One of my neighbors, I was in my teens at the time, brought home a Thunderbird Convertable. In the "Beat This" one-upmanship act, his neighbor bought himself a Thunderbird. This car had a removable rear seat cover. The cover had what looked like built-in headrests. The most beautiful car I've ever seen.
Hope you do a video on the 1960 Thunderbird. My favorite. Grandma had one and I have home video of her pulling into drive. I have the taillights in my bathroom rigged so they illuminate. They are heavy! Great videos!
I once owned a '62 Convertible it was white w/ red interior & black top, very low mileage. I bought it around 1989 for $3500 and sold it 3 years later for $7000, not a bad investment! I loved that Thunderbird to death!
It's not the same cowl. The Thunderbird is three inches narrower than the Lincoln and an inch lower. And the Thunderbird has a taller greenhouse so the Lincoln cowl is even higher. The windshields do not match, and neither do the wipers. The Thunderbird has traditional clap-hands wipers, and the Lincoln has parallel wipers (but for some reason, backwards for the left side driver position). And the through the cowl heating systems are completely different. The Lincoln has a heater core and fan on each side behind the front wheel well, and the Thunderbird has one core and fan under the dash like most cars.
i’ve read that same ‘myth’ somewhere that they are the same parts. thanks MJ for spelling out those points. i’m going to take a closer look next time i park my bullet bird next to a ‘61 Continental 😊
You comment on what appears to be missing trim at the bottom of the windshield and the backlight, I love the way it looks with a clean belt line front and back, as if the hardtop is somehow floating above the body. A beautiful design feature of this third generation 'bird. Thank you for these walk arounds, living in Central Oregon I don't get too many car shows of this caliber very often. Thank you for bringing it into my living room.
Yes, it makes the rear shelf look like a continuation of the rear deck, and the jet tube shape of it at the sides is seen in the shape of the bottom edge of the rear window.
Perhaps the accountants and penny pinchers did have a say in the missing mouldings Ont the front, rear windshield and door handles but I think the designers had a big input into this as a more streamlined rocket look streamlining. Very nice designed year for the T-Bird.
In 1999 I was working at an AutoNation USA Used Car Superstore. I saw a 1963 Thunderbird cruising along the 5 freeway in Irvine. The next day the same car came in trade at our store. It was in poor shape and was sold wholesale. It was a beautiful champagne color and was definitely complete.
The T-Birds in the late 50s and early 60s were probably the most beautiful cars ever made. It basically said to the buyer beauty and luxury a sense of class.
The "square bird" and "flair bird" are my favorite Thunderbirds. Everybody loves the original 2 seat Thunderbird, but I thought the Corvette was the much cooler and better performing car of that era. Those early 60's Thunderbirds had some wild styling and were kind of compact. Seemed like every "luxury" or "aspirational" American car of the early 60's was the size of an expensive yacht. The Thunderbird bucked that trend, it was a "tidy 205" in length for 1962, while a Coupe Deville was 222" long.
When I first started taking better quality pictures (I'd hesitate to call them photographs even now) I loved the 61-62 'bird. So many interesting shots.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall while you guys wander car shows, discussing commonly overlooked design intricacies. I learn so much just by watching these videos.
TBirds from 58 thru 76 were built in the Lincoln plant, on a Lincoln platform. Basically, they WERE all Lincolns. In 61, the Lincoln produced was designed to be the Thunderbird, but the design was commandeered by upper management for Lincoln. This is why the Lincoln had suicide doors. They had to convert the 2 door TBird body to 4 door for Lincoln. Standard rear doors destroyed the car's proportions, and looked odd. The suicide doors solved the issue.
2:55 I'll venture a guess that that wasn't any cheaper to make, with the molding having to bear the force of the door being grabbed, but it does look great.
I raced a T-Bird like that standing start to whatever. I was driving my XK120, with newly installed 3.8 from a Sebring raced D Type. The poor Bird never had a chance. I got him out of the hole, and never was challenged. Ah, the games of youth.
Years ago I was driving along and a pheasant hit my windshield. My windshield mounted rear view mirror flew into the backseat, but fortunately the windshield never broke. It sounded like a gun going off.
