1990 Ford Thunderbird

Ford produced 104,602 examples of the Thunderbird in 1990. Few changes were needed, as the Thunderbird had been redesigned the prior year, beginning the Tenth Generation of the Thunderbird which continued through 1997. Developed on Ford's MN12 (Mid-Size North American Project 12) platform, which had been in development since 1984, the Thunderbird rested on a nine-inch longer wheelbase platform than the previous generation Thunderbird. It received a four-wheel independent suspension, with short-and-long arms (SLA) and a spring strut assembly in the front and multiple links in the rear. For the first time in the Thunderbird's history, the engine lineup did not include a V8 option, instead offering two different versions of Ford's 3.8-liter Essex overhead valve V6. The naturally aspirated version developed 140 horsepower while the high-performance Super Coupe (SC) used a supercharged and intercooled version delivering 210 hp. The naturally aspirated version was backed by an AOD 4-speed automatic transmission and optional on the Super Coupe which came standard with an M5R2 5-speed unit (a Mazda-derived manual gearbox). Vehicles equipped with the supercharged V6 received upgrades throughout the vehicle to cope with the additional power. The engine block and heads were modified to improve coolant flow, the billet roller cam received a unique profile, the pistons were built from stronger hypereutectic alloy, and the crankshaft was upgraded to a fully counterweighted forged unit. It used an Eaton M90 Roots-style supercharger positioned atop the intake manifold delivering 12 psi of additional boost under hard acceleration.

Two new option packages became available in 1990, the Power Equipment and Luxury Groups. Engine and transmission configurations remained unchanged. Pricing for the Thunderbird began at $15,070 for the base model and rose to over $20,000 for the Super Coupe.

The V8 engine returned to the Thunderbird lineup in 1991. The last tenth generation Thunderbird was built in Lorain, Ohio on September 4th of 1997. The Thunderbird name remained dormant for the next five years before a completely new version was introduced in 2002 as a two-passenger convertible/removable hardtop configuration similar to the first-generation Thunderbird.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2013