Vehicle Description
1955 Ford Thunderbird
With the popularity of the European sports cars in the American
market you can bet American manufacturers were scrambling to try
and capture that audience. Chevrolet struck first with the
unveiling of the Corvette in 1953 and Ford was quick to respond
with the Thunderbird in 55. These two seater roadsters had a sporty
look and developed quite the following. This 55 TBird is a great
starting point for someone looking to do a restoration. It was
painted Red at some point in its life but came from the factory in
a Black on Black combo. The body is pretty solid with most of the
original sheet metal being in good condition. All of the original
chrome/trim pieces are there and although they have lost some of
their shine are still in good condition. With a little effort we
suspect a lot of the trim could be brought back to life. All of the
glass is in good shape as is the removable top. A big positive for
the car is the fact that it has the SU dealer code on the data code
plate. That means it was originally sold out of Houston. We know it
has been in Texas for a large part of its life so there is a good
chance it has never even left the state.
At some point in its life the drivetrain in the car was fully
replaced. It is now powered by a 289 V8 backed with a C4 automatic
transmission. So while it looks like a TBird it was Mustang powered
at some point. The motor has not been in running condition for some
time but is not frozen up so you have options when deciding whether
to change it out or rebuild it.
On the inside the car was done in Black and most of the original
components are all still there. It even has the factory power seat
and window controls on the doors. The only major change from
original is the T Handle green dot shifter to match the Mustang
transmission. Everything else appears to be stock. Coming across
projects like this does not happen as often as you would think so
if your are shopping around for your next starting point this
definitely one to check out. The 55 Thunderbirds are fairly
desirable and we don't think it will take long before someone
scoops this one up to give it a new life.
Make it yours for only $14,150.00!