Vehicle Description
1960 Ford Thunderbird
Lay aside everything you've heard in condemnation of the four-seat
1960 Ford Thunderbird - all that stuff about forsaking the sports
car, substituting glitz for function, adding the hated back seat.
It is all immaterial because it misses the point: Despite its
deviation from the original concept, the first four-seat
Thunderbird was simply a masterpiece of design.
For consignment a car that earned its honor without relying upon
the technological dead-ends of the era: air suspension, fuel
injection, supercharging, and retractable hardtops. Though all of
these were considered, all were rejected. Just good design with a
wildly popular rear seat and retaining its low profile and iconic
T-Bird roofline. With an original 74,183 miles, and sporting the
original interior, she puts on a great show in very good
condition.
Exterior
Bathed in a white paint job from 13 years ago, this car is
spotless. A few dings and minute dents, but very shiny nicely
applied paint. With its dual eyebrow covered headlights, nice use
of a front grille within the big chrome bumper that hangs below the
dual headlights, and a scooped hood we are greeted with the new
design. Moving back is a curved glass windshield and the roofline
of the hardtop that is very reminiscent of the 2-seater design
line. On the rear of this car we note slight use of fins that
finish off the top of the oval triple taillights, which to this
writer are reminiscent of an owl. 14-inch chromed wire wheels are
noted on all 4 corners.
Interior
The original black leather graces the inside of this now 5
passenger car. In the form of space age style front buckets, and a
curving rear bench, the seats have a wonderful patina with some
cracking and areas of wear, but very nice for the originals. A
simple black center console races from the rear bench up through
the buckets and houses the power window switches. As it rises to
the dash, a circular airflow and temperature panel is seen below
the working AM radio. The dash is a dual eyebrow design in padded
black vinyl for the top, and ribbed aluminum for the gauge cluster
and glovebox. The original white steering wheel in thin space age
style fronts the dash and is crack free. Black carpet in nice
condition with Thunderbird logo carpet floor mats are seen below,
and above is a perforated style tight white headliner. Speaking of
space age, the curved door panels and the use of a mixture of
materials makes me feel like Buck Rodgers jumped 10 years ahead of
his time!
Drivetrain
Simple but elegant, the 352ci V8 sits in a very clean engine bay.
It is topped with a single 4-barrel carburetor and backed up by a
3-speed Cruise-O-Matic (one of my favorite 60's words) automatic
transmission. For the rear axle we note a 9-inch 3.10 gear
setup.
Undercarriage
All buttoned up underneath with no rust or structural problems.
Clean floor pans, some rustproofing spray, and well maintained
mechanicals as far as the eye can see underneath.
Drive-Ability
My decoding and fellow test driving partner fought as to who was
going to take this one for a ride, and he won. However, what he
said was it ran like a Timex watch, shifted very smoothly, and had
a dreamlike smooth ride, with very little exterior noise getting in
the passenger compartment. He noted power steering, and good brakes
that have a newly rebuilt vacuum booster. Power windows worked
flawlessly and a power driver's seat that works properly to obtain
endless comfort.
Presenting a very nice example of the "Square Bird" from 1960. Good
paint, original interior, clean smooth running drivetrain, and no
rust. Lovely car.
VIN Decode
0Y71Y182874
0-1960
Y-Wixom, MI Assy Plant
71-Thunderbird 2 Door Hardtop
Y-352 ci V8 4bbl
182874-Sequential Unit Number
Warranty Tag
BODY 63A-2 Door Hardtop
COLOR Y-Gunpowder Gray Metallic
TRIM 86-Black Leather
DATE 11H-August 11th Build Date
TRANS 4-Cruise O Matic
AXLE 3-Ford 9" 3.10 Gears
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 450 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
