94 T-bird purchasing advice

[andy625]

Hi I am seriously considering buying a 4 T-bird, 4.6, 46k miles. It looks to be in ve y good cobdition and has just had a transmission rebuild. It has been imported to the UK (where I live), and is for sale by an american car specialist.

Can anyone tell me what the weak points of these cars are? Does it sound like a good deal? We don't have maby over here in rice-burner land.

Thanks,

Andy

[JR Tigerstar]

I would not buy it.
The '94/'95s 4.6L cylinder heads & intake manifold are the worst of any 4.6L engines
and thus more difficult to maintain and/or modify.

[97Bird]

Get the VIN number and then go to carfax.com to get info about the car. 46K is very low mileage. I'd be suspicious of that.

[CamaroSSBoy346]

Heh. For the average driver, the stock 94/95 4,6's arent too bad. I mean, theres not many V8 Thunderbird over in the UK. SO IF YOU WANT IT, GET IT. Just run a carfax report, and test out the transmission.

[stang805]

i just bought a 94 bird lx, v8, love it, its gettin a mustang gt engine soon but the way it is its certainly not a slouch, i'd say just check it over good to be sure of the condition, if its good go for it

[CamaroSSBoy346]

pfft.. they already have the Mustang GT engine..

Heres some info on the 4.6L..in a nutshell..
-Origionally introduced in the early 90's Lincoln Towncar (went virtually unnoticed)
-Introduced to the MN12 (Thunderbird/Cougar) chassis in 1994. Virtually no changes were made compared to the Lincoln Town Car
-Went unchanged in 1995
-1994-1995 4.6L Engines made 205 HP.
-Slight Intake revisions were made in 1996, thanks to a different intake (The intake plenum is "sideways" on the 96-97 and "foward" on the 94-95)
-The 97 Engine went virtually unchanged
-The 4.6L Only appeared in the Mustang GT in 1996
The 96-97 Thunderbird 4.6L Made 215 HP. Same as the 97-98 Mustang GT.

(The 94-95 4.6L couldnt be compared to a 94-95 Mustang GT, since they were still using the 5.0)

[JR Tigerstar]

Originally Posted by stang805

i just bought a 94 bird lx, v8, love it, its gettin a mustang gt engine soon ...

Presuming you're referring to the 2 valve SOHC 4.6L Mustang GT engines.
Consider using a '02-'04 Explorer 4.6L engine for your swap.
The Explorer engine blocks are aluminum compared to the Mustangs iron blocks.

Originally Posted by CamaroSSBoy346

pfft.. they already have the Mustang GT engine..
-The 4.6L Only appeared in the Mustang GT in 1996

'96 was the first year that the Mustang had the 4.6L engine not the only year.
The '94 4.6L SOHC engines are not the same as the Mustang GT 4.6L SOHC engines.
Close but not the same.
Very detailed info on Romeo and Windsor engine differences

[andy625]

OK, update on the buying dilemna....

Well I decided to buy the car (from 2nd hand dealer). Previous owner mentioned gearbox "rumble", but said that it'd ben fixed. Bill of £1200 mentioned. Great, I thought. Box has been rebuilt.

Driving car home yesterday from the garage, and the transmission (I think) does what I can best describe as a rumble/vibration every now and again, normally when it is about to change up, or down. It sounds like you are driving over a "rumble strip" in the road. It lasts for about a second or two, but you can get it to go for longer if you are careful.

Appart from that, the car drives really well. It has done a genuine 46000m.

Garage owner said that he'll get it fixed for me (for free). I know him quite well, and purchased my other car (87 Firebird) from him, so I'm sure he means it.

Can anyone tell me if this is a common problem with T-birds, and give me any idea what exactly it could be. ie electronics, throttle position, vacum or gearbox internal problem???? What gearbox exactly is it thats fitted to the 4.6LX's in 94?

Any help would be much appreciated. I don't really want to take the car back and get a different one. I figured I'm buying a legend, as they've been making them for 50yrs!!

Andy

[E-bird]

I had a 96 that developed a shudder(kind of like a rumble,but i could feel it) when shifting into and out of overdrive. It was still under warranty. they replaced the torque converter to fix it

Originally Posted by andy625

OK, update on the buying dilemna....

Well I decided to buy the car (from 2nd hand dealer). Previous owner mentioned gearbox "rumble", but said that it'd ben fixed. Bill of £1200 mentioned. Great, I thought. Box has been rebuilt.

Driving car home yesterday from the garage, and the transmission (I think) does what I can best describe as a rumble/vibration every now and again, normally when it is about to change up, or down. It sounds like you are driving over a "rumble strip" in the road. It lasts for about a second or two, but you can get it to go for longer if you are careful.

Appart from that, the car drives really well. It has done a genuine 46000m.

Garage owner said that he'll get it fixed for me (for free). I know him quite well, and purchased my other car (87 Firebird) from him, so I'm sure he means it.

Can anyone tell me if this is a common problem with T-birds, and give me any idea what exactly it could be. ie electronics, throttle position, vacum or gearbox internal problem???? What gearbox exactly is it thats fitted to the 4.6LX's in 94?

Any help would be much appreciated. I don't really want to take the car back and get a different one. I figured I'm buying a legend, as they've been making them for 50yrs!!

Andy