Vehicle Description
1955 Ford Thunderbird Roadster
The name "Pro-Touring" was first coined in 1998 by then Chevy High
Performance editor Jeff Smith, discussing one of GM engineer Mark
Stielow's '69 Camaros. He said, "Pro Touring is about killer
acceleration, brutal brakes, and corner-bending capability combined
with cross country comfort. Toss in occasional jaunts to the drag
strip, a slalom, or a top speed contest, and you have the makings
of a car for all reasons- Pro Touring". Three basic key ingredients
define a Pro-Touring car- better acceleration, better handling, and
better braking. The emphasis isn't on being a trailer queen with
saran wrapped tires, although many of these cars are car show
trophy worthy, but rather their emphasis is on being driven, and
often driven hard. Thx to Speedtechperformance.com
For consignment, year 1 version 1 of the soon to be iconic Ford
Thunderbird. And you WILL want one! Bathed in Raven Black, it does
not get any more mid 50s looking than this wonderful 2 seat bird.
The entire package is very attractive, but the thing that sends
this writer over the top is all the custom work that has been added
in to create the pro-touring machine before you.
Suspension...check, brakes....check, drivetrain...check, tons of
custom touches...check.
Exterior
Starting upfront, we can see a beautiful mirror-like bumper that
has been cut 3" and tucked to the body with its dagmars and
bumperettes removed. Directly above is a custom billet grille with
custom stainless garnish and flanking this on either side of the
extended and smoothed nose is a single frenched in Oracle Angel Eye
headlight. A long-scooped hood, with a 4" extension on the scoop
and custom billet bezel, rolls its way back to the passenger
compartment. Flanking this hood are the smooth fenders with their
functional airboxes and down below twin portholes for the open
exhaust option. Moving down the side we encounter smoothed doors
and on the back small fins tip round taillights, emulating jet age
design, and another clean cut and tucked bumper. A smoothed rear
deck leads back to the smoothed trunk lid then down to the gas cap
door all smooth, black, and clean. Staggered width blackwall rubber
surrounds highly polished Billet Specialties wheels finishing off
the look and do so just swimmingly. All metal is painted in Raven
Black paint and has nicely minded gaps with no rust seen. As a
note, this car does not have either the soft top or the hardtop,
it's totally open air touring here.
Interior
The curvaceous thick door panels are wrapped in black leather with
some turquoise leather covered swooping long armrests, and a black
padded window sill attached at the top. There is a large panel of
machined aluminum through the center which is the background for
the door actuator. These are nice and clean, with the aluminum
showing a few scuffs. This panel looks the part, as they melt into
the custom curved dash keeping the machined metal line through the
center. A fan style turquoise background with white numbered
speedometer is above on the padded black dash top and turquoise
below. Flanking on either side of the speedo are round gauges, one
a tachometer, and the right a clock both courtesy of Classic
Instruments. Just below in the swoop down of the reshaped and
reformed 1959 Thunderbird console is the controller for the Vintage
AC & heater. This console races between the custom seats with cup
holders, billet power window switches, and the polished ball topped
shifter arm. Speaking of the seats, how about a pair of narrowed
and shortened 1968 Thunderbird buckets, refinished in soft black
leather with a peppering of turquoise thrown in for some extra good
looks. Not only are these seats comfortable but they're also power
actuated. Nice condition black carpeting floods the floors, and an
Ididit tilt column and Con2R custom steering wheel fronts the
pristine dash. Add in an AM/FM/6 CD changer stereo with a USB port
and we're in touring heaven.
Drivetrain
A 347ci Ford stroker V8 engine, making a consignor stated 425hp is
in a clean and shiny engine bay. It is topped with ProComp aluminum
heads, a ground and epoxied polished Barry Grant 6 shooter intake
with 3-2bbl Barry Grant carbs on top along with a custom airbrushed
air cleaner assembly. Black is reserved for the block, and the
shiny black Thunderbird airbrushed valve covers add some more bling
to the bay. A Tremec 5-speed manual transmission and a 3.55 Posi
Dana 44 rear axle complete the drivetrain. Our eyes are drawn all
over the engine bay with one hit coming after the next. We note a
polished aluminum radiator, 2500cfm cooling fan, custom smoothed
firewall, chrome plated hood releases, and a modified splash pan to
name a few. Just a beautiful presentation under the hood.
Undercarriage
Just a hint of surface rust on a few untreated components but all
else is solid. A custom Progressive narrowed frame with a modified
X frame provides the backbone for the flawless steel floor pans and
suspension. A Mustang II style front end is on for the front, and a
4 link for the rear make up the suspension all being assisted with
Air Ride Technology Shockwave airbags. We note 4-wheel power disc
brakes, power steering, and a heavy duty front sway bar. Also, we
see a narrowed fuel tank to accommodate the larger rear wheel
tubs.
Drive-Ability
Not a ton of room in these early birds, but once in, they are
comfy. This car fired right up and took off for the test track
where it flew around in circles with ease. A strong accelerator, a
great handler and a good stopper, all the qualities you want and
need in a pro-touring ride. All functions were working at the time
of our drive and I can't get over how modern this car feels while
retaining many of the classic Baby Bird styling cues.
All in all a wonderful example that has been modified into a
pro-touring driving machine. Ready to handle any highway or
backroad you can throw at it or maybe even a parking lot SCCA race
then drive home with the radio playing and the A/C keeping you icy
cold. Add in a write up in Street Rodder magazine, and a Best Ford
in A Ford award at the 16th annual PPG Syracuse Nationals and you
can focus on the show circuit. Either way you can soar through
town, screech the tires, and turn some heads...all the way
around!
VIN DECODE
P5FH114109
P-292ci V8
5-1955
F-Dearborn, MI Assy Plant
H-Thunderbird
114109-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 650 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.
