Excuse me for making another Perry Mason TV Show car reference, but I spotted the ultra-cool Private Detective Paul Drake driving a shiny black ’57 Thunderbird in one of the early episodes. It looked just like this one, although I’m guessing the ashtrays are probably empty in this particular black ‘Bird. Located in Skokie, Illinois, this good-looking ’57 T-Bird is for sale here on eBay and is generating a lot of interest. As of this writing, 114 bids had been made, but the top bid of $24,500 had not made the seller’s reserve.

I’m guessing the vast majority of car lovers reading this are already familiar with the history of Ford’s iconic “Personal Car.” This was the third and final year of the two-seater and was restyled for 1957 with a reshaped front bumper, a larger grill, a longer rear deck to accommodate the spare tire, and tasteful, canted rear fins. That was one elegant restyling exercise, folks.

Other than having the original factory invoice and sharing that a family owned this ‘Bird for 30 years before the current owner bought it, not much is shared about its 65-year history. We do know that it came from the factory with a Raven Black body and matching removable porthole hardtop (but no soft top). The seller includes 24 photos in the ad that seem to support the claim that it’s a solid T-Bird.

The seller says, “the body is in excellent shape, no rust in the inner rockers or floors, though the paint has some flaws.” The supplied photos seem to support this claim, and, overall, the paint presents well (although one photo shows some scratches and imperfections on the trunk lid) and that Raven Black exterior really sets off that glistening chrome. I wish there were more photos of the black-and-white interior, but it looks good at a glance. The seller shares that the ‘Bird comes with a Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission, power steering, power windows, power seats, power brakes with a dual master cylinder and disc brakes, and an under-the-dash-mounted AC unit.

There’s only one kinda dark photo of the engine bay, but it looks clean and this ‘Bird appears to house a standard 312 cu-in V8 that would’ve produced 245 horsepower when it left the factory. The seller states there are 42,500 miles on the clock (not sure if those are original miles) and that “The T-Bird runs well and has a rebuilt steering gear and heater control valve. The carburetor was replaced, and the battery is newer.”  Overall, this looks like a nice, solid ’57 T-Bird. The seller claims he’s only selling the ‘Bird because he recently bought a car that he’d been looking a long time for. So, what do you think? If you’ve been looking for a classic ’57 Thunderbird for a long time (or even a short time), this could be the one. Join the other 114+ bidders for a chance to be the lucky next owner. Paul Drake would give you a thumbs up and probably ask you, “Gotta light?”