Coincidentally my first drive overseas was also in a rental Thunderbird in Silicon Valley although in the mid 1990s. Poverty pack v6 rather than V8. I always thought they were a handsome vehicle and a lot of the styling cues ended up on the EL Falcon. Sitting on the wrong side didn’t concern me and it was an automatic so I didn’t have to fiddle with gears, but the first few T intersections gave me some grief. I never ended up on the wrong side of the road but wow it took some concentration. I think it took a sold 30 minutes before it became natural. On subsequent visits to the states the transition was much shorter.