Vehicle Description
1965 Ford Thunderbird Special Landau Original owner was LaVerne
Hoover, plus two other owners, including a man named James Bond
Previous owner drove the car for 18 years! Z code 390 CID V-8
engine with an Edelbrock carburetor Rebuilt Cruise-O-Matic MX
three-speed automatic transmission and a 3.00 rear end Wimbledon
White exterior (approximately five percent of Special Landau
T-Birds left the factory in this color) Ember-Glo accents with
Parchment vinyl interior and matching vinyl Landau roof Car has
following new parts - vacuum lines, rear differential, fuel pump,
water pump, shock absorbers, rear leaf springs and tires, a rebuilt
radiator and upgraded pointless ignition Rebuilt air conditioning
Swing-away steering wheel First year for standard front disc
brakes, sequential rear turn signals and double-edged car keys Dual
exhausts Documentation includes original owner's manual, Edelbrock
carburetor owner's manual and California registration card plus
repair tickets for the water pump and rear differential work, fuel
pump, radiator and associated parts and other assorted documents �
MotoeXotica Classic Cars has turned up another unusual classic
T-Bird, this time a 1965 Ford Thunderbird Special Landau. The
previous owner drove the car since 1998 and its original owner was
LaVerne Hoover, according to the small plaque affixed to the center
console. This car was built in Ford's Wixom, Michigan assembly
plant on April 5, 1965 and shipped to Los Angeles, California. This
T-Bird spent most of its life in dry California and Arizona. It is
believed to have just more than 49,000 original miles on the clock.
The Thunderbird Special Landau was introduced in spring 1965 and
differed from the regular Landau due to its unique combination of
interior and exterior colors, as well as differences in trim. All
Special Landau models were equipped with a Special
Parchment-colored vinyl roof, and a matching interior. Special
touches included Ember-Glo accents on interior instrument panel,
bucket seat backs and carpeting. Emberglo was used on unique
Special Landau deluxe wheel covers, (Ford part number C5SZ 1130-C),
which were standard on this model and not available on other
models, in place of the traditional black-painted vanes. The center
medallion of the wheel cover, normally decorated with red, white
and blue accents surrounding a chrome Thunderbird emblem on a black
background, was instead Emberglo, white and blue. The three
"THUNDERBIRD" stamped lettering areas on the wheel cover retained
their usual "dull black" color. (Dull black is shinier than flat
black, but not as shiny as satin�black.) The roof rear exterior
quarter moldings had a nameplate mounted on them with a
gold-colored Thunderbird emblem, and "Special Landau" engraved on
it. The interior simulated woodgrain trim was of "burled walnut," a
different pattern not used on the standard Landau models, and
Special Landau nameplates mounted on the front door trim panels
reminded occupants they were in something special. A few of these
cars were delivered from the factory with Wimbledon White
paint�adorning the bodies, instead of the more usual Emberglo
metallic. Another exclusive part of the Special Landau was a
personalized limited edition numbered nameplate, upon which the
owner's name could be engraved. Facts vary somewhat as to how this
plate was engraved with the owner's name and attached to the car.
One account is that this plate was delivered with the car in an
envelope inside the glove compartment. The dealer would make
arrangements for the engraving of the owner's name, if the owner
desired. Affixed to the console with a double-sided foam adhesive
strip, normal placement was just above the radio. The television
advertisement announcing this new model showed the plate attached
to the console in the area where the air conditioning vents would
be located on cars equipped with Select-Aire. The plate featured a
beveled edge with a small cast Thunderbird emblem on its left side.
This emblem was a small version of the roof sail panel emblem first
introduced on the 1964 Thunderbird Hardtop models. At the bottom of
the plate the notation "SPECIAL LANDAU LIMITED EDITION No." was
engraved, followed by the production sequence serial number of 1 to
4,500. In reality, the numbers on the plates did not always
correspond to the build sequence of the car VIN number. Offset to
the center right area of the plate would appear the owner's name in
capital letters using the same type font as that on the nameplates
available for all of the other Thunderbird�models. This car's
Wimbledon White paint has had a recent repaint but there are a few
minor blemishes at its nose. Its glass panels are in good
condition, clear and crack-free. The car's lights are in very good
order while the car rolls on 205/75R15 tires on steel wheels with
Ember-Glo wheels covers. Its body panels are straight and its
bumpers are in good shape. The car has dual exhausts and optional
rear fender skirts. Under the hood is Ford's 390 CID V-8 with an
Edelbrock carburetor, attached to a rebuilt Cruise-O-Matic MX
three-speed automatic transmission with less than 1,000 miles added
since rebuild and a new rear differential (with less than 1,500
miles) with 3.00 gearing and dual exhausts. The car has the
following additional new parts - vacuum lines, fuel pump, water
pump, shock absorbers, rear leaf springs and tires. The radiator
has been rebuilt and the ignition upgraded to pointless. Its air
conditioning was rebuilt around 2006. Inside, the Parchment front
bucket and rear bench seats are in good shape, as is the black
carpeting and white headliner. The instrument panel is in fair
condition and it has two cracks in it, one on the driver's side and
the other on the passenger's side. The two-spoke steering wheel
with rim cover has Ford's distinctive Swing-Away column, permitting
easier ingress and egress from the driver's seat. The door panels
are in fair condition, while the car's mirrors, center console and
gearshift lever are all in good order. Completing the interior is a
non-working factory AM radio in the dashboard and a JVC AM/FM
stereo with cassette deck mounted under the dash. The Swing-Away
Steering Wheel was a new option introduced on the 1961 Ford
Thunderbird. Priced at $25.10, it was a special steering column
that moved to the right about 10.5 inches to allow for easier entry
and exit for the driver, especially with a purse, briefcase, or
packages in tow. On this design, the steering column itself moved
and a special metal plate on the instrument panel to the right of
the steering column filled the gap when the steering wheel was in
the normal drive position and a color-keyed vinyl panel filled the
gap on the left side of the column when it had been moved aside.
The car could be started with the steering wheel in either
position, but for safety's sake, the transmission could not be
shifted out of park until the column had been moved back to normal
driving position. And for the same reason, the steering wheel was
securely locked in place for driving except for when the
transmission shifter was in park. Despite its popularity on the
Thunderbird, this did not carry over to the other Fords and cars
with this option are somewhat rare. The Thunderbird was completely
restyled for 1964, and the Swing-Away mechanism at the instrument
panel now had matching hinged trim panels to conceal the opening in
the panel, regardless of the position of the steering column.
Hardtop and convertible models had brushed aluminum and the Landau
had simulated woodgrain. This continued through 1966 production,
after which the Swing-Away went out of product...for more
information please contact the seller.