Vehicle Description
1963 Ford Thunderbird Landau Hardtop
The Jet age is in full swing, the country is riding high on
Beatlemania, towering beehive hair doo's, fur boots, and getting to
the moon before the end of the decade. Unfortunately, we were
riding low on the assignation of President Kennedy, Russia
launching the first woman into space and racial equality concerns.
To mirror these times, the Ford Motor Company put elements of the
times into the design of the Thunderbird for 1963.
Ford and Chevrolet with their respective Thunderbird and the
Corvette have a long and sorted history, with both initially in the
50's competing for the same customer space. Eventually the Corvette
went to racing, and the Thunderbird became the boulevard king. The
ultimate getaway car from the kids, or with the kids as now there
is a back seat, a '63 Thunderbird known colloquially as the "Bullet
bird" became the "it" car for early 1960's suburbia. With design
cues courtesy of the jet age, its bullet like front appearance, and
jet engine tail lights were keying into the upwardly mobile middle
class, and growing suburbia. Gimme a valium as I'm growing ever
more excited about this ultra cool bird consignment that shows
9,006 miles which are not verifiable as actual.
NOTE: While the VIN on this vehicle denotes the model year as 1963,
the title is showing 1962 for the model year. Please check with
your country, state, provincial or local DMV for proper titling
procedure
Exterior
This car arrives to us with an older complete restoration, but
still maintaining its luster due to storage in a climate controlled
garage. Bathed in factory matching Sandshell Beige paint, it nice
and shiny, and only has one real visible fault that is on the
drivers side edge of the hood with a small crack in the enamel. The
nose emulates a bullet shape popular with jet fighters of the era,
which features a shaver style grille and dual horizontal head
lighting on either corner. A chromed bumper below keeps the curved
side profile and remains wonderfully shiny creating an aerodynamic
"bat mobile" look. For the long hood an equally long hood scoop has
a nice chromed V edge trimming and runs back to the sloped
windscreen framed above with a brown vinyl textured landau hardtop
and some chromed landau bars on either B pillar. This feature gives
it a touch of class, or a "mink coat for father" look! The
remaining chrome and bright work are correct, and in fine shape. On
the doors we have some faux venting and sport a canted ridge topped
with chrome and forming the door pulls. Bringing up the rear is the
spacious 2 bedroom NYC apartment sized trunk, flanked by twin
turbine jet engine style tail lights which are encased into the
rear bumper. These are topped by miniature fins, and on this car
are utilized from front quarter to rear lights. Like new treaded
thin white sidewall tires wrap original chrome turbine styled
factory wheel coverings. Wheels up Yeager! Let's go to the
interior.
Interior
A swing of the wide doors and we have brown textured leather
uppers, a strip of wood veneer in the mid section which corresponds
to the wrap around curved dash, and a beige leather lower accented
with vertical chromed piping and chromed actuators. Here the seats
are low back buckets in front, with some tuck and roll inserts,
smooth beige leather bolsters, and chromed edging and hinge
coverings. A wide sleek console with a large glovebox is in the
center and features a beige leather lid and some more wood veneer
for the front of the console panel. This rises to meet the curved
wood veneer of the dash and has some temp sliders on the way. A
futuristic dual eyebrow dash in padded brown vinyl hovers above the
curved wood and houses the AM radio, and in front of the driver a
trio of round deep bezeled inset instruments. Several mid century
modern knobs and pulls in chrome are within the veneer of the
central dash. A tilt away steering wheel allows for easy access and
egress for the driver, and a hinge on the low backs opens up the
rear passenger seating which emulates the beige leather of the
front, and is a dual bucket bench, luxuriously padded. A perfect
headliner hovers above also in beige, and lighter brown thick pile
carpeting floods the floors, all very clean. Smiley Face, (
invented in 1963!).
Drivetrain
A pop of the hood reveals the showroom looking original 390ci V8.
It is adorned with a gold painted air cleaner cover and gold valve
coverings. Under the cleaner is a 4-barrel carburetor feeding this
mill, and on back a Cruise-O-Matic 3-speed automatic tranny. On the
way back a Ford 9 inch 3.00 rear axle spins the wheels. Fly me to
the moon.....
Undercarriage
Nicely buttoned up would be the buzz word for the undeside with
plenty-O-rustproofing and certainly no rust. A like new dual
exhaust at the engine, going into 1 pipe is like new, and the car
cruises gently on front independent coil springs and rear leaf
springs. Power drum brakes are certainly show stopping. Yes the car
is the show kids!
Drive-Ability
The car starts and runs on starting fluid but due to a time lapse
of lack of regular driving, gas has turned to lacquer and will need
a good clean out. All functions save for the wipers are working
swimmingly.
Honey get the bandanna for your bouffant, slap on some of my fav
red lip gloss, cat eye shades, and let's get away from the kids for
a while. I can slip in and slide the wheel over and away we go!
Pilot to co pilot....low and slow.
3Y87Z117052
3-1963
Y-Wixon, MI Assy Plant
87-Thunderbird Landau
Z-390ci 4bbl 300hp V8
117052-Sequential Unit Number
WARRANTY PLATE
BODY 63B-Thunderbird Landau Hardtop
COLOR T-Sandshell Beige
TRIM 54-Beige Leather
DATE 06L-November 6th
DSO 23-Philadelphia
AXLE 1-Ford 9" 3.00 Conventional
TRANS 4-Cruise O Matic
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us
anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
There is no guarantee of mileage. A $299 Dealer Administrative fee
is not included in the advertised price.
With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and
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