Malaise Era Magpie: 1978 Ford Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee Edition Review

The 1978 Ford Thunderbird is your typical late 70s American landyacht personal luxury cruiser. But! This is the rare Diamond Jubilee Edition, a special deluxe package to celebrate Ford's 75th anniversary. The classic car is loaded with features and above all, countless badges. Learn more about this T-bird in this review!
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[@nore8125]

The thunderbird badge falling off of the seat when you closed the door is the most malaise era thing in existence lmao

[@nrkeks2347]

Not to mention the erectile dysfunctional power antenna lmfao

[@bobroberts2371]

These cars started to fall apart / not work in the mid 80's so this one has survived pretty well.

[@anusername8350]

@@bobroberts2371you mean 1980 right? Moment the 70s died they all had catastrophic electric failures or dissolved

[@craig0769]

The tail lamp lense fall off my 79 Thunderbird after leaving the casino. I was surprised I didn’t get pulled over.

[@tompastian3447]

Stuff falling off wasn't limited to the malaise era, or to Ford. On my 2004 Marquis, the lower door trim is falling off, and has the consistency of play dough. I bought this car new, and never took it to a car wash. I've always washed it myself, using only water... no soaps or special cleaners. Mechanically it's a great car, though it takes a dealer to occasionally reprogram the main computer, and finding a Ford dealer that will do it. Pines Lincoln Mercury does reprogram Ford Computers. If you ever change your plugs and coils, there's a good chance you will need to have the dealer reprogram the main computer after you change plugs and coils. Coil connections also have to be checked as well as vacuum tubes.

[@alexmercer8042]

Well obviously. In the 70s you don't carry passengers in the rear seat. You carry them in the trunk. Duh. They even have velour to feel comfy. Not that they felt anything by that point

[@NeurodivergentSuperiority]

The "rear seat"? It's called the sexy seat!

[@vincedibona4687]

I am thoroughly enjoying the anti-PC language happening here. 🤣👍🏻😉

[@tonymaiettasr.7340]

@@vincedibona4687me too

[@j.kevvideoproductions.6463]

Gotta get all your pals into the drive-in!

[@posticusmaximus1739]

Fughetabout it!

[@sptownsend999]

*"There are stables smaller than this engine that give more horses"* is a line I will use to describe inefficient big motors from now on. Thank you, Ed!

[@Vespuchian]

It's a _great_ line. There are tractor engines with better hp/cc ratios.

[@deon9175]

.....stables that HOUSE more horses....

[@michaelblair5566]

My Toyota Tacoma has a 3.5 liter V6 that has 280 horsepower. That is a 400 cubic inch V8 that puts out a PATHETIC 160...

[@timprussell]

@@michaelblair5566 the malaise era of emission controls choked engines was that. Amazing huge engines by today's standards for cars that made so little power due to the ban on leaded gas and primitive emissions controls. The 1977 Firebird star of Smokey and the Bandit. 400Ci (6.6l) with 180HP but you could get 200hp and 325lb ft. with a special package. Cadillac had a 500 ci 8.2l engine that was so hobbled it made 190hp 360lb/ft of torque. My wife's CR-V has 190HP out of 1.5L Half the torque at 179lb/ft but ain't moving a massive land barge.

[@wallacem41atgmail]

@@michaelblair5566 That's why it's known as the Malaise Era ... LOL! At the time I was driving a 1974 Alfa Romeo Berlina* 2000 with a 2.0 liter I4 which put out 132 BHP. Today I drive a 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport with a 2.0 liter I4 which puts out 280 BHP. Both were/are canyon-carvers! Best handling cars in the world bar none! * Italian for a four-door sedan

[@misterwombat]

Growing up we had a 75 Grand Torino wagon with a 351 and a 77 LTD with a 400. Great cars to learn to drive in. Very floaty. One finger steering. Stopped when it felt like it. The bobblehead dog in the rear window was a nice touch, Ed.

[@vincedibona4687]

0-60 time - “eventually”

[@RobertM.-zz7mv]

Is Ed really 007? That looks like M's bulldog...

[@charlesb7019]

I owned a 1978 Continental Mark V Diamond Jubilee. The most luxurious car I have ever owned. Despite the size it drove beautifully and was extremely comfortable. A bit tacky, yes, but wonderful. Beats the crap out of the horrible electronic torture boxes of today.

[@nicksothep8472]

I wholeheartedly agree. They are the last real cars.

[@williamdixon1992]

I purchased a beautiful Mark V a few years ago because the new cars do not offer very much in choice of color. Mine is dust rose. I drove it from Fort Lauderdale to Albany Oregon. It was like riding in First class! I'm not going to sell it. I love it!

[@MarinCipollina]

I've had newer cars and I've had more expensive cars, (and trucks), but the car that I owned that felt the most posh was a 1980 Cadillac Coupe de Ville D'Elegance.. It looked showroom new when I bought it and I took good care of it for the 15 years I owned it. I wish I had kept it. It was nearly a similar shade of blue to Ed's T-bird, with a navy blue padded quarter vinyl top. Interior was button tufted navy blue leather. The wood was fake, sadly, but fake wood was nearly universal that era. Last year for real wood until 1992 was 1966. I think it had every factory option, including a factory installed CB radio.

