KY Status: Offline Points: 3023 |
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Awesome car and story. Welcome to our site. I think we are planning a show in Springfield Missouri next year.
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Alex
72 GTS (Morgan's Baby) 68 CJ Drag Car Clone 65 Mustang (first car) 77 LTD II (Drag Car) 78 Mustang II V6 4 speed |
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legend onirot
Senior Member METAL GOD Joined: 18-January-2009 Location: hattiesburg ms Status: Offline Points: 3038 |
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x2... great story. and the car looks great for her age.
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malcolm 1973 gran torino sport (formal)... "Stacy Lynn" 1972 gran torino (formal)... "Mackenzie" 1973 gran torino sport (sportroof)... "Leela" |
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unlovedford
Senior Member Joined: 17-December-2010 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 10142 |
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Looks great and it has the rarely seen smog equipment still on it! Love the trunk strap option.
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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon 1972 Torino Wagon 1976 Torino 1968 Cougar XR7-First batch 1972 Torino 460 1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous Popeye and Brutus (Rams) |
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n2fordwagons
Senior Member Joined: 20-July-2013 Location: GA Status: Offline Points: 2252 |
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Welcome! Great story! Love those Thunderbirds. Love the color combo on yours. Looks great, considering the mileage and use that it's seen.
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Jeff
71 Torino Brougham 72 Gran Torino Squire |
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Ranchero Fan
Senior Member Joined: 03-March-2011 Location: Chicago area Status: Offline Points: 1022 |
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Great story. Looks like you've taken good care of her. I forgot about that décor option. Certainly didn't see many around here in Chic. with that, back in the day. I'm kind of partial to Tbirds as my 1st. car was a black '63 Landau, then later when I thought I was livin' large, I bought a Black '75. Oh yeah, Welcome.
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Brian 1973 Ford Ranchero Big Block. ''THE OTHER WOMAN''
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GTW
Senior Member Joined: 21-January-2012 Location: SC Status: Offline Points: 5784 |
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Welcome to the board. Your car has a great story and is very unique.
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Griffin
1973 Gran Torino station wagon 1972 Gran Torino 4 Door 1971 Maverick 2 Door |
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kychevyguy
Senior Member Joined: 16-December-2013 Location: Lexington KY Status: Offline Points: 1996 |
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Welcome from KY. Great story, I have owned a few older Tbirds in my time and they always have a soft spot for me. Great sentimental story on your ride, cherish her and continue to take care of her and she will take care of you in return. I love that color combo and decor group. Welcome.
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JT, USAF Ret./Architect
1971 Ford F100 "Lizzy" 1971 Cougar XR7 "Kitty" 1984 Chevy Silverado "Sylvia" 2009 Smart Fortwo Cabrio "Lil Dude" 2015 Volvo XC60 R-Design "Sven" |
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75ranchero460
Senior Member Joined: 26-July-2013 Location: Louisville, KY Status: Offline Points: 508 |
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Welcome!
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Gary
Ranchero=Fun 1975 Ranchero GT 460 1971 Torino GT 1962 (custom) Econoline 1967 Cougar 2002 Honda Shadow ACE 750 (sold) |
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felix1978
Member Joined: 01-August-2014 Location: Wentzville, MO Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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Thank you for the warm welcome everyone, it's nice to finally find somewhere that people understand and share my love of these cars. She's in pretty good shape but the pictures hide a lot of flaws, not having a garage to keep her in has been the cause of most of these, and naturally all the normal wear items are either replaced if they are needed for driving, or in need of replacement and I haven't found them or don't know how to replace them yet.
