Need some Help boys and girls

needaSC

Registered User
Hey everyone, longtime sccoa site surfer and first time poster. anyways, My name is walter and im 17 years old. Im currently into crxs i own 2. Recently i ahve decided to part with one, and keep the other which is my winter beater. This leads me to the Thunderbird SC. I hope you dont think im crazy or anything but, THe SuperCoupe isnt just a car to me. Its the sexiest,sleekist, most beautiful car ever made on the face of the planet. Its Absolutley my dream car. In my future i hope to collect,restore,possibly race, and sell them to appreciative owners. I models,magazine ads, and articles of SC's all over my room. I cant tell you enough about how much im in love with the SuperCoupe.

But Here is why i need help. Im also doing searches on the internet so dont think im just bugging you guys. I need ALOT of information to show my dad about these cars. He is very understandable and open minded to my ideas. So here's what i need......

1) Reliability (need your opinions and where i can get more info)

2) Insurance cost (opinions,where to get more info)

3) Resale and Blue Book Value ( do they hold value ? )

4) Safety ( i already know theyre safe cars, more info though?)

5) Maintenence ( basically the same as most cars ? )

thats all i can think of for now, but heres what i have gathered alone....

Supercoupes are suprisingly VERY reliable besides head gaskets ($1200 approx repair) and normal wear. Insurance is usually pretty low, as most companies think its a family car. Resale is OK and blue book is OK. Safety is very good. Maintenence is liek most cars....just keep an eye on the blower.

I NEED ALOT OF POSTS AND INFO ! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT YOU GUYS!!!!!

thanks
Walter

p.s. - i promise you guys if i get an SC i will be one of the best and loyal owners out there.
 
Whats up "NeedaSC"

First of all. You are definetely right about the SC being the nicest car around. I have a 94 SC, and I get compliments all the time. In my experience with the these cars, which isnt very much. But there are alot of helpful guys around here to get insight from. Here is my opinions/knowledge.

1). These cars are reliable if you respect them, and don't beat on them. Could they be more reliable? Of course, but so could all cars.

2). Insurance... Hope you're willing to save your pennies. Because if you're 17, insurance will kill you. In my area, the insurance companies definetely did not consider this car a family car, actually it was considered a Restricted vehicle, which meant, it was pretty much their call if they wanted to insure me or not. I'm 20, with no accidents, or tickets (knock on wood), and I pay about $4200 a year ($348 a month) <---- and worth every cent.

3). Resale... If you drive an SC, depending on how many miles you put on her, and how many miles are already on her. You will put more money into her, then you will get in return... Obviously, but I'd have to say resale... probably normal.

4). Safety... Also depends on how you drive it.. These cars have some ballz, any car can be safe, if you're a good driver.

5). Maintenance, in my opnion is alot more work and money for these cars.. For example My buddy owns a Lumina, and his full Tune-up cost $140 Canadian. My Tune-up costed me about $260 Canadian. First thing you'll learn is plugs aren't the easiest task to change on the these cars. The blower probably shouldnt be your main concern when it comes to maintenance. I think they are built pretty good, as long as you keep your fluid level up, and clean. Preventative Headgasket failure maintenance has always been my main concern. Cooling system maintenace, and exhaust.

Thats just my $.02. I think that should give you a pretty good idea. Everyone will have their own advice. I just hope this helps. Am I right here guys? I hope I'm not giving any false advice. Like I said.. Just my $.02
 
sucks for you, i'm 17, and my insurance is only $768 (AMERICAN) a year... :)

I'm under my parents insurance.... why a teenager would get their own insurance is beyond reason haha ;)

I dont have collision but if I did it would run about $1300/yr... but I look at this way, If im stupid and hit a telephone pole or something its my own fault, plus I paid $3500 , so its not worth paying collision...
 
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Thanks alot joe i appreciate your info. I really hope theres more guys out there to provide more info and opinions for me also,again thanks alot.

you said your insurance is about 340$ a month? is that canadian or US ? hope its canadian ;)
 
Hey No Problem man.. You'll notice alot of guys around here are very helpful! Ya my insurance is in Canadian dollars. Thats with my own policy. Full coverage. I paid alot of money for my SC, and I've put alot of money into her! Sooner or later you have to take on some responsibility! Take Care Man!
 
