So, you want to go racing, do you? Well, don’t buy another CRX or Mustang. Go big or go home, as they say, and find a car that will take you back to the glory days of NASCAR. This 1987 Ford Thunderbird is a legitimate race car, not just some tribute vehicle, but it comes awfully close to capturing the magic of an era of NASCAR we’ll not soon return to. This Thunderbird listed here on Facebook Marketplace is a roller, but it sure brings back enough memories of Bill Elliott to make us want to turn it into a legitimate track car ASAP.
The seller is asking just $1,500, which seems quite cheap for a vehicle that looks like it has the right heavy-duty equipment to make it track-worthy in just a few weekends. Of course, we know it’s not that simple – safety regulations have changed over the years, and we doubt this Thunderbird has been on the track anytime recently to ensure it has the proper fire suppression and head restraint equipment. Still, it seems like it has the good based on the short description: a Randercar chassis and coilover suspension indicate someone spent some money on it at one point, and perhaps in the right places.
Of course, it’s hard to tell whether that translates to a vehicle that can easily be made track-worthy or must be functionally restored before hitting the oval. The good news is that oval track racing remains one of the more accessible types of racing in the U.S., which is especially important as more clubs transition to a private membership-based structure that makes it increasingly cost-prohibitive to hit the local road course. This Thunderbird would also be a treat to own simply driving it around town and making jaws drop as it rolled down the boulevard.
Here’s what the original Bill Elliott Thunderbird looked like. It set a track record at in 1987 at the Winston 500 at Talladega when it recorded a top speed of over 212 miles per hour. The car, of course, had components that were far from stock, so the idea of it being a “stock car” was somewhat laughable. Today, however, it’s still possible to build a performance car out of junkyard parts, and this Thunderbird looks like a fantastic way to build a track car without blowing the budget. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip.
Wild Bill. 🏁 He showed up on the big occasion races. 🏆
Now this is cool. If you are reading this, ANY race car here is going to get attention. It is/was Americas sport. Everybody here enjoys some sort of auto racing. Being located in Oshkosh( b’gosh) just a stones throw from Slinger, or maybe Kaukauna and probably where this car ran. I don’t think it was a dirt racer, and Wisconsin has over a dozen operating race tracks, mostly dirt. This certainly isn’t what drag racing involves, good old boys( and girls) can enjoy racing as a family sport, even grandpa getting in on it. Takes him back to when auto racing was king. Great find.
I was at Talladega in 87′ last year before the Restrictor Plates.
“The race is considered to be one of the most influential races in terms of the advancement of auto racing safety. On the 21st lap of the race, Stavola Brothers Racing’s Bobby Allison lost his engine, with pieces of his engine cutting his right rear tire at speeds of around 210 miles per hour (340 km/h). The car turned backwards and went airborne, hitting the wall and tearing down a wide stretch of protective fencing to protect fans from accidents. “