When the Thunderbird arrived, carving out the personal luxury car space, buyers flocked to place orders. Arriving with a V8 from the git-go, the T-Bird almost bumped the Corvette off the map. As the years passed, and generations of T-Birds flew by, the dimensions of the car gradually bloated until by 1967 it was known as the Glamour Bird. In this fifth generation, Ford steered the T-Bird even closer to the luxurious Lincoln, abandoning the sporty look of earlier years for a body with confusing style points and an option of four doors. Though Ford had already strayed from a sporty configuration in 1958 when it gave the T-Bird a pair of back seats, fans may have felt that Ford had completely deserted them when the four-door option was introduced. Yet, joy could be found under the hood: by 1968, buyers could opt for Ford’s 429 Thunderjet V8 packing 360 hp. That wasn’t enough to salvage sales, as sports car buyers opted for the Mustang, and luxury buyers went for the Lincoln, but the model managed to persist for more than four decades, all told. Today’s two-door 1969 ‘Bird is being sold by the son of the deceased owner, and it is located in Moses Lake, Washington.
Here’s that engine, which the seller has not tried to start. The 429 four-barrel was the top-shelf engine in the Thunderbird option list, and its output rating of 360 hp is widely considered to be conservative. The transmission is Ford’s three-speed Cruise-O-Matic. For a big car, the ’69 could rhumba: its zero to sixty time was just north of eight seconds. In this fifth generation, Ford shifted to body-on-frame construction, away from unibody. Sandwiching rubber between the body and the frame gave a silky, quiet ride.
This car’s interior is nearly pristine. The front and rear seats are but slightly dirty – and it can’t have been easy to keep this color so clean. The instruments are bright and clear, the chrome and stainless trim is unblemished, and the surfaces are snappy-looking. I’d like to know what’s under the dash-pad rug – it’s either there because the owner was careful with it in the sun, or it’s there because the pad is cracked. A paucity of photos doesn’t help matters; the seller didn’t even open the garage door to take a rear shot. Moses Lake is a nice place to visit, though; might be worth a trip to resolve the contradiction of that dirty engine bay, an odometer that reads just over 17k miles, and this pristine interior. Could this car be an original low-mileage Glamour Bird? Find out by contacting the owner here on craigslist, where the car is for sale at $5000.
For goodness sakes, get a bucket and soap out. This could shine nicely.
Appears he doesn’t want to push it out… and I don’t blame him. It’s heavy to try doing alone. Looks worthy of purchase if it floats your boat: a Lund, for example.
That’s probably why they are asking only 5K. It is most likely to settle the estate and seller just wants someone to come out and grab it.
If they have to put forth any effort, that price will no doubt go way up.
Never underestimate these birds! Although, a very heavy car I was lucky enough to own a 68 with a 429. My first week of ownership I was clocked on 95 at 151 MPH at 2 in the morning by a State Trooper who was so impressed being a car guy, he let me off with a slap on the wrist!
In another example of how impressive these birds ran with that big block a 69 Buick GS was edged out by my birds bumper in a street race!
Naturally, these old birds were a force to be reckoned with and if you won or lost, whoever you ran had to be either embarrassed or impressed!
429 with highway gears are dominators.
Like it! T birds have great interiors…back seat makes me think of a smoky “60’s restaurant with the metallic vinyl corner booth.
Get rid of the wires….stock full wheel covers, slotted wheels or maybe splurge on some Detroit steel wheels.
Great find…take a chance for $3,750…I bet it cleans up very nicely
Side note….Moses Lake chamber of commerce should have a “parting of the lake” festival.
That looks like one of those projects that time ran out and he never got back around to.
If I weren’t on the opposite side of the country I’d be very interested
Got one in Alexandria, Va. and drove across country later with wife and daughter to Southern, Ca. Great trip except crossing Texas at 55 mph. At days end I stepped out not feeling tired at all. Had to get rid of it when yet another “gas crisis” came along. Still miss that “luxury bird”.
Great story! My Dad went to TC!
Even back then if you were going less than 80 you would probably have just gotten a verbal warning.
My grandparents and aunt and uncle lived in Moses Lake. Coming from the rust belt I was always amazed when we visited how many rust free old cars were there. The 1969 Thunderbird was a favorite of mine. I used to hang out at a small town Ford dealership in the late 60’s. I remember a few 1969 Thunderbirds but they were pretty expensive so they didn’t sell in droves.
Does anyone else remember the commercial, four thoors in a dunderbird?
Craigslist says 170000k
Odo shows 117,000.
no, but that might have been the last merican car w/suicide dor (’66/69 or ’70).
My dad had one… 115 mph felt like 60.
I’m kind of surprised there is no center console, I actually thought that was standard when the car was equipped with bucket seats.
Sweet ride, I would daily drive that thing down here in Florida if I had the space.
Great price too!
$5,000 is super reasonable. But Holy Moses, Washington! Might as well be on the moon, for me. Unless there’s free shipping?
I like it, too bad it’s way too far away…….
Lilac frost hardtop with cream interior. Bet it would clean up nicely.
My friend’s Dad had one, the same color. At some point he gave it to my friend. Not sure if he still has it or a driver’s license.
Even if it needs complete mechanical rebuild it’s a steal at 5k. Complete opposite side of the country from me or I’d be there tomorrow with cash in hand.