Thats awesome i really appreciate it. So in US $$ im looking at about 150$ a month for insurance i geuss. Thats cool.

more info is much appreciated.....help an SC lover out:D
 
Hi, Walter.

sickwhip sums it up very well. I am a used to be owner of an 89 SC for 3 years in the early 90's, then returned a couple of years ago because I just missed them too much. Always been a Ford nut. Second owner of a Boss 302 for 22 years. Decided to sell it, get out of the older car world, and could only think of an SC to replace the Boss. Always loved the 35ths, one was for sale in Tulsa, close to me, and here I am.

The SC is the only contemporary car to ever compare to the Boss. It's quick, comfortable, contemporary, American made Ford, and just darn good looking. It's a unique demonstration of a factory supercharged vehicle for the masses. Jeez, when I was your age, superchargers were dreams in magazines.

The SC is very dependable when treated with respect and responsibility. It is complex but not beyond comprehension. This board will help you where you need it and you will figure out the rest. They were produced in limited numbers and I can tell you are also undergoing a resurgence in interest. As with all cars, the SC has it's unique weaknesses and strengths. The main trick is to know how to keep things balanced. Don't overdo one area without balancing the other, intake mods versus exhaust mods as an example. There are still many parts available from Ford, some of which are better to use than aftermarket anyway. Currently there seems to be plenty of people to acquire parts from if you need them at very reasonable prices. Your age will be a large factor with insurance companies so keep that in mind whatever you drive. The SC has the economy of a 6 cylinder with the horsepower of a V8 when needed and it is always at your disposal, no lag as in some turbos. The Eaton supercharger is a contained unit designed to last well over 100,000 miles when not abused and the special fluid is kept at proper level. Engine wise, I would have to say the head gaskets are the worse problem and that is usually due to age and abuse. As mentioned earlier, modifying the intake side without considering the exhaust side will put the head gaskets at risk because of back pressure issues. Normal maintenance with normal use will make the SC one of the most durable and fun vehicles you could own. Values on the SC are varied but are generally really very good considering their age. I have found the SC to be a very forgiving car when pushed if all things are in good shape.

Sorry for the long post. Best of luck to you. :)
 
thanks for another great reply. im off to bed so hopefully ill wake up to some more posts!!

thanks guys
 
hmm. everyone pretty much sumed it up for you. i can add that these cars hold up very well in a front end collision, i had the unfortate experance of t-boning some jerk who cut me off when i had my 91 base bird, i was doing about 50 and i locked the brakes up and hit him a split second after, the car didn't look that bad though. but of course the car was totaled but i am still alive with not a scratch from that. my insurance for my sc is actaully LESS than the base bird, becouse my sc has abs and the insurance company put it down as a 6cyl t-bird and not restricted. also i might mention that if you must go to a mechanic to fix your car please make sure you find someone that knows what they are doing, 1) there are people that don't know what they are doing and flat out say "i can't work on this car" or "yea i can do it" and end up screwing it up 2) and there are people that know how to work on your car and they will charge you reasonably or they will overcharge you and say "well, it is the supercoupe" and 3) ford, they DON"T know how to work on these cars (the guy at the tech desk actually told me that, eventhough i knew that already) and they will overcharge you and becouse they screwed it up in the first place they will overcharge you again for fixing a problem they made. sorry about the ramblings good luck to you
 
Hi, I'm 20 years old, and have 3 SC's and an Audi.

I bought my black 5-speed SC the summer when I was 16 years old. It had just had the head gaskets done but sadly no one knew much about doing head work on these cars back then. Before I made the first payment I hit a deer w/ the car. Did $3700 worth of damage to my car and I bought it for $3500, so I figured it was totalled. But it blue booked for more so they fixed it. I got a new hood, new fender, new head light, turn signal, radiator, ircm, front bumper etc.. Car didn't look bad, but the parts were costly. Could have bought used parts it'd be a lot cheaper. I've also changed starter, water pump, ball joints, cam sensor, act sensor, igntion switch, window motor, and some other stuff, mostly maintenance (oil changes, t-stats, belts, hoses, tires, brakes)

I bought my 2nd SC when I was 18. It is an auto and had 163k miles on it. The only problem that was had with the car were the original trans had been replaced, lower ball joints were changed, water pump was changed, and the ps pressure hose was changed. I bought it and I only had two problems with it. The fuel pump went out, so I upgraded that w/ a 190 lph pump, and added a shift kit and new filter and stuff in the trans. Then the head gaskets blew finally at 183k w/ stock exhaust. So now I have had the heads ported and polished and am in the process of putting it all back together. I also changed the brake pads, a caliper, front rotors, tie rods, and put on new tires.

