![]() Too many projects (and kids) have prevented the seller from finishing the T-Bird himself. The seats and door panels were removed to help preserve them and a pallet containing a bunch of parts is provided for the buyer to take up where the seller left off. The engine and other components have been blinged out. The last time the car was started a few months ago, it fired up nicely but is not drivable at this time. The Ford’s 312 cubic-inch V8 and automatic transmission, along with the power-assisted brakes and steering, have been rebuilt by the seller. Its floors have been patched (though more work is needed) and the trunk is solid. The continental kit is no longer attached but has been saved for when the restoration work picks up again. Since then, the seller has sanded down the car and had both bumpers re-chromed. It was a complete T-Bird with decent black paint and a black/white tuxedo interior. And the ’56 could be ordered with a continental kit because the spare tire took up so much of the already limited trunk space.Īs the story goes, the seller found this car three years ago after it had been in storage for a long time. The easiest way to recognize a ’56 Thunderbird over a ’55 is that the hardtop gained portholes in its second outing. By comparison, for the first three years of the Corvette (1953-55), Chevrolet could only manage to push 4,640 units out the door and nearly pulled the plug. Free shipping on many items Browse your favorite brands affordable prices. Between 1955-57 (before the Thunderbird became a 4-seat car), Ford built and sold more than 53,000 copies. Get the best deals on 1956 Ford Thunderbird when you shop the largest online selection at. There is no reserve and the bidding has crept up to $6,000 so far.īesides that the T-Bird and ‘Vette were of a different genre in the mid-50s, public reaction to the cars was quite different. Located in Los Angeles, California, this work-in-progress is available here on eBay. This 1956 edition, rebuilt in stages over the past three years, still has work to go but perhaps most of the heavy lifting has already been done. It was a 2-seat personal luxury car that is often incorrectly compared to the Chevy Corvette, a 2-seat sports car. “The main thing I like doing in my T-Bird is driving out through the rolling green countryside to a Dairy Queen.The first generation of the Ford Thunderbird, built between 1955-57, is the version of the car most remembered today. “You don't buy a classic car for driving comfort,” says Turner. Front-end lightness gives country-road cornering an adventuresome, quasi-floating character. As with a powerboat, the hood rises, and the tail drops. (This feeling was much more noticeable, Turner says, before she changed her OE bias-ply tires to radial look-alikes.) Kick in the accelerator for 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. But driving the low-slung automatic can give a sensation of road sliding as its tires want to track even minor pavement grooves. Dominating the instrument panel is a 150-mph speedometer with a sidekick racing tachometer.Īlthough Turner's T-Bird did not come equipped with power steering or power brakes, it handles easily except in tight spots such as parking spaces. The four-way power seat has handsome vinyl covering-as do the dashboard and side panels-and the seat is long-leg-friendly. ![]() ![]() ![]() Start-ing in 1956, hardtops had porthole rear windows to remove blind spots.Īlthough it doesn't require a contortionist's skill, getting under the T-Bird's big steel steering wheel calls for dexterity. The ‘56's most distinctive feature was the rear-bumper continental kit, added because owners of ‘55s objected to the spare tire taking up so much trunk space. Through Minter, Turner acquired in 2006 a two-owner ‘56 with the Thunder-bird's biggest engine, a 312-cubic-inch, 225-hp V8. She searched the Web for a yellow T-Bird and found Amos Minter in Dallas, the world's largest restorer of classic ‘55s through ‘57s, sometimes called Baby Birds. Recall-ing her spine-tingling “ladies prefer blonds” moment, she says, “It was so sporty-looking and sleek. Judy Turner had dreamed of owning a red Thunderbird until she saw a goldenrod-yellow ‘56 being auctioned on TV. The car was named for the legendary Native American creature that caused thunder, lightning and rain while symbolizing power, swiftness and prosperity. Each was 52.1 inches high, had a 102-inch wheelbase and came with a removable summer soft top and a winter hardtop. When Ford sought a competitive answer to Chevrolet's successful 1953 Corvette, battles developed between stylists wanting a little luxury car and mechanical engineers who preferred a traditional sports car.Ĭompeting ideas fused into a “sports car with American luxury,” the exquisitely racy, all-steel, one-seat Thunderbirds of 1955-57. ![]()
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