- Seller: Wholesale California
- Location: Costa Mesa, California
- Mileage: 5,625 Shown
- Chassis #: 1FAHP60852Y110840
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: V8
- Transmission: Automatic
Originally from the collection of the late, great Gary Hall of Hall Pantera—probably the most famous Pantera parts company on the globe—this 2002 Ford Thunderbird appears to have led a pampered life in his California collection. It has traveled just 5,625 miles since he purchased it new, and other than a Borla exhaust, it sounds like it is original and includes the hardtop stand. It’s listed here as a Barn Finds Auction!
Ownership history notwithstanding, the last version of the Ford Thunderbird, the eleventh-generation, 2002 through 2005, is an interesting car. 47 years after the marque’s first model year in 1955, the reimagined, decidedly retro Thunderbird returned after a handful of years of being retired. One fun fact that intrigues me is that the Thunderbird was always rear-wheel drive through 11 generations and five solid decades. Many other cars went back and forth when front-wheel drive became a thing, but not the Thunderbird.
The Borla exhaust has to sound pretty aggressive compared to the stock system. Retro design was and still is a thing in the vehicle world, and two decades ago, it was big business. Still, when all is said and done, the last flock of Thunderbirds were nice cruising cars, retro design or not. They weren’t muscle cars or sports cars, as with the retro Mustang, Challenger, or Camaro, but you could hardly go wrong driving this 2002 T-Bird down the coast of California with the top down.
As expected with just over 5,000 miles, the interior looks new. This car is said to have had no accidents, no paintwork, and everything works inside and out. As a California car, the next owner doesn’t have to worry about DMV fees as this car has been “non-op” since 2016, there are no back fees, and it just passed the smog test. There was never a manual transmission option for the last generation of Thunderbirds, but I know some talented mechanics had to have converted theirs.
The initial 2002 Thunderbird’s engine is a Jaguar-derived 3.9-liter DOHC V8 with 252 horsepower and 267 lb-ft of torque. It’s backed by a five-speed automatic and sends power to the rear wheels. This car is located in beautiful Costa Mesa, California, and is ready for its next owner to enjoy it. Be sure to leave any questions in the comments and cast your high bid below.
Bid On This Auction
grooviefan bid $6,000.00 2024-07-10 04:28:19
BOB bid $5,250.00 2024-07-09 18:23:27
Todd J. bid $5,000.00 2024-07-09 15:34:49
Escargot42 bid $500.00 2024-07-09 13:09:58
Joshua Mortensen bid $250.00 2024-07-09 12:47:37
I like just about every generation of Thunderbird, including this one, But the Black color does nothing for me. As long as we’re going retro it should be painted in sea foam green. Nah, then the interior looks too dark. I almost bought one of these in Virginia asking $7000 but the chrome on the switch gear was peeling off, which I thought odd and the Steel Blue paint was patchy in spots. Probably a repaint after an accident.
Gary who? Panteras weren’t exactly the norm in my parts. I by no means mean to diminish the sellers car, but the car was a well known flop. Ford had high hopes jumping on the retro bandwagon at the time, but they effectively killed Thunderbird for the last time, although there is talk of one in 2025, more like the original. Looks like a neat car, however, cushy interior, V8 plenty of power, you just never know what the public will go for, and apparently this wasn’t one of them.
It was a flop, but a glorious one. People collect Edsels – but these were quite good by the standards of their time. As a piece of retro design they make more sense than a PT cruiser, you might as well have a louche cruiser over a bad hatchback.
he specialized in panteras. if you are really a car guy you would not have that smart aleck reply. his restorations were first class.
They weren’t exactly a flop, Ford never expected huge sales numbers, they were intended as a limited production car before they ever hit the market
I have a 2002 (bought 3/13) and love it. Near 50-50 wt ratio it handles like a go-kart and gets noticed anywhere I go. But avoid Ford dealers for any repairs!
I always liked the two seaters, first gen or last, the bullet birds and others.
Well why shouldn’t Ford not be allowed to join the wrong platform party of two seater specialty cars? After all it didn’t allow the others to be the big hits they should have become as it didn’t allow this bird to reach its promise either.
Scratch my last comment. I could have sworn this model bird was front wheel drive. I just l’m the one that didn’t get the memo. But I wonder why it wasn’t the hit it should have been. It had all the goodies appointments, styling and power. What happened? I’m curious to know why this car didn’t sell better. Again sorry for my stupidity.
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The public was thirsty for the 2002 and dealers took advantage by adding $10,000 to the sticker price.
Yet the majority of sales occurred that year.
As with any “halo” car that doesn’t change styling (other than the HP that went from 252-280 in the last 3 yrs) the market got saturated quickly.
They’re pretty affordable classics that provide decent performance, and a boulevard ride. Plus, even non-car people will always recognize that porthole window!
Did it really have all the appointments, styling, and power? Contemporary magazine articles complained about the interior components lifted straight from the Lincoln LS, the shaky body structure, and the tepid performance.
My wife really likes these. Me, not so much. Kind of only appeals to the geriatric, bermuda shorts, loud shirts crowd.
However, this triple black number appeals to me.
In that case, welcome to the geriatric, Bermuda shorts, loud shirts crowd. Face it… after a certain age, we all look like that whenever we try to drive anything even closely resembling something sporty. I’m 66, and I still laugh when I see an old guy in a Corvette or a Porsche.
As one of them there “geriatric, bermuda shorts, loud shirts crowd” kind of folk…at least some of the time, I resemble that remark!
And every time I see one of this generation of ‘bird, and notice how graceful they look gliding down the boulevard, I think to myself I should maybe own one. They can be found at very reasonable prices, relatively easy to maintain, and would compliment my loud shirt, cargo short wearing persona as I park at the senior citizen center for the pancake feed fund raiser.
I mean heck…many of us have long ago outgrown our Jimmy Joe Cool or Birkenstock Boy Racer stage in life anyway. =:l
In short/s….Thank You !
I live every day in shorts and T shirts. Does our turbo Mini Cooper S fit in this category?
bobhess, so do I. And I had a turbo Mini Cooper S at one time. Handled on rails and made my Corvette feel like a sloppy mess.
To be clear, I was poking fun at myself, in a way. Not yet into the loud flowered shirts, but that could happen any day now.
Real men don’t drive cars that look graceful driving down the boulevard. Their new girlfriends and ex-wives do.
I heard the first year models should be avoided, that true? In any case, the low miles on this one appeals to me and I may have to bid. (Yells down the hallway: “Hey, Enid, check the balance in my bank account, wouldja?”)
Ford gambled that the revived, two-seat, boulevard cruiser Thunderbird would appeal to the same youthful customers as the original two-seat Thunderbird. They were partially right. The car appealed to the same buyers, as in the exact same buyers, only they weren’t youthful anymore.
Really, no one wants this car? I better keep an eye on it, might get it for a song!
I don’t know about anyone else, but I have tried to bid on this T-Bird since it first appeared. No way to bid. At first it would not show my bid. Now, the site will not allow me to bid as the car disappears when I try to bring it up to bid on it. If anybody out there can set me straight on this, I would appreciate the help.
Bob,
I’m having the same trouble with this auction. Finally talked myself into bidding on it even though it’s in CA and I’m in DE so I would have to factor in shipping. If this is still available on auction, someone needs to fix the bidding problem.
Thank you!
Vinny
We found the issue and fixed it. Please try bidding again!
Sorry about that.
The thing that makes me hesitate on one of these is the engine. Using the Jaguar V8 makes it more expensive to maintain and repair. I would think the modular V8 would have made it more appealing.