- Swifty's Garage
- →
- Collector's Corner
- →
- Car Manufacturers & Small Scale Counterparts
- →
- FORD THUNDERBIRD (US) 1955-1997, 2002-2004
|
|
|
| Welcome to Swifty's Garage. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Thank You, The Swifty's Garage Team Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features. |
| FORD THUNDERBIRD (US) 1955-1997, 2002-2004 | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 25 2010, 07:33 PM (3,338 Views) | |
| DaWeber | Jun 25 2010, 07:33 PM Post #1 |
Station Wagon
|
The first Thunderbirds were designed to be "personal" cars. Even though they were conceived to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette, they were never categorized as "sports cars" . Only the first three years of production in the first generation were produced as 2 seater Hardtops and/ or Convertibles. Many of the designated Roadster bodies featured removable stowable hardtops . This series of cars continued in 1958 with the introduction of a 4 seat personal car. But over the years before the first demise, it slowly became and resembled the regular Fords. Production ceased before the Millennium with no apparent regrets . This car has to be categorized as a Sub-marque manufactured by Ford in their Division lineup. Although the styling may have resembled the larger Ford cars in the beginning, the original styling was special. In the 1990s, this car's name was used by Ford to represent the companearly y on the NASCAR racing circuit. However, the race car , although sharing some styling similarities was in my opinion- not the same car! But in 2002 a second 2 door car was introduced. It had some retro styling characteristics of the early earlier generation cars. But one main difference consisted of a more rounded and streamlined body. But this attempt by Ford to revive this sub-marque, was not successful and the "T- Bird" as it had subsequently been nicknamed, again met production death. Models of the first generation cars have been made by Kidco/ Dinky, Corgi Jr, Matchbox, Hot Wheels,Majorette, Yat Ming, Johnny Lightning, Suntoys, Motor Max, High Speed, Zeetoy, Road Champs, Ertl and Racing Champions in one form or another. This listing does not include the specific manufacturers of NASCAR models. There were a substantial amount of those! I am only basically interested in cars that were sold via dealer showrooms. Models of the last generation have been made by Matchbox, Maisto, Tack Cheung, Johnny Lightning and High Speed . Are there others? Edited by DaWeber, Jul 1 2010, 09:32 PM.
|
 |
 
|
| Swifty | Jun 25 2010, 07:44 PM Post #2 |
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
|
          
|
|
|
|
| James | Jun 25 2010, 09:24 PM Post #3 |
Mr.Bowtie
|
IMHO the new generation T-Bird was just over priced, I love the styling, it was teh best looking classic style car to roll out in the millenium. Pity it never survived teh decade. |
|
|
|
| craftymore | Jun 26 2010, 12:24 AM Post #4 |
Support your local demo derby.
|
Zee Toys '56 Thunderbird ERTL '57 Thunderbird  Johnny Lightning '58 Thunderbird  Hot Wheels '63 Thunderbird  Johnny Lightning '68 Thunderbird  Hot Whee's '83 'Thunder Burner'  Matchbox '87 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe  Hot Wheels '89-'90 Thunderbird  Racing Champions '94-'95 Thunderbird Stock Car (Ricky Rudd)  As Dave alludes to in his post, the Thunderbird marque in essence became its own 'brand' in a way. The style found beginning in 1961 for the 3rd generation Thunderbird began to mirror that of the Lincoln Continental. Both cars at the time featured true uni-body construction and rear leaf springs. The Thunderbird was moved up scale for the Ford lineup in 1967 and was offered with suicide doors on the new 4 door versions mirroring the Lincoln Continental. The '72-'79 Thunderbirds mimicked the Mark IV and Mark V Lincolns in style and proportions. Basically in my view they were mini Lincolns. Thunderbirds from the 70s competed directly with other 'personal luxury' coupes such as the Chevy Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal and beginning in 1975, the Chrysler Cordoba. After the gas crisis during the 70s, the Thunderbird would be downsized to the Fox body family joining the Mustang, Granada, Fairmont, Mercury Cougar and a whole host of other rather forgettable cars. Sorry Swifty! In 1989, it moved to a new mid size platform developed by Ford and would stay unchanged until it's final year in 1997. The '89-'97 model is rather awkward appearing by my counts. A true jellybean car! I always thought the 11th gen Thunderbird, '02-05, looked like a messed up two door 2nd generation Taurus. Add in they were vastly over priced, and once again you have Ford closing the door on the nameplate. Edited by craftymore, Jun 28 2010, 11:03 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Swifty | Jun 28 2010, 07:30 PM Post #5 |
|
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
|
@Zach: 1. Thunderburner is an '83, not an '81 ('80-'86 would be the Fox years though the '83-'86 were a much more aerodynamic body compared to '80-'82). 2. The Hot Wheels #11 is approximately a 1989-90 model. 3. The Tide ride of Ricky Rudd is a '94-95. |
|
|
|
| Atencio | Jun 28 2010, 10:33 PM Post #6 |
Station Wagon
|
1:1 not diecast. Hope it is ok. The most muscular T-bird Factory 427-8V  Edited by Atencio, Jun 28 2010, 10:37 PM.
