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1964 Ford Thunderbird Barn Find!

Said to be a true barn find, this appears to be a half-done project to me.  This 1964 Ford Thunderbird is for sale here on craigslist in Spring, Texas for the asking price of $9,500.  The seller states they have spent over $14,500 on new parts and put “hundreds of hours” into this project.  If that’s true, this would be a fun project for someone to complete.

There are two pictures of the engine compartment in the ad.  I’m assuming one is “as found” condition and the other one (seen above) is a more recent picture.  The ad states that “almost everything under the hood is new” which I think is vague enough to warrant several questions from prospective buyers.  With the seller stating they have spent so much money, hopefully they have been vigilant about keeping receipts and documenting the restoration progress with photos.

There are two photos of the interior in the ad and they both look pretty good.  I like the blue color with all the 60’s trim.  The seller doesn’t state why the car is up for sale.  These Thunderbirds aren’t the most valuable collector cars, but can command high dollars for immaculate restorations and rarities.  At this point, this car seems to be in the middle between a good investment and a potential money pit.  I think it will take a specific buyer to be interested in this one–either someone who has an emotional attachment to this type of car and wants to drive it and enjoy it, or someone who can wrap up the restoration inexpensively with a nice paint job and turn a profit.  I’m not sure what the magic sales price will be, but I hope the seller and buyer are both happy with the outcome.

Comments

  1. Avatar Chris Kennedy

    One thing I am sceptical about is that the owner states that almost everything under the hood is new..looks pretty grimy to me? The body and interior look pretty nice though…

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  2. Avatar Fred W.

    No one will be making a profit on this one, the market just doesn’t support the numbers. I know, mine (a ’66) is about to go on the market for $4800, nice interior, sorted out over the past year, turn the key and go. I probably should get with BF about a listing, seems like a good way to get the word out there. The owner of this one is off the scale upside down.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Charles

      @Fred W: I would be interested in your T-Bird if you list it on BAT. Please provide some more details.
      Chas

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      • Avatar al8apex

        BAT is not BF …

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      • Avatar Fred w

        Charles, I’ll stick a quick ad on nashville Craigslist later today so you have a way to contact me. If nashville is too far, let me know.

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      • Avatar Fred W.

        Got the photos done for mine, here’s the Craiglist ad.

        https://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/6248946610.html

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    • Avatar ccrvtt

      Yours looks positively underpriced. GLWTS.

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      • Avatar Fred W.

        Don’t know about that, it’s far from perfect, but I think the price is competitive. I’m going to take my time, take some nice photos, write up a description and contact BF about listing it. I’m an indy filmmaker and used both it and a Volkswagen bus I have in a feature film I shot recently, “Summer of ’67”. Both about to be for sale.

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      • Avatar al8apex

        looked for the red one and found this town coupe 3 window coupe:

        https://cookeville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1966-ford-thunderbird-63d/6231715518.html

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  3. Avatar jw454

    I’ve never owned an older T-Bird so this is strictly as a passing observer. These seem to be a hard sell in most cases. I don’t know why because they look like very nice cars. I really like the interiors and other than fuel consumption, the FE motors have some ready power under the hood right out of the box.
    He may be about 4~5K too high on his price. I hope he saved the stock parts he took off.

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    • Avatar al8apex

      Why would anyone change the factory Holley carb for an aftermarket one? Then put on some bling air cleaner? It’s a T-bird, not a Mustang or Falcon smh

      Wasted $$$ on the wrong stuff IMHO

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      • Avatar z28th1s

        These didn’t come factory with a Holley they came with a Ford 4 barrel carb.

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      • Avatar al8apex

        Ford “Holley” style made for Ford by Holley Autolite carb …

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  4. Avatar Big Mike

    I would hope that for that price the hub caps would come with it.

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    • Avatar al8apex

      The CL ad clearly states that all the original wheel covers are included

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  5. Avatar Milt

    These later birds get lost in the shuffle for old cars. You never see them out and about. They have one of the nicest space age interiors for 60’s cars.

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  6. Avatar Rustytech Member

    I too am not sure why these cars don’t get more attention, and $$$, they are gorgeous cars. The seller would have done better to have cleaned up the OEM engine parts rather than put that out of place yellow coil and ugly A/M air cleaner on it. If he put $14.5k in it, he’s going to lose some money. I’ve seen better examples for sale under $5k.

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  7. Avatar Marshall

    I owned A 1965 T-bird in 1976. I paid 650 bucks for it. It looked real nice and it seemed to run well. But it had some problems, including a bad oil leak.

    The only visible difference on the outside between the 1964 and the ’65 Teebird is the ’64 had “Thunderbird” spelled out on the hood and the trunk lid, whereas the 1965 model had the Thunderbird emblem in the same places instead.

    Mine did not have power windows, but it did have that swing away steering wheel and the sequential rear turn signals. The sequential turn signals were first introduced on the 1965 thunderbirds.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Oingo

    I think these are great looking car and that you have a better chance of getting a relatively unmolested one that most “muscle” cars and and are undervalued.

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  9. Avatar C Carl

    I’ve always wanted to uncork one of these and take it to the lakebed.

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  10. Avatar John Archer

    I had a 65, same color and configuration. A great car but I had to Fix Or Repair
    Daily. Traded it for a 72 Grand Prix…..that was a car.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Vince

    I had same car – diamond blue, silver interior, roll up windows, no skirts. It arrived 11/22/63. Day of assasination of JFK. Didn’t get it to 5 days later. There was no chrome side molding on body. Where did that come from?

    Like 0
    • Avatar al8apex

      aftermarket/dealer added body side moldings. All the 64 Tbirds came standard with the fender skirts (possible exception IF there ever were any “real” 64 Sports Roadsters … never saw a real one)

      Like 0

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