My favorite year of T-bird. I think the lack of lower window moldings was to give it the look that the roof is sprouting organically from the body and they didn't want to disturb the line from the hood through the body out to the deck. On some cars it might look like it was a cheap thing but on these I think it looks fine.
Adam, When does Marc get his own channel? You can be his first guest and ridicule him mercilessly😉 On the subject of special guests, when do you feature a whole episode with the classic Volvo P 1800 we caught a glimpse of at 3:05 ?
I own a 63 Sport Roadster which is Partisan Green or Turquoise which was a Continental and Thunderbird color. I love the flowing lines of the Bullet Bird. I only wish that they came with a tachometer in lieu of a clock
Class A - assemblies - doors, hood, deck lid, roof fenders and quarter panels for 55 - 62 T-Bird and later Towncar and Mark and Continentail were supplied by the Budd Co. I visited Wixom in 1983 for a Budd Co. rep. was stationed there. State of the art clean plant - hard workers.
Ugh I LOVE thunderbirds! The 57 was one of my first automotive loves, but over the years I've come to love all generations. I'd really love to see Mark's 67, maybe as a comparison with your Mark III? The electric shaver grill birds are freakin awesome and it isn't easy finding good videos on them.
I love these cars, as they have so many unique design elements. FYI, I think that the first FoMoCo car to have the lower window molding "deleted" as a design feature was the '57 Mercury -- sedans and hardtops.
My father still contends that Ford ruined the Thunderbird by making it a four-seater, but I don't know, I think this version is quite elegant. Love the color, too. My KitchenAid stand mixer is more or less that color. :)
Ford (corp) also connected the dome light to the automatic locking system, with comical and annoying results. If you stopped the car, leaving the transmission in Drive, and someone opened a door, to enter or leave, when the dome light went out, the doors automatically locked again. If you had multiple passengers leaving at uncoordinated intervals, the door locks might have to be unlocked multiple times.
We had several of those over the years including a 62 Bird convertible. This was back when they were not worth much money. Thunderbirds had fantastic dash designs up thru 66. Then they kind of cheapened the product.
They still had full instrumentation in ‘67 through ‘69 sans tach. Not so sure about “cheapening” as it was a completely different look where as audio 8 track, better climate control, and cruise control were introduced. Less heavy chrome but more function.
The 1962 Thunderbird was my first car. I bought it in 1971 or 1972. It rode like a boat on the highway, just floating along. A very heavy car (4k+pounds as I remember) with a 390 V8 and a four barrel carburetor. It wasn't in the best of condition mechanically but I loved the car and it's design. Unfortunately I only had it for a couple of years.
@@jerryparks6123 that must have been fun to drive. I went the other way. Living in NYC, the car after the T bird was a VW Beetle, but it had a manual transmission!
I have owned MANY Thunderbirds. 6 baby birds, one square bird, two bullet birds and three flair birds. I never got around to owning a glamour bird before I switched to Buicks. Going from a 1963 T-Birds to a 1963 Riviera is like going from a lumber wagon on jack in the box springs to a velvet carpet ride. But my heart still in my throat whenever I see a 50s or 60s T-Bird. I guess the imprint will never completely fade. The ONLY non US car that has ever interested me are the 230/250/280SLs. But not enough for me to actually buy one.
There is a Volkswagen Corrado SLC in the background! I had one of these, the car was a hooligan with the VR6 engine. That engine seemed to "encourage" you to drive faster than you should. The Lancia Delta HF Integrale next to it is almost as cool. When I grew up on Grosse Ile, one of the teachers at Parke Lane Elementary school had one of these Thunderbirds. Mrs. Fox kind of looked like the car too... Great video!
In my reading of Ford design of the era I remember this car being originally a Lincoln design proposal. The design was well recieved but shifted to the thunderbird and the same team was instructed to produce a larger proposal for the eventual lincoln.
The Bullet Birds were also originally slated to be front wheel drive cars but Ford nixed the idea due to cost. GM used the tech later in the Toronado and Eldorado.
