I’ll always give my parents a lot of credit, and a little of the blame, for tolerating and promoting my car weirdness. In addition to handing down my mobile auto-mechanics classroom (my mom’s rusty ’65 Mustang, which I still have, although it’s not really rusty anymore) to work on, they let me drive their hand-me-down T-Birds from the time I got my license in 1993. Therefore, my first operational car was a silver ’87 model, only one year removed from this nice ’86 Thunderbird for sale on craigslist in Levittown, New York. Barn Finds reader Zen couldn’t possibly have known that because of those formative days, I have the softest of soft spots for ’80s Aerobirds, but here we are; this one has 85,000 miles on it and the seller is asking $12,000.
Because it’s been for sale for over a week, you may be able to bargain on that price, who knows. It’s not very often you see nice, solid ’80s T-Birds; they were everywhere and then they weren’t, kind of like Escorts and Chevettes. One thing I do know is that this interior brings back memories; it’s almost identical to my ’87. Mine had automatic headlamps, a power driver’s seat, and a different steering wheel, but these days, those options simply represent unnecessary potential electrical treachery. A quirk of the base Thunderbird was its instrument panel, an odd pairing of a digital speedometer flanked by analog gas and temperature gauges. The speedometer stopped at 85, by the way, a speed my 302 T-Bird saw far too many times given my general inexperience behind the wheel.
The trunk is filled with useful materials for anyone who maintains and repairs their own cars, including the factory shop manuals (there is a bit of rust under the rear window molding, by the way). There are no pictures of the engine compartment in the craigslist ad, but it has the base 120-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 and the standard three-speed automatic in its final year of availability in the T-Bird. When my dad bought the ’87, we test drove a blue 3.8 car, and all I remember is that it seemed to make a lot of noise but not a lot of power, but I was ten years old, so my impressions may have been clouded by youth. Probably not in this case.
The two-tone color combination was a fairly popular one (at least I remember seeing several of them): Silver Clearcoat Metallic on top and Medium Gray Charcoal Metallic on the bottom. The seller mentions that this one has a “factory-installed sunroof,” which I’ve seen so seldomly that I can’t identify whether it’s a Ford-issued part or not. The wheels are not stock, but you can’t argue with the look; the 10-hole alloy wheels were standard on the Turbo Coupe, and that slightly wider wheel/tire combination does a much better job filling out the rear wheelwells than any wheel the car came with.
This one needs “a little maintenance,” but the heater and air conditioning work and the car looks solid enough for a closer look. My T-Bird memories will most likely stay in the past, as I’ve already had my fun in them and my tastes incline to older machinery, but I still get a little bit envious when I see a nice one; it is a “practical classic” that still looks great today.
Believe that’s the “essex” V6 in these models. Phone dial ☎️ rims look great 👍
This is a terrific example of a T Bird you would see every day at the local Top N Shop, or what have you back in the mid 80’s. Color combination and all. Great write up Aaron, I agree, these T Birds were everywhere just like Chevettes and Escorts and Dodge Omnis too. And then…… They weren’t. These “Phone Dial” rims I always thought are my favorite on these. They just dress them up. I like the early to mid 80’s ( like this one) a little better than the later ones.
I agree! I mentioned that to my wife this morning; although I had an ’87, I think I’d prefer an ’85 or an ’86. That was the sweet spot of the “four-eyed” styling idiom (in my opinion).
These were nicely-styled cars for their day. Aero-themed, without going overboard. The Ford four-eye look was well-done. The two-tone on this example looks sharp. Overall to me the styling has aged well.
Ford sure did get lots of mileage out of the Fox platform.
The Turbo Coupes are the collectible models, but a basic model like this is, as Aaron notes, a “practical classic.”
The late, unbelievably great Bob Glidden had a lot of success with his T-birds. His biggest nemesis? Why, Grumpy Jenkins, of course. The T-bird went full course. These were some of the nicest of the smaller T-birds, but nothing ever compared to the 3rd generation T-birds, my favorite.
