Vehicle Description
1957 FORD T-BIRD 312 cu in (5.1 L) OHV Thunderbird V8 Manual
Transmission Comes with Both Tops, The Iconic 'Porthole' Hardtop
and Factory Folding Soft Top Rear Bumper routed Exhaust Exits Front
Fender Vents Factory Sport Hood 41,000 Original Miles Our Car has a
beautiful Body that is very solid and dry. From top to bottom, a
Gorgeous car that drives as good as it looks. We sell and ship
worldwide! The first generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a
two-seat convertible produced by Ford for the 1955 to the 1957
model years, the first 2-seat Ford since 1938. It was developed in
response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show,
which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette in turn was
developed in response to the popularity of European sports cars
among Americans. Dubbed a "a personal car of distinction" by Ford,
this appellation was also used by the motoring press at the time.
The car built upon the heritage of the bespoke roadsters of the
1930s, yet was constructed largely of existing components, marking
the first step toward the evolution of the personal luxury car as a
mass market segment in the United States. While light weight for
its era and fitted with a standard V8 engine, the Thunderbird
focused more on driver comfort than speed, and was not a direct
rival to either the Corvette or European sports cars. The
Thunderbird proved more suited to the American market than the
Corvette, with sales of 16,155, versus 674 Corvettes in 1955. This
remained the only two-seat convertible Thunderbird until the
eleventh-generation was unveiled in 2002. The design of this
generation of the Ford Thunderbird was the direct inspiration for
the German Auto Union 1000 Sp. For the 1957 model year, the front
bumper was reshaped, the grille and tailfins were made larger, and
larger taillights were fitted. The spare wheel moved back inside
the trunk, which had been redesigned to allow it to be mounted
vertically. The side "Thunderbird" script was moved from the fins
to the front fenders.
