This reminds me that I need to fill our birdfeeders. If you want to stand out from the crowd, it’s hard not to with a two-door personal luxury car with this classic and unusual bird beak front-end design. This familiar seller has this beautiful 1971 Ford Thunderbird listed here on eBay in Anoka, Minnesota, there is a buy-it-now price of $12,980, and the current bid price is $3,770.
Just to get this out of the way, Barn Finds doesn’t get one thin dime from car dealerships for showing their vehicles here, unless they specifically pay for a Classified or Auction listing just as everyone else would. Some readers wonder why vintage vehicles from dealers are shown here. It’s because someone sends in a tip for an old vehicle like they did for this ’71 T-Bird, and it just happens to be listed at a used car dealer. That’s it, there is no other reason.
What a beautiful car, at least condition-wise. The unusual front-end treatment may leave some folks wondering what the heck Ford was thinking in changing the sleek hidden headlight early fifth-generation Thunderbird to this joust-worthy design. I admit to preferring the previous grille but this car appears to be so nice and, again, someone (who didn’t leave their name) sent in this tip. Ford made the fifth-gen Thunderbirds from 1966 for the 1967 model year, until 1971.
As if the exterior wasn’t gorgeous enough, this interior appears to be in outstanding condition. The front seats look perfect but check out the sweeping backseat! This seller typically shows dozens of great photos and it’s no different with this two-door Thunderbird. There are so many photos that it almost makes up for those who don’t show engine or underside photos. This car isn’t perfect, but the seller shows the flaws, unlike a lot of sellers. There are photos that show bubbling under the paint and they usually show a top-down drone photo, a very nice touch!
The underside looks honest and solid, especially if this is a Minnesota car and we don’t know if it is. Some other sellers paint or coat the underside and even paint the exhaust silver, I don’t understand that at all. One thing that puzzles me a bit is the trunk, what’s going on there with the sealer sprayed on the edges of what looks like regular cardboard?
The clean engine is Ford’s monster 429-cu.in. OHV V8, which would have been rated at a conservative 360 horsepower and pavement-pounding 480 lb-ft of torque. The seller says it runs well and everything works, other than the AC not blowing cold. Hagerty is at $18,900 for a #3 good condition example and at the buy-it-now price of $12,980, this seems like a good deal. Any thoughts on this Thunderbird?
Is there an orthodontist in the house? Just saying.
I’ve come to appreciate the big T-Birds from the late 60’s to the mid 70’s. Big and stylish with loads of ‘presence.’ This one is nice, and is even period-correct brown. It was a nice day yesterday and I went for a back-road cruise; this is the type of vehicle which would work well for this activity.
And, I don’t mind at all featuring cars from dealers. If that is where the interesting cars are for sale, so be it.
Unfortunately it’s poop brown. I have 3 Birds. 57, 68 and 84. So I’m a fan. Not a fan of brown. Seems like many times it’s the ugly colors that survive lol
Something is a little off in the beak. Maybe the grille is pushed in?
I thought so too, but looking at others, they are all set back a bit.
I think that is the optional bumper guards making the grille look weird.
I can get past the “Jimmy Duante” schnozzola given the condition of this car. The engine power is still decent, as the anti-smog rules really hadn’t started to bite until 1972, when the T-Bird became a “low cost” sister to the Lincoln Mark IV. I will admit I liked a red example with a white top listed about a month ago from Pasadena, CA in Barn Finds better, but this one still has potential, depending on how bad the “tin worm” attack is. The 429 can become a 460 with just a crank swap, for those so inclined.
One of the reasons I liked the Pasadena example better, other than the color, was that one had bucket seats and a console. This one has a bench seat, and it’s not even a split bench seat, but a full-width bench seat. I pity what ever normal-sized adult is sitting next to me when I’m driving it, because at 4’11.5″ tall, anyone sitting next to me will have their knees under their chin if I’m behind the wheel, LOL!
LOL. 4’11.5″! My mom, rest her soul, was the same size. She’d always include that extra half inch when people asked her height. She was tiny but packed a wallop. I vividly remember my brother, who was ten years my senior, was trying to convince my mom to go somewhere on a school night…he was about 17 at the time. He would not have pulled the stunt with my dad around for sure, but after my mom said that he could not go he called her a beeeyoch…mom wound up and threw a straight jab that connected square into my brother’s nose. Blood streaming down his chin, my mom through him a towel and said “go take care of that, you’re dirtying up my floor.” Sure do miss her, especially this time of year. Merry Christmas guys and gals, hope you’ll have a good one!