That was great !I learned a few things that I had not noticed on this body style before, such as the exterior door handles, and the lack of moldings along the base of the windshield and rear windows. A very cool car 👍
Maybe because they went from a 2-seat sports car look to a bloated luxury bird.. I always wished the T-bird had evolved into a car in direct competition with the Corvette.
My dad bought the family a triple black 61 T-Bird. 390ci it was low-mileage beautiful and powerful. Only issue was that it was a no-AC car, and we lived where it was too hot for that in summertime. Other than that it was awesome.
With the costly failures of the Edsel, the Mark II, the Skyliner retractable and the 1958 to 1960 Lincoln, FoMoCo was no longer bleeding cash because it was pretty much all gone. But things got better quick when Ford put out the brake fading, engine overheating, trans slipping 1960 Falcon. Robert MacNamara wanted to ax Lincoln Division as unprofitable. But then the 1961s came out and it would be the Thunderbird and Continental that saved Ford from insolvency. Even President Kennedy ordered a '61 phaeton for his use. So it was fitting that Lincoln should get its own grille design
Forever beating myself for not buying the 63 Thunderbird Monaco I drove last year. It needed work, but man did it drive well. That's a fairly rare car right there!
Of the 60 plus years of the Thunderbird this design is by far my favorite futuristic sleek, elegant. After this it kept getting bigger more bloated and with clumsy styling and by the 1970's down right ugly.
Mark makes the car look tiny. I was 8 when they appeared at the Ford dealer and it was awesome to crawl into. We had a new Falcon and it smelled like the rubber floor mats that it had. The T-bird smelled delicious....the interior plastics I guess. Restored cars get everything right but never that new car smell. It cannot be achieved.
My Grandpa bought one of these and Ford provided a well-built very detailed plastic model of the car that you bought to put on the mantle. I had some basic understanding that the little model was important, but at 6 years old still didn't take good care of it. I'll bet it's worth some good money today all by itself!
I was nine years old when these cars were new. It may always be my favorite. I never clearly saw an interior. Much better than I imagined I totally love it.
I'm thinking they omitted the lower windshield and rear window trim in order to keep debris and rain water from collecting in those areas and rusting the body.
Marc’s deep knowledge on the history of car design continues to amaze and delight me. My dad was a Thunderbird guy and the 61-63 and 64-66 were his favorites for their sporty cockpit style vibe. However, the 1967 was a much more luxurious car. As a small kid, I recall riding in my dad’s and thinking the engine as stalled as we exited highway. Nope - it was just better NVH. Silence! Hopefully, Adam and Marc can do a future video with Marc’s 1967 Thunderbird - maybe compare it with Adam’s 1968 Marquis. The bird was a bit more expensive, but I imagine the two were cross shopped.
Having driven this particular model thousands of miles I can honestly say that they were show stoppers for a certain set. The trunk was large and held a lot luggage. Doing any kind of work under the dash could be problematic, the space was very tight. The curved, "club seating" on later models was uncomfortable after a short while, and was not a place to be on a long trip especially for an adult.
@@kingkrimson8771 yes thank you. For some reason I had looked at this color a few times and it just didn't look like what I wanted. Looked around for some more examples and I believe that's what I want. Medium turquoise metallic or medium blue metallic. My interest is in my fathers 63 vert thunderbird that I grew up with. Its been in a garage for the last 20 years so there is a LOT of work needed to get it back to where it should be. I am not looking to bring it back to factory but to my childhood. Thank you.
What a beautiful car. One of my sister's first boy friends had a red convertible. I remember almost crying when he was driving very fast down the beach road with us in it. Needless to say, my parents didn't care much for this guy.
What a beautiful thunderbird, 1962 is probably my favorite too. Wonder if it had the optional (only for '62) M.E.L series 430 engine or the standard issue 390 F.E series. I really hate when people at car shows don't open the hood, I think I speak for most when I say we want to see all those horsepowers under the hood!
My first car, in 1970, was a 61 Bird. One of the best looking cars ever designed.
I think the 62 and 63 T Birds were the best looking years. Love them!
Generation 3: 1961 - 1963.
Early 60's Thunderbirds are among my favorite cars aestheticly.
My aunt drove a pink one for many years. Always admired the styling.
