1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird & Why it was made bigger in 58

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Күн бұрын

In today’s video we are going to talk about the the first generation Ford Thunderbird. A two-seat convertible manufactured by Ford from 1955 to 1957. The history of the first generation Ford Thunderbird and who made the decision to enlarge it, why they made that decision, and results in terms of sales.
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Пікірлер: 45

@stephenvelden295 8 ай бұрын

I have a 1956 Thunderbird here in Australia. One day I was sitting at a traffic light and a newish 911 Porsche pulled up beside me. A bunch of school girls was crossing the road in front of us. They all looked at my car and one of them gave me a thumbs up and shouted "nice car!". I looked over at the guy in the Porsche ... I swear he had steam coming out of his ears! 😁

@TonysFordsandMustangs 8 ай бұрын

That's awesome! I'm sure your car in Australia is quite a rare sight.

@rongendron8705 8 ай бұрын

Your '56 Thunderbird is a 'timeless' car! When that 911 Porsche gets old, few will give it a 'second look', but they will still be admiring your T-Bird! p.s. As a child, I was at a Ford dealership in late 1954, when some of the first 1955 T-Birds came out! p.p.s. In 1966, I almost bought a 1956 one, but didn't! Regret it now!

@bill.clifford.59 8 ай бұрын

I own a 1958 Thunderbird! It's a all original one too! A real time capsule! I love driving it!

@TonysFordsandMustangs 8 ай бұрын

I have heard from several folks such as yourself. It seems the owners of these cars knew they were special right out the gate. It's surprising how few 1st T-Birds were made and how many actually survive to this day. Thanks for watching and sharing Bill!

@danontherun5685 Жыл бұрын

I've had every type thunderbird to 1980, kept the 57 and 59 because they're easiest to maintain really good drivers and I like both designs. Both have front disk brakes, 3 sp OD trans, sway bars and good tires.

@TonysFordsandMustangs Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@tomtbi Жыл бұрын

I have a 1/25 Die Cast 56 T Bird in my Die Cast collection.. it's a beautiful model!

@rosseganjr9402 Жыл бұрын

I love all years of the t bird! especially the TV show Vegas with the 57 t bird 👍

@TonysFordsandMustangs Жыл бұрын

Same here! I don't really like any of the 58-81 T0birds but they did well for Fords sales numbers. Thanks for watching!

@garyfaught3769 3 ай бұрын

I have a red and white '57. Looks almost identical to Dan Tanna's, except mine has Tru-Spoke wire rims.

@greasyboykustomsdandalessa8234 Жыл бұрын

Great videos man. Really enjoying them all. Just picked up a 60 t bird convertible for my girlfriend

@TonysFordsandMustangs Жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! It is appreciated!

@dflf Жыл бұрын

even though the 55-57 birds were marketed as a boulevard cruiser they were raced professionally

@MostlyBuicks 6 ай бұрын

At 4:07, those fake fender louvers are mounted upside down. This is a VERY common error when people restore or repaint their T-Birds. At 5:35 you can see them correctly mounted in the vintage advertisement.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 6 ай бұрын

Good catch and thanks for sharing the information!

@eoggblaine9725 Ай бұрын

Please notice in the picture the T-Bird had wide whitewall tires ! It also had full spoked wheels or full wheel discs. NOT BLACK WALL TIRES or MAG WHEELS!!!!!!’

@eoggblaine9725 Ай бұрын

Please realize the amazing brilliant technology which body on frame produced, quiet ride with far less road vibrations, a technology still available in pickup trucks today. The unibody design today is as dime as the colours of today, which feature black, white, grey, charcoal grey, and dark blue. White and grey are the main colour of 80 percent of the vehicles look around?

@joshuas8258 2 ай бұрын

I’m a millennial. The 55-57 was gorgeous and a styling masterpiece. It deserves the hype. It’s a shame the TBird didn’t stay on the same path as the corvette. The 58-60 is ok…not a spectacular design…the 61-63 is beautiful but I’m not really a fan of any Thunderbirds after 66. And the 57 E and F code Thunderbirds are in fact more sports cars. The supercharged Bird was faster than the Vette. What could have been… What we don’t discuss is how Ford shot themselves in the foot with the 58 Thunderbird…released the same year as the new Edsel? Why buy the Edsel when you can get the square bird? And the sales success of the 58 Bird certainly didn’t outdo the flop that was the Edsel.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 2 ай бұрын

I don't disagree with anything you have said however IF Ford would have left the T-Bird as a two seater it sales would not have increased and compounded the issue that was the Edsel model line. Ford needed to sell cars and the four seater like the styling or not did that for them. I'm not a fan of the bigger birds at all but they served their purpose when Ford need them.

@davebodi 9 ай бұрын

My 1972 Ford Ranchero GT is a true 2 seater. There is NOTHING resembling a seat behind the buckets/console/4 speed !

@TonysFordsandMustangs 9 ай бұрын

You have a bed so it was intended to be used a bit differently.

