Shiny and apparently well-kept, this 1997 Ford Thunderbird LX may be the bargain of the week with its asking price of $2400. Despite covering over 180,000 miles, it shows well inside and out and the seller says, “everything works.” It may seem humorous to see these 15 inch rollers on a premium luxury coupe, but the ’97 Corvette came with 17s, the same size you’ll see on a Prius today. Check out more pictures and details here on Craigslist. Thanks to the brochure library at Auto-Brochures for some details, and to reader Curvette for spotting this V8 T-bird in Clackamas Oregon.
Leather would be nice, but this cloth has held up well. The clean interior bodes well for the Ford’s mechanical care too. That leather-wrapped wheel with control buttons and the sporty curved dash and console lend a sophisticated and purposeful cockpit look to this personal luxury coupe. There’s even a tachometer for all those times you’ll explore the redline on your way to cash in on the senior special at Steak ‘n’ Shake.
Ford raced the Thunderbird in NASCAR from 1977 through 1997 so you might say this flagship luxury two-door represents the last of that era. Naturally aspirated V8 luxury cars have about dropped off the map, but other than their thirst for fuel, a simple V8 under the hood is hard to beat for torque and the robust exhaust tone that drivers associate with high-rolling class. Unlike most RWD V8s of its day, the T-bird boasts four-wheel independent suspension. Ford offered optional ABS and traction control in ’97 as well, though neither are mentioned in this car’s listing.
Look at that tech stack – fancy! Well maybe not so much. Despite exuding all the luxury cues of an ’80s Corolla, this Thunderbird ‘s stereo and HVAC controls offer fully automatic climate control, and when’s the last time you saw a factory stereo with Dolby noise reduction? You’ll also enjoy actual buttons, the location of which you can store in muscle memory and find instinctively without forcing your brain to decode a touch-screen menu system as you barrel toward the back of a dump truck. Brilliant!
The listing for our feature car skipped an engine photo, so here’s one from another ’97 T-bird on FordAuthority. The 4.6L modular V8 features a single overhead camshaft and makes 205 HP and 280 ft-lb of torque, enough for a 7.5 second 0-60, though it will feel stronger and more relaxed than most of today’s 7.x second cars. Ford boasted that you could go 100,000 miles without a scheduled tune-up on this mill, though I wouldn’t recommend it. How could you could go wrong on this Thunderbird for the price?
This T Bird certainly has a lot going for it. V8 for starters. I’m having trouble believing the mileage claim. It just doesn’t look like a hugh mileage car to me. Look at how good the seats held up. Anything I drive for nearly 200,000 miles the seats definitely, and unfortunately don’t look anywhere near this good. The paint on the bumpers, the rims, everything looks really good. I can’t believe this is nearly 30 years old, it seems like yesterday when Ford rolled out this generation of T Bird and Cougars, they’re very nice cars. This one definitely has had great care, and must’ve been in a garage its whole life. Hope it goes to a good new home. Curvette once again finds a great car, and Todd great write up as well. I enjoyed it. Thank you.
Driveinstile, you have not driven a Ford with velour seats! (MUCH preferable to leather, by the way!): my 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis with over 420,000 miles so far, STILL looks this good on its seats! I am needing a replacenent at this point; however, this T-Bird is WAY too “sporty” for me! I am looking for a sedate Panther platform sedan, prior to 1990 (so, no air bags, but new enough to have fuel injection), low and careful mileage, and NEVER SMOKED IN. In other words, I want a much “younger” version of what I am.driving now. But if it is another Mercury, I want the LS this time, and not the GS. if it is a Lincoln, I want 1988 or 1989, and the Signature Edition, please, and not the base model (no leather seats, please!). Sadly, I probably cannot afford what I am looking for. I bought my present car with 29,000+ miles on it, for $2670. Can’t do that NOW!!!
2400 bucks sounds more like a scammer
That is cheap for this one but if it’s for real, thats a nice ride. The 4.6 is a great engine with a decent amount of aftermarket support from the Mustang. Great sounding too with the right exhaust.