Prepare to Become Jealous

B

Belisarius

Registered User
In August I’m going up to Portland to pick up my dad’s 1995 SC. He ordered it new from the factory but is getting a higher mileage car to replace it. It’s red, has just under 68,000 miles on the odometer and has been dealer serviced from day one. It has a five speed and blue cloth interior. No sunroof.

I’ve been reading this forum for the past few months, since my dad told be about his plans, and I’ve learned several things. I’m planning on installing a cold air, MAF, throttle body kit on one end and headers and such on the back end. The radiator will go in once I get back to California.

You may become jealous now.

David
 
Why not keep it completely stock and original as an example of how the cars were originally made? I doubt there are many original ones left. I am trying to restore the one I have (95 5 speed) this way with all original parts.
 
Red exterior with blue interior...id say thats a rare combo and being it a 95 5-spd, thats very rare.....
and we want pics when available:)
 
I'd like to see that as well given from the info I have that color combo was not available in a 95 SC. The Electric Red Clearcoat Metallic only came with the Opal Grey, or Mocha or Ruby Red Interior. What are the codes for color and interior on the B Pillar Tag?
 
Duffy Floyd said:
I'd like to see that as well given from the info I have that color combo was not available in a 95 SC. The Electric Red Clearcoat Metallic only came with the Opal Grey, or Mocha or Ruby Red Interior. What are the codes for color and interior on the B Pillar Tag?
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The car is in Portland right now, and I'm in California. I'll be picking it up in the beginning of August and will be able to tell more then. It’s possible that the interior is blue in my memory but gray in real life and my red might be your burgundy.


Why not keep it completely stock and original as an example of how the cars were originally made? I doubt there are many original ones left. I am trying to restore the one I have (95 5 speed) this way with all original parts.
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After reading around this site for days and days it seems the exhaust side of the car is problematic and I want this car to be a daily driver. I’ve also been known to put my foot in it once in a while so I would rather spend my $1,200 on an exhaust now than a head gasket repair later. I also don’t mind the idea of having all the extra hp from the mod.

As far as collectability of the car goes, I’m not in a position, nor do I have the inclination, to keep this car that way. The car may be rare, 527 or so made in ’95 with five speeds, but in the grand scheme of car collecting, I don’t see there being any value at all in keeping the car stock since I will be driving it regularly. I also don’t expect that the value of this car will appreciate greatly in the near future and by the time it ceases being a daily driver the added miles will make it less desirable as a collector’s car.

My main plan is to drive it and enjoy it. This seems to include extra horse power.

You guys really are nuts about these cars!

David
 
Your car....your choice...but how many people thought the cars of the 80's would demand the price they do in the collector car market now? No one can foresee the future...but then again not that often someone gets a chance to own one of 574 of anything in the world.
 
Duffy Floyd said:
Your car....your choice...but how many people thought the cars of the 80's would demand the price they do in the collector car market now? No one can foresee the future...but then again not that often someone gets a chance to own one of 574 of anything in the world.
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Which cars of the '80s?

I'm more impressed with prices of the matching number muscle cars of the late '60s early '70s. Those are absolutely insane.

As I recall from the stuff I've read over the years the Thunderbird SC was Ford's answer to the BMW 635i. The opinion within Ford was that they really missed their weight target. While they perform well, the Tbirds just didn't stack up against the 635i.

It may be that the 94/95 5 Speed Thunderbirds will appreciate over time but I'll just do what I'm going to do anyway.

I do feel for you though. It seems I have the exact car you want. There are some problems with it though, as far as a restoration project goes. My dad parks the car outside under birch trees that drop their leaves and sap all over the car. I haven't seen the car for a while but when I go up to visit there's usually quite a quantity of little leaves in the engine compartment and a good deal of sap on the roof and trunk. It is low miles, for a '95 at least, and well maintained though.
 
As with anything, once it's gone - it's gone. You can't get something back. I once had a 1970 Torino Cobra for which I was told many many times that being a "mid sized 1970's Ford" it would "never be worth anything."

