RR of the Day: 1960 Ford Thunderbird
Cars today are generally quite good. Regardless of what you choose, chances are that you're getting something with ample power, clean emissions, decent fuel economy, and good reliability. Unfortunately, where many cars fall down is in the area of style. Oh, they may not be unattractive, but they're not going to be talked about 40 years from now, either.
The same cannot be said of the 1960 Thunderbird, which in its day was referred to in a jingle as "the finest of fine cars, the last word in 'wish it were my' cars." And why not? The 1960 car was big and bold, dripping with style. And so, we're a little jealous of Flickr user salguod.net, because his black over red 1960 Thunderbird is just desperately cool.
Read on after the jump.
As mentioned previously, we won't be having a theme for this week's RR of the Day, but next week, it's on. Submit your turbocharged and supercharged vehicles to our Flickr pool by following the directions after the jump. We want to see them all, whether it's a home-brewed Civic hatch or a modded Cummins diesel, all are welcome
during Forced Induction Week.
The car came into his family in 1978 when his grandfather bought it from the original owner in California. Grandpa flew out to Los Angeles so he could drive it back home to Toledo, OH. Sal's grandmother went as well, but apparently was less than enthused at the prospect of driving through the desert in a non-air-conditioned convertible. But away they went, losing the radiator along the way (that must have made for some fun in-car conversation), but making it to Toledo nonetheless.
In 2000, Sal inherited the car. Essentially unrestored, the T-Bird has had some work done, but as is to be expected with a 47-year-old car, more is needed. Sal's list of things to do includes replacing the top (he has the new one ready to go), finishing the interior (it's about halfway there), and repairing the power windows, which aren't functioning. The car's floaty ride will be fixed once Sal installs the new shocks, ball joints and bushings he has standing by. It's an ongoing project, but it sounds like a labor of love.
On the plus side, the car's 352 cubic inch V8 and 3-speed Cruise-O-Matic transmission (what a great name) are A-OK, and the car itself is nicely optioned, featuring radio, leather, power driver's seat, fender skirts, power brakes, power steering, and the aforementioned power windows. He also splurged on a set of 17" Boyd Coddington Junkyard Dogs that are wrapped in 235/55R17 Pirelli P Zero Neros. He thinks they fill the wheel wells nicely. We agree.
The thing with old cars like this is that no matter their condition, their inherent style always shines throughl. This car, with the "catfish" grille, rocket taillamps, rear vents and restrained use of chrome (compared to other cars of the era) has serious curb appeal. Plus, it's an heirloom, having been passed down from grandfather to grandson. The latter is doing his part to carry the torch, and this 1960 'Bird makes for a deliciously swanky Reader Ride of the Day.
More pics below...
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ken 9:24AM (11/30/2006)
Why would some one ruin the entire car with those after market rims?
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menice 9:35AM (11/30/2006)
simply badass.
wish it were mine.
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BLS 10:32AM (11/30/2006)
Neighbor has one red with hard top. Parks it outside 24/7. It is nice to see before I pull into my GARAGE but very stupid of them.
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Juan 10:52AM (11/30/2006)
I like the rims, myself. Although I'd probably get an Elvis complex driving this car, I'm pretty sure it'd be worth it.
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Dustin 11:02AM (11/30/2006)
Those Boyd rims are retro-rod cool, though and this car can get away with them... much better than if it had spinners or Enkei race rims or something.
I give this RR 2 thumbs up!
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Steve 10:55AM (11/30/2006)
I didn't like the 1958 and up T-Birds when they first came out (I was eight) and I still don't like them. In my opinion, they're big tubs compared to the original T-Bird.
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tri-5 11:12AM (11/30/2006)
Awesome car. I do prefer the older T-birds because of the simplicity. Good choice for the wheels. They accent the cars aggressive persona perfectly. I'm envious.
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Wilbur 11:36AM (11/30/2006)
The wheels can be removed, I wouldn't say they exactly "ruin the
entire car".
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Martin 1:47PM (12/04/2006)
And she'll have fun, fun, fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird away.