|
|
|
|
| craftymore | Jun 28 2010, 11:07 PM Post #7 |
|
Support your local demo derby.
|
Thanks Swifty for the info. Here's two T-Birds I saw earlier this year at a car show in Toledo, IL.  I want this car!  
Edited by DaWeber, Jul 1 2010, 09:29 PM.
|
|
|
|
| ivantt | Aug 5 2010, 08:18 PM Post #8 |
New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
|
The Thunderbird had a long career in various forms! But it didn't fair very well as far as accurate replicas in approx. 1/64! These photos show me castings I didn't know about, and after looking them all over, I only see a few that really come close to their real life counterparts. There are more that are not pictured here that are no better. Even some of the race car bodies really missed the mark. That leaves a lot of room for diecast makers to produce some better examples. |
|
|
|
| Swifty | Aug 5 2010, 10:29 PM Post #9 |
|
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
|
Johnny Lightning's Thunderbirds series tanked (badly)- I think it has made all of the other companies hesitant to issue Ford Thunderbirds with any frequency. Which is a pity, because we need a good '77-'79 and '83-'86 in small scale. To say nothing of the Cougars- we get the '67-'70 cats (and one lone '77 station wagon from Matchbox!) and that's it (oh, and the horribly tuned Hot Wheels '99-'02). |
|
|
|
| James | Aug 6 2010, 09:25 PM Post #10 |
|
Mr.Bowtie
|
I still like the new generation T-Birds, I wish they still made them. Sae a lovely black ragtop today out at Cavendish. |
|
|
|
| juantoo3 | Sep 5 2010, 10:34 AM Post #11 |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
Many makers have done the two seaters, several have done the '80's models and racers, a few have done the '70's models and I think JL (Elvira, T-bird series), MB (#75), HW and Hubley (sometime in the '60's) are the only makers in my knowledge to have done the '58-60 square birds. If anybody knows of any other square birds, clue me in. That is a model I actively collect.
Edited by juantoo3, Sep 5 2010, 10:48 AM.
|
|
|
|
| Swifty | Sep 5 2010, 02:05 PM Post #12 |
|
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
|
Slightly smaller scale (about 1:144), but Micro Machines made a fantastic '58 convertible. That was my first introduction to the Squarebird as a kid and I fell in love with it right then and there. There are two different bodies- one that's completely featureless and another that has opening hood, doors, and trunk. There were many variations on the former casting, and I've never seen any examples of the latter in person. As for 1/64 or so, I don't know of any other Squarebirds out there. They're my favorite generation too.  And if you have the Hubley, please share some pics!