[@nicksothep8472]

@@lurch789 Well, it's obviously a personal preference either you like it or not, but objectivly speaking, you can't say these cars aren't comfortable, because they are, as you said they are like big ol' boats, and like boats they feel like they're floating on water. It's pretty much like a sofa on wheels, and that was their purpose, far from a performance veichle, and never meant to be one, if that's what you were looking for you most certainly would have been disappointed, but to this day they are more comfortable than any of their luxury counterpart. Again, if performance, cornering and overall agility is what you're looking, you better look somewhere else, these are only good for cruising "low and slow", they are the perfect platform for customs and lowriders, as hundreds of them are still being built to this day..

[@anthonypopola5773]

I had a dove grey Cartier MK V

[@stuartkynoch7289]

Despite its shortcomings it was the best selling Tbird to that point.

[@e28forever30]

I briefly thought you wrote “Turd”…

[@morstyrannis1951]

A friend’s father bought one of these brand new. It was quite a bit smaller and cheaper than the preceding generation. But I think Ford had removed a lot of content to lower the price. The owner was pleased to buy what he considered a very prestigious model for a lower price. I remember him remarking he never thought he’d be able to afford a new Thunderbird. I’m not sure if any of the US cars of this era are desirable.

[@giantgeoff]

Yes it was because it was a rehash of the older albeit larger Torino and íts long amortized production line. Tbirds from at least '67 on had a lot of content derived from Lincoln Mercury division. All that was gone with this design. So the uninformed saw just the glitz and that didn't equal quality. Same era where Ford advertisments openly compared a 2 door Granada sports coupe to a Mercedes. In NY we call that "Chutzpah!" You can shape a pile of Pooh to look like a chocolate cake, it doesn't make it a chocolate cake!

[@VulpesHilarianus]

@@morstyrannis1951 The 1979 Dodge St. Regis/Magnum and the following Mirada tend to be pretty well loved. Albeit that's because they're just Monacos with boxy styling, the Monaco itself being just a fattened Coronet. As a result parts swapping between pretty much any B-body made between 1968 and 1982 is trivial and so they're pretty easy to keep alive. The 1974/1975 Monaco's also well liked thanks to the Blues Brothers. Plymouth's got the Gran Fury that people in South America love for some reason? And Chrysler's got the R-body New Yorker, well renowned for being a muscle car hiding in a wide lapel polyester suit. There's the landwhale 1976 Caprice certain people adore and the 1979 Monte Carlo that's a lowrider and donk culture staple. Drag racers love the 1976-1980 Monza 2+2 and Nova. Oldsmobile's got the Delta 88, Pontiac's got the Catalina, Buick's got the Regal Sport Coupe, and Cadillac has both the first generation Seville and the Fleetwood Brougham. Ford are pretty much the only ones where people don't like their domestic cars of the late '70s. All of them being perceived as being ugly as sin from the moment they were introduced probably contributes quite a lot to that. A lot of people don't even like the Fox body Mustang until the 1983 facelift.

[@cabaneencac5168]

it sold well to buyers anesthetized with coke

[@HuggieBear39]

This model of the T-Bird is one of my favorite models

[@deansapp4635]

i worked at Champion Ford in Maryland in 1978 as a New car get ready guy. These cars were the shit in their day

[@teebird94]

As a multiple Thunderbird owner this is one of my loves.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Love me a good Thunderbird, my sister who is 5 year older than myself, her first car was an 89 Thunderbird, and man was that a sweet ride for the early 90's. 🙂

[@blisterbrain]

That was a much better car than this one!, though!

[@CommodoreFan64]

@@blisterbrain But of course as it was newer, I was just commenting because this video brought back good memories of that Red 89 Thunderbird for me of which my sister use to joke around calling it her "Thunder Chicken" 😅

[@blisterbrain]

@@CommodoreFan64 I understand, I always liked those myself. I just wanted to point out to those unfamiliar, that it was a completely different car by that point, lest they question your sis's taste in automobiles!

[@oracleofdelphi8411]

I lived through this " Malaise " era. The low water mark of American cars. Thanks for helping me relive it Ed....thanks a lot.

[@KDoyle4]

I total victory for Ford, the 1977-1979 Thunderbird was the best selling Thunderbird in history.

[@MrSloika]

Yup, a huge money maker for Ford.

[@cliff8669]

I owned this very car. I bought it in North Carolina while stationed there with the U.S. Marines. That was the mid eighties.

[@robis40]

I got a 78 Mercury Cougar for graduation at high school. I loved it and so did my girlfriends.

[@RedLP5000S]

Glorious review. Yup, I remember seeing these T-birds everywhere as a kid. While not as gargantuan as the previous generation, these cars certainly commanded a presence of their own. So much bling to compensate for lacking any power. ✌🏻🇺🇸

[@bldontmatter5319]

To be fair, the torque of all these emissions clogged nightmares are still great. Probably 300 lbs - feet or so atleast.

[@donreinke5863]

They didnt have to stay the way they were built (to comply with garbage government meddling/interference into the automotive industry.) While the manufacturers didnt have any choice, the aftermarket enabled owners to make the vehicles of that era run as they should have. I have three Thunderbirds of this series, and not one hasnt been upgraded to provide considerably more performance than stock. It is a relatively simple matter to install a 385 series "big block" 429 or 460 into these vehicles as other Fords utilizing this chassis had been optionally equipped with big-block engines since 1972. Replacing the 3.00/1 rear axle gears with 3.25 or 3.50 gears helped even 351 equipped cars have at least respectable acceleration.

