AA- Ford Thunderbird

I’m more of a truck guy. When I look at Fords, I look mainly at their trucks. When I look at the history of Ford, I look at the history of their truck lineups. But there is one Ford vehicle that is not a truck, but sticks out in my mind. It is the Ford Thunderbird or “T-Bird”. It sticks out in my mind because it was one of my uncle’s favorite cars. The T-Bird began in production in 1955. Ford wanted to compete with Chevy and its Corvette. The 1955 and 1956 T-Birds were only available in a two seat option convertible option. The 1955 T-Birds came with two engine options. Both were 292 cubic inch v8’s. One produced 193 horsepower. The other produced 212 horsepower. The 1956 year model received a third option to go with the 292 v8’s. It was 312 cubic inch v8 that produced 215 horsepower. The 1957 T-Bird was the last to be offered as a two seat vehicle. Ford added three new engines to its lineup. All three of them were new variations of the 312 cubic inch v8. One produced 270 horsepower, one produced 300 horsepower and one produced 340 horsepower. The 1958 T-Birds marked the beginning of the second generation of T-Birds and the beginning of T-Birds with four seats. Ford offered one engine. This was the new 352 cubic inch v8 which produced 300 horsepower. In 1959 Ford offered a new engine option to the lineup. It was the Lincoln 430 cubic inch v8 that produced 350 horsepower. Nothing much was added in 1960. Just a version called the “Golden Edition”. It was a golden colored hard top. Also, the U.S.’s first powered sliding sunroof was offered with these vehicles.1961 marked the beginning of the third generation of T-Birds. There was only one engine option in the 1961 model. It was a 390 cubic inch v8 that made 300 horsepower. In 1962, there was a “Roadster” model. This was a reintroduction of the two seat T-Birds. There was a second engine option. It was a high performance version of the 390. It produced 340 horsepower. The T-Bird was 1963 had no new options or upgrades to it. The T-Birds from 1967 to 1976 were built to be large. It would stay in production for another 29 years. The T-Bird is one of the few Ford cars that sticks out in my mind. It is also my favorite Ford car.