Truly an underrated masterpiece in every aspect.. The interior is STUNNING
always nice to learn about underrated things on yt! the word underrated itself is probably underrated!
Well said.
One of the most beautiful cars of the early '60s
Thunderbird was ahead of its time
I always loved the 62. Best of the bullets.
Loved the wraparound seats in the later years
One of my neighbors, I was in my teens at the time, brought home a Thunderbird Convertable. In the "Beat This" one-upmanship act, his neighbor bought himself a Thunderbird. This car had a removable rear seat cover. The cover had what looked like built-in headrests. The most beautiful car I've ever seen.
Great episode! Keep bringing Mark along. Really enjoy his wealth or knowledge and the "designer vs bean-counter" fights LOL
My favorite for that body style the 61 to 63
Hope you do a video on the 1960 Thunderbird. My favorite. Grandma had one and I have home video of her pulling into drive. I have the taillights in my bathroom rigged so they illuminate. They are heavy! Great videos!
I once owned a '62 Convertible it was white w/ red interior & black top, very low mileage. I bought it around 1989 for $3500 and sold it 3 years later for $7000, not a bad investment!
I loved that Thunderbird to death!
I'm still amazed that the sister Lincoln managed to pull off its design with the same cowl and stuff, so much smaller than the Cadillac and Imperials.
It's not the same cowl. The Thunderbird is three inches narrower than the Lincoln and an inch lower. And the Thunderbird has a taller greenhouse so the Lincoln cowl is even higher. The windshields do not match, and neither do the wipers. The Thunderbird has traditional clap-hands wipers, and the Lincoln has parallel wipers (but for some reason, backwards for the left side driver position). And the through the cowl heating systems are completely different. The Lincoln has a heater core and fan on each side behind the front wheel well, and the Thunderbird has one core and fan under the dash like most cars.
i’ve read that same ‘myth’ somewhere that they are the same parts. thanks MJ for spelling out those points. i’m going to take a closer look next time i park my bullet bird next to a ‘61 Continental 😊
That car is gorgeous. I always loved the 64-66’s, but I think this generation is even better. Beautiful color too!
The Pagoda SLs are my favorite era for SLs. They were beautiful cars, but still had that Teutonic purposefulness about them.
Love that trim sweeping from door panel to dash. Sleek.
Early '60s Fords were absolutely gorgeous.
You comment on what appears to be missing trim at the bottom of the windshield and the backlight, I love the way it looks with a clean belt line front and back, as if the hardtop is somehow floating above the body. A beautiful design feature of this third generation 'bird. Thank you for these walk arounds, living in Central Oregon I don't get too many car shows of this caliber very often. Thank you for bringing it into my living room.
Agree 100%
Yes, it makes the rear shelf look like a continuation of the rear deck, and the jet tube shape of it at the sides is seen in the shape of the bottom edge of the rear window.
I'm surprised you didn't aquire one of these yet
The British Ford Corsair had a similar look at the front, but the rear was more conservative and not as flamboyant.
Perhaps the accountants and penny pinchers did have a say in the missing mouldings Ont the front, rear windshield and door handles but I think the designers had a big input into this as a more streamlined rocket look streamlining. Very nice designed year for the T-Bird.
In 1999 I was working at an AutoNation USA Used Car Superstore. I saw a 1963 Thunderbird cruising along the 5 freeway in Irvine. The next day the same car came in trade at our store. It was in poor shape and was sold wholesale. It was a beautiful champagne color and was definitely complete.
Now we're talking. Love the mid-60s Thunderbirds. Thanks for posting this.
The T-Birds in the late 50s and early 60s were probably the most beautiful cars ever made. It basically said to the buyer beauty and luxury a sense of class.
The "square bird" and "flair bird" are my favorite Thunderbirds. Everybody loves the original 2 seat Thunderbird, but I thought the Corvette was the much cooler and better performing car of that era. Those early 60's Thunderbirds had some wild styling and were kind of compact. Seemed like every "luxury" or "aspirational" American car of the early 60's was the size of an expensive yacht. The Thunderbird bucked that trend, it was a "tidy 205" in length for 1962, while a Coupe Deville was 222" long.
very educational. you guys never fail to impress with the depth and scope of your knowledge of automotive history.🏆
Adam, I hope TH-cam is taking care of you properly. It's much deserved.
