Find out how rare your car is...

Quickdraw,

The seats, door panels, and dash are red and black. The knob on the shifter is also red. Yes I do have chrome wheels.

Sophia

No I have had no battery problems to date. But then this car is a Sunday driver only. I have had it for six or seven months and I don't have 800 miles on it yet.

[Quickdraw]

JLB,
I think what Sophia is talking about, and I don’t know what the affected date range is, but a large number of Thunderbirds seem to have a dead battery problem. The car has several timers that turn off electrical equipment after a period of time to prevent battery drain. For instance the interior lights and trunk light shut off after about 15 minutes. It seems that the timer for the heated back glass in the hard top does not shut off and will drain the battery. I don’t know if the heated glass in the soft top is the same timer or not but sometime before the warranty runs out I plan to test mine by putting the hard top on, turning the back glass heater on and then removing the keys to see if the battery drains over the next several days.

Yes, you certainly do have the Premium model if you have the chrome wheels.

[2FAST4U]

Quickdraw, My T-Bird is an "02, blue with removable hardtop, full blue interior accent, with premium chrome wheels...( Now, the only three things that were missing on this particular car, were the heated seats, supplemental parking lamps which I had installed, and the premium chrome wheels...I bought some brand new wheels, and put them on myself. It had the standard grey painted wheels on it when it came out of the factory ).I don't know if you consider this as being an "original, factory installed" option?? ...although they're the correct 2002 optional premium chrome wheels for this car...It could change the "number produced" category in which my car would be... What about the parking lamps also?...I dunno...You tell me what you think about this please...Serial # 120648

Thank you for the info, Quickdraw...

Claude.

[Quickdraw]

2fast,

Canadians didn’t have the Premium model with the chrome wheels available. I think all Canada bound cars were deluxe and did not have the chrome wheels and also did not have the supplemental lights. I have to believe yours is a Deluxe model and if you have the blue top yours is one of 454 made. No 2002s, US or Canadian, had the heated seats. The supplemental lights were a no cost option for the US market and were not available at all on Canadian bound cars.

The reason the lights were a free option is if they were included as standard equipment the repair costs during crash tests put it over the acceptable repair cost threshold. By making them optional (but free) they got around this technicality. That Canadian cars did not have the lights available must also be for some legal reason.

EDIT: 2fast, do you have the original window sticker? See if it has an "Order Code" - it should be 100A, 110A, 120A or 130A.

[2FAST4U]

Quickdraw, I do have the original window sticker, but nowhere on it do I see an "order code" or a number ressembling "100A, 110A, etc...) Is there another detail that I could give you to help you?...One thing I already knew, is that you are right about the chrome wheels and the supplemental lights not being offered in Canada. I had to order the lights from the parts department, along with the wiring harness for them, and they were really simple to install. The same goes for the chrome wheels.
Now, I still don't know how you would "classify" my car because of the missing options that were added, even if they are genuine, brand new Ford parts... Can it be considered as being "original equipement" for my car ? In reality,I took a "Deluxe" model, and turned it into a "Premium" model!...If you can clarify this question for me, I would appreciate... Thanks!
'bye, Claude.

P.S: I did not know that heated seats were not offered in '02 though...Thanks for this info! So now, it means that I have each and every option available in 2002, right?...Am I missing something?...
Thanks!, Claude

[Quickdraw]

2FAST4U,

No, I personally wouldn’t consider anything you did to the car after it left the factory to be “original equipment” but who else would know? These numbers I give out are how many cars left the factory in a specific configuration. For example my 2002 premium blue/blue top/black accent interior is one of 840 that left the factory like that. But there were only 62 premium 2002 blue Thunderbirds with the black accent that left the factory without a top at all. So if I sold my top, would you consider mine be one of 840 or one of 62? Since no one knows what happens to cars after they leave the factory no one can tell how rare it is any more. I would have to think your car now is one of only a handful, a good chance even one of a kind. You got the best model Thunderbird available to you and made it better. It seems your car now is better and more rare than even the US built premiums as the engine block heater came standard with yours and it was an option that VERY few U.S. customers bought.

EDIT: Claude, to answer your original question, yes, I would consider yours to be a Premium.

[2FAST4U]

Thank you very much Quickdraw!..I appreciate that you took the time for me!.
The only things not original on my car that are aftermarket are the fender skirts I added, and the chrome hood scoop bezel I got from my Ford dealer....I wanted the skirts because I loved the look they give to the car, and the original '56 Thunderbird had them...I always wondered how come Ford never thought of offering them as an option??????

I would like to post a few pictures of it for those interested in seeing it, but I don't know how......Somebody help!!!
However, if you want to see how my Thunderbird looks like now, it'll be my pleasure to e-mail you, and everyone interested a few pictures! Just let me know!

Again, Thanks!,
'bye! Claude.

[Quickdraw]

Claude,
You can post one photo per message using the "Attach File" at the bottom of the post message page.

Check your PM's I sent you my email address, yes please send me photos of your car.

[2FAST4U]

Quickdraw, I tried to e-mail you a few pictures, but they keep coming back as being "undelivered", or undeliverable...??? Are you sure your e-mail address is spelled correctly?, or could your mail box be full?...or is your e-mail box set to reject incoming e-mails from an unknown source, like some sort of anti-virus??
Let me know, as I don't know what to do now...
Claude

[Quickdraw]

Claude,
no you shouldn't be getting rejected from MSN... I sent you an email - just reply to that and attach your photos. Or PM me your email address....

[Quickdraw]

Claude. if you still can't get through to me make your subject line "Toys for adults" or "New Male Enlargement Technique Discovered"

I *KNOW* none of that garbage gets filtered out…

[2FAST4U]

Quickdraw..I finally found why my e-mails did not get to you...The underscore in your e-mail address was hidden because your whole address was underlined!... Now, you should receive it!
'bye!
Claude

[Bimota Guy]

Quick, Gray '03 with black interior.

TIA...

[Quickdraw]

Bimota Guy,

If you have a grey hardtop premium with the standard black interior it's one of 247. If you have the optional Black Accent interior it is the most popular of all combinations for 2003 with 1,421 made. One out of every ten 2003s made were Grey/Grey/Black Accent Premiums.

If you have a deluxe or something other that a Grey hardtop please advise.

Quick mine is a 2002 premium red/red with std interior. And it's perfect so far.