I watched Bob Glidden religiously on TNN (or whoever broadcasted the NHRA) back in the mid-to-late ’80s. By then, “The Professor” Warren Johnson seemed to be the guy most often in the other lane when the finals rolled around, although the Reher-Morrison guys were always strong, too. Of course, I pulled for Glidden because of my dad’s predilection for Fords, and because those Motorcraft T-Birds of ’87 and ’88 were some of the best-looking Pro Stockers ever. Good times! You can still see some of those old races on YouTube.
Oh wow….. Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins and Bob Glidden. Is it just me??? Or does it seem like drag racing in the 60’s to the 80’s was better???
This is one of my favorite generations of T Birds, especially the 4 eye versions. ( I know I said it yesterday but I’ll say it again anyways lol). These T Birds made nice looking race cars too.
Don’t forget Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison for the NASCAR fans! Made the Chebbies and Buckups look slow!
scottymac, you forgot one big NASCAR name who drove this generation Thunderbird with much success: Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.
That 3.8 l V6 is practically bulletproof but I would be tempted to bolt on some go fast parts. Supercharger?
Bullet proof? Other than head gasket failures, maybe. Great candidate for a built 351 Clevor, AOD with a shift kit, 8.8 posi, snowflake Turbo Coupe rims, and hang on for dear life. That was the driveline I had in my 83, and it was good for 400 to the rear wheels, and I enjoyed chasing down WS6 Trans Am’s with it. Ahh, the good ol’ days. This one isn’t bad, but about 5 grand too rich.
Nice! In 1985 dad got a really nice T-Bird, the Elan with every bell and whistle including the power glass roof, leather, 5.0 V8 and dual power heated seats! I loved driving that one when allowed. The dealership did offer a pop-up sunroof as a dealer option. The wheels on this one look to be from a Turbo Bird, the ones offered on the non-Turbo Birds had circles going around the wheel.
These were pretty good looking cars in the day, compared to many at the time.
That new “Aero Look” helped Ford clinch a few wins on the superspeedways as well.
Pretty car, made during the last days of distinctive styling and artistic exteriors. Back then, the way a new car LOOKED was a big factor related to deciding to buy a new one even though the previous model still functioned. I really try to identify car marques by sight these days, but I just can’t do it anymore. They all look the same. I had one of these t-birds. Luxury-ish sporty-ish. I loved it’s looks. A lot of money for an old car. I can’t imagine this being a collector car because it is not the turbo model. But ah,,, those halcyon days gone by, when cars were works of art!
Great looking Thunderbird that helped Ford win races and get the previous model behind them. I scoured the dealer brochure and see no reference to a pop up sunroof. You can identify a dealer installed sunroof, pop up or power, by the metal band applied to the roof where the metal was cut.
Thanks for mentioning Glidden, along with Rehr,& Morrison, Jenkins, ETC. That makes me think back to the days when the drag strip at Commerce, Georgia was an NHRA track and the big names raced there. I’m not in any way putting down the current crop of top fuel racers but it seems that back when those guys were racing, innovation and engineering were what set the top guys apart from the rest of the pack. I was watching when Glidden had that horrific crash in his Fairlane at the finish line at Commerce. I thought he might be dead but he got out and took his jacket off and covered up his engine to keep anyone from seeing his trick engine. Back to today’s feature car, I thought those were beautiful. My brother liked them too and bought a beautiful maroon one, which was a surprise to me as he was a Mopar person. Those were the days.
Hi Russell, any relation to Justin Ashley? He sure came out of nowhere and very successful, I might add. Even though they don’t say it, I’m sure he’s still part of Schumacher Racing. Roku has a vintage NHRA channel, and highlights 70s, 80s and 90s. When the cars still looked like their stock counterparts, Pro STOCK. Everybody was in on the game, when a Toyota was for getting coffee or lunch. Now, it’s one Camaro agin another,,,boring,,,
Howard, no, not related or have never met Justin, but I wish him well. My son Jeff Ashley is a pretty well known drag racer in the south east area around Savannah, Ga. He was the Super Gas Association SE champ last year. I’m 84 now, an old street racer, but now I’m just enjoying the memories.
Those optional door vent windows are not only too big, but it looks like u can’t even open them! I can’t believe they were offered & that anyone ordered them!