Funny enough I still have the factory air cleaner housing, it's just off at the moment because happened across the open element one with a good filter for really cheap and figured I would use that for the summer months since the heat tube and air inlet hose from the factory housing are long gone and replacements need to be found. I would love to chuck all the smog equipment in a box and stick it in storage but I have yet to figure out how to fully remove most of it and I have heard that removing some of it requires fairly involved tuning of the carburetor and distributor. I will probably remove it all whenever I get around to building a new engine for it, the one that is in it runs so well that I don't want to take it out of service to build it up so I plan on finding another 351M/400 block and building a 400 to swap in its place. I actually forgot to mention it and I don't have a picture of it at the moment but the car still has its factory Uniroyal HR78-15 spare tire in the trunk. I will probably be bugging you all soon enough with questions on how to fix the many things wrong with her, like the fact the dome and courtesy lights don't work or how to clean out the HVAC box, but I will definitely start up a project thread and actually fill in a little more of the story, I trimmed it down here. I'll also add photos of the factory paperwork that I still have, as well as a photo of the buildsheet for the car, I can't believe I forgot to mention that I had all of that, everything right down to the payment booklet for the loan my grandfather took to purchase her. I hope you're all as interested as I am to see what comes next, Scott |
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GTW
Senior Member Joined: 21-January-2012 Location: SC Status: Offline Points: 5784 |
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I look forward to your project thread. I'd make sure there isn't any rust underneath that vinyl roof (We know that 72-76 cars get tons of rust under theirs, if equipped). You can also order a Marti Report from Marti Auto Works if you want some more stats on your car, depending on what report you get (actual date the car was built, production numbers, etc.). I've never seen that trunk strap option before. It's always nice to have a car's original paperwork. Once again, welcome to GTS.org.
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Griffin
1973 Gran Torino station wagon 1972 Gran Torino 4 Door 1971 Maverick 2 Door |
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californiajohnny
Moderator Group Joined: 05-October-2013 Location: winlock, wa Status: Offline Points: 14606 |
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welcome, cool story! yeah i've never seen those trunk straps on a t-bird like that before, almost 200,000 on that era of car is damn good! it shouldn't take much to desmog it. and a vintage impala too!
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JOHN
74 GRAN TORINO S&H CLONE 74 VETTE CUSTOM 90 S10 BLAZER 4X4 LIFTED 77 CELICA CUSTOM 75 V8 MONZA SUPERCHARGED 79 COURIER VERT. SLAMMED 75 VEGA V6 5 SPD 70 CHEV C10 P/U 68 MUSTANG FB CONVERSION |
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Big Bird
Senior Member Joined: 25-August-2013 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 4194 |
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Yeah!!! Another thunderbird!!!! Welcome!!!
Love the trunk straps, and the polycast wheels too!
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"What we do in full frontal view, is more honest than your cleaned-up mind."
Randy 1979 T-Bird 2005 F-150 STX RCSB 4.6, 3.55 LSD How the Heck does a REGULAR CAB SHORTBED weigh over 5200 pounds? |
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felix1978
Member Joined: 01-August-2014 Location: Wentzville, MO Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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First off I can't believe I misspelled Missouri in the thread title, I'm so embarrassed.
Secondly I started a project thread over in the projects section of the board, the first post is a basic recap of my introduction here and I added another post with all the documentation I have on the car a little further down, along with current projects and goals. http://forum.grantorinosport.org/felixs-1978-thunderbird_topic12364.html Scott |
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CarBuff603
New Member Joined: 17-August-2014 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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Your story with this car is amazing, and its a amazing looking car too, i often go to car shows and I see all these muscle cars that everyone is crowded over, then ill see the 70's-80's cadillacs, lincolns, tbirds, and mercurys ignored, i believe that any classic car deserves the same treatment as any other. Sometime in my future i plan to Own a junkyard, and in that junkyard, i will buy any type of car, and have a limit as to what i will and will not crush, i would not allow a car that is 25 years or older to be crushed, and every single one will be sold as a project car to whoever is looking to start a nice project, and all the unwanted projects, ill keep for myself :),
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CarBuff603
New Member Joined: 17-August-2014 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 5 |
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There has not been one single car i have yet to dislike, and thats because i appreciate any car (with the exception of modern day hyundais,hondas,some toyotas, and some nissans). People think of them as machines, while to me they are part of my family, and they are what my whole life and family's lives are all about :) . I hope to share with you my cars throughout my future, Unfortunately my cars might not be suitable for this page since they are chevys, but i hope you guys will appreciate them as well as many other cars like i do!