[@DSP1968]

Hey, Ed. Glad to see you feature this car, and to see that at least one DJE made it across the Pond. I think you weren't fair when picking on it for things that didn't work -- that is due to a lack of proper maintenance, not to poor quality. (It is 45 years old!) One thing you failed to mention what a stir this newly downsized Thunderbird caused in the market -- over 3 years, they sold almost 1,000,000 of them! And the 302 was standard (except in California where I live), with the 351 and 400 optional (no 400 for '79). Overall, this car looks to be in good to very good condition from an appearance point of view. Also, in American FoMoCo parlance, a sunroof has a metal panel, a moonroof has a glass panel. Having said all of that, I am glad that you saw the value of this car to the original owners -- the ride and quietness. This was among Ford's best that year, and I would be happy to have one if I had the room, ersatz wood and all.

[@lukemauerman3734]

My mom bought a brand new 1979 Thunderbird and it shook the household in that it cost $10,000. It was luxurious! But was such a boat, so huge; a posh land yacht with all the bells and whistles

[@judgegixxer]

I remember those everywhere in the late 70's. Also in the 80's all rusted out with different color doors, broken tailights, vinyl tops tearing off, chrome trim missing, sagged out springs and blowing blue smoke. Good show as usual Ed.

[@roadcalm3303]

Well, the car is 45 years old, so it’s not surprising that a lot of things don’t work. Also, it has an egg crate grill.

[@Vader1957]

i owned a 78 Tbird and I loved it. Mine had the 351 and most options. If I could find one as good as mine was, I would daily drive it now in retirement. The 70's were good years for cars.

[@OLDS98]

Good review Ed. Your footage was great. The humor was funny as well. You clearly thought this video out. Thank you for making this effort. That car was loaded back in the day. It was intended to compete with the cars you stated. There was this car, the Mercury Cougar and the Ford LTD II that were on the same platform and shared a lot of parts that you can see and ones you did not see. The Mercury Cougar I think was the best looking of this body style. The sound is distinct Ford. 70's luxury indeed. Thank you again Ed.

[@DavidFBird]

Yep, back in the day I had a 78 LTD as a rental. It broke down and they substituted a Cougar. I was struggling to tell the difference. This was in a snowy winter so the lack of power was probably a safety feature.

[@dindog22]

when I was a kid I thought that style of Thunderbird was the epitome of luxury

[@blurglide]

This is an "Egg Crate" grille, rather than "waterfall". Waterfall focuses on the vertical elements while egg crate is pretty much a grid.

[@christopherkraft1327]

Great video Ed, especially the commercial!! My dad bought a Diamond Jubilee Edition Thunderbird when he retired & back in 1978 this was the ultimate T Bird, very posh for the era. You're correct, by today's standards it's not much more than a polished turd, but back in the seventies it was the bees knees!!! Thanks for sharing this fun video!!! 👍👍🙂

[@williamdixon1992]

Compared to the clown cars we see on the road today the 78 Thunderbird really stands out in front. I wish the styling and quality would return.

[@steveleinwand890]

I repaired T-Birds and it's cousin Mercury Cougars, when I worked for several Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers in the 70's. If you look at the car in the context of the time it was made, it's not so bad. In 1978 gasoline (petrol) was about 66 cents a gallon on average (16 eurocents per liter in today's money). America was (and still is) the land of wide boulevards and wider interstates. Making a car nimble handling just wasn't a priority and didn't need to be. This car has had 45 years for every piece of rubber (hoses, belts, bushings, etc.) to dry rot from atmospheric ozone, which is probably why the AC no longer works and the steering feels loose and sloppy. The exhaust never sounded like that in 1978. Unless it's had aftermarket mufflers installed, this test car has an exhaust leak. It's so easy for Europeans (the TV show Top Gear comes to mind) to mock and trash American cars from the 1970's when testing on narrow European roads, with high European fuel prices, but those cars were never designed to compete in Europe. 1978 was way before any cars had computer controlled fuel injection or turbo chargers, so by comparison to modern cars, the power output was pretty pathetic. But when examined in context of the time it was built, in 1978, the T-Bird was a good solid car that sold quite well and most owners were happy with.

[@smellsuperb1]

Not only an exhaust leak but a miss on one cylinder.

[@houseofno]

Actually the BMW E23 or 1st generation 7 series (1977 to 1987) is largely credited with being the first production car with digital electronic engine controls.

[@johnlandacre767]

Seems like a pretty nice car to me. I wouldn’t expect the a/c to work, or the clock after 45 years, but it’s still in one piece, no visible rust, starts and runs, upholstery is in good condition, from what I saw. You can get the air fixed, probably the clock too. My friend had a Volvo station wagon, 1978 model, he had to give away, because it rusted to pieces. In West Virginia, not Chicago or Milwaukee. Is that better than this car?

[@tdvandy2]

exactly!

[@fastEdCanuck]

My father had a 78 Bird from new for a few years. Nice car, no issues with it that I recall.

[@prestonstephens7719]

Ed. My first car was an equally proportioned 70’s Pontiac short decklid football field long hood. My grandmother was upset with my mother for getting me such a “”Small”” car. 🎉😢 hahah!!!!

[@smellsuperb1]

My grandfather had a '79 cougar XR-7, I learned how to drive on that pretty behemoth 😅

[@markhellman-pn3hn]

hide-a-way headlights - hood ornament - vinyl roof - two tone paint ... cars had SOOO much style back then !!

[@deathmetalchili6902]

Today is a good day! Another E.A.R. video!!!!!

