More Super Coupe questions. Now with more reliablity!

Smoof

Registered User
Okay everyone, I have some MORE questions, this time with less performance and more reliability.

A quick story;
My Bronco was a great truck for a while. Then in January about it started having trouble. Anyway, dumped money into it and it never got fixed, so I'm selling it. I put a lot of money into it and it never was fixed. So, now I'm considering an SC. But I have an obstical. I've checked-out the car, driven it, etc, etc. I absolutely love it. My mother however, while I think she thinks it's a fairly nice car, she's been reading-up. She's read consumer reports and some other stuff. Anyway, all these site list problems with the cars. Possible fires at the steering column, stuff like that. Anyway, she's more than a little worried I'm getting myself into another Bronco that I'm just going to have constant trouble with. Now, I really like this car. I wont kid, I really want it. My mom is trying to convince me to get the same car she has. A '93 Nissan Altima. Now, it's an okay car, but I just can't see myself in it. I know it's a reliable car, but it's just not one of those cars that gets me really excited when I think about it. I'd be more than happy if my mom gave me hers, but I don't want to buy the exact same car as her. Plus, I don't know, I just get this weird vibe about it. I'm not biased against Japanese cars, I like a lot of them infact. But I just can't picture myself in one. Basically, like I said, my mom is worried I'm getting myself into trouble (I'm twenty, if you don't know yet). We're going to get the car checked-out tomorrow, but that doesn't reveal problems that could happen down the road.
What I'm asking is for your stories. Has your SC ever left you stranded? What repairs have you needed to do to the car? How much did it cost? Is the SC an actual reliable car? The one I'm looking at has been pretty well maintained. It's got 96k on the clock and had it's whole top-end rebuilt within the past 10k miles. I'm going to be getting all the maintaince records for it and such. But really, what kind of problems am I looking at? I'm not too worried about blowing a head gasket, as they've just been replaced, so what are some other common problems? I'm getting the feeling from some of these car sites she's been looking at are taking raritys and exgaddurating them.
So what are some of the minor problems I could fix myself? I'm still learning, but I can do some things myself as long as it's not too difficult, but what kind of repair costs am I looking at? What do SC's generally live to be if they're maintained properly?
Also on the car sites, they list the troubles, but I'd rather hear from actual people who have owned the cars and worked on them.
So whats the deal? Can I expect the car to break down left and right with major fixes and mucho-$$$ in it?

I'm really digging this car, but if it's typical of SC's to have major problems I'm going to have to try and talk myself out of it.

Sorry for spelling errors, it's late.
 
Also what is the gas tank size on the T-Bird? What on average does it cost you to fill-up?
My Bronco was around $40 to fill-up on 87-Octain and it got 9MPG :eek:

I'm figuring, even though the SC requires 92, it gets 20MPG so it probably ends-up being cheaper anyway.
 
mine (probably as well as everyone else here) has a 19 gallon tank, it usually costs me around $37 to fill it. I'm sure prices vary all through the u.s. but in Mn i pay about $1.97
 
FoX said:
mine (probably as well as everyone else here) has a 19 gallon tank, it usually costs me around $37 to fill it. I'm sure prices vary all through the u.s. but in Mn i pay about $1.97
SC can be expensive at times , but as long as you take care of it he will take pretty good care of you, you already have the headgaskets replaced so the most common and expensive repair is done , no worries there , the only other thing is the balancer a 300dlls part.

altough im biased , a SC would be a much better car than a altima for a 20yo , has enough power to have fun , stylish enough and you wont look like youre driving your moms car like in a 93 altima , excellent handling , a much safer than the altima , the only advatage of the altima would be MPG and ride maybe as the suspension in the SC is more towards handling than comfort.

SC auto gets like 17-19mpg a 5 speed would get like 18-20mpg.
 
