So... Enablers unite? Could go for as little as a thousand. Currently at $350 in a local auction of a shop/warehouse. Auction ends in 5 days. It's hovered at $350 for over a week. It started at $250. Presents as real clean in pics and is a running driving car that has "84697 Miles, Automatic PW, PDL Runs and Drives Needs some Repairs." Did these things really weight 4900 lbs (according to door jamb sticker)? Yikes!
If your intention would be to sell it just know that 2dr, non-sporty cars are very hard to sell. You think sedans are dead? Coupes are even deader.
Q: What killed the market for non-sporty 2 dr cars?
A: Child seat mandates.
Anyone who at all has to tote a toddler around will want nothing to do with a coupe.
The number of the door jamb (i forget the abbreviation with it) is not the weight of the car but rather the combined weight of the car AND its maximum payload it can carry.
4,900 lbs might be 3,900 car weight and 1,000 lbs cargo/persons weight payload = 4,900lbs
Edmunds says a 1995 T-bird had a curb weight of: 3,536 lbs.
3,500 for the car leaves 1,400 worth of people/cargo.
In reply to John Welsh :
Duh me, I seemed to have forgotten that. Laden weight.
But, cheap "sporty" coupe. Is there anything wrong with this particular drivetrain from Ford?
In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :
Possibly head gaskets, the 3.8 was notorious for them in FWD applications. The mustang mom had never really had enough mileage to ever need them.
I've owned two 94 Supercoupes and a 95 LX V8. Never owned an NA 3.8 car, but it won't be fast. Hell, by modern standards the SC and V8 aren't fast. But they're a lot less slow.
The 3.8s are notorious for blowing head gaskets. That's the #1 issue I'd look for. Other than that I don't think there's any particular problem to watch out for.
If you're only after a car that runs and drives, I don't think you can go too wrong at $350.
Not bad for a puddle jumper. You'll have fun with OBD1 in Fords. If you get a code for EGR, just bypass it. Google has you covered there. You will end up throwing so many parts at it that won't make the code go away, (because crap parts are everywhere) and it will just continue to surge and buck until you bypass it.
Any ignition parts for those years should come from the Ford parts counter. They're no more expensive than FLAPS, and EEC-IV control boxes don't play nice with some aftermarket stuff. If you want to upgrade wires, plugs, coil, anything, hit up a known Ford resource/forum and ask what has worked for others. Even then, it might not work with yours, but at least you can narrow down things.
Fuel pump relay will crap out on you on hot days at some point. Easy fix.
Does it still have a crankshaft? Right after it ingested the coolant from the timing cover and head gaskets, it would spin the rod bearings.
because it doesn't have an LS in it?
Had a 95 LX 4.6 a long time ago. It was one of the best, most comfortable highway cars I have ever driven. I'd assume the 3.8 would just be the same, only slower. As mentioned by others, head gaskets were an issue. They tended to rust really bad in the rockers after enough winters, too. If there is a single hole in the rocker panel, it is very possible the entire rocker is crusty.
In reply to eastsideTim :
I just recently picked up a 97 Mark VIII, the T-bird's fatter cousin with air suspension. I LOVE road trips in this car. Super squishy, fun 90s tech, and 290 hp was nothing to sneeze at in 1997
I should be working but am doing this instead 
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
IMHO, 290 HP is still nothing to sneeze at. With the 205 HP SOHC 4.6, I may have cruised along the Oklahoma Turnpike at triple digit speeds comfortably, allegedly.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:because it doesn't have an LS in it?
I suspect that swap would be a lot more common if these had a solid rear axle for the drag racers. MN12s are so much nicer than Fox Thunderbirds. It'd be like a 5th gen Camaro that you could actually see out of.
Back when I used to do such things as work for a living, I may have worked with a young lady who owned one of these Thunderbirds. I'm pretty sure hers had the V8. I once had occasion to drive it, and I was frankly surprised at how much of a wallowingly compliant suspension it had. I'm sure such things can be addressed with springs and dampers, but yes, it's heavy, and the stock suspension is plenty squishy.
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