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Glad I'm the 1st!
Well while I'm back, I'll tell you a little about my Ol' Bird.
She is one of the early build '72s. Her build date is 07/71. She is loaded to the gills with everything and then some. She is the next best thing to a Lincoln MkIV. Green leather interior, still looking good after nearly 30yrs I might add. Tilt wheel, auto climate control, cruise (took it off) and power everything!
I am the second owner of the car. This is no lie, I bought it from a lil' ole lady in NC. She bought it new in late '71. She was blind and she lost her license in '93 after wrinkling the quater panels for the second time in a month. The car set up in a barn for at least 2 years, I heard about it from a friend that was going to buy it himself. We looked at it and I fell in love. He declined and I picked it up for a cool $1000.
When I bought the car, all I had to do was drain the old gas, drop in a new battery, spray the carb down with cleaner and prime it, then bleed the brakes. A thorough look over the rest of the car showed she was sound. I turned the key and 429 cubes of Ford muscle rumble the garage doors nearly off. (The muffler had rusted away. Had the original Ford stamp on it though) I drove her around for about 2 yrs as she was. Save for some new tires and some upgrades.
I got the urge for more dependability on the cold early morning starts. I dropped in a Pertronix and an Electronic cap and base conversion. Then it escalated from there. Hotter coil, better wires, bigger carb, new intake you name it. Well as you can guess she has evolved from the early '70s luxo liner, to a real street sleeper. She nows hides a brutal '71 429 Police Interceptor under the hood with a Ramair Box system plus K&N filter, Weiand Stealth intake, Edelbrock EPS 800 carb, ported/polished cyl heads w/ 2.19 int-1.76 exh valves. Port polish was done at home between work, wife and kids. Degreed distributor, Pertronix Ignitor II and an Accel 300+ Racing Ignition and wires. All this is dumped into 3in pipes flowing from the Hooker Super Comps into Flowtech Afterburner Mufflers. The C6 (E4OD is in the works) has been beefed with a shift kit and TCI converter. The 9in with 3.23 limited slip is from the Police car I got the engine from. She also sports disc brakes on all for corners along with the big 16 in rims and low pro tires. The front and rear have been given the full poly bushing treatment. So with all that and the oversize sway bars, she really handles the curves and stops on a dime.
As she sits now you would never know she was a Sunday morning go to church grocery getter. Gone is the awful vinyl top ( Dk Green Gator Skin) and the body side moldings and emblems have been shaved. She is a clean '95 Nissan Midnight Metallic Green. (She was cat pi#$ green) I love my big ol girl. She is affectionately called the Hooptie around here.! I hope to hear about all of the birds you guys have and I hope you share the same enthusiasm as I do.
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Any '72 and later Bird owners out there?
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