I've been reading a lot of user reviews on the SC. While it seems that everyone who owns one has a love affair with it, some of them have problems while others don't. I've read some reviews where a few people have needed a new rear-end and a tranny rebuilt. Now just as speculation, if this were to happen, how much would it run me? I'm less worried about the gas costs than I am with the repair costs. I'd probably be putting gas in every two weeks or so, $37 every two weeks isn't very bad IMO. Espessially coming from my Bronco where I would put $10 in every two days or so. But my main thing is repair costs. It's understandible that any car will break down. While it will break down less if you take care of it, it will break down. But I guess my main question is will it break down so frequently that I'm just going to be dumping in hordes of money? Putting $500 a year into the car for maintaince doesn't sound too bad to me. My mother is just worried I'm hopping into a car thats going to end-up like my Bronco. While my Bronco was awesome for the first year and a half or so I had it, it started breaking. While it was always the same problem that we couldn't fix and not multipul problems it still broke down constantly. We dumped a lot of money into that thing and my mom just doesn't want to see that happen again to me.
It sounds reasonible if the SC might have a problem a year. But if it's one thing after another, transmission, axle, god knows what else, I think I'm looking at the wrong car. While the one I'm looking at has been excellently maintained (from what we've been told), I'm still wary. So is the tranny breaking and the axle breaking as common a problem as I'm reading, or is it just that I'm comming across things such as this all in one spot? The people on this forum don't seem to be having major problems all the time with their SC's, so whats the deal?
 
the SC, IMO, is a wonderful machine, but it will demand you to get to know it intimately from a technical viewpoint. If you feel that you can't accept the technical challenge and time it takes fixing most things yourself, then be prepared to spend more money on it than the average car. And there are not many mechanics that know how to work on these machines- they think they know, but they will end up putting slightly different parts on your car which will not work properly if you don't watch them.

At first, i was very ignorant about this car. But since reading about the problems with the SC on this forum, this has helped me to gain the confidence i needed to take on what seemed to be a horrible maintenance scenario. Over the last two years i have come to understand what this car needed to keep it running- and smoothly at that. There are alot of electronic quirks with the SC as well as the overall way this car was designed sucks from a technical point of view. It appears that Ford built this car to be a cash cow for them in the service bays. But when you come to understand most of the technical concepts, it doesn't scare you anymore. it just takes some time for the knowledge to come to you- and when it does, you will get a feeling of major accomplishment with the SC. The mustang guys and the import racers will have nothing over you technical-wise. And if you really get down with it (upgrading it), your SC will be superior speed wise too. Nothing really scares me anymore about the SC- i have learned how to configure my car to prevent really bad things from happening aside from normal wear and tear. That's why i have had one of my SC's for 3+ years no big issues still in good shape- attention to details is the key. I have found out thanks to the knowledgeable guys here at this forum how to actually make the SC into an extremely reliable car. My SC's are just that, and one of them i only paid about $4k for it with low mileage. The 5spd i have now i only spent $1.5k for it with 130k miles on it and all i have to do to get it reliable was to replace or fix the obvious things- new battery, starter, brake system components, flush and change all fluids, replace fuel filter and pump, change cam sensor, motor mounts, and fix a few small electrical quirks in the steering column (seems to be commonplace with the SC- this fixes ALOT of running and driving issues). I admit that it's in the shop for a new clutch and slave unit, but it's still worth it to me. It seems like alot of issues, but most of these things i was able to swap from my other SC (the newer parts) which made it easy and low cost. ALOT OF WORK THOUGH!! I admit that it helped that i went to college for electronics training, and that my father taught me pretty much advanced auto mechanics. Maybe thats why i feel the SC really doesn't scare me.

your situation may not be as bad as mine, I would suggest to buy the SC with the lowest mileage you can find. And if you're lucky, alot of stuff will already have been replaced for you. when you really take care of these cars, they give you so much fun and fulfillment.

Don't buy one unless you have some passion for it.
 
