1980s Assembly Line Magic: How the Ford Thunderbird & Mercury Cougar Came to Life
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- The 1983-1988 Ford Thunderbird was a major shift for the iconic car, ditching its boxy design for a sleek and aerodynamic look. Designed by Jack Telnack, it wasn't universally loved. Some praised its modern, fuel-efficient design, while others felt it lacked the power and presence of earlier Thunderbirds. The 1983 base price was $14,118, which translates to roughly $60,384 in today's dollars adjusted for inflation. Initially, reception was mixed. Some admired the new look, but others felt it was too small and underpowered compared to previous models.
The 1983-1988 Mercury Cougar shared the same platform and design language as the Ford Thunderbird, but with a more luxurious feel. Both were designed by Jack Telnack. While the Thunderbird's reception was lukewarm, the Cougar, priced slightly lower (around $13,500 in 1983 - equivalent to $57,730 in 2024), was seen as the slightly more affordable and stylish option. This strategy paid off, with the Cougar actually outselling the Thunderbird during this period.
Interesting fact: Designer Jack Telnack is best known for the groundbreaking 1986 Taurus, a revolutionary aero-look car that became the best selling car in America.
If you had a choice, which one would you pick? Let us know why in the comments.
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I purchased a brand new 1986 T-Bird Turbo Coupe. Black with red interior and a 5spd. To this day the styling of the car looks fresh to me. I still think that they were great looking cars.
My dad bought the same one I can remember him picking me up in that car when I was 5, I was blown away by that car...it was the first car i ever encountered with automatic temperature control
Can’t believe that they were still putting in drivetrains from the top, and within seconds lining up to the motor mount holes
I had an 84 Mercury Cougar XR7 with a 2.3 Turbo 4 and a 5-speed manual. It was fast (for the time) and got my 1st speeding ticket in it. It had leather seats and a motorized auto dimming rear view mirror. I later bought an 86 T-Bird with a 3.8 V6. Both were very good cars. I wish I kept that Cougar XR7. I miss the personal luxury cars of that era including the Lincoln Mark VII and even GM’s Monte Carlo, Cutlass Supreme, Grand Prix, etc. Tired of today’s SUVs already.
I bought new 1986 T.B. It was two tone, taupe/burgundy, stunning looking always garage, had it for over twenty years and put 158K miles on it, had the 302 5.0 never had any engine or transmission issues. Great road and quiet, only issue that sticks out was the bulb in the digital dash speedometer having to replace it a few times. My wife named it "Rose Thunder" Know what they say happy wife happy life, naming autos was her enjoyment. Best car I ever owned, Good You Ford!
Owned a 1984 Merc Couger. It and it's sister the Thunderbird, were 2 of the best-looking cars of the 80's.
Just an FYI, there is no E in COUGAR.
Fiero GT best looking.
I'll agree with that. I have had four 85/86 Thunderbirds, and I still have one of the 85s.
Yes
I miss those fox bodies. Thunderbird, Cougar, Granada, Futura, Mustang parts were all interchangeable. You could have built yourself a Mustang Station Wagon if you wanted to. It was easy.
Man, they don't build cars like that anymore!!
Thank God for that!
@@jmc6000 you ain’t kidding - though most of the differences I see here versus auto assembly plants today is the ergonomics. Much more use of lift assist devices; far less bending over.
I always thought this generation of the T-Bird/Cougar was very well-engineered and well-assembled. A friend had an '86 Cougar (new) and had no problems with it. Fit and finish was very good. Doors swung easy and latched easily unlike the GM G-bodies with sagging doors that required a linebacker to pull closed on the first try.
This assembly line footage appears to be from 1985.
Later Thunderbird emblem and tail lights but without the rear window mounted 3rd brake light mandated for 1986.
The T-Bird was raced extensively in NASCAR in part due to its more aerodynamic profile.
Agree, probably 1985 model year. The cougar symbol near the rear windows appears to be the lighted version. 1983 & 84 had the chrome silhouette style, if I recall correctly.
Yes, 1985. First year of that snazzy dark blue non-metallic paint color 3U (Midnight Regatta Blue)
15:05
Correct, and likely at the Lorain, OH plant which operated from 1958 to 2005.
