Coming in almost 20 inches longer than the previous T-Birds, the sixth-generation cars came along just as gas prices went out of control, and/or you couldn’t get gas unless you had a connection or didn’t mind waiting in line for sometimes hours. This drop-dead-gorgeous 1976 Ford Thunderbird can be found posted here on craigslist in Glendale, California, and they’re asking $11,000. Here is the original listing, and thanks to T.J. for the tip!
Good. Grief. What a car, this thing looks like it was pulled from a 1976 Ford Thunderbird brochure, or a climate-controlled warehouse where it’s been parked since it was new. I’m assuming this car was built in the Pico Rivera, CA plant since it’s been a California car since it was new, according to the seller. They say it has no rust, and I believe it. They show one underside photo, but it was pretty dark, so I lightened it a bit. It does look rock-solid under there with normal surface rust.
The 5 mph bumpers – although they look like 55-mph bumpers – do this beautiful design no favors at all. It’s a crying shame, but maybe some 1972 bumpers could be retrofitted. The sixth-generation Thunderbirds were made from 1972 through 1976, and there was no convertible or four-door available. I did a quick convertible here, and it would have been nice if Ford had offered one.
The seller lists this beauty as having just 58,000 miles and says it was “garage kept” and very well maintained. I don’t see a flaw inside or out, so they must be pretty modest. The beautiful red leather seats look like new, both front and rear. As expected, the trunk also looks perfect.
Ford’s 460-cu.in. OHV V8 was standard equipment for the 1976 T-Bird, and the California version had dual exhaust (seen in the underside photo), along with 223 horsepower and 366 lb-ft of torque when new. It’s backed by a three-speed “SelectShift Cruise-O-Matic” sending power to the rear wheels, and it’s said to work perfectly with no mechanical issues. Hagerty is at $14,000 for a #2 excellent-condition example, and this car looks nice enough for that, in my opinion. This could be a deal, and these last-year sixth-gen Thunderbirds aren’t exactly like white F-150s on the roads these days. Is this a decent deal?
Another convertible beauty SG.
This big t-bird ticks alot of boxes. 460 w dual exhaust is ideal for this car. What an interior too 👍
Sharp T Bird. Great color combination too. And a 460? During those years I seriously think the T Birds ate into the sales. Its definitely at least a number 2 condition if the photos are accurate. Very nice
I don’t know what happened. That sentence was supposed to say the T Bird ate into the Lincolns Mark IV sales.
@Driveinstile
Brain thinks faster than you can type. I do that all the time.
I like these more than I used to. I think I now appreciate them for their clean styling, luxurious appointments, and larger-than-life presence. But the big bumpers still look bad. I like the dark red/white theme here. Overall this example looks great; like Scotty says, like it is right out of the brochure. For not a ton of money, a nice cruiser.
Scotty, that convertible…. looks like it is 45 feet long. But still cool to consider.
Yeah Bob. Its more like you Dock it rather than Park it…..
Thanks, gents! It’s weird, but now that you mention it, Bob, it does look longer. I didn’t stretch it at all, so it must be just one of them there figures of your imaginations…
Bob maybe a pair of Dagmars would have made it more appealing. What do you think Scotty? I’m liking the Tbird and the price is right.
It appears to be 1/3 door, 1/3 hood, and 1/3 tail.
Not a Town Car for sure, except in some of our plain state and Western crossroads.
“Give me 40 acres and I’ll turn this rig around.”
A friend of mine had a 76 and said it was the same as a Lincoln but a lot less money!
Ah, the cousin to the Lincoln Continental Mark IV.
A friend had a 76 and said it was like a Lincoln but was a lot less expensive!
It wasn’t just like a Lincoln, but built on the same chassis (starting in 1972)! The Lincoln got the 460 V8 as standard equipment, it was optional in the T-Bird until 1975, when it became standard equipment in the T-Bird as well, to compensate for the declining power output of the engines forced by ever more stringent anti-smog emissions rules! These bad boys could be equipped with an optional Class III Trailer Towing Package straight from the factory, which included a frame-mounted hitch, oil coolers for the engine and transmission, dual outside rearview mirrors and air shocks in the rear, for load leveling. So equipped, you could tow up to a 10,000 pound trailer, IIRC! Some modern pickup trucks can’t tow that much!
Some judicious machine work, combined with modern aftermarket EFI, can giveth back what the EPA taketh away, LOL!
