HI I am a noob

Status
Not open for further replies.
O

oodis

UPDATE EMAIL ADDRESS
Hi guys this is my first post and I am glad I found someplace that actually has positive stuff to say about the thunderbird. Not many seem to like it. I love the car and I reserved to get one. I should be getting it around mid august. Its Torch Red with a full accent package and all the other options.
Just a few questions for you tbird owners:

1. is the hardtop a pain to take off and replace back on?
2. Is it as spacious as a 911 porsche or worse?better?
3. whats so special about the T-bird blue that everyone's talking about?

Also thanx alot Al Gershen for the torch red pics you posted. Really helped.
 

This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

Welcome aboard! I'm not sure why you say that "not many seem to like it." On the contrary, all of my friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. love it (but not a much as me!) Just wait until you drive it around and hear the comments -- from little kids up to senior citizens, men and women, all races, etc.....

1. The hardtop is quite easy to take on and off, but with a "catch", which is it requires two people to do the job. The top weighs 85 pounds and is an awkward shape for one person to lift, so I doubt that even Arnold Schwarzenegger could do it by himself. There are aftermarket lifts that you can get so that one person could do it. I think the lifts have been talked about on other discussion threads. You might want to do a search on "lift" or something similar.

2. Can't say about the 911. Maybe someone else knows. But the T-bird is quite generous in its seating (I found the seats to be particularly wide, adding to a less-than-optimal lateral support). The storage shelf behind the seats is pretty small you can put a small cooler back there. Some people (guys over, say, 6'2") have had some trouble with the headroom. You can do a search on that topic as well.

3. What's so special abou the T-bird blue? Several things. One, the official color name is "Thunderbird Blue", thereby the only color that carries the namesake. Second, it's a 2002-only color (i.e., it's being discontinued after the 2002 production year). Third, and perhaps most important, it is extremely beautiful and very eye-catching. Ford could have done a better job of matching the interior blue leather to the exterior paint. The interior blue isn't the same georgeous color at the exterior, but it gets the job done.

P.S. my T-bird is Thunderbird Blue! I got the partial color interior and I'm really glad I did. IMO, the full color is somewhat overwhelming. I realize that most T-birders got the full color interior, so a lot of people probably wouldn't agree with me on that point. The cool thing is that it really doesn't matter. Just get what you like. I hope you love your new T-bird as much a I love mine!

One last thing -- another discussion pointed out that the final T-bird will be produced in August. It would be really cool if you got vehicle #25000 -- the very last of the 2002's. Good luck!
 
Thanx for the info and honesty thaser. The reason I asked about the T-bird's interior compared to a 911 is because I am not as slim and thin as many of you but I do own a porsche 911 turbo and I have no trouble with that car. Before the turbo I had a carrera cabrio and I know how much of a pain it is to put the top on. I just thought the Tbird must be better or easier.
On one of the car forums I go to I mentioned what the opinion is for the new tbird and I got very negative replies even though I know i love it and I am getting one. But seriously some of the people on car forums are kids or adults who are always stuck up.

I had a choice between thunderbird blue or red but I went for the red. I took it because I loved the interior of the car in the full red package with red exterior. It looks so awesome. From what I heard from the dealership guys is that the new t-bird 03 model will have two new colors and no more tbird blue but it will have a more powerful engine. I heard that the company will be making a supercharged one too but I dont really care about those. I am happy with what I am getting :D
I will post pics when i get it
I doubt I will have #2500 but I know I will have the last tbird from my dealership for the 03 models
 
oodis, you should do some searches on this forum because there has been a fair amount of discussion on the 2003 (and beyond) T-birds. There are pictures of the new colors and I think some of the discussion herein have links. (Note: the new Gunsmoke Grey color is really sweet). With respect to the engine, I think the supercharged (390 horses, I recall) is for the 2005 model year. Ford will (may?) leverage the new R engine on the 2003 Jaguar Type S. Again, if you search this forum you will find more information about this stuff.

One other thing, depending on your location, it may be easy for you to stop in at a Ford dealership and sit in a T-bird to check out the room. Go for it. I'm not a big guy, so I'm sort of swimming in the driver's seat. It's quite a change from my snug seat in my Acura Integra.... again, quite roomy from my perspective.
 
oodis, the only thing i dont like about my blk blk prem after having it for 3 months is that i dont like puttin that film on before i put my top back on. taking the top off is easy, wife and i can take it off and put it on the stand in no time, we have no trouble putting it back on either,.... it takes longer to put the film on... but i do love that bird
 
Originally posted by oodis:
brd4jk- what "film" are you talking about?
you mean the softop?
Click to expand...

Sounds like a clear protective film that is placed on the painted portion of the body where the top seals against it. It keeps the paint from being scratched.
 
oodis, let me jump in on this. If you do a search on "tape", you will see plenty of discussion about this. Brd4jk is talking about the clear tape or "film" that Ford sent out as a bandaid solution for the problem of the hardtop vibrating against the rear deck and scratching the paint. Ford included 4 sets of tape with each vehicle beginning around the spring of 2002. Again, do a search on "tape" or "scratch" and you will see plenty on this issue. I forgot to mention this when I gave you my thoughts earlier on the hardtop. I don't think it's a problem because I'm in the DC area and plan to take the hardtop off/on once per year, i.e., put it on from around November-March.
 
watchdevil the film is the kit that was sent by the factory for the bandaid fix for the top scratching the car. i had to show my dealer what it was for that didnt even know but the kicker is that if ford thought fit to send it why didnt they put one on from the factory. black shows scratchs the worst. the dealer didnt even know how they went on i had to show them
 
Welcome OODIS, you're one of the few from MA. Good to see New England members joining
Goerge
 
OODIS, I don't know how much room you have in the 911, but I find the t-bird adquate. I am 6'3'' and am by no means slim. My 60 year old body is not as agile as it once was. We drove the bird nonstop from Green Bay Wi, to Pennsylvania, a distance of 980 miles. We had the hard top on, which I feel gives a little more head room than the soft top. When I first started out my head would just touch the top. However after a short time I must have conformed to the seats and I was comfortable. My wife shared the driving and I found the passenger seat to be fine.

When we first removed the hard top we found scratches under the seal. This Friday the car is going back to the dealer to see what they can do. It did not come with the clear plastic strips. I will let them try to polish the scratches out, but do not think that I will let them repaint. They have ordered the strips.

I think that if you buy the car for what it is supposed to be, you will be very happy. My days of tire burning are long gone and now I am more interested in style, class, and a comfortable ride.

------------------
02 Black T-Bird
1955 Sunliner Convertible
1955 Crown Victoria Glass Top
1931 Model "A" Panel Delivery Truck
1931 Model "A" Station Wagon
1971 Chevrolet S/B Pick up
 
Your 911 will be much more comfortable then the Tbird. I've had Porsches for over 30 years, and find them to be very comfortable with loads of headroom, the Tbird's seats aren't particularly comfortable and have very little if no headroom.
 
oodis, i am 6'3 about 270 and a bad hip the only problem i have with it i have to duc my head gettin in. and it i think it sets pretty good. on the scratch issue my dealership bodyshop rub them out but if you dont put the film on it will scratch it again. the bodyshop manager filled out the form to tell ford it was unrepairable due to it would happen again.
 
Don't forget we have PM too if you want to keep things more private.
-
 
I tried again. Here is the error message:


CGI Error
The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers. The headers it did return are:

<area href="http://www.fordthunderbirdforum.com/cale
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top