Just Bought a Survivor 86 TBird.

[aidynphoenix]

Hello, Former owner of a 85 Cougar here. I Missed that car deeply, When i saw photos of this 86 TBird and the condition it appeared to be in, i had no hesitation in snatching it up. It is beautiful. it has 88K miles, Apparently owned by a little old lady. It has the exact same engine, paint and interior as my cougar had. 3.8L V6. White with Red Interior.
I am Thrilled. It is a lot of fun to drive around.
I did some typical maintenance, oil, fuel+oil filters, air filter, and radiator flush.
the car seemed to be surging a bit so i replaced the PCV valve and the missing hose going from the other valve cover to the intake and the idle seems to be normal now.

I want to keep this car in immaculate condition, and do several things to improve it if possible.
I replaced the factory stereo, and am waiting on some new infinity kappa speakers to arrive.
I deleted the antenna so my car cover would fit. also i don't listen to the radio.
I ordered a Summit 100-Amp single wire alternator to replace the crappy 60-Amp factory alternator.
The Headlights are very dull and i can see condensation inside, so i ordered some LED Headlights, I will see how those look when they arrive.
I plan to replace all the turn signals, tail-lights, and other bulbs (except for the dash lights) with LED bulbs. Hopefully they are brighter, last longer and draw less power.
I am trying to think of other things i can do to this car. I want to squeeze every bit out enjoyment out of this that i can without spending a ton or changing anything that i cant change back easily.
I was thinking about replacing the old Coil Springs, Struts, Shocks, End Links and anything else that is cheap and can use a polyurethane bushing.
The old tags expired in 2006, and it had been sitting since then, so it definitely needs tires.
I am not a huge fan of the hubcaps. while i think it looks nice, i prefer a more aggressive appearance and was considering new wheels. These were almost the only thing i could find that claim to fit, and were in stock. also are not too expensive. https://www.carid.com/vision-wheels/531-sport-lite-polished-81592944.html
They are however 1 inch larger.
I am also hesitant to buy wheels because i know larger tires will throw off the speedometer reading, and also i was thinking that a 5 lug conversion would not be a terrible idea, just in case i got crazy later down the road and decided to V8 this car.
Any idea how much larger tires will throw off my speedometer reading?


I am trying to track down replacement outer door belt seals for the windows. the originals are old and cracking a bit and i don't want to allow water to get into the doors.

the mud flaps are also about to fall off, i would like to replace those.

I am no automotive expert. any advice is greatly appreciated.

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[OneAmongOthers]

Nice looking car. As for leds... you
Cant just go and put them in as I believe you
Need to change out the flasher as the leds pull less juice than the old incandescent blubs. They would flash crazy fast. As for headlights? Well you can probably still get them if you wanted to stay original. Same thing happened on my 1992 Taurus SHO. The plastic headlights get discolored and oxidized due to exposure. They certantly don’t make them like they use to.

 

[aidynphoenix]

I think if I add a 6 ohm resistor for each turn signal the flashers should work at normal speed. But if I go led for front and rear I may be able to get away with a single 12 ohm or a 3ohm. I cant picture the circuit in my head at the moment. I dont remember if the resistor needs to be in series or parallel with the bulbs. I can figure that out when I get them. If the Flasher is too slow for my liking I could always change the resistance a little bit to get it to where I want it But now with the standard bulbs they seem slower than they should be. Not sure if my battery voltage being low could do that? Or maybe the flashers are just old.

 

[OneAmongOthers]

Guess you can check the alternator. Maybe it’s not putting out the same amperage as it was new

 

[1984]

Hello, Former owner of a 85 Cougar here. I Missed that car deeply, When i saw photos of this 86 TBird and the condition it appeared to be in, i had no hesitation in snatching it up. It is beautiful. it has 88K miles, Apparently owned by a little old lady. It has the exact same engine, paint and interior as my cougar had. 3.8L V6. White with Red Interior.
I am Thrilled. It is a lot of fun to drive around.
I did some typical maintenance, oil, fuel+oil filters, air filter, and radiator flush.
the car seemed to be surging a bit so i replaced the PCV valve and the missing hose going from the other valve cover to the intake and the idle seems to be normal now.