Bless the Finance Guy. You ain't goin' anywhere without 'em. 👍 Eh, Adam?
Love all your videos!
When I first started taking better quality pictures (I'd hesitate to call them photographs even now) I loved the 61-62 'bird. So many interesting shots.
The '62 Ford Mustang Concept 1 featured a 1.5 short stroke Taunus V-4 which found it's way into other vehicles such as 70s SAAB Sonnetts.
Ive always thought that windshield and back light look amazing!!
Like the glass is sliding into the body.
???!!!
That door handle is one of my favorite things about the bullet birds!
I’d love to be a fly on the wall while you guys wander car shows, discussing commonly overlooked design intricacies. I learn so much just by watching these videos.
TBirds from 58 thru 76 were built in the Lincoln plant, on a Lincoln platform. Basically, they WERE all Lincolns. In 61, the Lincoln produced was designed to be the Thunderbird, but the design was commandeered by upper management for Lincoln. This is why the Lincoln had suicide doors. They had to convert the 2 door TBird body to 4 door for Lincoln. Standard rear doors destroyed the car's proportions, and looked odd. The suicide doors solved the issue.
2:55 I'll venture a guess that that wasn't any cheaper to make, with the molding having to bear the force of the door being grabbed, but it does look great.
Very nice. I love the styling of the 60s Thunderbirds.
I raced a T-Bird like that standing start to whatever. I was driving my XK120, with newly installed 3.8 from a Sebring raced D Type. The poor Bird never had a chance. I got him out of the hole, and never was challenged. Ah, the games of youth.
Years ago I was driving along and a pheasant hit my windshield. My windshield mounted rear view mirror flew into the backseat, but fortunately the windshield never broke. It sounded like a gun going off.
My favorite year of T-bird. I think the lack of lower window moldings was to give it the look that the roof is sprouting organically from the body and they didn't want to disturb the line from the hood through the body out to the deck. On some cars it might look like it was a cheap thing but on these I think it looks fine.
Adam, When does Marc get his own channel? You can be his first guest and ridicule him mercilessly😉 On the subject of special guests, when do you feature a whole episode with the
classic Volvo P 1800 we caught a glimpse of at 3:05 ?
I own a 63 Sport Roadster which is Partisan Green or Turquoise which was a Continental and Thunderbird color. I love the flowing lines of the Bullet Bird. I only wish that they came with a tachometer in lieu of a clock
Surprised there wasn’t more said about the taillights.
Hope you run across a 1960 TBird! My favorite next to the 1978 Diamond Jubilee
Class A - assemblies - doors, hood, deck lid, roof fenders and quarter panels for 55 - 62 T-Bird and later Towncar and Mark and Continentail were supplied by the Budd Co. I visited Wixom in 1983 for a Budd Co. rep. was stationed there. State of the art clean plant - hard workers.
I love this car!!!
I never thought of it as a baby Continental
Ugh I LOVE thunderbirds! The 57 was one of my first automotive loves, but over the years I've come to love all generations. I'd really love to see Mark's 67, maybe as a comparison with your Mark III? The electric shaver grill birds are freakin awesome and it isn't easy finding good videos on them.
I love these cars, as they have so many unique design elements. FYI, I think that the first FoMoCo car to have the lower window molding "deleted" as a design feature was the '57 Mercury -- sedans and hardtops.
Yes, it's a styling cue!!
The Thunderbird is stunning!!! 👍👍🙂
I LOVE ❤️ the 1961-1963 Ford Thunderbird
I think Syd Mead was responsible for the styling of the taillights...
I thought you guys were going to review the pagoda!
Awesome out there styling... like the 71 Buick Riviera... ultimate styling... luv them
My father still contends that Ford ruined the Thunderbird by making it a four-seater, but I don't know, I think this version is quite elegant. Love the color, too. My KitchenAid stand mixer is more or less that color. :)
Closest European cousin was the beautifully designed sporty coupe called the Corsair.
