DailyTurismo

July 2 2021

What Is A Kondor? 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Kustom

DailyTurismo Classic 'Murica, Chevrolet, Ford, Kustom, Monte Carlo, Thunderbird 11

This next car comes as a tip from Cory who writes: over the top custom g body monte carlo- what is it?? That is a fabulous question, and one that the seller doesn’t really do a good job answering with a few lines of text and a total of 24 photos. The seller reports that a family is asking him to help sell their Dad’s uncompleted custom thing which is described as starting life as an ’87 Monte Carlo and now its been given a full Johnny Cash treatment with all manner of 59 T-Bird parts, Ford wheel caps, and whatever a “Continental Kit” is. I’m confused, but strangely attracted. Find this 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Kustom offered for $15,000 in Hartford, CT via craigslist.

June 30 2021

Low Miles, Medium Condition: 1985 Mercury Cougar

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 'Murica, Cougar, Mercury, Thunderbird 3

In 1983 Mercury introduced the sixth generation of their Cougar, which was at one point in time a restyled and Mercuried version of the Ford Mustang. Actually, by the mid 1980s, it might have lived on the Mustang’s Fox platform, but it was much closer in size and equipment to the Ford Thunderbird or Lincoln Continental. Today’s example is offered with an odometer that has only 23k miles on the 5-digit display, but it does have more road crust that you’d like to see in a low mile classic. Find this 1985 Mercury Cougar offered for $7,950 in Stanley, WI via Hemmings.

June 7 2021

A Supercharged Wild Cat: 1989 Mercury Cougar XR7

DailyTurismo Uncategorized 'Murica, Cougar, Mercury, Thunderbird, Turbo Coupe, XR-7, XR7 6

The Mercury Cougar started out way back in 1967 as an up-market version of the Ford Mustang. For its first two generations the Cougar was based on the Mustang, but then in 1974 it changed to a big Torino intermediate platform where it was a counterpart to the similarly plus sized Thunderbird. In 1980 the Cougar was switched to the compact Fox platform where it was a counterpart to the Thunderbird and Granada, but in 1989 it was switched to the MN12 platform where it got things the Fox didn’t have, like an independent rear suspension and available supercharged powertrains. A few years later the Cougar name was put on a front-wheel-drive thing that was based on the European Ford Mondeo, but we don’t want to talk about that. Find this 1989 Mercury Cougar XR7 offered for $12,000 in Merrimac, MA via craigslist. Tip from Cory.

March 30 2021

Running Project Car: 1965 Ford Thunderbird

DailyTurismo Classic 'Murica, Ford, Thunderbird 3

There are a few things that we can debate about cars, but there are a few givens that are unarguable. First is that the manual gearbox is better than the automatic. Next is that the lap belt is cooler (but less safe) than the shoulder belt. And thirdly, is that 1965 is the best year for automobiles. Ever. No caveats, no jokes, just the basic fact that cars in 1965 were better than older cars from before that year, and every car since 1965 have been uglier and less cool. Anyway, this next car is undeniably cool, even if you can’t see the outside in one photo, but just check out those gauges — that speedo! HOT! Find this 1965 Ford Thunderbird offered for $6,500 in Vallejo, CA via craigslist.

February 18 2021

The Square Bird Is Hip: 1960 Ford Thunderbird

DailyTurismo Classic 'Murica, Ford, survivor, Thunderbird 4

The second generation Ford Thunderbird (1958-1960) is a cool car. It was the first Thunderbird to get a rear seat — because Ford execs (a young Robert McNamara among them) felt it needed the extra passenger space and that it could still compete with Chevy’s Corvette. Welp…history has decided that they were wrong, because the Thunderbird was slowly boated into oblivion while the Corvette is a desirable classic and a new car showroom stunner to this day…but Ford sold 9 T-Birds for every 1 Corvette sold in the 1960 model year alone. With 200k T-Birds sold from 1958-1960 (versus 30k Vettes) you can figure the supply/demand thing out and you’ll find that the T-Bird is way cheaper on the open market today. Find this 1960 Ford Thunderbird offered for $7000 in Silsbee, TX via craigslist. Tip from Ramjet.

February 2 2021

Cemetery Find: 1930’s Ford Kit Car

DailyTurismo Antique 1935 Ford, Ford, Kit Car, Thunderbird 2

I’m no expert on selling cars…but I do know a thing or two, and one of them is that you should never stage your car to look like you’ve just dug it out from a grave. If you did unearth this thing in your yard, maybe consider pushing/pulling it a few feet into fresh dirt before taking pictures with your dirty thumbnail obscuring the ancient license plate…oh, wait, there is an old bench seat sitting next to a tarp that’ll do. Find this 1930’s Ford Kit Car based on a 1959 Thunderbird offered for $5500 in Covina, CA via craigslist.

November 30 2020

Turbo Couped: 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo

DailyTurismo Modern Classic Ford, Thunderbird, turbo, Turbo Coupe 2

When a car gets sent in as a tip, I always want to post it…because people send in good stuff and I’d post EVERYTHING I get tipped if I had the time…but when a car gets set into to the DT tips line by two different people…that is a different story, so here it goes. Find this 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo offered for $5,500 in Monterey, CA via craigslist. Tip from Jeff and Rock On!

September 3 2020

Turbo Bird: 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe

DailyTurismo Modern Classic 'Murica, Ford, Thunderbird, turbo, Turbo Coupe, Turbocharged 2

The Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe was introduced in 1983 on the ninth generation Thunderbird platform. Sure, you could get a 5.0 windsor V8 as an upgrade over the basic V6, but if you really wanted performance you needed to step up to the 2.3 liter Turbo-4. Selecting the Turbo Coupe added a standard 5-speed manual gearbox, limited slip differential, big 16-inch wheels and sporty analog gauges. Today a nice used example is cheap and fun. Find this 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe offered for $5000 in Danville, CA via craigslist.

September 2 2020

Big Block Brawler: 1974 Ford Thunderbird

DailyTurismo Malaise 'Murica, Big Block, Ford, Thunderbird, V8 3

Nobody is going to compare a ’74 Thunderbird to a ’74 Corvette…not in the same way that you could compare a ’57 T-bird to a ’57 Vette. But that didn’t upset the product planners at Ford because Ford sold almost two Thunderbirds for every Vette AND the T-bird cost more. That was because driving a racecar on the street is not that much fun (not that a ’74 Corvette would do well on a track) but cruising around with 5 of your friends in total comfort is rollicking fun. Find this 1974 Ford Thunderbird bidding for $5,200 with 1 day to go, located in Lodi, CA.

August 14 2020

Great Price Per Lb: 1965 Ford Thunderbird

DailyTurismo Classic 'Murica, Big Block, Classic, Ford, Thunderbird 1

The original Ford Thunderbird was launched in 1955 as a lithe two-seater convertible to compete with European imports and Chevy’s Corvette. The T-bird actually outsold the original Corvette by large numbers in the first few years, but Ford’s product planners thought they could do even better by adding rear seats and redesigning the Thunderbird for more comfort and less sportiness. By 1965 the Thunderbird was so bloated and comfort oriented that you would have cross shopped a Lincoln against the Vette, but that doesn’t mean a cheap used Thunderbird doesn’t have a spot in your classic car garage. Find this 1965 Ford Thunderbird offered for $3,100 in Port Charlotte, FL via craigslist. Tip from Dascpcu.

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