For many, there is only one Ford Thunderbird – the 1955 to 1957 2-seat model that started much of the personal car genre. However, when the car grew in size and added a back seat, sales flourished, and Ford’s bean counters were quite happy with the decision. That includes the “Bullet Bird” era of 1961 to 1963, which saw even higher demand than the “Square Birds” of 1958 to 1960. The seller has a nice 1962 T-Bird that’s had a lot of mechanical work done, making the asking price of $8,000 here on Facebook Marketplace seem quite reasonable. This ‘Bird is available in Panama City Beach, Florida. Our thanks to Rex Kahrs for the cool tip!
The redesign of the 1961 Thunderbird strengthened Ford’s interest in tying products to the Space Race. For example, the Galaxie had debuted in 1959 at the height of folks’ interest in sending men into space. So, the forward-thinking styling of the Bullet Birds seemed right at home. The direction would change again in 1964 when the “Flair Birds” came along, back to the boxy shape that defined the Square Birds of the late 1950s.
This 1962 T-Bird has 83,000 miles whose 390 cubic inch V8 engine has 31,000. That implies the original engine was rebuilt at just 52,000 miles, or this is a replacement motor from another Ford. The car runs and drives, though the seller fails to include an adjective like “well” or “good”. Naturally, the luxury Ford has an automatic transmission, 3-speed no doubt. We’re told the vehicle has never been wrecked, so perhaps the paint is original. As is the interior, which shows some wear on the bucket seats.
A host of new parts comprises a good bit of the seller’s asking price. They include new front-end components, the exhaust, brakes, radiator, water pump, gas tank, fuel pump, carburetor, and much more. Also, the generator is gone in favor of an alternator. So, all of this work has been done so the buyer doesn’t have to. Maybe just do a bit of an interior redo, and you’ll have yourself a nice weekend cruiser. BTW, as a reminder to sellers, you’ll present your wares better with landscape rather than portrait pics.
I love the nose on these T Birds, it’s not a 57, but a very affordable option. This would be a great weekend cruiser.
No Bargain at that price. Try 1/2 that amount.
My Aunt Marjorie had this exact car.
She was a sweet old lady, well old to me back then.
Lovely house , antique furniture and so on
But when she got behind the wheel of that t bird the pedal hit the metal.
I’ll always remember being in the backseat of that car, probably 14 years old , with my Mom beside Aunt Marjorie , or Sissy as Mom called her , while she fish tailed around gravel roads on the way to Peterborough,Ont.
“Oh Sissy, please slow down.”
Mom was of a nervous disposition.
Great car, I loved the way the dash curved seamlessly into the door panel.
Made a great impression on a 14 year old.
I had a ’61 that I bought in about 1980. Honey Beige with black interior. That was soybean paint, surprisingly thick. I loved the swing away steering wheel. It was clean as a whistle, sharp as a tack. It only had 17K miles on it, but the hot FL climate had taken some toll on the rubber. A few weeks after I bought it, the brakes showed weak, so I took it in to a mechanic for work. He had one of those old “Sun” diagnostic machines at the back of one of his garage bays. As he started it to drive it into the garage, I explicitly reminded him that the brakes were shot. “I know, I know”, he said. Then he proceeded to launch it into his garage where it promptly smacked into the Sun machine and buckled the machine nearly in half. Wotta dope. Didn’t hurt the car though. It had the 390 of course, and I tried to make it fast, but the car was so heavy, it was never going to be anything but a Rose Bowl Parade float. Still, it had panache, and I wanted panache too. About a week after I got it back, I was approaching a stop light at the busiest intersection in the city at about noon, and the brakes failed completely. I thought fast, swerved into the L turn lane to avoid the cars in front of me, reeled into the intersection against the light, turned away from a car turning in front of me, sharply, and hit the emergency brake at the same time. My knee hit the door handle in that move, and the door flew open, the outer edge hitting the car I was trying to avoid, and then slammed shut again. That door never closed right again after that. Still trying to avoid cars in the intersection, I looked for a way around them, and the only way was to jump the corner curb, go between two concrete light posts, and into the small parking lot of a drs’ office on the corner. Once I got into the pkg lot, all the spaces – facing the wall of the building, were taken except for one. I was going a lot slower by then, and maneuvered into the last empty spot, praying I wouldn’t go through the wall. My front end bumped OVER the concrete bumper at the front end of the space, and the car hung up on it, behind the front wheels. Look at the profile of that car and you can see it’s pretty close to the ground there. But I didn’t hit the wall! As you can see, I remember every detail of that ride. Who wouldn’t?! No one was hurt. I got a ticket for “defective equipment”. The brakes. I went to court with my reciepts to fight the ticket, and made my case to the judge. He dismissed the charge and said I should go to law school. So I did.
if you are looking for 1 of these this is a great buy.
I love these “Bullet” Thunderbirds most of all their iterations: the 1961 is the sweetest of them, but the ’62 is a close second. However, seats in this condition would discourage me. You see this same beautiful nose-styling on the 1960 Edsel, the 1960 Ford, and the 1961 Lincoln Continental. It is a lovely profile, and Ford should have continued longer with it, I.M.H.O.. I would be leery of this particular ‘Bird, for it having needed either a re-build or a replacement engine at so low of a mileage. (or, does it actually have 100,000 more miles than claimed by the seller? — those ragged seats might suggest that to be the case). Anyway, I’ll stay away from this one: thank you.
Nice car. Typical rust spot on these bullet birds is the leading edge of the hood, and this one appears to be no exception. Being a beach town car subjected to decades of salt air, there is additional rot in other places, including the quarters, rockers, bottom of driver’s door…no telling where else. Between the welding work, full repaint and the disintegrating interior, I would say the $8,000 asking price is…fair. I would not go as far as to say this is a good deal.
I recently purcased a near mint original 62. IMHO buy the best one you can. The restoration cost & replacement parts are hard to get. They do drive great smooth and powerful. You just have to know the limits you have to actually drive these unlike a modern car that drives you. A really nice one will cost you about twice the asking price of this one.
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