New Bird Owner

[austx]

Just bought an '05 Blk / Blk. It was an Avis car in LA for it's first 9k miles then a daily driver here in Austin, TX. 39K miles, but well cared for, garaged and "lady" driven. I have the build sheet and original invoice and all of the maint. records. Attempting to get the window sticker from Ford. I don't have a hard top (program cars didn't come with one) but I located an unused top at a dealer about 200 miles away. It's an '02, asking price $1500 - wonder if it's okay for my '05? Any differences? Curious about the spec codes on the original invoice - the interior is shown as "BW Black Ink Accent" but my steering wheel and shift handle are all leather - no black paint. Any ideas?

[texasbird]

Re: New Bird Owner

Congrats on the purchase, Tom, and welcome to TBN. There should be no problem with the "02 top fitting your '05. The price sounds like it's in the ballpark of others available, and you might find a TBN member or 2 to relay it to you, instead of shipping. If it's in the Dallas area let me know and I might be able to assist.

TBN members 5bird7 (Dot Lang) and quickdraw (Harry) helped me acquire a copy of the window sticker. They may not be able to produce them any longer, but they might know who to contact.

Good luck and keep in touch.

James

[Leroy]

Re: New Bird Owner

austx, Welcome to TBN. The 02 top will fit, and if it's in mint condition with the stand, cover, and installation tool, it's worth it. You might find one cheaper but not that much? If you're getting the top from a Ford dealer they should put it on the car for you and explain how it's done. It's not hard but it does take two people. Does the car have the extended warranty? If not you might think about getting one if you can. You came to the right place to get your questions answered. Leroy

[5bird7]

Re: New Bird Owner

Hi Tom,
Welcome to TBN!

By the time 05 came around, I dont' think those entering the data codes for the window stickers at Ford knew the difference between the Black accent and the standard black interior. I noticed that anomally on a number of 04 and 05 Window stickers with the blk accent listed - that the interior didn't match the window sticker.

Just curious, what does your build sheet look like? Can you post a scan of it? Reason I ask is that build sheets weren't in the T-birds - I only know of two and both were obtained at the factory - 1 when the car was being built and the other when they went in for a repair their dealer couldn't do.

However, there was a post some time ago about how to obtain a sheet from Ford that listed the options, etc... for a particular car.

[5bird7]

Re: New Bird Owner

This is what Quickdraw has to say about getting a window sticker for your car:

The data to reproduce the window stickers is held at Ford, not the dealer.... the data to reproduce the sticker is available for 10 years... any dealer can contact his source at Ford for duplicate stickers (or give YOU their contact info) - if they can't do one for a 2005 then they can certainly direct you to the people who archive this info....

Extremely few people have had luck going thru their dealer to obtain a duplicate copy of the window sticker but it never hurts to try.

I will also add this - the style of paper Ford uses now to produce window stickers is larger by an inch each way so will not exactly match the original style used for the Thunderbird. Ford changed to the larger size in July 2007.

[redbirdsal]

Re: New Bird Owner

-

Hi Tom! Welcome to the Texas Chapter of TBN!

We're hearing from quite a few Austin members lately. I hope our Austin area owners will get together in the near future. The current questions about installation of the hardtop could make it happen.
Why don't y'all choose a time, and a place to meet and learn how to do it?
Jimmy has already offered...it doesn't have to be anyplace special. A Sonic or anywhere that has plenty of room would work!

Post it here, and see how many members show up.
I have some Austin area member email addresses if you need a little help.
_

[redbirdsal]

Re: New Bird Owner

Just bought an '05 Blk.,,don't have a hard top (program cars didn't come with one) but I located an unused top at a dealer about 200 miles away. It's an '02, asking price $1500 - wonder if it's okay for my '05? Any differences?

Yes, as James said, the '02 hardtop will fit your '05.
There may be a little adjustment necessary to make it fit better, but we can tell you how to do that. It's not difficult. As Dot mentioned, you will need a tool, but it can be a generic found at Sears, if the top doesn't come with one.

There's only one difference in the top, the black headliner is a slightly different shade. But there are so many slightly different shades of black in your cabin, you won't notice.

[FritsB]

Re: New Bird Owner

Welcome to TBN Tom.

[redbirdman]

Re: New Bird Owner

Welcome to the nest Tom.Austin is a great town.Hope you enjoy those Texas sunsets in your tbird.I'm a texan by marriage

[Tbirddave]

Re: New Bird Owner

Austx Tom, Welcome to the Nest. I'm right down the road from you..Check eBay for a top, 3 or 4 listed right now.

[DKest3963]

Re: New Bird Owner

Welcome to TBN Tom. We also live in Austin--South of the river. Have 2Birds 2003 red/Red and 2005 Cashmere LTD ED. I am a new member also and this group seems always willing to help out and find a solution to problems.
Dot 5Bird7 helped me get a top(white) from Vegas this past fall. I too E mailed that dealer about the blue top ,but got no results. Glad you found out about it.

Dennis

[BirdWingsToo]

Re: New Bird Owner

...
There's only one difference in the top, the black headliner is a slightly different shade. But there are so many slightly different shades of black in your cabin, you won't notice.

I wonder if the plastic bits on the top may also differ in color? The black interior shades were slightly different, no? "Midnight Black" for the 02, "Black Ink" (somewhat darker) for 03 - 05. Always keeping in mind that I'm no expert.

[MintTbird]

Re: New Bird Owner

its not that much of a difference... i had an on top on my car for a relay and the difference wasent enough to notice unless you looked for it. btw i have a mountain shadow grey top available and they look stunning on thet-bird.... look in Leroy's gallery to she his set up.