The Thunderbird was one of the most beloved, and the successful automobiles produced by the Ford marque, built along eleven distinct generations from 1955 through 1997 and 2002 to 2005. It was built in response to Chevrolet’s Corvette and was unveiled to the public on February 20th of 1954 at the Detroit Auto Show. It had a two-seat design with a folding fabric top and available with a detachable glass-fiber hardtop. Although inspired by, and created to compete against the Corvette, the Thunderbird put greater emphasis on comfort and convenience rather than sportiness. The formula proved successful and the Thunderbird outsold the Corvette by more than 23-to-one for 1955 with 16,155 sales compared to the Corvette’s 700.
The first generation Thunderbird was successful, but Ford management, particularly Robert McNamara, felt the two-seater body styles limited its sale potential. So for 1958, the car was redesigned as a four-seater. With each succeeding generation, the Thunderbird grew both in stature and equipment, in keeping with contemporary trends. The ‘Square Birds’ of 1958 to 1960 were followed by the ‘Bullet Birds’ of 1961-1964 and ‘Jet Birds’ of 1965-1966.
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The fifth generation of the Thunderbird arrived in 1967 (known as the ‘Glamour Birds’ today), introducing yet another distinctive take on the personal sports coupe, and the second major change in the car’s design direction since its debut in 1955. The 1958 to 1966 Thunderbird had remained fundamentally unchanged as a sporty two-door coupe or convertible with two rows of seating. Ford had introduced the Mustang in 1964 and its two-door configuration and sporty persona were making this niche market rather congested. To further distinguish these two siblings, Ford moved the Thunderbird upmarket, outfitting it with luxury appointments on par with Lincoln.
The prior unibody construction was replaced by a body-on-frame configuration with rubber mountings between the frame and body to reduce vibration and noise. The convertible body style was no longer available, replaced by a four-door model that had suicide doors for rear-seat access. The four-door was unique to this generation and did not survive past 1971.
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Among the styling highlights of this generation was the jet-inspired grille opening with hidden headlights and large Thunderbird emblem positioned in the center. In the back were single taillight lenses with a horizontal trim strip in the center, with backup lights in the center of the strip.
The base engine was an overhead-valve, 390 cubic-inch unit with 9.5:1 compression, five main bearings, and a Holley two-barrel carburetor delivering 275 horsepower at 4,400 RPM. A four-barrel version boosted horsepower to 315 hp. The Thunderbird High-Performance 427 CID V8 produced 410 horsepower and the Super High-Performance V8 version delivered 425 horsepower. The Thunderbird Special V8 was a $91 option, having a 428 cubic-inch displacement and delivering 345 horsepower. The following year, the 428 CID gave way to an even more potent 429 CID Thunderjet unit, rated at 360 horsepower, which quickly became the standard engine.
The well-equipped Thunderbird could be personalized to accommodate the buyer’s needs, with options that included cruise control, air conditioning, an AM/FM multiplex stereo radio, AM/8-track stereo radio, two-tone paint, power windows, and white sidewall tires with red band.
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The Ford Thunderbird is an American automotive icon first introduced in 1955. During the early 1950s, military men were returning from fighting in World War II. In Europe, the style of the vehicle was very different from the Detroit American car. The graceful but sporty MG, Triumphs, and Jaguars, to name a few, had found their way into the hearts of many of these American soldiers. In the U.S.,….
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