JFK's Inaugural parade was filled with white T-Birds, courtesy of Robert McNamara!
Owning a Bullet Bird remains on the bucket list.
Beautiful
That's my car even same color!
Ford (corp) also connected the dome light to the automatic locking system, with comical and annoying results.
If you stopped the car, leaving the transmission in Drive, and someone opened a door, to enter or leave, when the dome light went out, the doors automatically locked again.
If you had multiple passengers leaving at uncoordinated intervals, the door locks might have to be unlocked multiple times.
Beautiful car and a very interesting and knowledgeable discussion!
We had several of those over the years including a 62 Bird convertible. This was back when they were not worth much money. Thunderbirds had fantastic dash designs up thru 66. Then they kind of cheapened the product.
They still had full instrumentation in ‘67 through ‘69 sans tach. Not so sure about “cheapening” as it was a completely different look where as audio 8 track, better climate control, and cruise control were introduced. Less heavy chrome but more function.
@@ProjectFairmont Cruise control was introduced on the '64 Thunderbird, 8-track on the '66 model
The Arrow Birds are beautiful. The kraut can next to it has the styling of an econobox. Just my unqualified opinion.
The 60's Ford interiors were the bomb.
All full size 61 Fords, both coupes, four door sedans & station wagons have door handles like this on both front & rear doors.
The 1962 Thunderbird was my first car. I bought it in 1971 or 1972. It rode like a boat on the highway, just floating along. A very heavy car (4k+pounds as I remember) with a 390 V8 and a four barrel carburetor. It wasn't in the best of condition mechanically but I loved the car and it's design. Unfortunately I only had it for a couple of years.
My first car was a 63 Thunderbird, I also bought it in 71! My 3rd car a 68 Thunderbird 429 .
@@jerryparks6123 that must have been fun to drive. I went the other way. Living in NYC, the car after the T bird was a VW Beetle, but it had a manual transmission!
What a beauty! 😊
Nice car.
Dog dish hubcaps on a Thunderbird! WTH?
I have owned MANY Thunderbirds. 6 baby birds, one square bird, two bullet birds and three flair birds. I never got around to owning a glamour bird before I switched to Buicks. Going from a 1963 T-Birds to a 1963 Riviera is like going from a lumber wagon on jack in the box springs to a velvet carpet ride. But my heart still in my throat whenever I see a 50s or 60s T-Bird. I guess the imprint will never completely fade. The ONLY non US car that has ever interested me are the 230/250/280SLs. But not enough for me to actually buy one.
I LOVE my squarebird!! I have a 60 Bonneville yet the 58 Squarebird is more fun to drive.,.
Another excellent presentation !
There is a Volkswagen Corrado SLC in the background! I had one of these, the car was a hooligan with the VR6 engine. That engine seemed to "encourage" you to drive faster than you should.
The Lancia Delta HF Integrale next to it is almost as cool.
When I grew up on Grosse Ile, one of the teachers at Parke Lane Elementary school had one of these Thunderbirds. Mrs. Fox kind of looked like the car too...
Great video!
I could listen to you guys talk about cars like this one for hours.
2020 Lincoln Continental also has very nicely integrated door handles.
Integrated, but not just a part of the trim. Check any 1951-1956 Packard - same thing.
In my reading of Ford design of the era I remember this car being originally a Lincoln design proposal. The design was well recieved but shifted to the thunderbird and the same team was instructed to produce a larger proposal for the eventual lincoln.
The Bullet Birds were also originally slated to be front wheel drive cars but Ford nixed the idea due to cost. GM used the tech later in the Toronado and Eldorado.
That was great !I learned a few things that I had not noticed on this body style before, such as the exterior door handles, and the lack of moldings along the base of the windshield and rear windows. A very cool car 👍
I never. Liked these Thunderbirds ...still Don't..imo
Maybe because they went from a 2-seat sports car look to a bloated luxury bird.. I always wished the T-bird had evolved into a car in direct competition with the Corvette.
Also, the UK Ford Corsair front. :)
My dad bought the family a triple black 61 T-Bird. 390ci it was low-mileage beautiful and powerful. Only issue was that it was a no-AC car, and we lived where it was too hot for that in summertime. Other than that it was awesome.