Bill Elliot ran & won with a T- Bird
Looks at these engines! 😅 And no automation/robots at all! Also, all I can think about watching this is the movie Gung Ho, with Michael Keaton..!
Mr Mom with Michael Keaton (pretty sure he worked for Ford in that movie).
Thanks for filming. These here employees are making this job look easy.
I just went and pulled out the original window sticker for my 1983 Thunderbird. I had ordered it new. Had it for 8 years and drove 122,000 miles.
Base price. $9197.
Clear coat metallic $152.
Bumper rub strip. $5. ?
Air conditioning. $757. ?
AM/FM stereo. $105
Side moldings $57
Tinted glass. $105
Hood and trunk pinstripe $71
? The 5 in these numbers are difficult to read. I could be reading it wrong.
Total $10,480
Destination charge $430
Total before tax and license
$10,912.
Seventy five dollars for a hood pinstripe, while the rubstrip is just five dollars? Not challenging your numbers, but that sounds crazy from an economics standpoint. Usually the pinstripe is nothing more than vinyl tape, while the rubstrip is a manufactured chrome and rubber piece. Seems to me the rubstrip would be a lot more expensive.
@@houseofno
The pin strips were paint on my T-bird.
The old window sticker is a little hard to read after 41 years. The bumper rib strip was all part of the mounded bumper. Not even sure why they charged extra.
As the years past the MFGs made most of those features standard equipment & created “Option Groups” A,B,C, just A more clever Way to Screw & confuse you and then you have your Limited or Special Edition models that came very well equipped and you could still add some options from Package Group 1a, or 1b, well you get the picture years ago in another time & space Contium called the 1970s where things were more affordable & more simplistic you could sit down with the Sales Associate in his stuffy little office with the sliding glass door and go threw big note books with the option codes and he/she would explain All these features & check off the appropriate boxes and oh by the way we were told back then and even today when you order a new vehicle / via this method it is going to cost you more money then selecting from dealer inventory then they take this tin or aluminum plate with the dealership info & all your info and slide it in this key punch thing and he punches in all the option codes you so desperately wanted and at this point you better be sure because this is not an easy task and the disposition of Lady/Gentlemen can change fast & not for the better LOL that’s why my Parents were advised by the general manager when he came in the cubicle to approve the sale he was very procurious as to why are you folks trying to by a new station wagon this way we have Four sitting out back that are well equipped And have the H.D. Towing package which by the way is a very expensive option because of the features and oh by the way are you really sure you need the heavy trailer tow package because you are not going to retain the famous Ford LTD luxury car ride your car is now going to ride & handle like this F- 150 parked out here so you need to really consider that And I’m going to need to see some more deposit cash because if we get stuck with this Super Country Squire and can’t move it for a long time it’s bad for us but I’m concerned for you too Mister & Mrs Wilson are you honestly wanting this car because people just don’t order & buy this way your complicating the process and costing your self more money and don’t get me wrong I want your business but I want you folks to be happy again let me understand you that you really have to have “everything “ and a specific color so the colors I have out there now you do not like May I ask why my mom told him he laughed & said ok got ya he came back about 20 minutes later smileing and said ok you know what I want to see you happy I just made a discovery I don’t know if your aware we are a partner with a Lincoln / Mercury dealer just 10 minutes up the street I just talked my Basketball buddy & he says they have a new 74 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park fully equipped ‘ then some 460 engine trailer towing package even a Vynyl roof super soft leather dual power lounge seats gorgeous Ginger copper metallic two tone interior Dark brown & ginger but it is new but it is a 1974 Demo that the owner has been driving it has 3400 miles which would be pro rated back To you plastic still on the seats you are going to love this car trust me I will tell him your on the way because it is a 74 demo you are going to get such a great deal on this car I could have done deal like this for you on the 1974 Squire demo we have but you said you wanted the new style 75 because of the concealed head lights the 74 LTD don’t but the 74 Colony Park does have headlight doors and the Demo sale price now if you go over there and try to negotiate a 1975 it’s not going to happen so since this got so long I will tell you that neither deal happened and latter that year we did get new 75 LTD Country Squire fully equipped minus the HD Class 4 towing package & minus Vynyl roof
My Dad really dealt on this one but with state Sales Tax & some other fees it was 5 figures past $10,000 which was rare for one of these in those days until 1976 when entry level LTD wagons well equipped surpassed $ 5 figures oh well!! You have to pay for your pleasures
Back then, they used paint for the pinstripes. My 85 Thunderbird still wears its original paint stripes from the factory.
