Vehicle Description
1964 New York World?s Fair Ford Thunderbird Convertible ? ?Magic
Skyway Thunderbird? ?This is the Thunderbird used in the 1964
World?s Fair Magic Skyway ride in New York ?This T-Bird #73 and #70
are the only Magic Skyway Thunderbirds known to still exist ?Many
celebrities rode the Magic Skyway including Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. and Jackie Robinson ?First model year of the fourth generation,
one of the very first ?Flair Birds? #73 ?Sold new at the ?A? lot at
Ford in Dearborn, which was a resale lot for company cars
?Displayed at the AACA Museum in Hersey, Pennsylvania ?Original 390
CID V-8 engine (code FE) that produces 300 hp! ?Cruise-O-Matic MX
three-speed automatic transmission (code 4) and 3.00 gearing (code
1) ?Correct Prairie Tan (code G) and Palomino vinyl (code 59) with
white, power-folding canvas top ?Select-Aire air-conditioning,
power steering, power brakes and power windows ?Swing-Away steering
wheel ?Plenty of originality, original taillights, original trim
and T-Bird emblems ?Unique factory triple vin stampings on cowl and
tow plate mounting holes ?A updated factory style radio with USB
connectivity Partially used as a salve for a nation still mourning
President John Kennedy, the World?s Fair opened in New York during
the spring of 1964. With help from Walt Disney, Ford Motor
Corporation produced one of the exhibits, a ?Magic Skyway.?
MotoeXotica Classic Cars is proud to present one of the cars that
took visitors through it -- this particular 1964 Ford Thunderbird
was built number as 73 off the line for the 1964 World's Fair Magic
Skyway exhibit. For their pavilion at the 1964-65 New York World's
Fair, Ford Motor Company brought in Walt Disney to design a "unique
and memorable entertainment adventure" that would outshine its
competitors. This became the Magic Skyway ride, in which guests sat
in Ford convertibles through a Disney-designed show. The ride
attracted many celebrities, including baseball great Jackie
Robinson, Gerald and Betty Ford and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The
King family visited the ride during the 1964 New York World?s Fair.
The Civil Rights leader rode the skyway with his children and his
wife and two other children followed in the next electronically
controlled car behind them. This Magic Skyway Thunderbird was never
sold by a dealer; it was shipped from the prototype line at the
Wixom plant to Ford's sales office in White Plains, New York where
cars were prepared for the Magic Skyway. It still retains evidence
of the ride tow plate with two 1 1/4-inch holes in the radiator
cross member (3 1/4 inches from the edge of the fenders), and two 1
1/4" by 3/8" holes in the left inner fender and the engine bay is
painted factory black, same as the other Magic Skyway cars. One of
the ?Flair Birds,? this example was only the 73rd one off of the
production line (73 out of 92,465 produced!) at Ford?s Wixom,
Michigan factory (VIN code Y), made on August 8, 1963 (code 08H).
Dressed in correct Prairie Tan (code G), the car?s paint and trim
are in overall very good condition. The bodywork is straight and
solid and the engine bay is very tidy and still retains its correct
black engine area. The newer restored contrasting white,
power-folding canvas top is in excellent shape. The car?s chrome
bumpers are in great original shape and NAPA battery looks great.
This car rolls on Hankook Optimo whitewall tires in front, size
215/75R15 in front and BFGoodrich whitewall radials, size 21/70R15
in back. Each tire is mounted on a steel wheel with factory wheel
covers. The tires are in satisfactory shape while the wheel covers
are in very good order. Under the hood is Ford?s 390 V-8 engine
(code FE) with 300 horsepower! The motor is linked to a
Cruise-O-Matic MX three-speed automatic transmission (code 4) with
3.00:1 gearing (code 1). Driver convenience features include
Select-Aire air-conditioning but is inoperable, power steering,
power brakes and power windows. Inside, the car?s Palomino vinyl
interior (code 59) is in overall original order. The novel,
Swing-Away easy ingress/egress steering wheel is present. The front
bucket and rear wraparound bucket are part of the same styling
motif that graced the Continentals of the same period. The
instrument panel and inner door panel are in good original shape,
as is the center console and column-mounted shift lever. A updated
factory style radio with USB connectivity finishes of the interior.
This was used to play the original ?Magic Skyway? ride sound track
while displayed at previous museums including the AACA Museum in
Hersey Pennsylvania. Once loaded by attendants, visitors could tune
the cars? radios to select one of four languages for narration,
music and sounds. The Magic Skyway journey began with a recorded
message from Henry Ford II, telling of the upcoming ?voyage through
time and space, from a dark and distant yesterday to a bright and
promising tomorrow,? and ended with a message from Walt Disney, who
spoke of a world ?where tomorrow is being created today.? You can
listen to the original sound track at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgna1hj3jvA The Magic Skyway took
visitors from the distant past into an imagined future, all while
sitting comfy in Ford, Mercury or Lincoln convertibles. Pulled from
the production line, selected cars (which were towed on the ride,
not driven) required extensive modification by Ford?s White Plaines
office in New York. Engines, transmissions and driveshafts were
removed and set aside then holes were drilled in the chassis to
accommodate a mounting tow plate, used to affix the car to the belt
that pulled it through simulated time and space. The tow plate was
arranged in such a way that the pin would be well out in front of
the centerline of the wheels, so that the wheels would ?track?
around curves. This exhibit?s success, in part, convinced Disney
that a new theme park, this one in Orlando, Florida, was possible.
Following the conclusion of the World?s Fair, Ford rejected the
idea of dismantling and rebuilding the pavilion in Dearborn and
shot down a proposal to sponsor a permanent Magic Skyway ride at
Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The cars used in the ride were
returned to Ford?s New York office, where their drivetrains were
reinstalled before they were shipped to the ?A? lot at Ford in
Dearborn, which was a resale lot for company cars, which is where
all of the Skyway cars ended up for sale, not on dealer?s lots.
What happened to this T-Bird between Ford?s A lot and 2013 is
unknown but this T-Bird #73 and #70 are the only Magic Skyway
Thunderbirds known to still exist. Later on, this Thunderbird was
found in a museum in West Virginia in 2013. The collection?s owner
was ready to move it outside because it didn?t fit his theme; he
collected Corvettes. A British man from the Birmingham, Alabama
area made a hasty offer to buy the car and the owner agreed. The
car arrived in Birmingham the same day former British Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher died, so he named the car in her honor.
The collector is a diplomat and Vice President of the International
Thunderbird Club (www.intl-thunderbirdclub.com). Margaret was
acquired by him from a private collection in early 2013. Extensive
restoration has been completed to make her a driver; although her
original drivetrain is still installed and the interior is overall
original. This Thunderbird is listed in the Thunderbird registry as
a Significant Thunderbird (registry number 10204). Was a featured
car at the 2015 Carlisle All Ford Nationals during the 50th
Anniversary Thunderbird show and has won several awards: 2014
Birmingham World of Wheels; Best in Class 2014 International
Thunderbird Club Convention Concours show; 3rd in Touring Class
2016 Birmingham World of Wheels; Best in Class 2017 Displayed at
the AACA Museum in Hersey, Pennsylvania In 1964, the Thunderbird
was initially offered as a hardtop, convertible, Sports Roadster
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