The redesign of the 1967 Ford Thunderbird marked its most dramatic change since the shift from a 2-seater to four seats in 1958. The cars were bigger and more luxurious, and a 4-door sedan was offered for the first time – and with suicide doors! This one looks to be in great shape, though the seller acknowledges some rust underneath and has adjusted the asking price accordingly. Located in Lima, Ohio, this “Glamour Bird” is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $9,000. Thanks, Sam6!
Each cycle of the Ford Thunderbird earned a nickname. That includes the Baby Bird (1955-57), Square Bird (1958-60), Bullet Bird (1961-63), Flair Bird (1964-66), and finally the Glamour Bird (1967-71). These latest T-Birds dumped the unibody of the past and switched to body-on-frame construction. Peek-a-boo headlights adorned the front end with massive taillights out back. Sales continued to be brisk, with overall production just short of 78,000 units, of which 25,000 were the new sedan.
The seller’s land yacht has a standard 390 cubic inch V8 (315 hp), though a 428 was optional. You only had one transmission choice, a C-6 Cruise-O-Matic. We’re told this car only has 27,000 miles, but some documentation to that effect would be nice. The sweet-running 390 has a newer carburetor, fuel pump, alternator, suspension parts, brakes, and other hardware. We’re told the upholstery has been refreshed, and the passenger compartment looks as swanky as any Lincoln.
This T-Bird is not without its faults. The gas gauge is temperamental, and the clock and radio have quit working. But other stuff, like the electric seats, works as they should. The buyer should plan on inspecting the undercarriage of the car on a lift to determine how bad the seller’s rust issue is. The asking price is OBO, and no trades will be considered. Is there a Glamour Bird in your future?
It’s interesting how half of the C-pillar is connected to the door. Seems unnecessary with the kissing door setup.
The extension of the C-pillar into the door was required so the rear-window size could be limited to what could be retracted; because the windows were frameless, a quarter-pane couldn’t safely be used. Like 1961 Lincoln, the suicide doors (“kissing doors” is much better BTW) were used because the relatively short wheelbase meant a short rear-door. The four-door Thunderbird is probably the only car ever where the appearance was improved by the addition of a vinyl roof because it and the fake landau irons do somewhat disguise what was done. The odd one has had the vinyl removed and it’s a strange look.
Never knew these were available with anything other than black vinyl on the roof. I think to make a vinyl delete work, you’d need to retain it in the area under the landau irons on the door and C-pillar, or just paint that area black, so it visually merges with the greenhouse.
SubGothius:
My Dad bought a new 1969 Tbird 4-door Brougham painted Morning Gold (a cream color) with a Dark Ivy Green vinyl top and matching Brougham interior. I also saw a dark blue 4-door at the dealership with a matching dark blue vinyl top and sun roof. The domestic auto manufacturers offered an incredible amount of exterior and interior colors back then. Quite unlike today’s boring minimum number of interior colors and drab exterior colors.
We called these Ugly Birds. After the svelte, space age styling of the ’61 thru ’66? These were not one of Ford’s better ideas.
Those are called Carriage doors, not suicide doors as per my local Rolls-Royce dealer.
Regardless of that, these Turd-birds were ugly as sin.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I’d love a 428 1967 or 429 1969 4 door!
My Mom had a two-door example of a ’67, and except for the long and heavy doors, that was a sweet ride! Mom’s was also equipped with a 390 FE block V8. The 428 only lasted a little over a year in the T-Bird, Ford switched to the 429 “385” big block motor as a running change early in the 1968 model year. Two-door cars could be had with or without a vinyl roof, but the four-door examples could only be ordered with a vinyl roof, to camouflage the cut line in the roof for the rear doors. The faux Landau Bars run just next to the door cut line to further conceal the odd cut line. Ford called painted roof coupes “Tudors”, vinyl roof two-door cars were called “Tudor Landaus”, and four-door examples were named “Fordor Landau” cars. Mom’s was a base “Tudor” car, with a painted roof. Painted roof cars got a Thunderbird badge on the “C” pillar in place of the Landau Bars, with a body-colored insert in the badge keyed to the color of the car!
P.S. I loved the styling on these, the front end reminded me of the air intake on an F-100 Super Sabre!
My Mom used to call our barn a “carriage house”, because it was built to house horseless carriage.It was about 8″narrower than a new garage. Made for some tight squeeze on occasion. Carriage sounded better than suicide doors,but what RR owner would think about suicide.
I never liked the term “suicide doors”, and that’s why I use the term “kissing doors”, as it sounds nicer. Carriage doors is also a good term, I like it.