@aguerra1381 5 күн бұрын

If the rivalry between Thunderbird and Corvette had continued we would still have BOTH!

@TonysFordsandMustangs 5 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching and for your comment. I have to disagree. It was never really a rivalry. The Thunderbird was a touring car the Corvette evolved into a sports car. The Mustang took on the sporty role for Ford leaving little room for anything else in the category.

@aguerra1381 5 күн бұрын

@@TonysFordsandMustangs As Corvette evolved into a sports car so could have Thunderbird. Camaro was Chevy's answer to the Mustang, it was never Corvette.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 5 күн бұрын

@@aguerra1381 Ford was looking to sell cars. The bigger Thunderbirds outsold the Corvettes by 10's of thousands of units. Ford wasn't interested in selling a sports car like the Corvette. It appeals too few buyers.

@aguerra1381 5 күн бұрын

@@TonysFordsandMustangs True. GM opted to include the personal luxury car as the Riviera, Toronado, etc.. in their lineup and still continue with the Corvette.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 5 күн бұрын

@@aguerra1381 Gm did have a lot of brands to work with as well back then.

@TheHelado36 Ай бұрын

Prettiest of all birds ! If they wanted to answer the Corvette then it had to remained a two seater! All the rest were just heavy pigs !

@sergeantmasson3669 5 ай бұрын

The name comes from "The thunderbird is a legendary creature in particular North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength."

@6catalina0 6 ай бұрын

Besides the Ford Thunderbird, Buick Riviera, Oldsmobile Toranado, and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, what other cars are considered personal luxury cars?

@TonysFordsandMustangs 6 ай бұрын

It's a long list for sure. The Grand Prix, The later LTD II, Cadillac Eldorado, Ford Elite, Chrysler Cordoba, Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, there's plenty more those are most domestics I can think off the top of my head in the 70's but this trend started in the 50's

@HemiChrysler Жыл бұрын

do you think the Big Bird is a good car ? I was shopping for a 1970-71 Thunderbird, but bought a 1974 Biggie.

@TonysFordsandMustangs Жыл бұрын

Not my style but I understand why Ford did what they did.

@danontherun5685 Жыл бұрын

70/71 4 door birds excellent interiors and roof lines but very hard to maintain and did not like the beaks at all.

@TonysFordsandMustangs Жыл бұрын

@@danontherun5685 That was a Bunkie Knudson inspired design. He was a former Boss at Pontiac. I really dislike the styling on that car.

@danontherun5685 Жыл бұрын

@@TonysFordsandMustangs If I had room I'd add a first gen xr-7 4 speed.

@dj33036 7 ай бұрын

In my opinion the success of the '58 T-bird was an accident. It was a totally different car. Ford really screwed up when the dropped the two seater. They had a compelling lead over Corvette and the just simply blew it.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 7 ай бұрын

I have to disagree. The Corvette was a sports car, the T-bird was a touring car. Ford built a sports car a few years later with Carol Shelby that being the A/C Cobra and the Mustang would have supplanted the T-bird in 64 as the sports car either way. I don't like the the bigger T-birds much myself however Ford sold a lot more of them than the earlier 2 seater versions and Ford is in the business of selling as many cars as possible. So from that perspective it was the correct move.

@twomustangs Жыл бұрын

1958 was a bad year for car design across the board, if you ask me. The '58 Chevys, Fords, and especially '58 T-birds are the most glaring examples. Dump on a bunch of chrome and make it bigger. Not for me. (As it is common practice to list one's own vehicle along with their opinion: I'm perhaps biased a bit, as I owned a '57 Fairlane.)

@TonysFordsandMustangs Жыл бұрын

I actually agree. I am not a fan of the bigger T-Birds but Ford's job was to sell cars and it sold. Thanks for watching!

@sergeantmasson3669 5 ай бұрын

IMHO, when Ford went to rear seat Thunderbirds, it was a huge mistake. When Thunderbird went back to a single seat, it was too late to save the Thunderbird.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 5 ай бұрын

The thing is Ford was trying to sell as many cars as possible at that time and rear seat did just that for the company. Sales went through the roof. I am not fan of the bigger birds of the 60's and 70's the collector world agrees with you but the two seater is a niche market. It's one that Ford didn't want to compete in so they jumped out of it.

@raymondscott3228 3 ай бұрын

The 58 might have been a sales success but style wise it was a complete failure in my opinion The two seaters had style and class all their own. They are the most sought after collector cars on the market. Not until the early to mid sixties did they realized they goofed and tried to bring the two seater magic back into the T Bird. Than by the 70’s it was nothing but a bland daily driver much like most of the cars of that time.

@TonysFordsandMustangs 3 ай бұрын

I won't argue that the bigger T-birds look better because they don't. Ford is in the business of selling cars and the 4 seater appealed to a much larger audience and they sold a lot more of larger cars than the two seaters. It's not even close.