my first question is why are you referring to yourself as a thunderchicken if you own a thunderbird? that's kind of a derogatory term for thunderbirds. they're awesome cars, don't talk down to yourself. my fiance's making his into a 10sec this summer, all the parts are sitting on my dining room floor... decoration for now. anyway. His gas gauge has been dead for a while. you can buy a replacement dash controls online. ebay had some good ones for relatively cheap but i recommend that you know your way around all the smallness and wiring required. you could try wiring a from a new one (newer model i'm assuming) but that'll be a pain. i'll double check but i'm pretty sure that you'll be fine with anything between a 89-93 for your dash.
you can check the junk yards, but with all electrical things, there's a level of uncertainty. there's also a thunderbird forum that has more specific and helpful advice for only thunderbirds. i would recomend dropping the thunderchicken before logging onto there though...
__________________ Do something crazy everyday. Something that will make people stop and think "what a retard". And then laugh on the inside at their silly faces.  | 
