WTB 2003 OEM stereo

[Bettylou]

We recently bought a white 2003 thunderbird. The previous owner put a modern stereo, 20 inch wheels and an exhaust system on it. Those are my only 3 complaints. The stereo is a color changing, light flashing, loaded with gizmos. Neither my wife or I could turn it down or off while my wife tried to talk on the phone. I would like to get a refurbished OEM stereo with Bluetooth upgrade. Any ideas where to find one?

The wheels have to go. I want to go back to 17's. Original wheels would be nice but are a little pricey.

The mufflers are just too loud for a classy thunderbird.

Mike and Betty
Scottsdale

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[PrettyInCashmere]

Junk yards for some things. I have found several items for mine that way

As to stereo, it had a jammed changer. Fortunately I bought it from a Ford dealer 3 years ago and it had a 30 day warranty.

Reason I mention that is that the dealer was able to get 2 rebuilt replacements, so try Ford dealer

After all the changer problems and hearing so much on changers jamming I now keep it with only one disk in and always set it to # 1 disk before inserting an other disk so that there is no changing happening

 

[coat1971]

Mike and Betty

Must be a super car for you to buy it with so many things that you do not like.

1. OEM radio will not have Bluetooth capabilities. There are many cheap versions on Ebay that work quite nicely
2. Tires and wheels --when going back to 17" wheels consider the different Lincoln LS , and Jaquar and Volvo wheels that were the same time period that Ford owned them. Same wheel patterns and offsets. Also consider going to 235/55/17 as opposed to the original 235/50/17 .
3. Exhaust. Check to see if your current exhaust is Borla brand. If so, there is a market for used systems among T_Bird enthusiasts.

Good luck. This car can be APIA but so much fun!

 

[Bettylou]

The car is very nice. I think Ford did it right from the factory.

I've found several OE radios that have been refurbished, fitted with an auxiliary jack and tested. Jegs parts has them although none are specific for a thunderbird. I'll keep looking. The new stereo system with their flashing light show look cheap to me, they just don't look right in a Thunderbird. They are better suited to a 20 year old's Japanese tuner.

I'll be contacting the offers on the original wheels. The 20 inch Foose wheels look good, but the ride suffers. Betty and I plan on putting plenty of miles on this car in Northern Arizona, Vegas and California.

That is good news about the mufflers. Again the sound doesn't fit the car. I had a set of mufflers on my '66 t-bird that gave it a low rumble. I'll post if and when I change them and see if anyone is interested.

Thanks for the feedback and info.

Mike