My dad owned a 1984 Turbo Coupe T-Bird in red. Had the ugly factory metric wheels still on the vehicle when he owned it back in 1994-1995. I loved going for rides in that car when I was little. Wasn't fast in today's terms, but sure felt like it back then.
This has to be the Lorain Ohio Assembly plant. Four million square feet that is today mostly empty. Proud owner of 1969, 1974, 1977, 1986, 1989, and 1996 Cougars.
Wow that’s awesome!!!!!
You are one lucky person. I am a huge huge Thunderbird and Cougat fan.
Amazing how that guy at 3:05 dropped that engine in through the top of the car with the hood still attached with such ease. I've tried that many times and it is a big struggle, lots of bad words and skinned knuckles. And that missing 10 mm socket...
The best is when you purchase another 10mm socket, then find the missing one in the corner of the garage.
Practice makes perfect.
Well they have a special contraption of it, it’s nearly impossible with a basic shop crane.
Keep in mind, that the car was moving forward while they dropped the engine into it, plus the guy in the pit pulling it in, hard to do trying to move forward a rickety engine crane without a pit guy.
Good ol’ UAW at work right there.
Aero-birds were smooth, quiet and well made cars, especially with the digital dash and 5 liter V8, sweet! i wonder what assembly plant this is?
I had an '86 Cougar and I believe they were built in Loraine, Ohio.
Lorain assembly Lorain Ohio.
These are 1986 Thunderbirds and Cougars! Reason I know is because of that newer modern dashboard style, which was rounder and styled to look like the Taurus and Sables. 83-85 had that old squared off dash which never matched these cars and was a crummy carryover from the ugly previous bodystyle 1980-82 models. When the 83-86 came out it was the first new modern looking car of this era, which was soon followed by the Tempo and Taurus soon afterward. I always liked these T- Birds especially the 86 because of the newer dash and better engine options that were fuel injected finally! 1987 and 1988 got a face-lift then 1989 seen a total redesign that lasted basically till 1993 and was updated in 94-97 till was discontinued finally. 02-06 was final gen which seen the Thunderbirds go retro styled. Hopefully Ford brings them back again one day!
85s received the new dash. The 83-84 used the holdover dash from the previous generation as Ford was cash strapped and wanted to make sure the cars were going to be a success before investing in the tooling for a new dash.
@robmcdevitt4107 wow something from 1985 that had styling from 1986. Weird that they'd give 85s the Taurus styled dash and interior
Still have my '86 I bought used in '92. Over 153k 5.0 auto on the column.
@12:06 - custom "fitting" the hood by bending it and hitting the hinges with a hammer. LOL
I can smell that new car smell from here
I still have an 84 T Bird. 16,000 miles 40 years later. Loaded with 5.0, digital dash. Awesome ride. Floats down the highway.
I have the same car does black with gray leather a line it was beautiful that thing was like the most wonderful car fast too first year for throttle body I think
Sadly 2 Door Coupes have gone the way of the dinosaurs let alone the complete Mercury division.
Mercury closed its doors after the 2011 model year. Most of these brands closed due to mismanagement in the brand's final years. AMC got bought out by Chrysler in 1987. Oldsmobile shuttered its doors in 2004. Pontiac, Saab, Hummer, and Saturn were shut down as part of GM's bailout agreement in 2009 (one could argue that one or more of these brands also being mismanaged would have contributed to GM seeking bailout money in the first place).
I’m not sure if the video description was written by ai or an actual human but the numbers are way off so here are the most accurate numbers I could find:
Base price:
T-Bird $ 9485
Cougar $ 9809
Production 83-88
T-Bird 885,745
Cougar 679,759
The Thunderbird outsold the Cougar every year of production, but that’s not too surprising considering the more limited Mercury dealer network.
All things considered these cars did quite well, better in fact than the 80-82 Fox body and the 89-97 MN-12 generation.
The best selling T-Birds/Cougars by far were the 77-79 generation, but there was no way they were ever going to be able to hit those numbers again in a declining segment.