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jamie 11:51AM (11/30/2006)
No doubt only driven by Sal's grandmother to church on Sundays. LOL
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Richard Warren 2:41PM (11/30/2006)
Would look better without the mags, other than that, nice one.
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Andy 11:00PM (11/30/2006)
The '55 to '57 Early Birds were the true T-birds and best by a mile, but Ford managed to make some pretty nice T-birds from 1958 to 1966. Ford considered making a two-seat T-bird to run aside the four-seater as part of its 1961 product lineup. That idea was shelved by the outgoing company president, Robert McNamera.
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Tom 7:51PM (11/30/2006)
6. Those Boyd rims are retro-rod cool, though and this car can get away with them... much better than if it had spinners or Enkei race rims or something.
Spinners on a classic T-Bird? What are you, 16? No respect of the old designs huh? Those taillights absolutely kick ass!!!
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Erik 5:14PM (11/30/2006)
Badass. You would have my vote this week, but I can't vote against my own ride. Stiff competiton!
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BOB 6:22PM (11/30/2006)
YES, THE RIMS ARE DISGUSTING, but this was always a "ladies' car", (maybe less so in this most butch of color choices), and the owner may be counteracting that a bit.
HISTORY for the younger readers:
Ford changed concepts totally between the 57 and 48 'Birds, from a slow-selling sporty personal runabout, to the coolest and most envied car for stylish married women and couples. (this is before the sexual revolution). A man purchasing a car for himself, not to take his wife out in, bought a full sized car then.
The car seemed impossibly low, and the size seemed small, next to say, a 58 Buick or Imperial. In those years, there had to be a conspicuous difference between model years, but, uniquely, the 'Bird had no body change in 3 years, just chrome, which unfortunately got overdone on the '60, spoiling the car's simpler perfection for me.
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BOB 7:04PM (11/30/2006)
TYPO-- sorry, meant change from 57 T-bird to 58.
In 57, all the GMs were tall and old fashioned in comparison, but in 58-63, this was THE car, only rivaled by the 63 Riviera and the 63 Grand Prix. ('59 Cad, which seems an icon now, was thought of as pretty vulgar by many back then, and was not a runaway sales hit.) The 61 belongs on a short list of best looking US production cars.
"'Bird" is what the my Mom called it, "T-bird" is what men and young people called it. I still remember the wraparound rear seats, which let you twist a bit to converse better, and that groove in the trunk that gave the feeling the car was impossibly low.
That heavy C-pillar killed the competition, and GM's styling department was eventually humbled into offering a second, similar roof choice on its '62 hardtops, both 2 and 4 door, even though they had designed,tooled, and produced the thin-pillar models their Styling Department preferred.
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salguod 1:21AM (12/01/2006)
Thanks for the 15 minutes of fame, guys. :-)
One minor correction, Grandpa and Grandma were in LA visiting my uncle who lived there. Grandpa say this car and bought it, forfeiting their return flight to drive it home.
On the wheels, it's a matter of preference. These were a definite improvement over the 14" rims and black walls (see here: http://www.salguod.net/weblog/archive/000347.shtml) and transformed it from dowdy to aggressive. I toyed with a new set of wide whites, but I like the wheels better.
Oh, and my Dad's got a 2 seat '56 with the porthole top in the classic blue & white.
Thanks again!
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dancoresq 4:03AM (3/09/2009)
I own a 60 t-bird and like what you've done with the rims. I am curious if you had to modify anything to get them on the car or whether they just fit on standard.
Love to know. Feel free to e-mail to discuss.
Thanks,
Dan C.
Mike (fomoco59) 7:39AM (12/01/2006)
Beautiful car... but I'm biased.
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Jon 2:01PM (12/01/2006)
Really a nice looking T Bird! You are very lucky young man to have this car in your family for so long. I would guess the price of that car today would be around 35,000 dollars and will go higher. Check out the bird site and see how I fixed my power windows, your switches might just need to be cleaned up in order to get those windows up and down. Jon
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