After blowing the head gaskets I needed a winter car, so I bought the Audi when I was 19.

My new SC is another 90 auto, titanium silver (twins), I bought it with blown head gaskets, so I have to fix it. But I got it for cheap.

Now this winter so far I've been driving my 92 SC 5-speed. I broke a shock on my audi and now have reason to believe the new shock is the wrong one? The black SC has 245/50/ZR16 Yokohama performance tires, gets around fine in the snow as long as I'm careful. I just can't stop at the bottom of my driveway and expect to pull up, have to keep a rolling start.

As for insurance for full coverage on my 90 SC auto its like $660 for 6 months. I have a couple speeding tickets. No at fault accidents.

I do 99% of my own work on my SC's so that helps me afford all the toys. I refuse to pay someone $60/hr to tinker on my super chicken when I am more than capable of doing it myself. Plugs and wires are a 45 minute job for me, first time though it took 2 hours. Now I maintain all my friends local SC's. And being the nice guy I am if they buy the parts I do free labor.

I've been around SC's since I was 14 years old and back then you had two options for mods, shift kit, and exhaust. I've watched the aftermarket for these cars grow. I remember the fastest cars used to be in the 14 second range. Now we have 11 second SC's. So I am glad to see enthusiast clubs like SCCoA, TBU, miSC, TBSCEC, TCCoA, etc.. Without the clubs I'd have never bought 3 SC's, I'd probably have sold my first one by now and moved on to a stang gt or z28 or something.
 
as far as insurance goes, its gonna suck, but not neccesarily because of the SC.im 18 and my innsurance for my SC, under my parents policy with me as the primary driver on it is $15 a year less than I was paying for being a driver under my parent's policy with their 3 cars. around here the innsurance for an SC is the same as a V8 LX. Maybe its just allstate but i think thats not too shabby, would have been 300 more a year if i wanted a mustang or a trans am (which i checked on).
 
SickWhip said:
Whats up "NeedaSC"
wanted to insure me or not. I'm 20, with no accidents, or tickets (knock on wood), and I pay about $4200 a year ($348 a month) <---- and worth every cent.



Ah gotta love ontario's insurance rates.... killer arent they. You would be paying even more if you were the toronto area. I was 20 when i got my SC and my parents used to live there and when I got my SC thought of putting it under their name... would have been close to $5000 CAN!!

Instead I went with allstate here in FL and with the car and insurance in my name, I'm only paying about $90/month or 1100/yr US$ and thats with collision too.
 
I feel I should mention a few things about life with a SC...

1) Your friends will give you all kinds of hell about driving an "old mans car". They'll also allude to it being a land yacht. These are also the same friends that drive F350 Crew Cab duallies and curb the rear tire on every right turn. Go figure.

2) You want the 5spd. The auto is OK but sucks a lot of the fun out of the car. It always wants to be in a gear that too high so you end up crawling away from a near-stop, or corner, in Third. If you try to force a downshift with the throttle it takes like 3/4 throttle and you end up rocketing away like you're pissed off or something. Of course, if its a choice between an auto SC or no SC then the choice is obvious...

3) You don't want a black one. Trust me on this. Actually this goes for any black car. Keeping it clean and looking black, not sorta black with a grey film over it, requires a lot of work. You'll become VERY concious of windborne dust. Any one making a dust cloud will immediately set you off- "WHAT THE HELL!? I JUST SPENT 12 ****ING HOURS CLEANING THIS THING AND THIS ******* HAS NOT ONE GODDAMN THING BETTER TO DO THAN MAKE A ****ING DUST CLOUD?!! JESUS TAPDANCING CHRIST!" We don't even want to get started on door dings. All in all its better to just save the aggravation and get a silver one.

4) Everyone will hate the seats. The side bolsters are what I get the most complaints about. I didn't understand them myself at first until one day I snugged them up and went around a corner. I instantly undersood how important a seat that properly locates and supports you is for going around corners. Most people, especially women, do not appreciate this. As they are getting in they will invariably plant their butt right on the side bolster and complain about it.