Everyone is so thin
It's a shame that our children and grandchildren taste has evolved from beautiful cars and sedans to boring look a like suvs it seems like 99% of them are gray kia Sorentos
At 9:05 they ran out of sync needing an aluminum rim with a white wall tire. He places a matching aluminum rim with a black wall tire as the guy says "go ahead, roll with it"......"Ok, button that one up, we'll take it off" then at 10:12 he says "the only one we got..." and you can see as the camera pans down the side of the Thunderbird the whitewall tire on the front with the black wall tire on the back.
hilarious😅
That’s one big advantage with manual assembly is that you can find these mistakes immediately. With robots you “may” find these defects, but sometimes not and the cars are delivered with mis-matched components.
Very interesting, but you don't need the channel name in the middle of the screen!
It's called watermarking and it's a copyright protection tactic. Not sure if the copyright owner does this pre-emptively to prevent unauthorized sharing on other channels, but to me and apparently the rest of us, it's pretty unobtrusive. At any rate, it's THEIR content, and they have a legal right to protect their content.
This makes me miss the '85 Cougar I had. 5.0, white with blue interior.
All that hand assembled work gone today
Still have my dad's 1984 3.8 Cougar...49,000 miles. Now could register for antique plates...but won't.
I was a Ford Tech back then and worked on these new I worked for Rick Warner Ford in Salt Lake . You dont mention the Turbo T birds they had the intercooled 2.3 turbo charged engine with a manual five speed. It took a little for the boost to come on but they hauled ass for a four popper . I loved these cars and they were easy to work on and handled very nice I loved the five speed out the console . I do remember they had a recall on the ECM I replaced a lot of ECMs for the recall but I love these cars you take care of them they will last a long time and you can still get them cheap
There were multiple versions of the 2.3 turbo. The earliest version made around 130 hp from 1979 to 1981. That one had a problem with overheating and self destructing because Ford made the engineering mistake of mounting the turbo near the exhaust. Later versions moved the turbo to the cooler intake side, added fuel injection (first CFI then multiport injection) and intercooling added with the final versions. The final versions were making between 190 (late Turbo coupe) to 205 (SVO, which had to be dialed back to 200 so that the engine would run on non premium fuel - the T-birds had a switch allowing the driver to tell the computer if they were running premium or regular unleaded fuel). Despite the 2.3 turbo's amazing power output for its displacement, it was also pretty old, noisy and crude, and due to dating back to the Pinto and Mustang II days in the early 1970s was having trouble meeting newer fuel economy and emissions standards that were emerging. This engine survived in various forms in the Ford Ranger compact truck through the early 21st century.
@@houseofno Yes I worked alot on the Turbo Mustangs by memory seem to have had a lot of bad turbos we were always checking boost on them. I also test drove a SVO Mustang when it was new off the lot no those bastards screamed they flat hauled ass too wait a little for the boost to come on. I could tell you a funny story about my Mom and a new SVO we test drove but people dont like to talk anymore or carry on a conversation. I Loved the SVOs and the Turbo T birds and they handled really nice driving down the road
My uncle had a blue 85 t bird with the digital dash beautiful car
Funny nobody mentioned the “failure” at the last five seconds of the video being towed off the assembly line.
So wild to watch this then watch a modern day assembly video
Had a 85 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, Black, gray interior 5 speed trans, best car ever, with GTS headlight covers a front aftermarket ground effect and tinted windows Looked sweet! Wished I still had it!!
What happened to it?
Had four turbo coupes. Wish I had all of them back. Especially the 88. All 5- speeds.
Sad to think that a vast majority of the folks in this vid are long dead & gone with. 😕
Truly amazing watching everyone working in sync!
You mean all the people just walking around not producing a darn thing?
My Grandma had a 85' Mercury Cougar with the Bostonian edition, she loved it and got compliments everywhere she went.
I bought a 1986 Ford Thunderbird, 3.8 V6, sand beige with sand beige vinyl interior, brand new in July 1986 for $13,000 dollars. I kept the car for over ten years and put 175,000 miles on it before I sold it. It was the only Thunderbird of that year that I saw with vinyl interior. I believe it was a fleet car that somehow made it over to retail sales, it was a real odd ball. I really liked the car and miss it now. I can't believe that it was 38 years ago that I drove it off the lot.........