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I'm not too scared to do my own mechanical work. It's big things I can't do. I don't have a garage, so I work out in the street. I can't drop the tranny, or take-out the engine or anything like that. But I'm not too scared to do some other things to it. I'm sure with some reading-up and learning I could take off the super charger and clean the intake or something like that. The car really excites me and personally, I'm not afraid to work on it a little mechanically. The thing I'm worried about most is if it has major problems consistantly. I can handle maybe one just from shere wear and tear, but if stuff starts just grenading randomly, thats what I'm worried about. Like the tranny explodes or something for example, okay get that fixed. But then soon as thats fixed, the driveshaft falls out or something. Thats what I'm mostly worried about. I can do my own small repairs, replacing starters, new spark plugs (Be a little difficult I think... my rachet is huge, dunno if it would fit, hah), new plug wires, stuff like that. Basically the question I'm asking is if major pieces go out in succession. Is the tranny and rear-end needing replacement a huge issue? Is it common?

Also I was wondering if any of you all knew a good SC mechanic in Colorado.
 
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Unless your rich...

The Super Coupe isn't for the gas and go type of person.

These are best left to people who do most of there own work or know a good mechanic "Very honest and noledgable about our motor".

Even a basic tuneup becomes pricey because they know where the plugs are but they dont know how to get to them without tearing the motor apart.
(jack it up and lye on your back is the best way) :rolleyes:

Most would agree that if you own our SC's then your going to get pretty familure with the under side of your hood and the SCCOwhoever chat rooms.

Expecially whith the More power aproach! :D
 
I just sold a '95 with 136k miles on it that I bought 4 years ago with 93k. I put those 40k miles on it & only replaced plugs, wires, 02 sensors, battery, water pump, & belts. What I consider normal failure items for a higher mileage car. I've owned 6 T-Birds since 1985, & 2 of them SC's. I've found them to be very reliable & fun cars to drive, own, & work on. Well, working on them can be VERY frustrating, like changing plugs for instance! But I still love the car, & don't see myself ever being without one.
 
BTW, just to get it out there the steering column fire possibility is due to the way the ignition switch was manufactured. This affected ALL Ford cars of the period not just the Thunderbird. There was a new switch designed and a recall.

Now if the car you're looking at had the recall done I don't know how to tell other than ask for an OASIS check at a dealer. They'll need the VIN, of course.

And yeah, expect to work on the car yourself. They have particular needs that an unfamiliar tech won't know about. Not difficult stuff, but how many techs would know that the intercooler tubing requires a sealer at the joints? Most would see the shape of the ends and think self-sealing. That's just one example, there's plenty of others.
 
smoof wrote;

I can handle maybe one just from shere wear and tear, but if stuff starts just grenading randomly, thats what I'm worried about. Like the tranny explodes or something for example, okay get that fixed. But then soon as thats fixed, the driveshaft falls out or something. Thats what I'm mostly worried about. I can do my own small repairs, replacing starters, new spark plugs (Be a little difficult I think... my rachet is huge, dunno if it would fit, hah), new plug wires, stuff like that. Basically the question I'm asking is if major pieces go out in succession. Is the tranny and rear-end needing replacement a huge issue? Is it common?

AOD trannys can get a little squirly, but no they don't blow up. neither do 5 spds, but usually on those the pilot bearings go bad causing hard shifts. it's seems easier and less expensive to repair the 5 spd, but if it's not done right you will be back in the shop repeatedly. AOD's are good (un-abused) as long as the shift points are adjusted correctly (the cable on the TB) otherwise bands will wear out prematurely and you will lose OD. Never hear anything about driveshafts falling out. I've had 2 SC's that had bad rear ends, but they were still drivable- just made a more annoying grinding noise. motor mounts go bad though and are a common issue. harmonic balancer will eventually break on higher mileage SC's- although i have never had one break yet. i put underdrive pulleys on mine which the crank pulley is much lighter which may have a hand in preserving the HB. Headgaskets will eventually blow (like any old car), but you can extend it's life by doing something to reduce heat generated at the heads when the engine is under high boost and keep fresh coolant in the radiator to reduce electrolysis- there are many ways to do this (low temp thermostats, fan mods, bigger IC's for example). maybe put some Evans NPG+ coolant in there and you just might not ever have to worry about the HG's if everything else is working properly (?). everyone here will say install a free flowing exhaust which is the biggest help, especially if running an OD pulley on the supercharger.

i haven't experienced any major driveline component failures, but that's not to say there is no lemons out there. Some will say all SC's are lemons- it depends on how you qualify a car as being a lemon.
 
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