This is a relatively early production 1959 Ford Thunderbird hardtop featuring power brakes, power steering, a 3-speed cruise-o-matic transmission (fully automatic), and air conditioning. The engine is the original 352ci FE big-block, factory rated at 300hp (SAE gross). It runs and drives smoothly. The engine, transmission, cooling system, brake system, power steering system, and interior have all had major attention. I've done so many things to this car over the 2 years I've had it that it will likely be hard to remember it all, but I have kept receipts for all major purchases. I've been building the car as a stock daily driver, but am running short on resources and have reached a point where I'd be willing to let it go for the right price. It still needs a good deal of attention, primarily cosmetic. I have all the trim. I'd be glad to go into detail about the car, work done, work still needed, etc. if interested. I'm asking $4500 but will consider offers. I may consider a trade for a very clean, reasonably low-mileage BMW 3-series (E30) preferably 2-door, sunroof, leather, 5-speed, or maybe a very similar car. There are some older pics of it in my gallery, but progress has been made since them and all the suurface rust you see has primer on it. That is not to say it is ready for paint. Thanks!

7/13/2007 9:34:44 AM

I'll help you out. That's a sweet ride, I hope it gets sold.

7/13/2007 9:40:13 AM

Keep the T-bird(drop it with some bags and paint it flat black with white walls) and FUCK A POS BMW!!!

7/13/2007 9:57:39 AM

baaaaadddddassssssss

if I A) had a garage, B) weren't going back to school I'd buy it, hows the transmission? has it had any attention? does it shift well? do all the gears work normally?

7/13/2007 10:14:52 AM

I'd love to keep it but I really can't afford to keep throwing my summers' labors into it.

The transmission has been overhauled. It shifts well with all gears, but since it hasn't seen 1000 miles yet since it was rebuilt and it has new bands, it will need a band adjustment at the 1k mile mark as per the shop manual's instruction. The only issue with the transmission's operation is that wear in the column shift mechanism makes it a little tricky to actually put the transmission in gear. That's purely a shift lever/collar issue, though, not a bad refleciton on the transmission itself. Replacement parts are remanufactured and available. Plus it is totally usable as-is.

7/13/2007 10:21:30 AM

factory A/C, or a vintage air system or similar?

7/13/2007 11:16:12 AM

damn man

throw some paint on there and sell that thing for more than that

7/13/2007 11:44:32 AM

^ probably needs quite a bit of work to get the body prepped for paint.

Matching numbers on the engine/tranny/rear end/frame?

[Edited on July 13, 2007 at 12:55 PM. Reason : s]

7/13/2007 12:55:03 PM

It has the factory A/C system, though I suspect that someone at some point collected all the equipment and installed it on this car, which is to say that it didn't leave the factory with a/c. Or maybe it was installed at the dealership. But I think an owner did it. The a/c system is complete except for the switch or solenoid that activates the compressor clutch. It is installed except for the compressor itself. It still needs overhaul; that was the last major item on my list.

Skack is correct, it would look pretty crummy if I just painted it. There was a lot of surface rust on the trunk lid and a couple other places which has left tiny pits which will need to be filler primered or filled in some other way. Also there are a few small shallow dents and a couple larger, more prominent ones. To get the body ready for a proper paint job is the main work that this car needs.

Matching numbers? not exactly. The engine is original to the car, but the carb is a 1964 model Autolite 4100 rather than the original. Also, the original cast-iron transmission case had a cracked support crossmember, a common problem in these cars. I replaced that case with a good donor from a 1961 t-bird, and that's where all the good components, new seals, etc went when I rebuilt the transmission. I still have the original and all of the other parts from the donor trans. It's assembled as a unit and would go with the car. The rear end is stock and untouched; underneath a layer of filth the carrier still retains its original red paint. I replaced the pinion oil seal so the filth will not accumulate again, but there is a little noise from the rear axle under load indicating the need for gear adjustment. This was Ford's first unibody so there is no separate frame.

[Edited on July 13, 2007 at 4:18 PM. Reason : a/c!]

7/13/2007 4:17:08 PM

bump!

7/21/2007 3:44:32 PM