1979 thunderbird performance12/24/2023 People tell me all the time that I could never have gotten that car to go that fast. Don't listen the the idiotic Chevy freaks that think no Ford can go over 100. These cars can be made to move very fast without too much difficulty. I could get mine up to 140 with 4 people in the car and the windows open without a problem. That means you have serious trouble under the hood that needs attention. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was offered variously as a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat. Under 100 is a very bad thing, especially for that car. The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car manufactured and marketed by Ford from model years 1955-2005 (with a 1997-2002 hiatus), across 11 generations. This is important because I have found that VERY few mechanics are experienced in aligning the big old fisher bodies like the late 70's Thunderbirds. Not to mention a loss of power to the road.Īfter you do all of the suspension work, get it aligned by a VERY REPUTABLE shop. Otherwise the car will shake, shimmy, and wonder all over the place. It is very important that you have a tight front end and back end if you want to go fast. Get new front end parts and stick with the techiest bushings and joints (polyurethane). Then rebuild your front end (this is important). Make sure you have the rear sway bar still. New U-joints, bushings, springs, shocks, 4.11 gears (this is the best match) and a good differential that can take a lot of abuse. Get a FMX transmission from a '77 to '79 302 Thunderbird all of those have a split gear set in them. Then get your heads done at a shop, shaved and ported. Get a 390 stroker kit and overbore the cylinders. All 1979 Ford Thunderbird repair parts on offer are designed to provide high quality, performance, and long-lasting service life at an economical price. I would start by rebuilding a 302 for it, and make SURE the engine was cast in Mexico. Drive one for a while and you will see what I mean.Īfter 360k, this car is very sturdy and has NO rattles - a very well built compliment to the Ford Motor Company. I think that these cars are close to the perfection of styling, and well thought-out body design. I had to fight the state to get the title for it. I got this car for $500 at the bone yard I used to work for. I love the thrill of driving such a big car, with such a long hood. Our goal is to help you cool your specialty vehicle in a more informed way with parts specially designed for street rods, sport trucks and performance cars. The engine has been modified, obviously.Īlthough it doesn't look it, these cars are curiously aerodynamic. I am rebuilding it now with a manual drag tranny and all Detroit rear end. The fastest I ever had it was, believe it, 168.7 MPH. Gas tank and engine were both OK still are. When I got the car it had bad brakes, tie rods and U-joints. The fuel pump and all the fuel lines froze one winter, and I had to replace all of that. I blew the alternator with a hefty stereo. I destroyed the rear differential (tore 1 1/2 inches into the rotary differential housing. I blew the tranny it came with which was a FMX 3 speed with split gear set. With this information fresh in mind it’s time to call your Wilwood Distributor or Wilwood directly and talk to a knowledgeable technician who can help to get just the brakes you want and make sure it will fit.Currently I am rebuilding the many times rebuilt tank of a car I have dubbed 'Albatross'. Pay special attention to what your wheel choice will be and be sure to review the installation pdf. Then you can drill down to the detailed information page for the brake kits that you feel will fulfill your requirements. What we recommend is that you select the applicable wheel size below and review the available options. So how does one figure out what system you want for your car. For this same vehicle we have brakes designed specifically for drag racing and road racing including kits that fit stock suspension or various aftermarket suspensions and aftermarket rears. We also have brakes that use huge 14 inch rotors and require use of an 18 inch or larger wheels. For many of these cars we have many options, for example Wilwood has disc brake conversion kits that will simply convert a completely stock vehicle to disc brakes, fit in stock appearing 14 inch wheels and requires no modification to the vehicle. Wilwood manufactures brakes for most popular muscle cars, street rods, after market suspension systems, and many current high performance vehicles.
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