Super Coupe Future Collectible

Wonder if they will ever be Collectible cars


The 1989-1990 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe was the successor to the Turbo Coupe as the hotshot T-Bird in 1989's new 11th generation. It was still a closed five-seater, but broader of beam, five inches longer in wheelbase, and some 300 pounds heavier. The Thunderbird's old 2.3-liter turbo four was junked in favor of a newly supercharged 3.8 V-6 with 20-60 more horsepower.



The Thunderbird Super Coupe came with manual five-speed and automatic four-speed transmissions, all-disc antilock brakes, auto-adjusting shock absorbers, and uprated rolling stock as before; independent rear suspension on this model was a first for the T-Bird. Styling for this model was simpler and more graceful, although it was made racier on the SC via perimeter lower-body skirts, twin-venturi front bumper, and debossed I.D. lettering on both bumpers.

The Thunderbird Super Coupe's cabin was plusher than ever, enhanced by a new low-profile dash. The Super Coupe was criticized by road-testers (and admitted by Ford) as too heavy for real agility, but it had lots of cornering "stick" and smooth, rapid acceleration.

The Super Coupe was not a super-seller in the troubled late-'80s market, but its low volume plus its many laudable qualities argue for it as a future collectible. A handful of special 35th Anniversary 1989 models may have a slight value edge.


Pluses of the 1989-1990 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe:

An American BMW 6-Series
Fast mover (under 8 seconds 0-60)
Secure, "beefy" steering/handling
ABS brakes
Luxurious


Minuses of the 1989-1990 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe:

Heavy and thirsty
Manual shift a chore
Trunk and back-seat space limited
Some interior trim tacky





Specifications of the 1989-1990 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe:
Wheelbase, inches: 113.0
Length, inches: 198.7
Weight, pounds: approx. 3,600
Price, new: $20,000-$23,000



Engines for the 1989-1990 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe:


Type Size
Horsepower
Years

ohv V-6* 232 cid 210-230 1989-1995

*Supercharged
 

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I tink in the years to come,they willin the modern airia,they were the best looking car out of all the t-birds made. and the low production numberof the SC is a plus.
 
Wish it would of added that the 89 was Motor Trend Car of the Year.

As far as the article having the 35th year wrong, that was the authors fault not the guy who posted the information. I wouldn't worry about it. Odds are the car was actually made in 89, but sold on the production 90 year, so technically..........:p
 
Future collectible? Hard to say, but, as cheap as they are now, a guy with storage space could buy up a couple nice ones purely on speculation and it wouldn't hurt too much if the plan flopped :)

Cheers
DD
 
ok if the t-birds are going to end up a collecter car between the years mentioned then surly the XR7's of those years with the 3.8 SC are gonna be valued more since the limited numbers.
 
ok if the t-birds are going to end up a collecter car between the years mentioned then surly the XR7's of those years with the 3.8 SC are gonna be valued more since the limited numbers.


Certainly possible. But, as history has proven, limited production isn't a guarantee of future value and/or collectibility. Just look at early XR7s (easily the nicest car of its type at the time in my opinion)....although slowly increasing in value they have not really "caught on" compared to, let's say, same year Mustang GTs or Camaro SSs.

Its hard to put a finger on these things but in many cases it seems like cars that had high popularity and high production when new but now exist in fairly low numbers are the hot ticket. If a car was never that popular when new there's seems a much smaller chance of it increasing value as a collectible, despite low production numbers.

Certainly Chevelle SSs and Pontiac GTOs were high production cars in their day. What makes them so much more valuable and collectible than a Thunderbird SC, a car which, in a great many respects, is technically and functionally superior ??

Go figure ! :)

<shrug>

Cheers
DD
 
Certainly Chevelle SSs and Pontiac GTOs were high production cars in their day. What makes them so much more valuable and collectible than a Thunderbird SC, a car which, in a great many respects, is technically and functionally superior ??

That generation has had the $ to purchase those vehicles and their era was at its prime about 2 years ago. Now, its kids wanting to help Dad get his dream car back. Once that generation is dead the value will go down on them. They are the largest Generation of Americans. They currently are at retirement age and have been for about the last 10-15 years and check the value of those cars in that time frame.

To me the Cougar isn't worth much, because I find it ugly, but that's just me. Only Cougar I ever liked was a 68 canary yellow with white leather interior Vert.

As far as mass production of the chevelles, there weren't that many SS's produced. They were just produced over several years, but each year they were modified. 68 is the only year for the true 396 all others after that were actually 402s and so on. There are small things that make them valuable to certain people and those certain people are the ones that have the $ to spend at this time.

Remember when tubs were awesome to have? Any model T would go for extreme $ compared to what it was just a short time before that period of the early 70s. That generation is mostly too old to even drive now and the value of those cars has dropped.

The true muscle cars were built 66 to 74. I would actually say 66 to 69, but hey...... They produced more power and no egr or smog control and could be special ordered from the manufacture and many dealers sent them out to other companies for further modifications for you. Yenko ring a bell? That wasn't a GM product, but they were the Yenko sticker proudly.

The muscle car is dead and has been since at least 74, before Smog control came into play. The new cars today try to live off the old muscle cars and fail terribly IMO. Remakes are a big thing now. 67-69 Brand New Camaros can be bought now and modified however you wish them too be.

Remember if the VIN on a GM doesn't have SS in it then it is not a true SS car, but a replica, which there are tons of and a lot of people aren't smart enough to figure that out, so they drive up the price of those as well.

Had a 55 olds that had auto dimming head lights and yet we think that is a great NEW idea. Stuff like that just makes me smile a bit and move on.

SC worth anything? To a few, but to the main population it doesn't have the notability needed. It was a fat slow pig stock and there are way too many other cars to make faster for less out there to mess with these old cars.

Don't think I will ever be able to call a car with a Mazda tranny a muscle car. Goes against too many rules somewhere. ;):D

This post is all strictly my opinion and should not offend anyone. If you are offended just act like you never read it and move on.
 
SC worth anything? To a few, but to the main population it doesn't have the notability needed.



Agreed. It didn't really catch on back in the day.....and it hasn't really caught on now. Then and now only a few have appreciated it.



It was a fat slow pig stock and there are way too many other cars to make faster for less out there to mess with these old cars.



Now, for me, the SC isn't about performance solely in the raw horsepower/go faster sense. I bought one because I thought it was an interesting car....different from the usual. I'm probably one of the people who would have bought one brand new....if I knew they even existed back the, which I didn't .....which says something right there :)

IF the SC catches on as an actual collectible it won't be with the street racing or quarter mile crowd....or even the musclecar fans. More likely it would fall more in line with the Avanti, Riviera GS, Chrysler 300, etc. crowd.




Don't think I will ever be able to call a car with a Mazda tranny a muscle car. Goes against too many rules somewhere.



Having only six pistons doesn't help much, either :). Personally I wouldn't call the SC a "musclecar" even if it had a V8 and 150 more horsepower....because its not a musclecar in any sense of the word.



This post is all strictly my opinion and should not offend anyone. If you are offended just act like you never read it and move on.


I'm offended, I'm offended !! :D


Cheers
DD
 
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I read once that the cars that will be collectible are the ones that teenagers and young men want but can't afford. When they get older and have more money they buy the cars they wanted when they were younger.
 
Just waite

20 years down the road if you have a low miles I mean real low miles 35th bone stock right off the showroom floor will bring big cash
 
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