With the costly failures of the Edsel, the Mark II, the Skyliner retractable and the 1958 to 1960 Lincoln, FoMoCo was no longer bleeding cash because it was pretty much all gone. But things got better quick when Ford put out the brake fading, engine overheating, trans slipping 1960 Falcon. Robert MacNamara wanted to ax Lincoln Division as unprofitable. But then the 1961s came out and it would be the Thunderbird and Continental that saved Ford from insolvency. Even President Kennedy ordered a '61 phaeton for his use. So it was fitting that Lincoln should get its own grille design
Forever beating myself for not buying the 63 Thunderbird Monaco I drove last year. It needed work, but man did it drive well. That's a fairly rare car right there!
Of the 60 plus years of the Thunderbird this design is by far my favorite futuristic sleek, elegant. After this it kept getting bigger more bloated and with clumsy styling and by the 1970's down right ugly.
Very Nice! 👍
Mark makes the car look tiny. I was 8 when they appeared at the Ford dealer and it was awesome to crawl into. We had a new Falcon and it smelled like the rubber floor mats that it had. The T-bird smelled delicious....the interior plastics I guess. Restored cars get everything right but never that new car smell. It cannot be achieved.
My Grandpa bought one of these and Ford provided a well-built very detailed plastic model of the car that you bought to put on the mantle. I had some basic understanding that the little model was important, but at 6 years old still didn't take good care of it. I'll bet it's worth some good money today all by itself!
When I was 5 in 1962 Dad Got Me a Toy One and He Got a Toy One Too. R.I.P. Dad-Yo. (smile)
If your in Michigan how did that guy keep that Chevy pickup that clean? I need his secrets.
Just bought one myself… they are amazing and the details are incredible for early 60’s cars
I was nine years old when these cars were new. It may always be my favorite. I never clearly saw an interior. Much better than I imagined I totally love it.
I'm thinking they omitted the lower windshield and rear window trim in order to keep debris and rain water from collecting in those areas and rusting the body.
The Lincoln designed at the same time (also unit body and also made at the same plant) has the stainless at the bottom of both.
Seemed like a plausible theory at the time.
My neighbour has one in convertible form
Marc’s deep knowledge on the history of car design continues to amaze and delight me.
My dad was a Thunderbird guy and the 61-63 and 64-66 were his favorites for their sporty cockpit style vibe.
However, the 1967 was a much more luxurious car. As a small kid, I recall riding in my dad’s and thinking the engine as stalled as we exited highway. Nope - it was just better NVH. Silence!
Hopefully, Adam and Marc can do a future video with Marc’s 1967 Thunderbird - maybe compare it with Adam’s 1968 Marquis. The bird was a bit more expensive, but I imagine the two were cross shopped.
Having driven this particular model thousands of miles I can honestly say that they were show stoppers for a certain set. The trunk was large and held a lot luggage. Doing any kind of work under the dash could be problematic, the space was very tight.
The curved, "club seating" on later models was uncomfortable after a short while, and was not a place to be on a long trip especially for an adult.
Is that an Alfa in the front of the T Bird next to the Corvette?
Do you know what color it is? A Ford color? I want that color.
Looks like paint code D, Medium Turquoise Metallic
@@kingkrimson8771 yes thank you. For some reason I had looked at this color a few times and it just didn't look like what I wanted. Looked around for some more examples and I believe that's what I want. Medium turquoise metallic or medium blue metallic. My interest is in my fathers 63 vert thunderbird that I grew up with. Its been in a garage for the last 20 years so there is a LOT of work needed to get it back to where it should be. I am not looking to bring it back to factory but to my childhood. Thank you.
What a beautiful car. One of my sister's first boy friends had a red convertible. I remember almost crying when he was driving very fast down the beach road with us in it. Needless to say, my parents didn't care much for this guy.
What a beautiful thunderbird, 1962 is probably my favorite too. Wonder if it had the optional (only for '62) M.E.L series 430 engine or the standard issue 390 F.E series. I really hate when people at car shows don't open the hood, I think I speak for most when I say we want to see all those horsepowers under the hood!