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Robbdtme
Senior Member Joined: 06-June-2012 Location: Central WI Status: Offline Points: 765 |
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Amazing and welcome to the group here. You found the best of the best right here. Keep the updates coming.
Robb |
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Johnny cash Special 74-75-76 freak. 77 XR7. 78 LTD II sport looks pretty but poop 302 in it.
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Regul8r
Admin Group Moderator Joined: 26-December-2007 Location: Sarasota FL Status: Offline Points: 6624 |
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Fixed it for you |
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Carl Corey (Moderator/Event Coordinator) Contact ANYTIME!
1976 Ford Elite "Lola Mae" 97 Suzuki Intruder 1400 US Army Retired |
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antlerfiend
Senior Member Joined: 14-June-2010 Location: Louisville,KY Status: Offline Points: 3023 |
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Alex
72 GTS (Morgan's Baby) 68 CJ Drag Car Clone 65 Mustang (first car) 77 LTD II (Drag Car) 78 Mustang II V6 4 speed |
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Eliteman76
Admin Group Joined: 20-March-2006 Location: Nebraska, USA Status: Offline Points: 5044 |
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Welcome to the site. Nice story and car.
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Andrew:GTS.ORG admin, '72 Q code 5 speed Restomod
Pondering: #99Problems |
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unlovedford
Senior Member Joined: 17-December-2010 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 10142 |
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Let me know if you need a couple of those tan Polycast center caps. I have 2 in my basement I'll never use.
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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon 1972 Torino Wagon 1976 Torino 1968 Cougar XR7-First batch 1972 Torino 460 1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous Popeye and Brutus (Rams) |
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kychevyguy
Senior Member Joined: 16-December-2013 Location: Lexington KY Status: Offline Points: 1996 |
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He is missing the front two...
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JT, USAF Ret./Architect
1971 Ford F100 "Lizzy" 1971 Cougar XR7 "Kitty" 1984 Chevy Silverado "Sylvia" 2009 Smart Fortwo Cabrio "Lil Dude" 2015 Volvo XC60 R-Design "Sven" |
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felix1978
Member Joined: 01-August-2014 Location: Wentzville, MO Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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Thank you everyone, I quite like her, though the past week or so has been trying, what with brake problems and such.
I would very much like the center caps, I have no idea where the ones for the front of my car went, I don't even remember if it ever had them in as long as I have had it, gotta find some trim rings too, I have three of the four, but two are in poor shape, one is bashed from a curb hit in snow, the other has very loose and mangled clips on the back from an idiot mechanic in the past, not sure where the other one got to. Thanks, Scott |
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1978 Thunderbird
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unlovedford
Senior Member Joined: 17-December-2010 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 10142 |
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Here's some of the Polycast centers I have. |
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Joe
1972 Mom's Squire Wagon 1972 Torino Wagon 1976 Torino 1968 Cougar XR7-First batch 1972 Torino 460 1989 BroncoII/Jeeps/Titanimous Popeye and Brutus (Rams) |
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Torinogts73c
Senior Member Joined: 14-February-2004 Location: Tucson Arizona Status: Offline Points: 1034 |
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Great story have there car staying in the family! Brings back some memories of a car my Grandfather had that I thought was very cool back in the day. Like your T-Bird had a 78 like that in Chamois in the early 80's. |
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Gary 73 Gran Torino Sport 351CJ,17 Mustang Ecoboost,15 Jeep Grand Cherokee LTD, Ford Ranger parts hauler
"Never complain Never explain" Henry Ford |
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felix1978
Member Joined: 01-August-2014 Location: Wentzville, MO Status: Offline Points: 50 |
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Sorry it took me so long to reply, been busy here with work and the heat wave we've been having. Those wheel centers look to be in excellent condition, and a couple do look to match the odd color of my factory wheels. The emblems on them don't match, but since the red ones don't have any defining logos or lettering I could easily work around that by putting the two with the Thunderbird centers on one side and the two with the red on the other, unless of course there is a way to change those center emblems, but it's not that big of a deal, would look better than not having them at all.
Now I just gotta see if I can find some trim rings, mine are all messed up and hiding in the trunk. Scott |
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1978 Thunderbird
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