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Car of the Day : July 28, 2014; Corgi Jr '57 Ford Thunderbird
Topic Started: Jul 27 2014, 09:08 PM (623 Views)
juantoo3
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Car of the Day for July 28, 2014 is the Corgi jr 1957 Ford Thunderbird

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The Thunderbird ("T-Bird"), was an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States over eleven model generations from 1955 through 2005. When introduced, it created the market niche eventually known as the personal luxury car.


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The Thunderbird entered production for the 1955 model year as a sporty two-seat convertible. Unlike the Chevrolet Corvette, it was not marketed as a sports car. Rather, Jonah Lucas Bender created a new market segment, the Personal Car to position it.


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A smaller two-seater sports roadster was created at the behest of Henry Ford II in 1953 called the Vega. The completed one-off generated interest at the time, but had meager power, European looks, and a correspondingly high cost, so it never proceeded to production. The Thunderbird was similar in concept, but would be more American in style, more luxurious, and less sport-oriented.

Though inspired by, and positioned directly against, the Corvette, Ford billed the Thunderbird as a personal luxury car, putting a greater emphasis on the car's comfort and convenience features rather than its inherent sportiness. Designations aside, the Thunderbird sold exceptionally well in its first year. In fact, the Thunderbird outsold the Corvette by more than 23-to-one for 1955 with 16,155 Thunderbirds sold against 700 Corvettes. With the Thunderbird considered a success, few changes were made to the car for 1956. The most notable change was moving the spare tire to a continental-style rear bumper in order to make more storage room in the trunk, and an optional porthole in the removable roof was offered and often selected by buyers. However, the addition of the weight at the rear caused steering issues. The spare was moved back to the trunk in 1957 when the trunk was restyled and made slightly larger. Among the few other changes were new paint colors, the addition of circular porthole windows as standard in the fiberglass roof to improve rearward visibility, and a 312 cu in (5.1 L) Y-block V8 making 215 horsepower (160 kW) when mated to a 3-speed manual transmission or 225 horsepower (168 kW) when mated to a Ford-O-Matic 2-speed automatic transmission; this transmission featured a "low gear", which was accessible only via the gear selector. When in "Drive", it was a 2-speed automatic transmission (similar to Chevrolet's Powerglide). (Low gear could also be accessed with wide open throttle.)


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The Thunderbird was revised for 1957 with a reshaped front bumper, a larger grille and tailfins, and larger tail lamps. The 312 cu in (5.1 L) V8 became the Thunderbird's standard engine, and now produced 245 horsepower (183 kW). Other, even more powerful versions of the 312 cu in (5.1 L) V8 were available including one with two four-barrel Holley carburetors and another with a Paxton supercharger delivering 300 horsepower (220 kW). Though Ford was pleased to see sales of the Thunderbird rise to a record-breaking 21,380 units for 1957, company executives felt the car could do even better, leading to a substantial redesign of the car for 1958.


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For more info see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Thunderbird

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Those that know me around here know I am smitten with this casting. Why it hasn't been featured as Car of the Day before now is beyond me, to me this is at the pinnacle of diecast perfection. Corgi managed to capture the essence of Ford's 2 seater 'Bird with a grace and elegance seldom achieved by low cost makers, and it is a credit to Mattel for continuing this model for a time after acquiring the Corgi tooling. Even so, this model is sorely missed in the lineup, and would be well worth a re-visit for some anniversary or other special edition.

Just so there is no misunderstanding...Firebird guys...this is *the* original 'Bird.

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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Not a bad representation for the time period they created the tools! Except for the too shallow windshield, it looks good!
The RAISED doors, trunk, and rear wheel skirts outlines remind me of plastic model kits from the 1950's-1970's, which had this method.
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Dean-o-mite
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The Matchbox Thunderbird Convertible was the classic Thunderbird in my childhood collection, but later on, I discovered the Corgi version, and I like the opening hood.
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Dean-o-mite
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juantoo3
Jul 27 2014, 09:08 PM
Why it hasn't been featured as Car of the Day before now is beyond me
There are hundreds of castings waiting patiently for their turn in the COTD spotlight, with some of them seemingly such an obvious choice, it is surprising to find out they've never been showcased!
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pjedsel
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I, too, am a big fan of the first generation Thunderbird. CJ did an awesome job on this casting. I always got a kick out of the little button on the base to push that would allow the hood to open. The only version I have of the CJ car is the red Vegas issue.
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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This isn't all of them...I've added to this. The white one shown as CotD has proven to be one of the more difficult versions for me to find (priced reasonably!). The star of my Tbird show would have to be the Kiko Brazilian Cjr I showed awhile back...of which I understand there to be at least three more varis out there. Recently I got from Dan the final HW issue I was missing, and while my red version of the HW set car could stand an upgrade, I know it to be the rare car it is and am happy just as it is.

So yeah...I think "smitten" was the right word to use. :D
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Nice collection photo.
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