SEMA 2008: Custom ThunderFlite T-Bird soars
by Frank Filipponio on Nov 9th 2008 at 7:35PM 
Click above for high-res gallery of the ThunderFlite Thunderbird
Suzie and Dean Arnold dreamt of building a show car that would evoke the spirit of the dream cars that manufacturers used to build in the '50s and '60s. They decided to use a 1961 Thunderbird as the base vehicle and got long-time collaborator Don Johnson to finalize the design. Then Dean got to work building it. The result is the car you see here. To most of the people passing it at SEMA this week, they probably thought it was a vintage dream car rather than a modern custom. It certainly looked like it had just been dusted off and shined up after sitting mothballed for the past 40 years. Every detail seems period correct, and we particularly liked the Batmobile-esque double-bubble roof. Click over to ThunderFlite.com for more background info, and check out our gallery for more high-res pics.
Gallery: SEMA 2008: ThunderFlite Thunderbird
Photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Torrent 7:44PM (11/09/2008)
I like.
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AkulaX1 8:00PM (11/09/2008)
Very nice now lets see it fully blacked out and tinted windows and some ridiculously blinding lights.
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Justin 8:00PM (11/09/2008)
Gotta love the space age
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casey 8:55PM (11/09/2008)
FINALLY. the first SEMA car i absolutely love. my family had a '58 Tbird and a '64 Tbird for more than 35 years. i have an unmade vintage scale model kit of a '58 Bird that has a custom version on the box very similar to this. the Space Age and Mid Century Modern are wonderful design periods, imo. i wish i had the money to re-create one like this too. just perfect. kudos to the owners for creating this.
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villainy 9:08PM (11/09/2008)
I honestly do like it, but find myself thinking this anyway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oh_Brother,_Where_Art_Thou%3F#The_Homer
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Galley 10:11PM (11/09/2008)
Swoopy!
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Dave 4:21AM (11/10/2008)
They shoulda junked it six months ago when the price of scrap metal was high.
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Cole Mitguard 5:20AM (11/10/2008)
I love classic cars... but this one just doesn't do it for me. It looks like Homer Simpson's Car design, mixed with some area 51 fake UFO. It just doesn't do it for me...
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catgirlshyla 7:55AM (11/10/2008)
And this is why we should pass laws banning folks from ****ing with vintage iron.
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yankee 8:27AM (11/10/2008)
Great look but will it turn ? If I remember the tires when turning were outside the fenders
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Sparkster 10:09AM (11/10/2008)
I'm not a T- Bird fan but I saw this in person @ Sema and the pic's don't do this car justice. It takes you back to the 50"s and the early 60's with ease.
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Sparkster 10:12AM (11/10/2008)
No interior pic's? Which is just as impressive as the exterior.
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Cory 11:09AM (11/10/2008)
All it needs is a gas turbine engine to really capture the 50s concept feel. One problem: it looks as if it was designed to only fit headless people. It doesn't accomodate the hairstyles of the era. It would never support a sweet boufant or the ever popular and oh-so-sexy beehive.
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lorincdm 10:52PM (11/10/2008)
The only thin I don't like is the stupid double-bubble cockpit.
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Frank 7:48AM (11/25/2008)
Yes I agree with the last post. I'm one of their customers. Twisted Kustoms in Fife, WA built the car and the owner Travis Tainter painted it. Dean "Dino" Arnold just designed it. Check them out at www.twistedkustoms.net They do the best work!
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