It was still slow compared to some of the competition but this was a cruiser car. In 1966 Ford gave it a bit of a boost, raising the 390 Special V-8 from 300 horsepower to 315 horsepower for 1966. But you need that number of cubic inches (390 at first) to get the power to drive a car 1,000 lbs. One trouble with this car is that it only came with a big block. The driver seat also which tilts the bottom cushion to the left, helping an occupant egress. Ford in those days didn’t often give individual designers much credit, the name John Najjar has been mentioned.Ī nice feature at the time was the Swing-Away steering wheel that swings 10 inches to the right, making it easy for the driver to get out. The interior is, in a word, a ‘60s prediction of the future. Wire wheels were an option, knock off was fake. The highlight of that model was in ’62 and ’63, the Sports Roadster, which made a four seater into a temporary two seater with the addition of a fiberglass tonneau bearing headrest fairings covering the rear seats. And then it got a little better styling wise with the 1961-1963 “Bullet Bird”, which had ever-so-tiny tailfins and sort of “rocket exhaust” taillights. Then they redesigned them (some say for the worse) to be a four seater 1958-’60 “Square Bird” which had only a modest sales boost because it was a four seater. Now originally all the ’55 through ’57 Thunderbirds were convertibles though they came with a lift off hardtop. And sometimes memories come back like the time a neighbor took me for a ride in a mint condition blue ’64 or ’65 Thunderbird convertible. Now one would think for a guy who can throw into conversation things like Zagato Carrozzeria and Thupp and Maberly that I am all about furrin’ cars and furrin’ cars only.īut down deep, I admit that my roots are in Detroit where I grew up. The Appeal of the Flat Deck ‘Bird Convertible.
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