Here’s a real-deal barn find for y’all! That’s what we have in the 1956 Ford Thunderbird seen here on craigslist for an asking price of $13,500. Not bad, though we have to do that math on a resto for this one. If you’re interested, and you have the scratch, find your way to Cartersville, GA, near Atlanta and have a look or make the buy.
The T-Bird came out in 1955 (first generation was 1955-57), a glamorous and much smaller car than the favorite contemporary 1950s Chevy models and the Ford Victoria. This car was meant for cruising with the top down, and that could be done with all the reliability of a Ford and none of the fickleness of contemporary European imports. Smaller did not mean small by today’s standards, and so it’s a good thing that the car in question has a 292-CID engine to motivate it. But this is a barn find, remember, so take the narrative for what it is. That narrative says that the car was driven into the space where it presently sits 14 years ago. Further, it will crank and run from an external fuel source. The odo, if it makes any difference, shows 26,654 miles, no doubt a number that’s 100,000 shy of actual mileage, though the writer of the ad says otherwise.
Why is that likely so? Well, the condition of the body and general deterioration of the sheetmetal suggests it. Listen to this: “body panels look good, trunk pan is not bad, the floor pans are already cut out.” So that treats extensive body damage as normative. You should be wondering why this is so, and what level of structural damage you’ll be repairing. Here’s a one-word answer: Extensive. The car is yellow, but it was originally sage green, so a total strip-down in your favorite methodology—chemical strip, bead blast, or otherwise—will be the first thing you do. A full sheetmetal resto will follow, then mechanical work that will extend in all directions. How much money will you have in this one when you’re done? Depends on how much you can do yourself. When you find something in a barn, that’s the math you have to do. And aside from those expenses, the soft top on this one is gone and the hardtop that goes with it is incorrect, so factor in sourcing those.
But why would you subscribe to Barn Finds if this kind of challenge was too much for you? Just check out the situation with registration of this car, as the only documentation you’re getting from the seller is a Georgia Bill of Sale–no title for a car this old.
I learned a long time ago you can tell someone trying to sell you a car what shape the car probably is in. My take on this seller is, like a lot of the recent sellers on BF, this guy/gal lives like a slob surrounded by piles of junk. No reason to believe the car under the piles of junk is any better.
you would think they would at least take the effort to clean the vehicle before posting same. If this is how they post a vehicle to sell, imagine the problems that lay ahead. Certainly not worth the posted price, for sure!!!!!!!
Well said.
Without hoarders, the landfills were full 30 years ago, American Pickers never existed, and cars sitting turned into disposable Russian Push Knife Logo Tesla battery cases. Personal attacks on people who hang onto memories but don’t have means or in many cases medical health to ‘get around to it’ end up facing a time they have to sell it or scrap it. The individuals ragging on ‘hoarders’ I’ve noticed suffer from much more severe mental health conditions. Hate, narcissism, envy bitterness and shameless malice. Get into counseling before you’re on the chopping block with The Maker yourself.
Don’t disagree on that thought, it’s likely to be as organized as it looks. I believe $13,5k is out of touch with where these cars are going for, and what it’ll take to get this car sorted – but they can ask for it….
Yep, once you do paint and body appropriate to the car, you are into it for 25K, which is what it is worth running and driving. And you still have to do all the mechanical work.
Jay Leno has taken on many cars like this that comes with boxes of parts. What you have to know about car guys on budgets is they often stockpile spare parts. Decades later perhaps after the husband died years back, widow with a garage full of stuff, the boxes of parts can be worth more than the car. I can’t remember which one, but Jay got a project that had enough rare parts that he was able to get his and another car back to life. The boxes may have roach droppings and old comic books, worthless parts…or that one Holy Grail. This to me actually looks a little picked over. But it’s possible that’s how it always looked for years, which really isn’t as terrible as these comments. It’s not like it’s outside next to a swamp in an ant mound. The beauty of a project like this is you can do what you want. Make American Graffiti Part 5 and restore it as part of your movie budget. Options exist. Barn Finds needs to get with the writers and make sure Sellers aren’t placed in harsh light. The cars themselves you can criticize, but when I sell my project car with boxes of parts everywhere, now I’m cancelling Barn Finds. Don’t need prissy whiners complaining about “boxes everywhere, boohoo mommy!”
All caps description with no punctuation is making my brain hurt.
Again, I’m not a Ford fan, but I did like this model. The fact that the pictures show “trash” and no real picture of the car raises “red flags” for me.
Find the Owners manual and Shop manual in this picture for a free coffee.
If someone offered Asking Price would you move the junk of the car? Oh!! The passenger side was side swiped.
The engine looks like it is skewed in its compartment.
When junk is placed atop junk, what difference does the arrangement make?
When people treat a car of this caliber with junk and crap on top of it and they don’t bother to even clean it up to a least make it presentable are just plain lazy and don’t care and price it at a rediculous number !
Mebbe, someone croaked and left this to next of kin?
If you could get it for less, I think the car has promise. I would inspect it first, obviously, because the photos don’t show the complete car. Some people think it’s better (though I strongly disagree) that it adds to the barnfind “character” to show it covered with crap.
Most yard sales are neater than this!
I’ll take it! The boxes helped keep the paint from getting pitted by dirt worms.
For the money, the car’s worth it. Just clear it away and start working to make her driveable. Too lazy, too bad!
Ok guys here’s my take on this car. I would love to have this car and the price is right. The seller doesn’t need to clean everything up and display it outside to make a sale. I’m sure he knows what he has and it’s worth. Now I used to restore cars in my spare time. I would go to Carlisle PA with a list of parts I needed. When I wasn’t working on the car the parts would lay on top just like this car. So that is not uncommon. When I did the cars I worked everything as a small project one thing at a time. I never was concerned with putting more into the car than what it was worth because the enjoyment I got from driving it when done was worth every penny. You have to remember these cars were meant to be used and enjoyed. Imo. Glwta