[@Zneedsmore]

Nice review, Ed. Indeed - there may appear to be some 'cheapness' to this version of the Thunderbird. All American cars from this time felt this way, unfortunately. But context helps: If you could put yourself back into 1975-76, the Thunderbird was then based on the same platform as the Continental Mark IV. The car was huge and heavy, and sold at about the same pace as the Mark IV by 1976 of only about 52K units. But it was also then getting hammered in a higher volume segment: the personal luxury coupe. Many buyers were trading their larger full size sedans for some 'smaller' yet attractive coupes in their place. GM had four variants: Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and the Buick Regal. Chrysler had just introduced its Chrysler Cordoba in 1975 - and all of them were relatively top sellers, despite the fuel crisis. AMC perhaps had the Matador, but... it didn't stand a chance in this market. All Ford had up to 1976 was the Torino, and - the Elite, which was a higher trim level and relatively ugly rebadge of the Torino. Ford had to make a hard decision in prepping for 1977: The 1972-76 Thunderbird was a twin to the Continental Mark IV. Ford needed to strategically realign its mid-size lineup to compete with the likes of GM and Chrysler. They figured: 'Why not move the Thunderbird downmarket, use the Torino (soon to be renamed 'LTD II') platform as a basis, but totally restyle outside to 'look like' a Thunderbird?' The Thunderbird would share the same platform as the Mercury Cougar XR-7. Meanwhile, the Mark V would take on a big weight reduction too, but would remain in its massive traditional Lincoln size to fulfill the upper echelon. The 1977 model year was windfall for Ford - this version of the Thunderbird was by far the top seller for the car's entire history. Despite this Diamond Jubilee Edition (which was admittedly way overpriced), the lower trim models were far cheaper, very price competitive, and far more within reach to middle income buyers w/ sales volume at over 300k units in '77 alone. Cheap? Maybe. But from a sales perspective, it was an incredibly smart move on Ford's part. Honestly, I've never been a Ford fan, but this version of the Thunderbird and the Mark V continue to be my all-time favorites. They represent the ultimate stereotypical Seventies American car.

[@Jack_Stafford]

I had a 76 Mark 4 and not only was the Thunderbird based on the same platform, they shared almost all of the exterior sheet metal, with just the trim pieces and shapes of the lights to make them distinct from each other. Differing mainly only in the front and rear views and the mark having an oval porthole and the Thunderbird having its trapezoidal one. Even the interiors were nearly identical with the Lincoln of course having more standard equipment but when it came to space, luxury and convenience has the Ford was way out of its price range and I agree that the 77, although it still retained a lot of look of the new Lincoln Mark 5, didn't share any parts with it except probably the steering wheel. And definitely the huge price reduction gave the average guy 90% of the Lincoln's luxury and style at half price. But if you still wanted four ashtrays, each with its own cigar-lighter and high-end leather interior, dreamliy thick shag carpeting, extra courtesy lights everywhere, and power windows / seats as standard with hidden headlights and that Continental hump on the rear, those people were more than happy to pay the price for the mark 5 even though so many other Fords imitated the style it was undoubtedly much larger and different, where before even side-by-side the previous generations sharing so much sheet metal and basic interior pieces it was very hard to justify the Ford and Lincoln being essentially different trims of the same car, with basically just different names stamped on them. Arguably the Ford even had some cooler tricks like the sequential flashing taillights like are popular again, were not available on the Lincoln's slim, blade style taillights. It was good to separate the Thunderbird and Mark a bit and as you stated it did work and allowed the average guy to have much the same experience but also preserve Lincoln's exclusivity for the next twenty years or so, very smart of Ford and they could have made incremental improvements but they caved to rumored government policy and bad marketing research. And this car really never needed anything bigger than a 302, more than enough to work to keep it humming along at 55 miles an hour and actually decent gas mileage. With incremental improvements overtime this generation could have been restyled and reused an updated instead of the horrible largely forgotten early 80s versions before the aero look came into fashion.

[@UberLummox]

Based on the Lincoln Mark, which was based on the Torino. That's why they call these Torino-birds.

[@Zneedsmore]

@@UberLummox Yes you’re right, this generation was indeed nicknamed ‘Torino-birds’. Although I’m not following on the prior comment ‘Based on the Lincoln Mark, which was based on on the Torino’… can you explain?

[@tonywestvirginia]

Spot on! I grew up in Flint and seen all that was going on at the time.

[@UberLummox]

@@Zneedsmore Basically I meant the Mark & T-Bird are all based on the Torino, so I understand.

[@Michistrasse97]

Great work as always. Loving the hybrid review/history format!

[@benjaminkamben4908]

After dedicating enough time to watch every single one of your videos it's nice to see a face attached to the speaking voice that I always hear narrate these videos. I like that you got a grand example of a malaise era car to show us in person rather than just talking about it using stock footage and whatever else on the internet you could find. I am a huge fan of your channel. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your videos. They are very enjoyable to watch.

[@tedlym.3390]

This was a wonderful presentation. I just won second place in class with my 2002 Inspiration Yellow Thunderbird at the Water Wonderland Thunderbird Club's All Thunderbird Show today. Thank you,

[@Bingusthedingus34]

This car is a beauty.

[@schrenk]

My daily driver is a British Leyland era MGB/GT, and there are definitely days where I miss Personal Luxury Vehicles.

[@Iamthestig42069]

You can get 90s Buick Rivieras for next to nothing, they crush deep snow when equipped with studded tires, get 30 mpg and the 3800 goes forever. Buy yourself a riviera. I got one for 800 bucks in 2021 and put 20,000 miles on it before it had any issues

[@joeybabybaby5843]

That's not a "waterfall grille", it's an "eggcrate grille". Great video!