Is this T Bird front wheel drive ?
Uh, no. It has a solid rear axle in the back, hanging from coil springs, with a Watt’s linkage and trailing arms. It’s as close as you could get to an Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) without actually having an IRS setup. Pay particular attention to Ms. Vito’s testimony about the solid rear axle in “My Cousin Vinny” (1992) (Reprinted below for reference):
Mona Lisa Vito: The car that made these two, equal-length tire marks had positraction. You can’t make those marks without positraction, which was not available on the ’64 Buick Skylark!
Vinny Gambini: And why not? What is positraction?
Mona Lisa Vito: It’s a limited slip differential which distributes power equally to both the right and left tires. The ’64 Skylark had a regular differential, which, anyone who’s been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows, you step on the gas, one tire spins, the other tire does nothing.
Juror #1: That’s right.
Vinny Gambini: Is that it?
Mona Lisa Vito: No, there’s more! You see? When the left tire mark goes up on the curb and the right tire mark stays flat and even? Well, the ’64 Skylark had a solid rear axle, so when the left tire would go up on the curb, the right tire would tilt out and ride along its edge. But that didn’t happen here. The tire mark stayed flat and even. This car had an independent rear suspension. Now, in the ’60s, there were only two other cars made in America that had positraction, and independent rear suspension, and enough power to make these marks. One was the Corvette, which could never be confused with the Buick Skylark. The other had the same body length, height, width, weight, wheel base, and wheel track as the ’64 Skylark, and that was the 1963 Pontiac Tempest.
Vinny Gambini: And because both cars were made by GM, were both cars available in metallic mint green paint?
Mona Lisa Vito: They were!
Vinny Gambini: Thank you, Ms. Vito. No more questions. Thank you very, very much.
[kissing her hands]
Vinny Gambini: You’ve been a lovely, lovely witness.
Why ?
All 429s were balanced and blue printed from the factory .
The “Bunkie Beak” ‘Birds were off putting to some. I kind of liked them better than the previous ’67 bodies. But the really sweet big ‘Birds would come out in ’72.
Beautiful car . That’s it stunning . I rather have a big beak noise then the yesteryear of GM ANYTHING OR CHRYSLER PRODUCTS . RAISED ON FORDS .ALL MY LIFE . Parents had 1968 Ford LTD country squire station wagon red with wood paneling 390 in it . Boy that thing would move .
not so many smokers in a car these days (thank goodness) but back in the 60s and 70s, a ifferent story. The one feature Ford introduced in the Mercury’s and Linclolns starting in the later 50s was the “Breezeway” window and by mid 60s offered “Flow Through Ventilation”, found that on the 4-Door 65 and 66 Sport Sedans. It continued on as a feature on the birds like this one. Fresh air flowthrough removing smoke, stale air and odors with the windows up. The only real feature since then is the now standard (for many years) auto defrost rear window.
Is it National Luxobarge Day or something?
I don’t get these things; you can carry 5 people in a Cortina, so why do you need something this size… to carry 5 people?
Vista Cruisers and so on, aye, ‘cos that’s an estate (band hauler etc.), but not these.
You can haul five people in a Cortona with their knees under there chins, unless they’re all kids or little.people. these were personal luxury vehicles. A driver and maybe a passenger. You know, like all the crew cab pickups with only the driver all by his lonesome nowadays.
I have a 15-minute walk to work, if I choose not to go by bus or bike; one day, I walked home and counted about 20 cars in that time that had more than one person in them – as far as I could tell. Privacy glass, crossings, tunnels and so on.
5 folk in a Cortina is ok for room; you can get 9 in an Imp and not break any glass when you roll it on the way home from the pub (not me, incidentally).
The “personal luxury” thing never really took off here, apart from Rolls/Bentley/Jag/ and so on. Captains of industry and other such parasites…
That’s the beauty of freedom. You can cram 6 people into a Prius, or travel alone in your Expedition. Your choice.
I think BF takes leads from their readers. Show us what you got.
Bunkie wanted the same distinctive look for his cars as he had at Pontiac. It only got as far as this and the ’71-2 full size Fords. Back when you could car spot from a block away. At night. That three spoke steering wheel is pretty sweet too. The colors are right for the time, bench seat and all. When my 5′ tall wife drives I ride in the back. This is a nice example of a great car.
