Robin’s egg blue is a soothing color said to elicit feelings of calmness and tranquility. The next time you visit the dentist, take a look around at the colors you see. There are a rhyme and a reason as to why schools, hospitals, and even psychiatric centers sometimes use robin’s egg blue as an interior paint color. So is it possible for a light blue car to have a calming effect on one’s emotions too? This 1972 Thunderbird, available here on Craigslist in Kingston, New Hampshire, actually has me feeling a bit nauseous. And it’s not because of the paint color or the $7,295 price tag.
My dad was into big American cars and he proudly owned two Thunderbirds during the 1970’s, the first being a ’72 model just like this one, but maroon. As a kid I spent a fair amount of time riding in the back of that boat, all the while battling car sickness on the twists and turns of many a country road in upstate New York. Thus the feeling of nausea that I’m overcome with whenever I see one of these cars now. Nevertheless, this Thunderbird, reported by the seller to be an export from Florida, looks to be wearing it’s presumed to be original light blue paint in pristine fashion. The exterior of the car looks immaculately preserved and the seller reports no blemishes. The chrome trim and bumpers show absolutely no sign of pitting or oxidation. I can only imagine how excited my dad would be if he saw those wire wheel covers and whitewall tires. He outfitted the second T-Bird he owned, a ’76 two-tone cream and gold beauty, with double whitewalls. And when those tires began to wear I vividly remember him feverishly trying to find replacements. He was unsuccessful and I am only slightly exaggerating when I disclose that he put the car in storage rather than risk further wear on those precious tires!
The seller provides a nice close-up photo of the vinyl roof and upon inspection, it looks like there is a small tear just below the lower left corner of the rear window. Otherwise, the material appears to be in near perfect condition and free from any signs of dry rot. Apparently, this car was pampered by its previous owner(s), likely stored in a climate controlled garage nicely protected from the hot Florida sun.
Earth tone colors were all the rage in the early 1970’s, but Ford went 100% sky tone on this car. And if the light blue exterior doesn’t soothe your emotions, perhaps the blue upholstery, carpeting, and vinyl dash are enough to do the trick. Papa Smurf would sure feel right at home in this baby. Other than the rubber Ford floor mats, the interior appears original. The upholstery is in good condition with only minor stretching in a few places. All of the clunky, decorative buttons on the seats are still intact and have miraculously managed to survive getting caught on a pair of vintage corduroy pants. It does look like one of the buttons on the driver seat is strangely discolored, though. The vinyl dash covering appears to be in great shape too, but is it original or a replacement? The carpeting is a bit stained throughout, but perhaps it can be treated.
Unfortunately, the seller fails to provide any photos of the 460 V8 that’s under the hood but mentions the car has only 61,000 original miles. In 1972, Ford offered the 460 as an “upgrade” from the standard 429. Either way, combined with a massive curb weight of over 4,500 lbs., these “Big Birds” were notorious gas guzzlers and averaged somewhere between 8-12 mpg. Apparently, fuel economy doesn’t matter when you’re lost in a sea of tranquility.
I love it 😍..
The horror is gone from previous view.
A real price and cool car.
Thank you BarnFinds for my redemption views!!!!
Whew…I thought you might of had to put a cute lady with a German Shepherd dog in a convertible Shelby 428 cobra to revive me and look deeply 😍
Land Yachts are my thing! Tho I’m partial to the 4 door editions, I’m starting to gain a bit more love for the coupes. This big Bird outweighs my 17 Fusion by about 1100 lbs.
This beauty would look real nice in my driveway [it sure as heck wouldn’t fit in the garage]
Blue on blue barge. I love it. Lots of dry-day miles with me at the wheel. It would fit in my garage, crossways.
Mom (my MIL) drove one in the early ’80’s. Hers was a ’73 that was Presidential Blue with a black vinyl roof
and a blue velour interior. Being rather
short, she could barely see over the
dashboard and past a nose long enough
to launch a fighter jet! That beast ran a
460 V-8 backed by a C-6 auto tranny.
To compensate for her height, we put
her on a pillow and Pop fabbed up some
removable blocks to build up the pedals
to make driving the car a whole lot easier.
Even my late wife, who was a few inches
taller than her mom, had to use this setup
as well to heard that tank through down-
town Peoria traffic after Mom got gassed
after a trip to dentist’s office. From that
day on, my wife forbade me to buy any
car larger than a Chevy Cavalier! As I
recall, the car rode like a dream and my
back was very happy. Mom and Pop
sold the car after moving to Florida in
1984. And my back, it got beat to tears
riding around in one of those tiny tin cans
they passed off as a car. …And thst was
the last ride I ever took in a great American plushmobile.
First off, does anyone make an aftermarket horn that sounds like a foghorn? Cause that’s what’s needed here… anyway, beautiful car & the fuel mileage would sure help to keep the miles off the clock.
Absolutely gorgeous! Probably not to everyone’s taste but the final year before the truck bumpers. Nice find.
Release your inner Frank Canon.
Mike, If I remember correctly, Frank Cannon drove a full size Lincoln Continental the first season. Then switched to a Mark III then a IV. Sort of the cousin to the T-Bird…
I think you are right Paul. Make it a 7/8s Cannon?
There’s a guy about 2 kilometres from me that has 6 of these in front of his house some are a bit newer with the ugly bumpers. They have sat there for many years. Three are on the street so they must be registered but you never see them move. He also has a 90’s firebird sitting with them and that one has sat for years too.
I bet the guy is gonna resore them some day don’t ‘cha know, eh?
I have mixed feelings about this Thunderbird. The color is awesome, the style and condition impressive. However, it is so big and bulky and softly sprung that it missed the personal luxury ideal of a luxury car that handles. A Grand Prix of say 1973 or 1974 had Radial Tuned Suspension and tried to mimic European driving feel.
I drive through Kingston to and from work, so I Googled the phone number. It’s at Bump & Grind Auto Body. They usually have some interesting iron – old and new – sitting out front.
I’ll have to keep my eye out for this one – looks nice.
What a shame about the color. Baby blue, what a shame. Give it a little breeding and try to imagine it Black, with Black vinyl top, and a red leather (seating surfaces) gut. Then you’ll see it’s Lincoln Mark heritage.
Blue just won’t cut it.
An Uncle of mine owned a 1975 model, triple brown. The interior sported leather seats, and at the time I expected more out of the dashboard than a lot of plastic. But boy did that beast move! You don’t drive them as much as you pilot one. Really one of the biggest cars I’ve ever driven (the other being a 1970 Sedan De Ville). Good to see this survivor.