Vinyl interior was available, but quite rare. I've had two 85 and two 86 Thunderbirds all in cloth. My current 85 Elan has non power cloth seats. Even my base 86 had a power seat on the drivers side, and the other two had both driver and passenger power seats.
Beautiful video
I like both the Cougar & T - Bird as long as they both have the optional V 8 and are fully equipped with every available option and as for the Sable & Taurus I prefer the sable in station wagon form since there is no coupe with the largest V6 I could get
Actually for the first two years of the MN12 Thunderbird (the generation after these, produced from 1989 to 1997) you couldn't get a V8 because it wouldn't fit under the sharply raked nose. Customer outcry forced Ford engineers to find a way of shoehorning it in starting with the 1991 models. You couldn't get a V8 with the first year of the Mustang II in 1974, which soured a lot of enthusiasts on that car (with that vehicle, they did the opposite by lengthening the front fenders and hood to accommodate the 302).
Mercury Cougar was better.
What a cool video, I would have never imagined they installed the engines manually
Assembly back then was a lot more hands on. Most of that task is handled by a robot today.
FYI...These are 1985 TB's....I can tell by the grill, and it doesn't have the 3rd brake light on the deck (back window) ....1986 was the first year for that safety feature.
Many years ago early 2000s. I owned a white 1981 Mercury cougar. Oil burning six cylinder base model coupe . In a 1986 Mercury cougar 5.0 that sort of ran.. eventually both cars went to the junkyard
Man that's a hard job
Ford took the Aero route and had way nicer newer youthful looking designs unlike the old boring designs of gm and chrysler!
I got a Good Laugh when I saw them put the Dash in and bolt in place It took me three hours to pull the Dash out to do a Heater Core Replacement !
Your inflation numbers are wrong, In 40 years those numbers would've increased 210% aka the Thunderbird and Cougar starting around $43K in today's money. Which is still a ton.
I always liked the Turbo Coupes and the more cohesive look of the Thunderbird. I was never a fan of the inverted rear windows of the Cougar
I imagine that it helped to catch the designers at the right time. Years after the 1973 oil embargo raised the price of gasoline to unheard of levels, Ford designers continued their tone-deaf design philosophies right to the end of the decade. By 1980, Ford was losing around a billion dollars a year from their management miss-steps. The fact that Ford designer Jack Telnack didn't even like the car designs going out to the divisions spoke volumes about the culture at Ford at the time. Ford took a gamble on aero and it paid off immensely.
worker with no Monster drinks no Red bull no energy BS.
I worked at the Rouge engine assembly plant in the seventies & it was way more fast paced & stressful than this. The dashboard guy's seem pretty casual.
That what I thought too, it looks like a pretty chill assembly line. i’ve seen videos of the 79 Mustang production at the Rouge assembly at it looked insane (and having a few of those, the slopiness in the build quality shows, did you leave all that hardware under the carpet too ? Found a brand new wiper stalk, some candy wrappers, bolts, nuts, clips under the carpet of 79s.
Had no idea that Jeffrey Dahmer was an engine installer on these cars. Fascinating.
that's ate up
с такими патлаии и без....
I have a 1985 FILA Edition Thunderbird, Mine has 35, 141 miles with a V-6, a Total of 1617 were built in 1985 and only 337 with the V-6. And yes it still has the FILA bag with all the goodies such as FILA jacket, Towels, Headband wristbands.
The 1983-1988 was the 2nd best looking, especially the 1988.
The 1961-1963 is 3rd and 1964-1966 is 4th.
But nothing can come close to the ‘Baby’ Birds. 😀👍
The retro 2002-2005 was a disaster.😖👎
My wife had an 84 Mercury Cougar. Cream Yellow. The steering wheel controls melted and shorted out!
Always love seeing videos like this. Everytime I'd go to a junkyard I always thought about every car there was at this stage at one time. Would love to see a video like this on my 84' Dodge Daytona.
My first car was an 86 Cougar. Nice car, but very unreliable - anything that could break would break. But I fixed it all, and it taught me everything to know about car repair. I've been a fan of Toyota and Honda ever since though.