[@W1se0ldg33zer]

My dad had a '78 Cougar 4-door. No landau. He got a lot of compliments on its styling. It was a company car. Silver with dark red pinstripe -was a subdued Cougar. What a great job he had - got new cars every other year.

[@RSTBKT]

that mark 5 is gorgeous, hopefully you can review one of those!

[@ancellaira4170]

That engine sounds like a dream. I love old cars more than new ones.

[@up-n-runnin377]

It was good seeing one of those cars again. I owned a 1978 Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee Edition with the 351 Windsor through the 1980's. I was the second owner of it. I was in my late teens when I got it. I loved it!!! Super good, reliable car. I have also had the privilege to own a 1978 Lincoln Mark V Diamond Jubilee Edition. I should never sold that one. Again, loved it. They both made great daily driver cars.

[@drno-xc1yt]

The 1977-79 T-Birds were huge sellers in part because by moving these cars onto the smaller Torino/Cougar platform, Ford was able to drop the price drastically relative to the 72-76 models. That said, I don't quite understand who the market was for the Diamond Jubilee edition - all that extra bling made the T-Bird almost as expensive as the Lincoln Mark V. Even with the 400, these were not race cars, but the performance was decent by late 70s standards. I had one of these Birds with the 351, and that was plenty of get up and go - in these cars, you were supposed to get where you were going in a reasonably stylish package in comfort, and these cars delivered exactly that.

[@Mr6384]

Very nice review! Funny and informative! Yes, I’m one of those people who love these cars! I can reason that they really weren’t luxury as we see today, but then I’m 60 and grew up with plastic wood, too much velour and vinyl roofs! Yes, I have one exactly like this one! It’s being restored! And yes, it will just be for cruising. Thanks again

[@tuckersbaby]

The 2nd through 11th generations are definitely in the “personal luxury” category, but I myself own a 1957 Thunderbird with both the 312 V8 and a manual transmission and the 1st generation is undoubtedly a sports car. Swing by Texas the next time you’re in the USA Ed, I’d be more than happy to let you take her for a spin.

[@TheCatOfAges]

and feel free to swing by ohio aswell to drive its rusty beater sibling

[@paulmclaughlin3026]

It was a baby Lincoln ! Wonderful car! I had a 1977. Fun, well built automobile.

[@Jack_Stafford]

My first car was a hand me down Mercury Montego (upscale Torino without the side sculpts). 351 cu, plenty of power to do spinouts and donuts, but very easy to lose control of once its weight shifted. It was a loaded "MX Brougham" edition, vinyl top, extra "Lincoln" chrome strips down the fender peaks, lots of fancy badges and fancy cloth interior. And the same dash/gauge and steering wheel as this T Bird. I didn't appreciate it at the time, I wanted the square late 80s Mustangs, Monte Carlos Grand Ams and other less ostentatious old fashioned looking cars that most of my friends had, but man, my car was LUXURY and when we needed to take eight (yes, EIGHT) teens out to lunch and back in 35 minutes, ,my "boat" was the one everyone piled into! Plus it could outrun most of those quad four Grand Ams and Tempos people were buying, but back then it wasn't about speed or luxury, it was about the future and a new age of smaller, more fuel efficient and a very conservative age to come, and my glossy brown, chrome encrusted "jr Lincoln" looked very out of date, even though now, 10 year old cars are not only very common, but don't look much different. Back then, nearly every 2-4 years, styles changed A LOT. Miss that overboosted steering for sure, especially when my dad let me drive on our road trip halfway across America to California when I was 14. At 55 mph. Cruise control on, and I'm sure we both nodded off several times at that slow speed in that big "mid sized" luxury boat, barely idling, quiet, floating down the super slab. Obviously no place for that specific car now. But there IS a place for a modern equivalent, as the population gets older, people will want something smoother, quieter, more smooth looking and easier to get in and out of (and maintain) than the huge identical SUVS many people drive now. Every. Fad. Passes. It's never NOT happened. And SUVs WILL go out of favour, someday, and the US automakers will be caught with their pants down and go through bankruptcy yet again, because they can't predict the same thing a teenager can. Trends always change, whether you mean bell bottoms or automobiles.

[@dwayneroth100]

wonderful narrative here! I love it!

[@TheFuriousScribbles]

When I was a kid, this was our family car. 1978 Diamond Jubilee Thunderbird. It felt so huge I could imagine living in it. My sister and I loved that car and were upset at our parents for selling it. At one point the hood ornament broke off, I have no idea where the car ended up, but I still have the hood ornament.

[@anthonygray333]

Great episode! Gotta admit it was a heck of a lot nicer than the too small 78 Monte Carlo that was a proportional disaster in my opinion.

[@Zneedsmore]

Yes i agree… I loved the 73-77 2nd gen Monte Carlo and Grand Prix. The downsized version you’re referring to starting in 78 was indeed poorly proportioned and were just less graceful in styling. My parents had a ‘79 model and it ran well, but just looked odd as it aged. The refresh in ‘81 helped a bit on all GM models.

[@douglasb.1203]

​@@Zneedsmoremom had a 78 301 2bbl Pontiac Grand Prix LJ. The build quality was CRAP. Headliner that had a gap around the windshield, all plastic chrome delaminated and peeled off like a sunburn. The rear plastic panels had a tar like goo oozing out of the seams. That being said, mom drove the car to 165,000 miles. The only issue was the shiteous THM200 getting replaced. This T-Bird was what she passed on.

