Do you like the looks of the 1949-51 Ford but wish you could have one with more modern features? Well, buy a kit from Easy Rods and convert your 1989 to 1997 Ford Thunderbird into one (visually, anyway). That’s what the current or former owner of this 1992 T-Bird once did, and it appears to be a reliable car at 85,000 miles. Located in Bremerton, Washington, this retro-Bird is available here on Facebook Marketplace for an even $20,000. Our thanks go to “Yargbull” for this wild tip!
Let’s start with the “donor” car. Launched as a 2-seat personal luxury automobile in 1955, the Ford Thunderbird excelled sales-wise after it grew a back seat in 1958. In continuous production for more than four decades, the 10th generation arrived in 1989 and ran for nine years. After that, the T-Bird name took a break until 2002 when it returned to its original roots as a 2-seater through 2005. The year the seller’s car was built (1992), nearly 74,000 copies left the assembly line.
The seller doesn’t go into a lot of detail on this vehicle. We assume it has a V6 engine and runs well. But you’d have to find out from the seller what’s up with that and the status of the leather interior. Most of the limited discussion is about the kit conversion, which we assume came from Easy Rods in New Jersey. They advertise selling kits for 10th gen T-Birds and later model Camaros to turn them into “Belaros” (1957 Chevy Bel Air). We don’t know the situation with their business as their website was last updated in 2012, and their Facebook page in 2019.
According to Easy Rod’s propaganda, you can buy their 1949-51 conversion kit for the Thunderbird for $3,595 (2012 pricing). They’ll ship you a package of fiberglass pieces that you can glue, screw, or bolt onto your Bird. Little-to-no modifications are needed for this to work (we assume you have to repaint the whole car when you’re done). Check the box for things like the hood, fenders, quarters, trunk lid, a how-to video, and more. The seller says the conversion was professionally done, but where and when? Does this kind of car float your boat?
Gadzooks.
This one word effectively sums up the whole thing
Is this the same car featured earlier this month? It’s pretty wild regardless, the donor car looks like my old Thunderbird. If I had a T-Bird I didn’t know what to do with I would try something like this.
@Fox Owner
The first one was a ’49 with ribbed bumpers & screwed up parking lights. This is a ’50 with “original” looking bumpers and correct parking lights.
The one from a couple weeks ago had that crazy cool bronze paint. Interesting that two get written up close together. I never really warmed up to these, but I do admire the creativity. Wonder what the “business plan” for this kit looked like? Typical meager Marketplace ad.
Thanks Bob. I took another look and that other car was much nicer with the custom bumper and copper paint.
I can’t open the to link so not sure if there are engine pictures, but if not, don’t be quick to assume V6. We had a 93 t-bird brand new that came with the 5.0 V-8. If I were building one of these kits, I surely would start with a V-8 donor car.
Remarkable. It’s actually less attractive than either the 92 T-bird OR a 50 Ford.
As an owner of multiple MN12 Thunderbirds these offend me..lol..But i also love shoebox Fords so that offends me also..i’m so torn..HAHAAA!
On Reddit, there’s a category/subreddit called, “ATBGE”–Awful Taste, But Great Execution. This one fits in well there.
I salute the person who undertook this project and did a nice job of it. I would admire this car at a car show, and quickly walk on to the next vehicle.
They were in such a hurry to list this beauty, that they couldn’t wait for the dew to burn off? These things are the epitome of cheesy-ness. And I too, love the 90’s T Birds and the Shoebox Fords.
Awkward
the gaps in the hood , doors and trunk seem way off. hopefully that is just the kit, but no thanks
These are common enough but I wonder how long it’s been since they’ve sold any kits if the website pricing hasn’t been updated since 2012.
Especially now that ’90s cars are coming into their own as classics.
Wow! Really? I’m glad I don’t live there. First one I’ve ever seen. But then, I never really looked that hard.
What a waste!
If I had dog that looked like that, I’d shave its butt and teach it to walk backwards. Woof!
I always think the same thing when I see one of these, BUTT UGLY! Then I wonder if you did it right it could be COOL! However the answer is always the same. Why would you even want to try?
I wouldn’t be caught dead behind the wheel of that thing. What an embarrassment
Putrid!
You guys really need to get off the fence about this thing!