1964 Ford Thunderbird Coupe (LHD)

Description

In the history of the automobile, models come and go with monotonous regularity but every once in a while a name catches the attention of the public and enthusiast alike. The Thunderbird is one such car, beloved by generations of car enthusiasts and hugely successful right from day one. Although built in response to Chevrolet’s new Corvette, Ford’s designers conceived the new Thunderbird as a personal luxury car rather than an outright sports car, creating a whole new market segment in the process. Unveiled to the public at the 1954 Detroit Auto Show, the original Thunderbird was only available as a two-seat convertible, with unique styling cues such as the ‘porthole’ circular windows in the hardtop roof. With each succeeding generation, the Thunderbird grew both in stature and equipment, in keeping with contemporary trends, the original model replaced by the much larger ‘Square Birds’ of 1958-1960, followed by the ‘Bullet Birds’ of 1961-1964. Ford’s fourth generation Thunderbird, known as the ‘Jet Birds’, arrived in 1964, retaining the same unitary platform as before but dramatic new styling. Under the bonnet was a 390-cid V8 delivering 300 horsepower with a Cruise-O-Matic transmission, while power steering and brakes were also included as standard. Ford offered three different body styles, including the convertible (with a dealer-installed tonneau cover optional), the coupe and formal Landau coupe, complete with fake dumb irons. The Thunderbird’s excellent new Silent-Flo flow-through ventilation system became the industry standard, with an opening vent under the rear window helping to keep the occupants cool in summer. Other notable features included an alternator, self-adjusting brakes and larger 15-inch wheels. In all some 92,465 Thunderbirds rolled off the production lines for 1964 but few remain on the road today and they are a rare sight in Australia. As Ford’s advertising slogan of the day said, “Flight plan cleared – proceed to Thunderbird.”