When my 5′ tall wife drives, I usually stay home or double up on my blood pressure meds. I gotta say that after the 57 my favorite year was the 66 Town Landau. I do like all the Birds though. Nice ride, looks well worth the asking price if everything is truly as pictured.
That C Pillar is massive. Talk about a blind spot!
A friend of the family growing up had one of these. It was his wife’s car. He was a WWII vet who met a German woman during the War, married her and brought her back stateside. I was too young to understand but would like to have known what she thought about her mode of transportation, given where she came from.
Hers was a classy one. Red with white vinyl top and white interior. Man, that ‘Bird was sharp. Love the Bunkie Beak!
That roofline! I don’t remember seeing one of these that didn’t have the sloped roof. It gives it a more formal ‘cool’ factor for me. Back then, I would have prefered the sloped roof(ten years old), but now I really like this!
Love to birds except this one, the front end is just plain ugly
Not nearly s ugly as the Lexuses you see on the roads today. Now that’s ugly!
Nice car. I would have picked different colors, but like was expressed earlier,
this was common for the period. The car appears to be in great condition.
Especially the interior. That back seat is awesome. Looks very cozy. A little short of legroom though. Especially for a car this big. Of course it was really meant for two people up front.
I forgot to mention it but I’m thinking this car’s front grille (beak area) actually pushes in to help prevent damage. It’s hinged on the top.
This is a beautifully optioned 71 Thunderbird. I love the color. This car has the bumper protection group, that provides the large rubber bumper pad to the extremely vulnerable beak. The delicate rear trim is in great shape. Power windows, power seat, overhead warning lights with power door locks. The excellent manual AC as opposed to the complex automatic climate control. Stereo. Speed control is really the only thing it lacks. That, and a right-hand rear view mirror. With that huge roof, driving without one would be tough.
Not at all sure why it needs those ugly gauges under the dash, the instrument panel provides accurate gauges for the driver. My 69 always told me what was going on with it.
Ugh, we can’t get past that front bumper. Bunkie Knudsen was not Ford’s best idea…
It’s ugly. This car is what hippys protested about. Funk green. Over upolhstered . And a 429 to waste. Sorry. Not my bag man.
That wrap-around opera back seat absolutely sends me.
1971 was the end of an era for the T-bird AND Lincoln Mark III. REAL “ flight/cockpit style interiors with “over head warning lights “ and a jet-like appearance! NOT TO MENTION ALSO – if you wanted to – you could still buy a FORD product, the T-bird, in 1971, that had a 4-door with “suicide doors !”. The 1971 Ford T-birds and Lincoln Mark III’s marked the last year (during that period),for REALLY UNIQUE STYLING. This one’s gorgeous! You know – I’d buy it if I could! Good luck to the new owner! Everyone else too! Fantastic article by the way!
Did I fail to mention you could still buy a car with “suicide doors “, in 1971? I just thought it was worth repeating – just saying, you know…….
Back in H.S. In 1975 we drove to Union Pontiac in Newton (in my ‘68 Falcon) and they had the most beautiful one of these ever seen. It was a nice day so the car sat there with its two windows down and it’s sunroof open with its white leather bucket-seat interior gleaming in the sun.it was a bright metallic blue with white roof.Sitting in it , I could only only dream of buying it.
It was $ 3,800 And therefore way out of reach.
I had a rusted out 71 I traded a leaf blower for it pulled the motor and sold it for 2k
Yes, the ’70/1 nose is subject to lampooning by some. I’m not one of them. I thought the ’67–’71 series was one of the better-looking T-Birds, especially the clap-door models which I’m more attracted to.
I’m with you on the “Glamor Birds”, as the 67-71 models were called, including the suicide-door versions, I just wish that you could order the four-door T-Bird without the vinyl roof! Now if the suicide door version had been kept as a Lincoln as well, it would have been great, especially if Ford hadn’t stopped making the T-Bird a convertible in 1966. Image that, a T-Bird and a Lincoln suicide door convertible! The mind boggles!
Auction update: this one ended at $8,000 and that didn’t meet the seller’s reserve.
71/72 were big styling changes for personal sports luxury cars. It was the last year for the 5 gen T Bird. It was the last year for the Mark 3. It was the first year for the boat tail Riviera and 72 the last year for the 3rd gen Gran Prix. What a glorious time for styling and power and those color code hub caps. This is the hayday of American Luxury sports car era and there will never be another like it again. Bye Bye Miss American Pie 🥧.