[@Zneedsmore]

@@douglasb.1203 Haha… can appreciate that… my brother had the larger 76 Grand Prix SJ… loaded with literally every option imaginable… two time silver and gray, a silver Landau top (yea, silver LOL) …t-tops, and a burgundy leather interior. The car itself help up well, but the owner (my brother) was just terrible about taking care of it. It had a similar fate as your mom’s. My other brother had a 79 white LJ with red velour buckets and t-tops… beautiful car and it lasted him about 16 years… but it was very well cared for, garaged regularly, etc. All of those cars were not put together well (otherwise so many people wouldn’t have been switching to Toyotas, Datsuns, and Hondas at the time)… but if something DOES break, it can be fixed and if fixed right, will last. Case in point: My dad had a 78 Plymouth Volare that he purchased new at about half price from a local bank after the nearby Chrysler Plymouth dealer went out of business in mid 1978. The Volare/Aspen were some of the most terribly built cars from Detroit. The car had tons of body issues… poor paint, water leaks, and lousy tolerances all around. My Dad raised hell with the local Dodge dealer, got a zone manager involved, and got all the repairs that he demanded. That car then lasted for 275k miles and proved to be an outstanding car before selling it for $700. One pro for it was its 225 Slant Six… the engine was just indestructible.

[@smellsuperb1]

​@@Zneedsmoresomebody did a video on a slant 6 where they drained all the oil out of it and drove it, I think it lasted for about 45 minutes. Might be on KZbin lol.

[@Zneedsmore]

@@smellsuperb1 haha… now my dad’s Volare had the driving experience of a snow sled. Hyper-power steering with just zero feel to the road, and despite how reliable the Slant Six was, competing live snails on the ground won 1st place blue ribbons many times over when racing it to 60 mph. And that electronic ignition…. There were times that I thought the engine would never turn over.

[@ChicagoJD]

Great to see you in a video! Love the format. My best friend had a 78 Thunderbird when we were in highschool. Loved the way that thing rode so smoothly compared to my Chevy Nova. Would love to drive one more but it would feel so huge compared to today's cars despite having so much less interior room.

[@davidsauls9542]

Another great review Ed. The car is 47 years old, so things not working is an issue from previous owners, not the build quality. At the time, these were ugly gas hogs, but extremely reliable and durable. At the time, very generous father gave me an Audi, mom had a Mercedes 300, he drove a Ford LTD. His car was never in the shop so he would chuckle when the Germans went to the shop, which was constantly. Get this boat sorted and you will have a smooth as butter, toy that you can depend on.

[@Zneedsmore]

Yes I totally agree. These cars are relatively easy to repair and there still should be a wider variety of parts available compared to most 70’s cars.

[@bldontmatter5319]

@@Zneedsmore honestly, any online shop has just about everything. Engines like the 400 were used for so many cars and so many years you never struggle for major drive line parts

[@Zneedsmore]

@@bldontmatter5319 Exactly! There were so many variants of this car made from ‘72 to ‘79… Ford Torino, Elite, LTD II, Thunderbird, Mercury Montego and Cougar… even the Ranchero pickup was built off this platform alone.

[@bos2pdx2yvr]

Love this, just like all of your reviews. I remember these cars when I was a kid and I still love the 70's land yachts! One thing: I don't think it's fair to point out all of the stuff that doesn't work. The car is 45 years old after all! If you were reviewing a brand new car and features weren't functioning, then yeah, you've got a point. Like anything old (including myself), if you don't do the maintenance on something, it's going to quit on you.

[@kevincostello3856]

Well said, I also remember these as a kid growing up during the 70s. It is unfair, Ed should go to the Ford Nationals and see a pristine one. If Ed thinks this 78 is big, he should see and drive my 73 T- Bird !!! Thank you

[@bos2pdx2yvr]

@@kevincostello3856 Yeah, the 73s were gorgeous too!

[@michaelafsa4591]

I owned that same car in collage, 400 cu inch V8 C6 automatic transmission and the drivetrain was bullet proof, drive it for 15 years to 150,000 miles changed oil and filter every 3,000 miles and car was pretty trouble free outside of normal maintenance. Great road car.

[@analogidc1394]

I owned the Thunderbird's sister, the Mercury Cougar of the same year. During this time I got to know the owner and every employee that worked at my local gas station very well, as I used to visit them often.

[@rjcolombe]

My dad owned a couple of these late 70s 'Birds, but none of the Diamond Jubilee editions.

[@markpfeifer1402]

For 1978, I prefer the Lincoln Town Car or Mercury Grand Marquis for their sheer and senseless mass.

[@meyo1860]

Say whatcha want, but this pimp-mobile with the side mufflers helped my dad bag my mom back in the days! Great childhood memories!

[@LakeNipissing]

I rode in the back seat of so many of these cars as a kid growing up in Canada in the 1970s... Gloomy late 70s ??? 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023: "Hold my beer".

[@captlazer5509]

I think it's more egg crate styled grill than a water fall grill. Still an accurate review. These were great cars for cross country trips, as long as you were driving or riding shotgun. Thanks Ed.

[@thecianinator]

Did he say waterfall grill or wonderful grill?

[@captlazer5509]

​@thecianinator 5:57 I heard waterfall grill, which the 1970 model had. But it is a wonderful grill lol

[@vincedibona4687]

He said waterfall.

[@Mr40ozwarrior]

Shocking to see one of these behemoths rolling down the road in Holland. I bet it's real fun on the streets of Amsterdam.

[@bloemundude]

I had a friend in the early 90's with a '78 t-bird with the 351. At speed, the body and seats floated more than a flying carpet in every direction. The redeeming feature, as you said was the trunk. My friend at one time had eight extra tires in the trunk and plenty of room for additional normal things.

