1955 Ford Thunderbird
The Ford Thunderbird (colloquially called the T-Bird) is a personal luxury car produced by Ford from model years 1955 until 1997 and 2002 until 2005 across 11 distinct generations. Introduced as a two-seat convertible, the Thunderbird was produced in a variety of body configurations. These included a four-seat hardtop coupe, four-seat convertible, five-seat convertible and hardtop, four-door pillared hardtop sedan, six-passenger hardtop coupe, and five-passenger pillared coupe, with the final generation designed again as a two-seat convertible.
If there’s something that instantly recalls the image of post-war America and the economic boom that followed right after, it’s the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. In fact, it is no accident that buyers described the Thunderbird a “morale builder that is fun and sporty to drive.” For years, this iconic car was the preferred choice of legends like Frank Sinatra, David Janssen, and later on, John Travolta. As for the masses, they adored the 1955 Ford Thunderbird because it pioneered the “personal luxury car” segment in the United States.
The 1955 Ford Thunderbird launched the first generation of a model that became a historic episode in the automaker’s history. The 1955 model year was released in late 1954, competing against models like the Chev Corvette. It became a popular model that those who preferred comfort over speed bought in large numbers. The visual appearance was pleasing, but it also offered decent performance, fitted with a 8-liter V4,8 engine producing 193 horsepower. Performance was below that of a typical muscle car, but sufficient for the occasional driver to go from a standstill to 60 mph in 8,9 seconds with a top speed of 104 mph. Ford released 16 units of the model from its production lines.
This 1955 Ford Thunderbird was restored a 292 cid motor and 3 speed transmission – and were replaced with a rebuilt 1956 312 cid motor (bored .030 over) coupled to a 4 speed manual transmission, this addition makes the car far more “driver friendly” and is well suited to daily driving in the right climate. Also, the car had power steering added for the same reason.
According to today’s outlandish standards, the interior would be considered rather minimalist as it had only some elements that stood out, like the 120 mph speedometer, which was not available on other Ford models. However, the simple lines and a moderate restriction in design was typical for that period. Luxury lovers could still rejoice because high-end materials were used.
Seventy years ago in Paris, two Ford big-wigs saw something that caught their eye. Gawking over some European sports car, one turned to the other and asked, “Why can’t we have something like that?”
Quick on his feet, the other responded “Oh, we’re working on it.”
It was a fib that inspired the creation of one of the most classic cars in history: the 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Advertised as “a personal car of distinction,” the endearingly termed T-bird was an immediate success. With its sleek lines, youthful presentation, long hood and short deck, drivers were eager to get behind the wheel of Ford’s uniquely American revision of a European roadster.