Too bad I believed the naysayers and sold the car. It was a very nice original 55,000 mile car. Cars in like condition now, 20yrs later, sell for $25,000 - if you can find one. Mine was one of 1500 or so built. ;)
 
Look in Hemmings to see 80's cars going for a good penny.

I have my 95 5 speed...just bought it and am restoring it.
 
+1 for leaving it stock. :) You could clean it up and get it running good, then park it and save it for nice days and drive it every once and awhile. Then get another sc, like maybe an 89-93, and drive that daily. I dunno, that's just what I would do.

Maybe if the 95 5spd had lots of miles on it, and had other issues, then maybe it would be fine to add lots of performace stuff... but finding low mile ones that are in good condition and mostly stock is a rare find, so the cost could definitely appreciate over the years.
 
Since your going to do what your going to do that car, I ain't jealous at all (not like I would be anyway), cause frankly my '90 is going to be a better car than that one by the sounds of it :rolleyes:.

Count one '95 5spd to be destined to be a pos in the end.

Frit
 
Yeah, I'd be more jealous of someone that had a great condition low mileage STOCK 95 5spd. But modding it all up to me just seems like a waist of a perfectly good rare car, and doing all these mods could just cause problems in the end. Like I said before... I'd mod up a lesser desired SC.
 
Not Actually Collectible

XR7 Dave said:
As with anything, once it's gone - it's gone. You can't get something back. I once had a 1970 Torino Cobra for which I was told many many times that being a "mid sized 1970's Ford" it would "never be worth anything."

Too bad I believed the naysayers and sold the car. It was a very nice original 55,000 mile car. Cars in like condition now, 20yrs later, sell for $25,000 - if you can find one. Mine was one of 1500 or so built. ;)
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It's not like I'm selling it, there's no serial number on the exhaust or intake and the minor mods I'm planning are easily reversible. We all have car regrets. My dad used to own an MGA coupe and planned to get a Mercedes 300SL gullwing to replace it.

What special place in automotive history does the '95 Thunderbird SC represent? Cars are a tough, tough investment. Let's say the Torino Cobra above was sold for $3,000 in 1988. That's about $5,600 in 2007 dollars. Compound interest on $5,600 to get to $25,000 is about 7.8% annually. Say, that's not bad. The only problem is the price for the car was for the 55,000 mile version, so the 20 year ago car must be stored. Let's say storage is $1,000 a year for a garage. There's a cost to even my own garage in that I could rent it out, $1,000 a year is on the extreme low end for garage fees and this is also not counting insurance on the car in case the garage burns down.

Looking at just the garage fees at $1,000 a year for 20 years, the cost of keeping the car stored is $20,000. Looking at this car now, it has cost $20,000 to keep for 20 years, if I sell it for $25,000 I'm left with $5,000. Compared to my inflation adjusted 1988 sale price of $5,600 I've actually lost $600. Driving the car a little will cost even more annually.

So here I am with my '95 Thunderbird. It's a rare model but even if it appreciates at 7.8% annually, it will be a loss for me after 20 years assuming both I and the care are still around and it actually becomes collectible. To be a worthwhile investment the car would have to be astounding in some way like having memorably appeared in a movie, or been owned by someone famous; it hasn't. All there is to consider then is what the car is as it stands right at this moment, a fairly well cared for 13 year old car with a problematic exhaust design and inherent cooling issues. The potential investment value of the car is tiny, minor modifications won't change that and the car will be less likely to blow a head gasket.

Let's enjoy these cars, drive them and keep them stock or not as each of us desires realizing that the future is the future and will bring what it brings. I wouldn't regret the possible value of some past car in today's market or worry about some currently owned car in the distant future; all I would regret is not having the pleasure of the driving and the owing of these cars over the intervening years.

David
 
I say it's your car and you should do to it what you want. Whenever I get cars, I never think about what I'll get for it when and if I sell it. You never get back out of a car what you invest into it. If you want it to be faster and look better, mod it. Just modifying a nice car doesnt make it a POS as someone earlier stated. Also just because you make it faster doesnt mean you are going to dog it out. Each person treats their cars differently. Do what makes you happy and enjoy it!
 
