Photo: Hemmings
Highly-optioned, looking old-school, and part of a model year that was, according to records, the most successful for the Thunderbird nameplate; this is a short description of the Ford T-Bird we chose today for our Ford Month coverage.
Had production not been interrupted in 1997 (there was a revival attempt in the early 2000s, but we don’t like counting that), the Thunderbird would have been one of the Blue Oval’s longest-running nameplates.
Introduced as a luxury car in 1955, the moniker burned through ten generations before dying out, each of them bringing something new to the table not only in terms of technology, but also design. For what it’s worth, Ford seems to have made special efforts to make each gen look significantly different than the preceding one.
The seventh incarnation of the T-Bird, which this particular model is part of, brought with it slightly smaller dimensions, but such a squarish design still made the thing look massive. Even so, it had no problems becoming the best-selling iteration of its breed; 1978 was the best year for the Thunderbird, sending it to the top ten list of cars sold in the U.S that year.
Ever since its birth, the one here has been in the possession of a single-family, and it comes unspoiled. Showing 100,000 miles (62,000 km) on the clock, it is powered by the original and top of the range 400-ci (6.6-liter) engine, tied to a three-speed automatic.
The Thunderbird sports the factory-supplied optional cast-aluminum wheels in the same Ember Metallic shade as the rest of the body, and it is also equipped with the Interior Luxury Group. Among other things, this package includes split bench seats, a manual passenger recliner, and twin seatback ashtrays.
The car was for sale, with an asking price of just $7,700, but in spite of all the things going for it, it didn’t manage to attract a bid higher than $6,150 on Hemmings earlier this week.
Introduced as a luxury car in 1955, the moniker burned through ten generations before dying out, each of them bringing something new to the table not only in terms of technology, but also design. For what it’s worth, Ford seems to have made special efforts to make each gen look significantly different than the preceding one.
The seventh incarnation of the T-Bird, which this particular model is part of, brought with it slightly smaller dimensions, but such a squarish design still made the thing look massive. Even so, it had no problems becoming the best-selling iteration of its breed; 1978 was the best year for the Thunderbird, sending it to the top ten list of cars sold in the U.S that year.
Ever since its birth, the one here has been in the possession of a single-family, and it comes unspoiled. Showing 100,000 miles (62,000 km) on the clock, it is powered by the original and top of the range 400-ci (6.6-liter) engine, tied to a three-speed automatic.
The Thunderbird sports the factory-supplied optional cast-aluminum wheels in the same Ember Metallic shade as the rest of the body, and it is also equipped with the Interior Luxury Group. Among other things, this package includes split bench seats, a manual passenger recliner, and twin seatback ashtrays.
The car was for sale, with an asking price of just $7,700, but in spite of all the things going for it, it didn’t manage to attract a bid higher than $6,150 on Hemmings earlier this week.
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