Plastic Wood Trim

[bronzebird]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Here it is in a nutshell:if you are interested in preserving maximum resale value together with the originality of the design--leave the interior stock. If you want it to stand out, Leroy is right. Keep it clean and polished. The next owner does not want the car better than Ford made it--he or she wants it exactly like Ford made it!

The difference is..... Did you buy your car as an investment or to make it a part of your life and enjoy it as you wish?

If the former, then by all means do nothing to change it.

If the latter, then don't be afraid to make it your own.

Bronzebird

[Sealy]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Ford put a rather boring interrior on our cars in basic black because it was cheap.

At least on some of them they made an effort - black, light sand, and bronze accent panels. I won't change what is part of a "package" - but if my Bird had the standard all black inside, I'd be looking at dress up. Well, actually, I passed up several all black insides - so I guess I wouldn't be looking for dress ups.

[2FAST4U]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Charles
Here is another thought. Take the wooden dash kit off and install the
Marblized kit which is grey and black on the dash. It blends very well with the car and would look like OEM factory installed. Several people have this installed on their cars and there are pics of one of our TBN ers in Canada that has it installed on his 02
Turq and black interrior like yours. It looks very tasteful and orginal. Lou

That "TBN er" in Canada...it's me!

As I have said before, these dash kits are junk and will only devalue the car. Leroy

Leroy, that's YOUR opinion...but not necessarily everyone's...

It is alright to be a purist and want to keep your car orginal, however
it is not appropriate to critize those that modify their birds.
Lou

EXACTLY!

Look at Pics of Claudes car (in Canada) you will not see a more beautiful
tastefully done highly modified turq 02 bird or look at Borla Babes 02,
the kit really gave her interrior some pop.
Lou

Thanks for your comment, I appreciate!

Here it is in a nutshell:if you are interested in preserving maximum resale value together with the originality of the design--leave the interior stock.

I couldn't care less about preserving the maximum value. I didn't buy my car as an investment, but rather as something I can enjoy. If the next owner doesn't like the mods I did, then it's simply is not the right car for him. When the time comes to sell it, there'll always be someone who'll appreciate the care the way it is.

Claude.

P.S: Below are some pictures of the "Titanium Burlwood" dash kit in my car...

[jerrym3]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

I never went for it, but I have some interior "wood" dash samples that really go great with saddle interiors.

As for resale value, I really don't care. Either I will not be around, or my mind will not understand what the heck is going on anyway.

[bob andersen]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

I installed a burlwood kit in my bird and like it a lot. I thought it looked too plain the way Ford designed it. The 02 birds have depreciated drastically in eight years wether you have kept it original or not. I like my bird my way, although I enjoy reading other member's opinions. I don't believe owning a Thunderbird qualifies anyone to be the final word on all things Thunderbird.

[maxkemp]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Our bird is OEM in the cockpit but I've been in Lou's and it's pretty darn impressive folks, not offensive at all. I can also see both sides here.
My thoughts, do your best to remove the dash kit because it's clear it's just not you, if there are scares left, they can be covered with something more to your liking. Something in the same color would add dimension.
Don't be scared and like Forest said, "life is a box a chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get".
If needed, and your fingers are ready, we'll be ready with suggestions.

I beg to differ with you and many others on this site will also, these kits are not junk and do not devalue our cars. Ford put a rather boring interrior on our cars in basic black because it was cheap. If the correct color is
selected that blends well with the interrior these kits can dress it up and give a rather boring black interrior a little class. If you recall the
Tbirds that were shown before production had center dash and console with alluminum color to match the alluminun strip running along the dash. But when production came out they did not include it cause cutting corners.
It is alright to be a purist and want to keep your car orginal, however
it is not appropriate to critize those that modify their birds. My bird is highly modified and I have won first place in several large car shows.
All I get is praises for the way it has been modified. And as for devaluation
I once had a dealer tell me when I brought my car in for service, that
the orginal Tbird looks like a striped down model compared to mine.
Look at Pics of Claudes car (in Canada) you will not see a more beautiful
tastefully done highly modified turq 02 bird or look at Borla Babes 02,
the kit really gave her interrior some pop.
Lou

[doubutsu]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Jerry, nutshell aside, I'm not sure you or anybody else knows what the next owner of a bird will want. I know that as the 1st owner of mine, I sure wanted a whole lot more than what Ford sold me.

[JAB02LHS]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Jerry, nutshell aside, I'm not sure you or anybody else knows what the next owner of a bird will want. I know that as the 1st owner of mine, I sure wanted a whole lot more than what Ford sold me.

I Love it, do it your way and enjoy it.
Life's too short not to have what you want and so what if it decreases the value.
These are used cars depreciating in value everyday with or with out mods.

[Vintage Merlot]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

My first post on TBN was a shot against any modifications of the J Mays design. At the time I really believed that the "Bird" should be kept pure. I have mellowed and think some of the mods I have seen on TBN are great.

[rodeknyt]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

As I have said before, these dash kits are junk and will only devalue the car. The best thing you can do is keep it original and keep it clean. Leroy
\ \ \ \ \__________________________________________

It won't make any noticeable difference in value until around the time that your great grandchildren are YOUR age.

[BilboBaggins]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

"plastic wood" - hmmm.... I wonder if anyone has had a woodworker warp/bend wood to just replace parts of the dash? Now that would be a cool mod...

[tbird6t4]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Ford Thunderbird in the early days always had magnificant dash and console treatments that was part of the beauty of owning and driving a Thunderbird. I have attached some examples of both my RetroBird dash & a 67 Thunderbird and my 64 Thunderbird dash.


I have to agree that if at some point down the road you see two RetroBirds on a used car lot one with the cheap black console and one with either a wood grain or stainless console, which do you think the next guy would choose? I will bet on the one with the dressed up dash.


No doubt Ford didn't stick to the Thunderbird tradition & heritage to create something that was "Unique in All The World" so it is up to us to do it our way. We all have choices to make and if yours is factory correct then that is fine, if you want something a little different then it is an inexpensive way to create your own unique personalize RetroBird.


My 2 cents worth!

Gord

[Guest]

Re: Plastic Wood Trim

Well said, Gord. Guess you and I have the same 2 cents !!