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

My parents had a cream colored Diamond Jubilee edition with a 351M. Very smooth ride, good cornering and many options. Highway engine knock started around 130,000 miles but only happened at a certain speed. Mom sold it for $750 in the later 80’s. I would have loved to modify it with a 4 barrel, intake manifold, cam and headers but I bought a 5.0 4 speed Pace Car in 1987.

[@SteeleZack]

Sold it for only $750 , so sold it as is ?

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

@@SteeleZack Yes running.

[@YYZ-SRQ]

"good corning??" Drive a 77 BMW 320i and then tell me that the T-bird had good corning

[@jcumpston7449]

We had a 1979 Thunderbird, Heritage Edition, when I was a kid, in the early 1990s. It was a lot like this car, but burgundy. It had a real leather interior. The moon roof and cruise control worked, but not the AC or clock. When in top shape, you almost couldn't tell when it was running. I still remember the first time I opened the door at night, and all of the interior lights came on. It was like a living room on wheels. Everything in the trunk was carpeted: the underside of the lid, the full-size spare tire. For an adult it probably was more comfortable than the back seat. That was a great car. And from what I was told, it had about 175k miles on it when it was finally retired to the junkyard.

[@gilbertohlson6363]

I remember those big land yachts. Ed, there were two major reasons trunks were so big back then. The Mafia used to carry dead bodies around in the trunk, and drive-in movies charged by how many people were in the car, so you'd load your friends in the trunk to lower the price. "No, there's nobody in the trunk, my rear shocks are bad."

[@ljphoenix4341]

Ed describing the car as "Like a nice, fat pigeon" greatly amuses me. For Ed to be able to have such a dry sense of humor, and understand sarcasm so well, when English isn't even his first language, I applaud this man.

[@atomic32205489]

My boss had a 1979 T-Bird and I got to drive it a lot in those years. As a 20 year old, I felt like I was the richest guy on earth.

[@F40PH-2CAT]

My aunt had one of these used to take it to the beach every summer love this car

[@radioguy1620]

45 years old so great. usual frailties and if any new car lasts 45 years I'd be really surprised.

[@austinformedude]

My first car was a 1979 Thunderbird. It was red, slow, easy to work on, and got terrible gas mileage. But it was mine :)

[@joeljenkins7092]

Looks like my grandfathers '79 Cougar. He was an auto body man, and insisted that every car he own be able to open all four doors after an accident. Pop despised unibodies, and imports. My first car was his '77 Cougar, with a 351 Windsor engine. Both cars were tanks, and nearly as indestructible. My first dent was in the driver's side door. He popped it off its hinges, and laid it across two saw horses. A few coats of Bondo, then sand, buff, and paint. You would never know it had been damaged. Drove it till I bought a new '90 Ford Probe.

[@volktales7005]

My Dad liked his T-birds, and had several over the years. I still own the '59 Convertible we restored together almost 40 years ago. If you like these cars, they are getting cheaper every day to buy, as their core fans are dying off in droves. Dad is gone, but his car will live on.

[@tonystidham4564]

When i was a youngin' I worked for a while at a small town Michigan Ford dealership, and the dealership owner had one of these T-Birds that was the same color as the one in the video. The dealership sold a ton of the '77-'79 Birds, but I dont recall any other Jubilee's coming through. I do remember for the '79 model year Ford was having trouble meeting the federal fuel economy standards, and the dealership sold almost all '79 Birds I saw with 302 V-8s

[@tonymaiettasr.7340]

Very important that the window height allows you to rest your arm. Very important! Love the videos, Ed.

[@chuckpeterson3262]

I would rather listen to you talk about cars MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE ON EARTH!!!

[@photonforce08]

thank you for reviewing this auto, ed

[@TorquilMcLeod]

It's fun seeing this, especially a model with all the options, as my Grandma had a 1978 Thunderbird but it was the base model with a 302 V8, bench seat, and AM radio.

[@TimBee100]

I had one. Very reliable for the first 10 years. Sold it to the neighborhood kid. He thanked me for selling it to him.

[@kevincoleman1226]

I owned two 1960 Thunderbirds and three 1963 Thunderbirds. The 1978 Thunderbird is NOT a true T-bird. It is a wannabe. Ed, I love your videos.

[@RobertM.-zz7mv]

I'm in the minority here, but I loved my '78, took care of it, and it cost a lot less to maintain than new cars I've owned recently. Any car becomes junk if you don't maintain it. I had to sell it when I went cross country to college, but it was a beauty.

[@ThePuffin77]

The Thunderbird is the perfect car for Ford to use as an electric vehicle. It changes so much throughout the years that its lineage practically doesn't matter, but the name suits an electric powertrain. I would love a competitor to the Cadillac Lyriq by Ford.

[@Magnum062]

Growing up in the 80s my uncle whom raised me had a mint red on red Thunderbird like the one here. Sadly it gave it's life when he loaned it to his son whom got T-boned by a Dominos driver running a red light. His medical bills payed and nice settlement he started an asphalting business which is going strong today.

[@jons.6216]

I've rarely seen very many Thunderbirds beyond 1970-71 around in my neighborhood explorations! Maybe they just haven't held up!

[@Donald_Shaw]

Excellent review of the 1978 Thunderbird Diamond Jubilee Edition. I've driven one and it was like piloting a medium size yacht.

[@martinw9425]

I dont often laught out loud, but the advertisement was great. ...sorry to hear that ED. It can happen to any of us.😁

[@deandeck]

My first car! A hand-me down. Ah, she served me well. The seats are like couches!