I want to keep this car in immaculate condition, and do several things to improve it if possible.
I replaced the factory stereo, and am waiting on some new infinity kappa speakers to arrive.
I deleted the antenna so my car cover would fit. also i don't listen to the radio.
I ordered a Summit 100-Amp single wire alternator to replace the crappy 60-Amp factory alternator.
The Headlights are very dull and i can see condensation inside, so i ordered some LED Headlights, I will see how those look when they arrive.
I plan to replace all the turn signals, tail-lights, and other bulbs (except for the dash lights) with LED bulbs. Hopefully they are brighter, last longer and draw less power.
I am trying to think of other things i can do to this car. I want to squeeze every bit out enjoyment out of this that i can without spending a ton or changing anything that i cant change back easily.
I was thinking about replacing the old Coil Springs, Struts, Shocks, End Links and anything else that is cheap and can use a polyurethane bushing.
The old tags expired in 2006, and it had been sitting since then, so it definitely needs tires.
I am not a huge fan of the hubcaps. while i think it looks nice, i prefer a more aggressive appearance and was considering new wheels. These were almost the only thing i could find that claim to fit, and were in stock. also are not too expensive. https://www.carid.com/vision-wheels/531-sport-lite-polished-81592944.html
They are however 1 inch larger.
I am also hesitant to buy wheels because i know larger tires will throw off the speedometer reading, and also i was thinking that a 5 lug conversion would not be a terrible idea, just in case i got crazy later down the road and decided to V8 this car.
Any idea how much larger tires will throw off my speedometer reading?


I am trying to track down replacement outer door belt seals for the windows. the originals are old and cracking a bit and i don't want to allow water to get into the doors.

the mud flaps are also about to fall off, i would like to replace those.

I am no automotive expert. any advice is greatly appreciated.

https://i.Attached your image to the post. postimg.cc not permitted./4HNHrGkH/20180922_085640.jpg

https://i.Attached your image to the post. postimg.cc not permitted./crzt5PD6/20180922_085655.jpg

https://i.Attached your image to the post. postimg.cc not permitted./mtkFjTy0/20180922_085709.jpg

https://i.Attached your image to the post. postimg.cc not permitted./gwFXG8bW/20180922_085756.jpg

https://i.Attached your image to the post. postimg.cc not permitted./hX7QFMws/20180922_090003.jpg

https://i.Attached your image to the post. postimg.cc not permitted./SjDMcnC6/20180922_091913.jpg

other than mechanical components parts are going to be hard to find . other than ebay (if at all) you wont find interior parts . I ve yet to find the belt seals myself. the main door and trunk seal you can probably get away with a universal gasket . There isn t much in after market off the shelf 14" -4 lug rims. I think American racing has 2 options . you could always try and find a factory set off a tbird or mustang . if thinking of converting to 5 lugs I would go to a rear disk brake setup for a more modern feel . Not sure I would go through the hassle of changing all the lights to LED maybe just the headlights .In 33 yrs I ve only changed 3-4 of the bulbs on my car.
good luck . nice to see another 80's bird still on the road

 

[40birds]

Definitely keep water out of the doors, they like to rot at the bottoms. As far as the seals go choices are limited to say the least. I have sold all my fox body birds off now (except for my 80 silver Anniversary) but when I put my 86 XR7( closest I ever came to a turbo coupe) back together I ended up finding replacement dew wipes on of all places, JC Whitney. It required taking everything apart to see the actual shape necessary. Then after installing the original from the mldg trimming the new and re assembling. Mine were missing chunks but at the time I had a low mileage 83 Bird here also so was able to get good measurements and shapes. Hopefully yours are not as bad.