My first SC

CurtisPaulfrey

Registered User
I just found 3 pics of my first SC (1989 5sp). txsc is going to love this, in the pic its got 25-30 miles on it......:cool:
 

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wow, thats cool as hell, im actually quite sad that i never really paid attention to thunderbirds and don't remember seeing any brand new SC's, then again, i was born in 1988 so....
 
wow, thats cool as hell, im actually quite sad that i never really paid attention to thunderbirds and don't remember seeing any brand new SC's, then again, i was born in 1988 so....

yea i know i was born in 86 and i been messing with cars since i could clean tools:rolleyes: :p (my family owns an auto shop and has for over 25years)


how was one of these cars new to drive.. where they nicer
 
yea i know i was born in 86 and i been messing with cars since i could clean tools:rolleyes: :p (my family owns an auto shop and has for over 25years)


how was one of these cars new to drive.. where they nicer

i've always wondered that...like what was the public's reaction to them ?

how did they drive brand new ?

were the options it came with really ahead of the time ?

im almost 23 but i never even noticed an SC til about 2002.
 
i've always wondered that...like what was the public's reaction to them ?

how did they drive brand new ?

were the options it came with really ahead of the time ?

im almost 23 but i never even noticed an SC til about 2002.

yea i never knew about a sc till this one kid i went to school with talked and talked about having one then i bought a tbird n/a off him with a sc bodykit and just couldnt stop till i got a real sc.. :D :D :D

but i was like 17 then witch was like in 02 also... i like the stealthy look but at the same time its not...
 
I was in college when the first SC's came out. It was a time when anything over 200rwhp was pretty fast. The Corvette had about 240hp, Mustang had 225hp, the SVO Mustang was done but it ended off with 220hp I think. So the SC with 210hp was right up there with the best of them. It wasn't the fastest car out there but it was very nice compared to what else was available and it FELT faster than anything other than the Corvette due to the supercharged torque.

The price tag was really high so I never thought it would ever be in my league to buy one but in 1990 I bought a slightly used 1990 XR7. I still remember the first time I drove it. I was in complete awe. I was used to muscle cars and other 1970's iron and this car was just so DIFFERENT. I was amazed. It felt very refined. It took me about 3 years and 60,000 miles of driving the car to get over that feeling. I drove it everywhere. I looked for excuses to drive it. Sometimes I would just go sit in it and pretend I was driving (gas was expensive and I could barely afford the payments).

I remember seeing a couple SC's at the time I bought the XR7. It was a damn nice car back then. The people who tended to own them were very particular. That was my experience.

I didn't do any mods to the car for about 4 years.
 
I was in college when the first SC's came out. It was a time when anything over 200rwhp was pretty fast. The Corvette had about 240hp, Mustang had 225hp, the SVO Mustang was done but it ended off with 220hp I think. So the SC with 210hp was right up there with the best of them. It wasn't the fastest car out there but it was very nice compared to what else was available and it FELT faster than anything other than the Corvette due to the supercharged torque.

The price tag was really high so I never thought it would ever be in my league to buy one but in 1990 I bought a slightly used 1990 XR7. I still remember the first time I drove it. I was in complete awe. I was used to muscle cars and other 1970's iron and this car was just so DIFFERENT. I was amazed. It felt very refined. It took me about 3 years and 60,000 miles of driving the car to get over that feeling. I drove it everywhere. I looked for excuses to drive it. Sometimes I would just go sit in it and pretend I was driving (gas was expensive and I could barely afford the payments).

I remember seeing a couple SC's at the time I bought the XR7. It was a damn nice car back then. The people who tended to own them were very particular. That was my experience.

I didn't do any mods to the car for about 4 years.

so what mods were actually out there for sc's in 1990?
 
One of my friends dads was a corporate pilot for one of the local dealerships back in the early 90's. He always had a some type of brand new Ford. He had a brand new SC for a while. That was one hot car.
 
so what mods were actually out there for sc's in 1990?

Funny you ask. When I had all the dreams and no money the only things I heard about were a chip, pulley, and flowmaster exhaust. Those were the only things I could find and I couldn't afford any of them except the pulley. I think I got a pulley in 1993.

I learned about the C&L MAF in 1995 and that's when I took the plunge and got the MAF and chip to go with my pulley and made my own 3" exhaust and CAI. It was enough to beat my brother-in-law's brand new 1996 Camaro SS and it's all been downhill from there. :D
 
...txsc is going to love this...

Yes, I DO! Do you have any detail photos of the car; interior, engine, etc? I'd like to have copies for archive and reference purposes.

Here's what it was like "back in the day"...

I remember when the Super Coupe was introduced, and test drove several at the time. I was very enthused, but the cost was extremely high, and we were just starting out; marriage, house, family, etc. So, an SC wasn't in the cards. We bought a red 90LX, which we drove for 11 years. Both my wife and I always wanted to get an SC.

At the time, they were a very sophisticated and high-performance car. Now, remember that in 89, there wasn't a lot out there in this segment. Also remember that Ford was targeting the BMW 6-series as competition; not Camero, Trans Am, Corvette, etc. Also remember the other GM and Chrysler offerings at the time; pretty dismal.

The buyers of these cars were exectutives and other people who would consider, and could afford, European coupes and sedans; not entry-level buyers. Young adults (like me) just simply couldn't afford one. Ford built in the features and performance to go after BMW, etc. These cars featured equipment that compares favorably to new cars today; supercharged and intercooled engine, speed-sensitive steering, active suspension, IRS, 16" wheels, etc. At the time, they were waaaaaay ahead of any other domestic.

Because the cars were targeted at "adults", there wasn't an agressive aftermarket for speed parts. Face it, the executive buying segment just doesn't hot rod their cars. And many, if not the majority, were leased, so modification was out of the question. And, at the time, the car was good enough as-is, considering the competition. I remember them being wicked-fast at the time.

The cars are heavy because they were built to be luxury/performance/touring cars, not Mustangs. There was a lack of aftermarket speed equipment because no one in the target market would have bought it. They are complex and hard to work on because they were cutting-edge for their time, and that's what it took to play in the BMW world. They were marketed with understatement because that's the market Ford was appealing to; you don't scream "BUY ME" to a BMW/Mercedes prospect. What we consider shortcomings today, weren't due to a lack of intelligence on Ford's part. They hit the target they were aiming at.

I was working in the Ford Wixom Assembly Plant (Lincoln Town Car, Continental & Mark VII) in 90. Ford provided the plant executives anything they built as their personal car (perk). I remember walking through the executive garage and always seeing several new SC's. These guys worked in the Lincoln plant, could have anything they wanted, and chose the Thunderbird Super Coupe.

And, that's why I am the way I am with my car. I DO remember these cars when new. I drove them. And THEY WERE NICE. Ford hit the mark with the SC; it was/is as good as the competition. And a couple of years ago, I bought a "time capsule", to preserve in pristine condition, to honor the original design intent of the car.

I know many, many of you only see tired, cheap, worn out old cars. Things to curse at and throw away. But, if you've never seen/driven a new one, you really missed out. Taken in context, these are world-class cars.

JD
 
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