The owner of this 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible candidly admits that it is a vehicle with some rust, although he does hasten to add that this is not severe. It has spent the past 15-years stored away in a barn, but it is now ready to head to a new home. For the person who would love nothing more than to restore a true 1950s classic, you will find the T-bird located in Shullsburg, Wisconsin, and listed for sale here on eBay. With bidding now sitting at $4,150, the reserve hasn’t been met. I do have to say a big thank you to Barn Finder Ikey H for referring the Thunderbird through to us.

It would seem as though the Thunderbird has led a fairly colorful life. Its panels currently wears a combination of primer and surface corrosion, but there is plenty of evidence that suggests that it has been painted yellow at some point. Even that isn’t original, because the tags indicate that it started life finished in Raven Black. The photos really aren’t the greatest, but apart from the substantial amount of surface corrosion that coats the car, the owner does admit that there is some rust-through on some of the rear panels. We receive no information on the state of the floors or the frame, but the rockers, bottoms of the doors, and the bottoms of the front fenders all look to be quite clean. There are some external trim items that have been removed, but the owner does assure us that all of these items are present and intact. I think that the reality with the Thunderbird is that whoever happens to be brave enough to take it on will need to be prepared to undertake a full, nut-and-bolt restoration. Anything less would almost certainly be a waste of time and money.

The interior trim that was fitted to the Ford when new was a combination of Black and White. The white part of the equation is now a distant memory, with the interior now featuring all-black upholstery. The cover on the seat looks good on initial inspection, but there is a tear visible on the driver’s side. This really means that all of the upholstered surfaces such as the seat, door trims and dash pad will require complete restoration, or as is the case with the carpet, total replacement. The dash itself appears to be complete and is in quite good condition.

This particular Thunderbird rolled off the production line quite nicely equipped. Under the hood is the 245hp version of the 312ci V8, while the vehicle also features a 3-speed automatic transmission, along with power steering. This is one of those cars that is described as “ran when parked.” That means that you won’t be surprised to learn that it doesn’t run now. What isn’t clear is whether the engine even turns freely. It is a near certainty that there will be some work required before this T-bird eventually hits the road once again. Still, if the next owner intends to undertake a full restoration of the vehicle, then this would be the perfect time to tackle all of these potential issues.

The photos of this 1957 Thunderbird Convertible do offer potential bidders one piece of promising information. If you look at the dust that coats the car when it is parked in the barn, it appears to be a very dry type of dust. This would suggest that there hasn’t been a lot of moisture or humidity present, which may have helped it avoid the sorts of rust that could afflict a similar vehicle that has spent years in a damp environment. I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you that this is going to be an easy restoration, because it simply isn’t. However, it would appear as though it could be a worthwhile project, especially if the rust issues are as limited as the owner has indicated. The real sticking point is going to revolve around the potential value of the car once restored. There is no doubt that if the T-bird was restored to Concours condition, it would be possible for it to command a value of $80,000 or more. However, it is also possible to buy some quite tidy examples today for less than $30,000. If the next owner is willing to undertake a lot of the manual work such as cleaning and reassembly themselves, it would be possible to significantly reduce the cost of restoration, and that would certainly help to improve the viability of this car. What do you think?