5) Almost every part is different from the standard Thunderbird. Needless to say this increases parts costs and shrinks the supply of usable salvage parts. If you're at a parts store you can just about guarantee that the SC part is the more expensive one if there is a choice.

On a related note, the parts counter types seem to have a word filter installed when they are hired that filters out such furrin' words like "SuperCoupe", "XR7", and "Supercharged". All they seem to hear is "Thunderbird" and "3.8". About the only defense you have is to have the old part with you when you go to buy a new one. Unfortunately this doesn't work too well when calling ahead to see if they even have the part. You can tell them as many times as you like over the phone that it's an SC and they'll say the have the part you need. When you get there and the part is wrong they'll look you right in the eye and tell you that you never said anything about it being supercharged.

Thats about all that comes to mind at the moment. If I think of something else I'll let you know.
 
I think all of my friends have a good round of respect for the SC. I talk about them so much, as for anybody worrying abotu waht they like and dislike about my car...theyre not driving it so they can f*ck themselves,lol. Oh i have a black car right now....Pain in the *** to keep clean but its worth it. However im going to try to stray away from black and get white or silver for my SC. But we'll see.

thanks for all the replies
 
A couple of other thoughts occurred...

The brakes. Or rather the feel of the brakes. The SC uses a hydraulically assisted power brake system. This gives a firm pedal very much like manual brakes but with the reduced pedal effort of power brakes. When I get in a car that uses the conventional vacuum assisted brakes my first thought is YUCK!

These cars are deceptively fast. While they may not be all that quick down the 1/4, when you're driving them around you'll constantly find yourself going much faster than you intended. Also I've noticed that cruising at anything less than about 90 seems like you're crawling. This is a good thing in Texas but might be a little frustrating in Ohio depending on the terrain, and I understand that Ohio state troopers are a little strict.
 
LOL!!! rocketing away like yoyr'e pissed!:D Mr. Dean and his sense of humor is just another reason to own an SC ! The Sc has one of the strongest on line support groups of ANY car. If you can't get help with your car here,well your probably dead! i have seen guys offer to drive many miles to help a fellow SC'er out with a problem. if you don't work on cars,start looking now for a speed shop or independent mechanic cause as has been indicated above Ford is not much help! This might all sound scary but Iv'e owned many cars ( i'm over 30) and my SC has not caused me anymore problems than any other car . Just be sensible with the car (even though it will beg you to do otherwise) and it should treat you right. As far as insurance goes,I had a 87 mazda 323 that cost more than my SC:D It is a heavy car and probably will destroy most things you throw at it with you pretty safe inside so that's all good. And lastly when you do ask somebody for parts and go around in circles about which version of the thunderbird it is that you own,as you picture the person mounted on the hood of your car you realize " I'm special"
SC
special car
is that thick enough?

Good Luck!!!!!!
 
so are the brakes on the SC's good or bad......besides the fact that you probably have to get rotors and pads sooner than most cars(because of how heavy the car is).

thanks for all the info guys

thanks
walter
 
Also , does anyone know a reputable or good place to get an SC worked on up here near Ohio, i wouldnt mind ahving to drive a little.

thanks
walter
 
the beauty of superchargers

I bought my 89 XR7 last April, if im not mistaken. The individual I bought it from didnt tell me that he didnt replace the essential parts to the engine...bastard. Anyway, after screwing around with the car for about 8 months, well 5, i was deployed to Saudi, I managed to replace the fuel filter, plugs, plug wires, TPS, coil, and the DIS. Money is very tight if you have an SC in the military, thats why it took so long to get it fixed. I havent had a problem with it since.

Insurance on the other hand, is a pain for me. I have comprehensive coverage, in colorado, and its costing me $238 a month. when i had liability, it was about $160. oh yeah, and im 20. I told the insurance company that i had a 1989 Cougar, read them the VIN, and they go, "OOOHHH, thats the Supercharged model, isn't it?" DOH! Damn you GEICO, damn you to HELL!!

My friends werent too impressed with the car, because the Cougar does look like a Grandpa car. I let one of my friends use it when I went home to visit my folks, and my friend fell in love with it. Now hes trying to buy one for himself.:rolleyes:

They only problem that I really expirenced with it was, MONEY, thats it. The damn parts are soo expensive, I sometimes use the money that the government gives me for food, to buy stuff...I'm glad i have friends that will feed me for free:D

my .02, take it for what you will.
 
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