The Thunderbird served as a showpiece for some of Ford’s latest and greatest advancements in its early days. Features like tilt-away steering wheels, wrap-around seating, disc brakes, and sequential taillights made their way into mainstream automotive production. More on those lights in just a moment.
The Pick of the Day is a 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Berkeley, California. (Click the link to view the listing)
This car comes from the Thunderbird’s fourth generation which was sold between 1964 and 1966. The overall styling theme during that era became noticeably more formal than prior iterations, and handling was engineered to match: The previous sporty ride became damped in the name of luxury.
Speaking of luxury, the black leather interior of today’s feature car has its share of appointments. In addition to the already generous features like power steering and a tilt-away-steering column, the seller says that the cabin went through a $15,000 refurbishment including replacement of the carpets, a rebuild of the seats, new trunk lining, a new convertible top, and a new Bluetooth-equipped stereo. The seats have a unique wrap-around design in the rear, essentially making this car a 2+2 cruiser.
In line with the space-age styling that was all the rage during the 1960s, the 1966 Thunderbird has a distinctive full-width taillight design with sequential turn signals. Sequential lights, by the way, have made a comeback in recent years. I read an article not long ago about how sequential turn signals worked on some of these older cars, a short video demonstration on X brings it all to light (literally). The design is mesmerizing to watch and involves a series of electrical contacts being activated in rotation.
Power for this Ivy Green T-bird comes from a 315-horsepower 390cid V8 mated to a Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic transmission. The listing states that extensive maintenance has been performed to ensure the car’s optimal running condition. “Transmission, power steering box, and flywheel/motor all rebuilt/replaced. Whitewall tires with less than 5k miles on them. Just completed a $3,500 valve job, all lifters changed, compression tested perfect on all cylinders.”
With a backstory of solid maintenance history like that, this Thunderbird can be purchased and driven with peace of mind. The asking price is $44,500, which includes a car cover.
To view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com, see the listing here.