I like ’em! I think they look more elegant in darker colors, like maroon or dark green. I imagine that the 428 version will scoot.
True, 428 would add some zip, but these were heavy cars, so not as much extra go power as you might think. Again, both the 428 and the 390 FE block V8’s would go away completely, with the 429 V8 becoming the sole engine choice until 1975, when power reductions brought on by ever more stringent anti-smog gear forced an upgrade to the 460 V8 that was standard in the Lincoln Mark IV, which shared a platform with the T-Bird starting in 1972.
Brings back fears with my 69 Bird. Went to get shocks and when it was on the lift they brought it down fast telling me there is so much rust they were worried it would snap on them.
So sophisticated. These were beautiful!
I like this car, even the light off white color, best to be seen in the low light or dark. Also, the four doors are fine, but the stubby rear window is odd. The ad provides two photos of underside but none of rot, just surface rust. Needs inspection, as stated. Priced fairly, I think, if rust is minimal.
clean bird. no a/c either
My understanding of suicide doorS, are doors that are hinged at the rear. Technically, only the rear door is a suicide door in this Bird. Particularly for pre-war cars, it was more common to have both front and rear doors hinged at the back Airflow in a moving car favored pulling the door open rather than aiding its closure, and the attempt to pull it closed was like committing suicide, as you’d also run the risk of being clocked by the open door, if not simply run over.
No A/C – kiss of death for a Bird.
True. Mom’s didn’t have A/C either, and it was the big flaw in an otherwise great car! She didn’t have a choice, she bought it from her brother-in-law’s estate, her sister never learned to drive and had no need for it. She paid $800 for it in 1973, with only 29k miles on it! My Dad asked: “Why do you want an old car like that for?”, but Mom insisted on buying it. She flew down to Reading, PA, to get the car, where her sister and brother-in-law lived, and drove it home. When she brought it home, it looked brand new and my Dad couldn’t get the keys into his hands fast enough, LOL!
Two Thunder Birds both from Lima Oh in the same week. Coincidence? Personally I like the Turbo Coupe much better. Every time I think I like the Glamor Bird that side profile puts me off with its odd proportions.
I knew a guy who had one of these. If you think these birds are ugly in photos, you ain’t seen ugly til you see one in person. They look like they’re squatting to offload something unpleasant.
I always thought that the “carriage door” ‘birds (I really like that term better than “suicide doors” as well!) were the most beautiful Thunderbirds that Ford made! It was a much more elegant look than the 2-door landau versions. I had always wanted one of these, but alas, I will never get that chance. Living in Panama now, Thunderbirds are rarer than hen’s teeth, and a 4-door would be literally nonexistent! Add to that the roads aren’t exactly kind on cars (maybe slightly worse than Detroit! LOL), I would hate to ruin such a beautiful car. The ’67 through ’69 models were the best – once they added the “beak” on the ’70 models, they started the slide downhill.
Man! If If If, dang it!
I would love to park this Beautiful Bird in my toy box. This is one of the most beautiful T Birds of this era, IMHO.
I wouldn’t change a thing. Just go through it thoroughly and enjoy it as intended. The occasional road trips included.
Who needs a Cadillac when you can drive this!
Can someone please share the contact info for the seller from the Marketplace ad? I can view the ad but the seller’s info is hidden since I don’t have a Facebook account. I live about 1.5 hours from Lima and want to view the car. Thanks!
Reduced to 9000 now. Tracey Blankenship is account name. Not sure if you can find the phone number from the name.
Thanks for the name, Dave, but not sure how I can get the number with just the name. Facebook doesn’t share seller’s contact info unless I have an active account.
A friend with an account got the number for me. Thanks.
Good luck Tony. See if they have documentation for the low miles, but that engine compartment looks pretty clean. They say low price due to rust underneath but no rot in photos, maybe exhaust? Let us know what you discover.
Personally I think the 64′-66′ models were the best year for these but I do still think it’s a really nice looking car. I do really like the suicide doors and hide away headlights. The body and interior look really nice and the few mechanical issues mentioned don’t sound too serious. My issue is with the rust mentioned. Ohio is the same as the NE where I am and rust is part of daily life here. The few underside photos he provides aren’t really very good at all. If he took some clear photos with it on a lift with good lighting underneath, it would give people a lot better idea on the severity of the rust issues.
Car sold late yesterday. I saw and drove it yesterday afternoon. Very nice seller had documentation of repairs since his dad’s purchase in 2017. Rust underneath was surface only, car was solid except for a couple small areas of bondo low on rear quarters. I didn’t move on it quickly enough! Whoever bought it is getting a nice car.
You tried! Good report.