Who doesn’t remember the Beach Boys song lyrics, “fun, fun, fun ‘til daddy takes her T-bird away”? Or iconic scenes in the movie American Graffiti with Suzanne Somers driving her white Thunderbird? This white 1957 T-Bird replica brings both back to mind for me, and it’s a running (sort of) project in Marine, Illinois. It sports a more modern V8 but has been in storage for 20 years. This throwback ride is available here on eBay, where the bidding stands at $2,550, awaiting the reserve to be met.
The 1955-57 Ford Thunderbird is often lumped in with the Chevrolet Corvette of the same era because they’re both two-seaters. But while the ‘Vette is a sports car, the first-gen T-Bird was a personal luxury car. And the T-Bird found far more buyers in the first three years than the Corvette did. The ’57 T-Bird received a mid-facelift that made it the best-looking of the three years (IMO), but the concept was gone at the next outing. The 1958 Birds were bigger four-seaters, and that layout would remain for many generations.
Ford built 21,380 Thunderbirds in 1957, as the run lasted into December thanks to delays in getting the 1958s ready. One of the complaints about the early T-Birds was about visibility, so with the optional hardtop, a porthole was added to each side in every case. As this replica was based on a 1984 car (Foxbody Mustang, perhaps?), it is said to only have 30,000 miles, maybe due to it being in storage since 2006 (more or less).
The seller says the engine will run with gas poured into the carburetor. And that’s a 302 cubic inch V8 rather than a 292 or 312 that would have been in a real ’57 edition. The gas tank will need to be flushed, the brakes checked out, and new tires installed. The fiberglass body and paint look okay, as does most of the interior, but the weird steering wheel needs to go. Suzanne is looking for a riding partner! But would she (or you) settle for a replica rather than the real thing?
Price is already on the rise, this looks manufactured. Yes that’s a fox steering column and I also recognize some other parts of the era of the build. Clean it up, get the mechanicals sorted and would make a great daily driver. The proportions look good too, I have seen some that that’s off. It’s even has A/C!
I wonder what it weighs. It might make a great, upgradeable Battlebird clone for shows and track days.
Does it come with a replica Suzanne Somers?
I’m not sure I’ve seen one of these before. Looks pretty authentic at first glance. I know nothing about these replicas, so can anyone tell me how much of the trim pieces on these are true (or repop) ’57 T-bird parts? E.g. headlight bezels, scripts, taillights and lenses, bumpers, door handles etc.?
Engine dirt and grime could pass for a car built in 1957 😂😆😂
I believe these we built by a company called Shay. The same company that produced the Shay Model A built on Pinto mechanicals. Both were sold as “new” at your local Ford dealer. We had a few of these come in (all 4 cylinders) but they were not well received. The Model A looked somewhat correct while these looked cheesy. We found that parking it next to a real 57 TBird was not helpful to the sales department.
Blisterem: Shay built a copy of a 55. Camelot built 57 replica’s.
There’s a reserve? :)
My father was ready to buy a new Shay replica until I went to the dealer with him and talked him out of it. He finally found a restored triple white ’57 T Bird that he enjoyed for many years. I inherited it and had it for 10 years before selling it as I did not feel safe driving it on the freeways…..
American Graffiti car was a 1956 but hey, what’s a little fudge when hawking a car for sale?
There are so many nice real thunderbirds for sale at a reasonable price. Why would someone by a replica?
Without comparing it side by side to a real 1957, I’d say they did a pretty good job. There’s nothing weird about the proportions like you see on VW or Fiero based kits. As to why, you have the style of the original with updated mechanicals and all the bells and whistles of a late model car. For the right price I would do it.
The Shays were pretty good- but REGAL ROADSTERS from Wiscoson built the best – almost anything original will fit in the car. Convertible tops, etc.
I’ve built many replicas- Regal was one of best.
the American Graffiti T-Bird was 1 1956…
Well this car is a toss up while it will never be worth an original in value, lets point out some of the good things- 302 v-8 air conditioning, price.. with that being said the person who buys this can put in some money and basically drive something that looks sharp but is a pretender. The serious collector of course would never consider it but a young buck or someone with not a lot of money could get some use and enjoyment out of this car….
SOLD for $10700.
40 bids.
Then, seller relisted it SOLD for $8600.
19 bids.
Probably shill bided by friend or family or scam bidder or joker, so had to re-list, I constantly see this on fee bay