[@alanrogers7090]

If 1978 was seventy-five years of Ford automobiles, then they started in 1903, the same year that the Wright Brothers first flew.

[@rogercarmel6619]

This was my first car! My Thunderbird was red with opera windows on the C pillars. Friends from Germany 🇩🇪 flew over to Canada for a vacation and I gave them tours in beautiful Ford Thunderbird... but they kept laughing at the nautical feel of the suspension and the HUGENESS of the car, not to mention Canada’s top speed on our “loser autobahn” of 100 km/h. Thanks, Eddy, for the nostalgia of my piece-of-junk Thunderbird that I nicknamed “Rocinante” after Don Quixote’s horse.

[@kcindc5539]

When I watch these vintage reviews and they’re about to turn on the radio, I’m half expecting 70s classic rock or anything you’d typically hear in that particular era. Just seems odd to hear a contemporary song in a 45 year old car.

[@ChicagoJD]

KC and the Sunshine Band followed by Donna Summer while cruising with the windows open!

[@kcindc5539]

@@ChicagoJD Exactly! Someone in the backseat asking “what the hell does Donna Summer mean when she says she left her cake out in the rain?” - oh and dude this Ford Philco stereo is outta sight.

[@petercrowl9467]

Dad bought a '78 Mercury Marquis "Brougham". Midnight Blue with a Pearl Grey top and interior. It was well built, very attractive and lived a long productive life.

[@Primus54]

I owned a ‘79 T-Bird. It had been my boss’ leased company car that I bought when it came off lease. When this generation T-Bird arrived, it essentially gave up its place as an exclusive luxury offer and became a car for the masses. And like pretty much all American cars of that era, materials became cheap, fit and finish was atrocious, and the addition of all the emission junk made them unreliable and expensive to repair, as well as anemic in performance. The only thing one could appreciate was it was a comfortable and quiet highway cruiser. Thunderbird as a “marque” of its original vision has never recovered. Great video, Ed! 👍

[@MrSloika]

There has never been much demand for two seat cars in the US car market. The first generation Thunderbird was only produced for 3 model years. Of the first gen cars 1957 was the best seller with 21,000 cars produced. You can laugh at the 1977-1979 Thunderbirds but they were big money makers for Ford. The 1978 Thunderbird sold 353,000 units, which was the high water mark for T-birds.

[@danbuckley4126]

As an old guy, I remember when these came out. I liked the styling at the time. But as a GM person, I went and purchased the Olds Cutlass insted.

[@v.p.b.2807]

1978 was actually the best selling year ever for the Thunderbird! About 350,000 were sold that year.

[@Bucketroo]

My dad bought a blue '78 T-bird with white vinyl roof in 1980. It looked fantastic and I got to drive it often. So it's technically my first car. In the '80s American TV series "Wiseguy", one of the criminal characters had a custom '78 T-Bird with a minigun (electric gatling gun) mounted in the trunk. He could open the trunk remotely and had a cable to close the lid. The minigun faced backwards, with the barrels aiming through the notch in the trunk lid. It was a surprisingly-effective getaway car. :D

[@kennedymcgovern5413]

My aunt and uncle had that exact car. I was 8 years old. They were so proud of it. To everyone else, there was nothi ng unusual about it. This was the way cars were designed in that day. Later, in the mid 80s, my step mother had a Mercury Cougar (which was the exact same car as the mid 80s T-bird). They got a lot better looking in the 80s.

[@donjankura2411]

Not all of us Americans craved land yachts in 1978/79. My wife and I drove a Renault 5 and Dodge-badged Mitsubishi Galant/Lancer (?). Later, when our Subaru Justy was in the shop we were lent a beat up Lincoln Mark something or other similar to your T-Bird. Ha! It did not not just drive down the road. It wondered (zig-zagged?) down the boulevard like a hound dog sniffing at every blade of grass and tree along the way.

[@MichaelOKeefe2009]

Back in 2003, Ford celebrated it's 100th anniversary with a modernized version of the GT40. Back in 1978, Ford celebrated it's 75th anniversary with...this rather mundane luxury land yacht.

[@jackwood2328]

Is it big? Is it beastly? Yes. Forget details. It's fabulous.

[@socalltd]

Ford sold about 320,000 Thunderbird's in 1978. These are good cars to have.

[@BlackPill-pu4vi]

The '76 T-Birds were the last luxury barges where you could still get quality, fit, and finish for your money. The downsized Diamond Jubilee Birds used too much glitz, kitsch, and TryHard, to cover up that you were paying more for less car. But, it was still GOOD ENOUGH. The styling cues and Cloud 9 ride did a decent job of distracting you from the EPA-choked engines and slightly less interior room.

[@_Clem_H_Fandango_]

And now you know why we called them 'Underbirds' or 'Thunderchicken'. I had a '78 Thunderbird with T-tops back in the mid to late 90s. It was optioned out but not a Diamond Jubilee. It had a numbers matching Windsor that I put on headers 4bbl carb, dual exhaust and a few other tweaks under the hood, artic white with red plaid interior, console car with t-tops. I put 100 spoke Daytons with Vogues on it. Wish I had never sold it.

[@MrDamien1963]

It was amazing that a humongous albeit downsized for it's day barge with a 400 cid(6.6 liter) v8 didn't have enough power to pull the hat off your head, and had less rear seat room than a Mustang was a desirable car back in the 70's. They were everywhere. Then they disappeared. Finding one in good shape is as rare as finding a penguin in your backyard. But i love the appearance of these slugs.