Funny i dont remember seeing a trademark symbol on the orginal
I've never seen anyone put an engine in a car with such ease and so quickly. I know this is hard repetitive work can't imagine I would want one of these cars if I built them all day I would be sick of looking at them.
These are 85 models. Very cool to see how these were made.
All these workers in the video are all probably dead or on permanent worker's compensation disability.
Thank goodness they don’t make cars like that today. So many old manual operations. It’s not surprising the quality was lacking. The awkward contortions of the pit workers and the manhandling of heavy components was a recipe for a bad fit. Then @ 12:00, the twisting of the hood to make it fit 😮
It's actually a pretty mixed bag. There's a level of craftsmanship associated with building a car by hand (which is why premium brands like Rolls Royce and Aston Martin still use it). The desire to become a volume car manufacturer has pushed productivity levels up, but there's also the cost in lower build quality associated with the reduced role of human beings.
Sad thing but all those cars eventually were on a recall and fords are famous for recalls.
Most those peaple are dead or in a nursing home and would be very shock to see the factory is gone
This is either 85 or 86 towards the end of the video they did a close-up of the t-bird emblem which changed a little bit in 85 the cars were identical from 83 to 86 but just some subtle differences in 85 they changed the dash and they changed the outside emblems of the thunderbird.
1986 got the new dash to match the Tauruses these are 86 models I'm certain in this video and are the year that is sought after because also that year they became fuel injected ditching old carbureted engines. These started better and all around drove much better from the 83-85s. 87-88 retained the 86 interior and engines but got a slight face-lift before the 89 redesign
@@MondayNightRAWsRKO2024-xk9ew I owned an 85 model mainly because Bill Elliott was chewing up NASCAR and it had the new dash in there. Matter of fact I had a digital dash. But it was upgraded in my 85 model.
@@markcrew3696 did it have a third brake light? Could be an 86 manufactured in later 85
I think the Cougar was more marketed towards women.
I wonder if any of these folks in this video are still working?
Do we have a film date on this video?
Is this Wixom Assembly plant?
It must not be a Monday. The workers are walking upright and not staggering.
Американские автомобили самые красивые❤
Nice video, but looking through the opaque "King Rose Archive" was very annoying.
Noted! We use a watermark because the videos are available to license. Thanks for your comment and thank you for watching.
What plant were these built at?
So the price hasn't changed (adjusted for inflation) but the standard of living , safety , quality etc. has skyrocketed.
get your name off the screen
Look at the thickness of those wavy lochs!! Great set of hair ❤❤❤
Fascinating video. Suffice it to say, things are a lot more automated now. Of all these jobs, I’d want to be the end of assembly line inspector, but even that job is becoming obsolete.
Computer controlled lasers have now pretty much eliminated that job too and pushed it further down the end of the line. The computer or robot controlled lasers can spot imperfections in the paint that would escape even the most experienced human eye. I don't favor the complete replacement of humans by robots, but for repetitive or hazardous work, I don't see it as replacing human jobs.
I've got an 84 Thunderbird with a 460 big block. It's a special edition. They only made 5. It goes 190 mph and quarter mile in 8 seconds. Completely stock from the factory.
Wow! Didn't know they did these one-offs. I am pretty sure Ford charged you a pretty penny for their trouble. Congrats! That's one of the last Ford platforms that such a huge engine would have fit under the hood without a riser.
Never Liked Those THUNDERBIRDS...DUM LOOKING...I HAD A..79 T Bird...That Car Looked 🆒 AND Bad on Gas...But I Liked It...!!!
On the plus side, this era was the Thunderbird and Cougar's highest selling era. They were also as aerodynamic as a barn door, the smogged powerplants could be outrun by a hamster on a treadmill, and the fuel mileage meant it would pass everything but a gas station. This was my first car and I don't miss it.
I find it interesting that one (or more) is not wearing a Ford hat (the company that butters their bread) instead they are wearing a UAW hat (the union that takes her money)
There were not Robots AND Quality #1
What assembly plant It Is ?
Here in México Ford Made three generations of T-birds AND Cougars at Cuatitlan assembly Ford plant , most of these Cars were V6 currently this assembly plant in México Made Electric Mustang mach e .
I would have liked WORK at Ford here in México , but always have been so hard ti get a place there