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Belisarius said:
It's not like I'm selling it, there's no serial number on the exhaust or intake and the minor mods I'm planning are easily reversible. We all have car regrets. My dad used to own an MGA coupe and planned to get a Mercedes 300SL gullwing to replace it.

What special place in automotive history does the '95 Thunderbird SC represent? Cars are a tough, tough investment. Let's say the Torino Cobra above was sold for $3,000 in 1988. That's about $5,600 in 2007 dollars. Compound interest on $5,600 to get to $25,000 is about 7.8% annually. Say, that's not bad. The only problem is the price for the car was for the 55,000 mile version, so the 20 year ago car must be stored. Let's say storage is $1,000 a year for a garage. There's a cost to even my own garage in that I could rent it out, $1,000 a year is on the extreme low end for garage fees and this is also not counting insurance on the car in case the garage burns down.

Looking at just the garage fees at $1,000 a year for 20 years, the cost of keeping the car stored is $20,000. Looking at this car now, it has cost $20,000 to keep for 20 years, if I sell it for $25,000 I'm left with $5,000. Compared to my inflation adjusted 1988 sale price of $5,600 I've actually lost $600. Driving the car a little will cost even more annually.

So here I am with my '95 Thunderbird. It's a rare model but even if it appreciates at 7.8% annually, it will be a loss for me after 20 years assuming both I and the care are still around and it actually becomes collectible. To be a worthwhile investment the car would have to be astounding in some way like having memorably appeared in a movie, or been owned by someone famous; it hasn't. All there is to consider then is what the car is as it stands right at this moment, a fairly well cared for 13 year old car with a problematic exhaust design and inherent cooling issues. The potential investment value of the car is tiny, minor modifications won't change that and the car will be less likely to blow a head gasket.

Let's enjoy these cars, drive them and keep them stock or not as each of us desires realizing that the future is the future and will bring what it brings. I wouldn't regret the possible value of some past car in today's market or worry about some currently owned car in the distant future; all I would regret is not having the pleasure of the driving and the owing of these cars over the intervening years.

David
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You are right, I'm not sure why I posted what I did above other than to point out that there is a certain amount of collectibility in the car. I don't want my 1970 Torino to sell and make money off of, I would just like to have it back and now I can't afford one anymore. I don't have anything against modding the car personally I guess I just took a mild exception to your comment that the car isn't collectible. My idea of "collecting" is different than the purists. We've had our 1990 XR7 (one of about 870 or so) since 1990 and it has been through a variety of mods and isn't really capable of being returned to stock anymore. It also now has around 200K miles on it but it is arguably one of the nicest 1990 XR7's in existence (if you don't mind a few mods) and we still drive it daily and intend to do so for as long as I'm able to continue to fix things on it.

I've never made any claims about these cars being good investments, but they are special and you may be surprised one day at what they are worth. I know they are going to become hard to find if nothing else.

PS.

Good guess on the price of the Torino. I got $3500 for it in 1987.
 
Belisarius said:
What special place in automotive history does the '95 Thunderbird SC represent? Cars are a tough, tough investment. Let's say the Torino Cobra above was sold for $3,000 in 1988. That's about $5,600 in 2007 dollars. Compound interest on $5,600 to get to $25,000 is about 7.8% annually. Say, that's not bad. The only problem is the price for the car was for the 55,000 mile version, so the 20 year ago car must be stored. Let's say storage is $1,000 a year for a garage. There's a cost to even my own garage in that I could rent it out, $1,000 a year is on the extreme low end for garage fees and this is also not counting insurance on the car in case the garage burns down.

Looking at just the garage fees at $1,000 a year for 20 years, the cost of keeping the car stored is $20,000. Looking at this car now, it has cost $20,000 to keep for 20 years, if I sell it for $25,000 I'm left with $5,000. Compared to my inflation adjusted 1988 sale price of $5,600 I've actually lost $600. Driving the car a little will cost even more annually.
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Not that it matters, but I sold the Torino to be able to take part in an educational experience that cost me about $4000 at the time. I just looked up the cost in todays $ for the same program...cost has approximately doubled since 1987, whereas the car has increased about 6-7 times. Other than gas, most things have less than doubled in cost since that time. I still pay $20 for a pair of jeans, same as I did then....
 
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