I made a mistake, the T-Bird began sharing a platform with the Lincoln Mark III in 1968, according to Wikipedia. They just started to look more alike starting in 1972!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Thunderbird
I loved the big bumpers. Especially after I used chrome polish on them.
I’m in agreement. Perhaps today’s vehicles would be less costly to insure if the slightest tap didn’t do thousands of dollars worth of damage.
It’s a tradeoff, like all engineering choices. Yes, they reduce the cost of low speed impacts, but add to the cost of repairs in a high-speed crash, as all of the energy-absorbing gear at each end are just more parts that must be repaired or replaced in a high-speed collision. So, you pay your money and take your chances! When the standards were rolled back from 5 mph to 2.5 mph, the bumpers also got lighter, which aids in the ongoing quest for fuel economy.
This reminds me of an old Getty Oil Company radio commercial that was popular when I was a kid. A car salesman is filling out the order sheet for a new car with his customer, when the following exchange ensues.
Salesman: You want an automatic transmission?”
Customer: “Oh, Yeah!”
Salesman: “Air Conditioning?”
Customer: Of course!”
Salesman: How about….”
Customer (interrupting excitedly): “Yeah, Yeah, give it to me!”
After a brief pause for the announcer to give the sales pitch, the encounter resumes.
Customer (thoughtfully): “Oh, BTW, what kind of mileage can I expect?”
Salesman (carefully, after a long pause): “Well, if you do a lot of highway driving, not too much stop & go, oh, seven (mpg)!
Customer (cautiously): “Well, maybe I can do without the power sun visors!”
End.
When I started as a lot jockey at a rental company in 77, they still had a couple of these on the fleet. We didn’t have a car wash so cleaning them by hand meant you were in for a long process. And cleaning the trunk meant climbing into it. I was really happy when they got rid of the last one (an extremely ugly green as I recall)
Should have been called the Sherman.
What a barge…
I much prefer the ’55 that was on here recently.
I sure wish the T-Birds had kept the sequential turnlights after 1971. That would have added icing on this beautiful bird!
I think that they did, at least they did until the 1977 model year, when the next generation T-Bird, based on the Ford Torino/Elite made its appearance in the fall of 1976. The 1973 version my Dad almost got as a company car still had them!
Those bumpers are atrocious! Push those bumpers in and you’ve lost half the length of the car! Chip Foose would always pull the ends in flush with the car. That always made them look better, even if they still stuck out half a mile.
I agree, but that’s tough to do with the energy-absorbing gas struts between the frame and the bumper! Nothing is impossible that doesn’t violate the laws of physics, as long as you write a check with enough zeros on the end of the number, however! The 1972 was the same basic car, but that was the last year without the Federally-mandated “Bash Beam” bumpers and the first year that the T-Bird shared a platform with the Lincoln Mark family. The Mark IV and the T-Bird were essentially the same car starting in 1972, but the Lincoln had a higher level of standard equipment, befitting its higher price point.
Someone either hacked a hole in the dash below the speedometer or it’s missing a grommet around that toggle.
https://images.craigslist.org/00t0t_eRPev65EIFC_0CI0t2_1200x900.jpg
Possibly, but that “toggle” is the remote mirror control for the right-hand (RH) passenger side outside rear view mirror! The left-hand (LH) driver’s side mirror control is on the driver’s door. These were manual controls (no motors), the mirror(s) were adjusted by the little joystick(s), connected to the outside mirror(s) by mechanical cables, making them somewhat “fussy” to adjust. Power outside remote controlled rear view mirrors wouldn’t make their appearance until the 1980’s. My first new car with power outside rear view mirrors was my 1985 VW Jetta GLI.
I had made love for both the 76 Thunderbird and Lincoln Mark 4 but if I had my choice It would be the 76 Mercury Cougar RX7. It’s a styling thing.
Or a 1976 Mercury Cougar XR7.
What a beautiful work of art at what i think is a very reasonable price, wish I wasn’t 2500 miles away, sweet.
All Thunderbirds were built at Wixom Assembly in Michigan until the dorky 1977 Ltd ll based T birds.
I had a friend who worked for Ford at the time. He ordered a 1975 Tbird. All TBirds and Mark IVs came off the same line. When he got his car the outside trim was Tbird and the interior trim and badging was Mark IV.