Not counting the era of the “classic” Thunderbird, which in my book encompasses the 1955 to 1966 models, my favorite T-Birds are the Fox Aerobirds. Yes, they were controversial at the time; ex-General Motors chief stylist William Mitchell thought they were hideous and my dad, as dyed-in-the-wool a Ford man as they come, couldn’t bring himself to buy one until late in the 1987 model year. Their sales, however, were always strong and they were more athletic than any T-Bird that came before them. Despite this, finding a nice one these days, 40 years on, is a challenge, but luckily Barn Finds reader Barney has come to our defense. He found this 79,000-mile 1985 T-Bird on craigslist in Oak Harbor, Washington, and it has an asking price of just $3,500. Don’t be surprised if this one has the sold sign on it by the time you read this.
Unfortunately, this example, as nice as it looks, is not a Turbo Coupe or even a 302-equipped car. It has Ford’s much-maligned Essex 3.8, which in 1985 produced 120 horsepower and could be equipped with a standard three-speed automatic or an optional four-speed automatic with overdrive (the seller doesn’t comment on which choice this car has). Equipped as such, these were not performance cars, but they were quiet daily drivers with little wind noise thanks to excellent aerodynamics. The slippery bodystyle didn’t hurt Ford’s efforts in NASCAR; everyone who has followed that series for any length of time has heard of Bill Elliott’s heroic superspeedway exploits in 1980s Fox T-Birds.
The T-Bird’s instrument panel was completely redesigned for 1985, and it shed its “leftover from 1980” vestiges for a more modern design that included a more driver-centric layout. As an aside, is anyone else a little sad that tan interiors have been replaced by standard blacks and grays? The khaki fabric really lightens up the interior. This is the only interior picture included in the advertisement, but it appears that this car has power windows, power mirrors, and a power driver’s seat.
Based on the color chips in the brochure, I’d guess that this ’85 model is painted “Medium Sand Beige Clearcoat Metallic,” a soothing if not particularly inspired choice for the raciest of T-Birds to come along in quite some time, decades in fact. My young life was spent riding in and driving a variety of T-Birds, so although I respect William Mitchell for the beautiful designs he ushered into reality, I can’t agree with him on the T-Bird. Sure, they were called “jellybean” cars, but I think they’re some of the best-looking cars of the ’80s, and this one looks like a good deal.
Excellent analysis Aaron. I remember thinking when they were introduced, that despite still being a Fox underneath they looked completely different than their boxy predecessors. And my opinion at the time was that the aero theme actually looked good. And I still think they look good today.
Sure, a Turbo Coupe is more interesting. But this basic model is very clean and attractive. And it’s cheap. Someone is going to get a nice and now-rarely-seen 80’s T-Bird.
Wow. It’s really nice to see a more typical everyday TBird from this generation. I remember so many of them with a V6 and wheel covers and white walls. And the fact that its so well maintained and preserved is icing on the cake. I agree with Bob about the aero look. It was really nice back when they came out, very different, but in all the right ways. And that look, at least I think, has aged very nicely. These are still very handsome cars. Great write up Adam.
I seem to recall that those V6 engine had head gasket problems,
& to replace the heater core you need to pull almost everything up
to the firewall – 8 hour flat rate job.
Heater core must have been common on Fords of this vintage. I had a couple of Marquis 78, 84 Both had heater core issues and more. One drove itself to the junk and the city got the other, When I checked the price of replacement it was out of sight on labor. Compare this to a 71 LTD. Hardest part was yanking off the hoses.
Any of the Fox cars it requires pulling the dashboard out. Only then can you access the heater/AC box. Had a Fairmont and a 3 Mustang dashboards out. Ford built a lot of cars like that.
Sad this isn’t a 302. I had the Merx version with a 302 – same year and color palette. I had my fun with it, throwing all the Mustang parts I could at it – cam/intake (it’s a TBI so standard Performer RPM worked), manual valve body in the AOD, and 3.42 posi in the rear. Along with headers and Flowmaster on the exhaust (the style at the time…) it was fun to catch people off guard with my grandpa cruiser.
This Thunderbird looks very nice. I like the color and I like the interior. My mother had one of these and the interior was just like a cave. It’s set to low and with the black interior I felt claustrophobic. The styling is not bad. It certainly said it design trend. I did not like the headlights however. Those recessed rectangular lights looked out of place. Future years corrected this design problem. These and the next generationThunderbirds were the last of the affordable Thunderbirds.. The final generation were super expensive for what they were. And truly, they were not that well styled.
Post deleted by author. That Bird was a steal. Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t that the same V6 that got the supercharger treatment in that next to last Thunderbird? Much prefer a light colored interior like this to sitting in the dark.
This design has grown on me. I really like it now. Well preserved and a good color. I can almost see the original owner behind the wheel.
A car like this is the reason I am addicted to C/L! You never know you might get lucky.
Wonder if we will see this thing pop back up on a classic car auction site in a couple of months after the title transfer for a lot more money