Joined
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110 Posts
Hello All!
I am glad to join this community. The Thunderbird/Cougar/Mark VIII trio off the 90s has always been among my favorites. Previously, I owned a Crown Victoria as the Panther is another favorite of mine. Some may remember me as "06Tungsten" from CrownVic.net.
As of a few days ago, I am the proud third owner of a '97 Thunderbird LX 3.8 V6 in Pacific Green with Light Prairie Tan cloth interior and no options that I can tell other than alloy wheels and rear defroster. It has about 40,000 miles on it. I took most of the interior apart for deep cleaning. I haven't cleaned the exterior yet; my apologies for the lack of pictures.
Strangely, my car's interior is apparently not entirely original. I understand that the Thunderbird normally has a black arc starting on the driver door across the dash into the center console and armrest; the Cougar has all those parts in the color of the interior.
My Thunderbird has the black pieces on the door and on the center console; however, the two dash pieces are not black. They are light brown just like the dash, and so is the steering column shroud. I assume that the original owner changed these pieces to customize the interior. Or maybe they were damaged (but then why not replace them with the black original pieces?).
I am ok with this, although I'd prefer to have the matching light brown door bezel.
- It does make a lot of rubbing/squealing noises when steering at low speed which a mechanic attributed to worn ball joints. I also notice that the steering returns to center very slowly if at all (possibly related to those ball joints, as well?). The steering is also heavier than I would like. Any thoughts on that?
- When purchasing parts such as ball joints and control arms on Rockauto, are there any particular brands that are preferable (assuming that OEM parts are discontinued)?
- I notice that any time I engage cruise control, I hear a brief "ugh" noise. Is that just normal operating sound? It doesn't alarm me; it just sounds oddly human.
- Is there any way to set up the door locks to lock when shifting into drive?
- Fun fact: The original Ford build sheet was in the trunk under the trunk liner, which I removed for cleaning. If anyone can read those codes. I'm wondering if I have an option, one option, after all.
- Center armrest compartment: was there ever illumination in there in previous years? If so, I'd love to retrofit using the OEM light (part number?).
- Does anyone have issues with water accumulating in the license plate lights? They seem to be riveted on, too, so it's hard to tackle that.
- Has anyone installed a seat belt holder attached to the headrest posts (similar to Dodge Challenger for example)? Not that I couldn't reach the seat belt; I just like those seat belt holders. My seat belt is also awfully tight on my shoulder, which could be less noticeable if the belt ran through a holder (being a bit higher up that way).
- Lastly, my car has an odd lock under the driver side dash. Apparently it is a supplemental hood lock. Unfortunately, the key to that lock didn't come with the car, and second owner didn't even know what it was. Was this a factory option? Or rather an accessory? The cable from this lock goes into the the engine compartment inside an approx. half-inch tube together with another wire (of which I'm not sure where it goes or what it does).
That's all I can think of right now. Thank you all!
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I am glad to join this community. The Thunderbird/Cougar/Mark VIII trio off the 90s has always been among my favorites. Previously, I owned a Crown Victoria as the Panther is another favorite of mine. Some may remember me as "06Tungsten" from CrownVic.net.
As of a few days ago, I am the proud third owner of a '97 Thunderbird LX 3.8 V6 in Pacific Green with Light Prairie Tan cloth interior and no options that I can tell other than alloy wheels and rear defroster. It has about 40,000 miles on it. I took most of the interior apart for deep cleaning. I haven't cleaned the exterior yet; my apologies for the lack of pictures.
Strangely, my car's interior is apparently not entirely original. I understand that the Thunderbird normally has a black arc starting on the driver door across the dash into the center console and armrest; the Cougar has all those parts in the color of the interior.
My Thunderbird has the black pieces on the door and on the center console; however, the two dash pieces are not black. They are light brown just like the dash, and so is the steering column shroud. I assume that the original owner changed these pieces to customize the interior. Or maybe they were damaged (but then why not replace them with the black original pieces?).
I am ok with this, although I'd prefer to have the matching light brown door bezel.
- It does make a lot of rubbing/squealing noises when steering at low speed which a mechanic attributed to worn ball joints. I also notice that the steering returns to center very slowly if at all (possibly related to those ball joints, as well?). The steering is also heavier than I would like. Any thoughts on that?
- When purchasing parts such as ball joints and control arms on Rockauto, are there any particular brands that are preferable (assuming that OEM parts are discontinued)?
- I notice that any time I engage cruise control, I hear a brief "ugh" noise. Is that just normal operating sound? It doesn't alarm me; it just sounds oddly human.
- Is there any way to set up the door locks to lock when shifting into drive?
- Fun fact: The original Ford build sheet was in the trunk under the trunk liner, which I removed for cleaning. If anyone can read those codes. I'm wondering if I have an option, one option, after all.
- Center armrest compartment: was there ever illumination in there in previous years? If so, I'd love to retrofit using the OEM light (part number?).
- Does anyone have issues with water accumulating in the license plate lights? They seem to be riveted on, too, so it's hard to tackle that.
- Has anyone installed a seat belt holder attached to the headrest posts (similar to Dodge Challenger for example)? Not that I couldn't reach the seat belt; I just like those seat belt holders. My seat belt is also awfully tight on my shoulder, which could be less noticeable if the belt ran through a holder (being a bit higher up that way).
- Lastly, my car has an odd lock under the driver side dash. Apparently it is a supplemental hood lock. Unfortunately, the key to that lock didn't come with the car, and second owner didn't even know what it was. Was this a factory option? Or rather an accessory? The cable from this lock goes into the the engine compartment inside an approx. half-inch tube together with another wire (of which I'm not sure where it goes or what it does).
That's all I can think of right now. Thank you all!