|
|
|
|
| juantoo3 | Sep 7 2010, 01:02 AM Post #13 |
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
Could be...but I know I was standing in line waiting in anticipation when the T-bird series came out, and still have the '58, '59 and '60 as well as all of the other models from that series that I bought new. The '67ish model was another that got some frequency, but not a lot. The two t-bird models pretty conspicuous for their absence are the '61-'63 pointy nose (or bullet nose) {HW; and JL did the Badbird custom; both based on the Spyder} and most especially the '64-'66, which to my recollection I don't believe I have seen any made by any maker. Let's see if I can add those Hubley pics: |
|
|
|
| juantoo3 | Sep 7 2010, 01:16 AM Post #14 |
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
Pic #1 shows the Hubley beside a HW / Corgi '57 for size comparison...the Hubley is slightly larger than 1/64 but not by much; assuming on my part that the HW is accurate to scale (dubious at best). Point being it won't fit in a standard 3 inch package as we know it today... Next to last is a grill shot, what's not to love about seeing that come down the road? I love the real cars, they rank in my top two or three real 1:1 cars. The last pic is the tail shot. You can tell right off it is a '60 model. How? Six taillights. I haven't committed the finer details of the '58 and '59 to memory (something to do with the side moulding trim), but both had only 4 taillights. The '60 model had six, which sets it apart from the other two. Now, does anybody know where I can find a *reasonably* priced MB #75? Doesn't have to be mint, no box is just fine, all I want is something reasonably displayable without costing a small fortune. That is the only one on my list above I have yet to find at a price that I am willing to pay... Oh, thanks for the heads up on the micros...not usually a scale I collect, but of the small handful I have one is a teal square bird that matches the description of the plain with no opening parts. You are quite right, it is nice, and I just couldn't pass on it. I also have an old plastic, what I presume to be breakfast cereal premium, don't remember where it is at right off, right about 1/43 scale, just about the size of a regular Corgi or Dinky but hollow plastic with no windows and no bottom. Rather nondescript, but I have yet to find another like it or similar. |
|
|
|
| juantoo3 | Sep 7 2010, 01:44 AM Post #15 |
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
I do need to correct myself, Husky (forerunner of Corgi Jrs) did the bullet nose T-bird as well. I have seen one with a (removable) top, but they are usually found without. Every one I've seen to date is yellow. |
|
|
|
| Swifty | Sep 7 2010, 02:12 AM Post #16 |
|
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
|
That teal Thunderbird from Micro Machines is what got me to love the Squarebird. Glad to see you have one. And oh my, I need to find a Hubley! That is awesome!!! |
|
|
|
| juantoo3 | Sep 7 2010, 10:14 AM Post #17 |
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
There was a Hubley on the 'bay last week, same blue as mine but it had flames on it. I am of the opinion they were probably added by an earlier owner, but since it wasn't in hand I had no way to tell. Those are the only two I've ever seen. Mine was a happy accident in a flea market years ago. |
|
|
|
| James | Sep 7 2010, 11:33 AM Post #18 |
|
Mr.Bowtie
|
This Day in Automotive History 7 September 1954: Production of Thunderbird begins from Hemmings daily e-zine |
|
|
|
| juantoo3 | Sep 15 2010, 09:11 PM Post #19 |
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
Stumbled on this, pic borrowed from a British OLD:  Alternate "pink" color for the Husky bullet nose T-bird Found here: http://www.vintagediecast.co.uk/toy-catalogue/diecast-corgi-toys.php?frmSubCategoryID=142 Edited by juantoo3, Sep 15 2010, 09:11 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Swifty | Sep 15 2010, 09:22 PM Post #20 |
|
The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
|
I'm glad you bumped this thread today! Reading Jalopnik earlier, I stumbled across this: http://jalopnik.com/5639157/how-ford-helped-invent-the-8+track The first cars to have factory 8 tracks were released on this day in 1965. They were the '66 Thunderbird, Mustang, and an unspecified Lincoln model (or perhaps the entire division?), |
|
|
|
| craftymore | Sep 15 2010, 10:13 PM Post #21 |
|
Support your local demo derby.
|
I think the only Lincoln model sold in 1966 was the Continental. Granted you could buy the 4 door sedan, 2 hardtop or a convertible version but Lincoln wouldn't have a second car in the lineup till 1969 saw the release of the Thunderbird based Mark III. |
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
hubley_t_bird_001.jpg (53.62 KB)
hubley_t_bird_002.jpg (54.43 KB)
hubley_t_bird_003.jpg (54.38 KB)
hubley_t_bird_004.jpg (58.4 KB)
hubley_t_bird_005.jpg (42.18 KB)
hubley_t_bird_006.jpg (46.87 KB)| « Previous Topic · Car Manufacturers & Small Scale Counterparts · Next Topic » |
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
 11:53 AM Jul 13
|
