Thunderbirdsport302

Finally!!! took some pics and as well, remembered to host n' post! '06-'09 tails on a '10: I also plan on doing a little cleanup to the trunk, losing the flex fuel badge, the AWD, and hitting the sticker residue from those along with the other stuff that was on there with some adhesive remover soon. I've also had this idea about taking the grille out and stripping and painting body color...I did it to my '06 Explorer last summer, and have also done it to two of my Thunderbirds in the past. The Milan though, has metalflake paint (not sure what it's called in Ford-speak..) so I'd probably just pony up and have a body shop do the paint on it. I'd leave the Mercury emblem the aluminum finish to set it off though. Here's my Exploder, all that chrome on the front looked gaudy IMO, I did leave the strip on the hood though to give a wee bit of "flash", however. And my daily is this: Some Mustangs and a Flareside are around here too, along with some older Explorers, but nothing too terribly exciting about them lol

Always have been a fan of FoMoCo stuff, ranging from an '86 Escort GT, Mustangs from '84 to 90, had an ASC McLaren Capri for awhile ('86), 4 '88 Thunderbirds, numerous OBS F150s, Explorers, now an Expedition and the Milan of course. I love this car, it's loaded and the AWD is pretty nice, though since I snagged it, the weather hasn't been such that it's been needed. The thing is, it had the issue of the LED tail light keeping the brake light portion lit when the park/headlights were on. No problem, says me, and off to ebay we go to look for a nice replacement. Can you say sticker shock!? I went to the junkyard last weekend, there was one '10 Milan and the lights were ALL gone. There was an '09 with one busted lens so I got to measuring and took a lot of pics with my phone. Looks pretty similar, I say to myself, and with that, I head home empty handed. Took a chance, got back on the evilbay and ordered a driver's side outer tail light from an '06-'09. When it came in, I mocked it up on the car and it actually fits pretty well. (this may be old hat to experienced Milan guys, so..) So rather than drive around looking "that guy" with mismatched parts..I ordered the other three lights to match and yesterday put them all on. There's a slight difference where the black plastic trim piece mates with the trunk lip area but it's nothing major. All told, I have less $ into all 4 '09 lights than I would've for just the one '10-'11 outer driver light...and from what I have read, they're a time bomb. I can sell the remaining three good lights and probably come out ahead of the game, for that matter. I know as they say, threads are worthless without pics so when I get home I'll upload some and show you guys what it looks like. No wiring changes, direct bolt in and every light functions as it should. I do have LEDs in the back lights, to try to throw a little more light for the backup cam but it's not much of an improvement. Still....a whiter light isn't a bad thing, IMO. Stay tuned for the pics. I'm also interested in new struts, and maybe lowering it a tad. Nothing too drastic as I live in the country on a gravel so it's got to have a little space under for rocks, ruts, the occasional steer, and chevy drivers... LOL, sorta. I won a chevy but I don't like admitting to it often..