From The Classifieds: 1956 Ford Thunderbird
In 1954, Ford revealed its weapon to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette: the Thunderbird. In its first year, it delivered a killer blow.From The Classifieds
1956 Ford Thunderbird
In answer to Chevrolet’s bold new Corvette sports car which went on sale in the USA during 1953, Ford wheeled out a counter-blow, in the form of the V8-powered Thunderbird two-seater, in 1954.
Lined up against the fibreglass-bodied Corvette, the Thunderbird was not as bold a venture – it was a more or less conventionally-styled downscale of larger Ford sedans of the era.
Although the Ford two-seater combined relatively light weight with a large 4.8-litre (292 cubic inch) OHV Ford V8 engine, it was less a sports car than a glitzy tourer (the Mustang, a real Ford sports car, came a decade later in 1964).
The compact Thunderbird two-seater was sold with either a removable fiberglass hardtop, or a fold-down soft top and sat on a cut-down version of the underpinnings seen in larger Ford sedans, with an independent front end and a live rear axle.
Some may be surprised to learn the Thunderbird’s 2591mm wheelbase was shorter than most of today’s small hatchbacks.
In fact it was the simple, clean and non-pretentious styling, the convertible roof and the compact dimensions which combined to bring the original Thunderbird tremendous initial success.
Taking on the Corvette in the heated rivalry between Ford and GM, the Thunderbird was a sales sensation: In the USA, it sold at the rate of 23 to one against the Corvette in its first full production year in 1955. It was never sold by Ford in Australia.
In its second year, in 1956, the Thunderbird scored a few improvements including an externally-mounted spare wheel which increased boot space while adding a bit of extra flash to the styling.
A bit like the Corvette, subsequent Thunderbirds succumbed to the passion for ‘bigger and glitzier’ which gripped the US market in the post-war years. Although Ford continued with the Thunderbird badge until 2005, later examples were hardly recognisable as being connected to the original.
Which is why this gorgeous black 1956 example – complete with externally-mounted spare wheel – offered for sale on carsales.com.au caught our attention.
The all-original auto-transmission left hand drive Thunderbird currently lives in the Queensland Gold Coast suburb of Carrara where it is offered for private sale at an asking price of $75,000.
As befits its role as a boulevard cruiser, the Thunderbird is fitted with air-conditioning, white-accented power seats, electric windows, telescopic steering column and wire-spoke wheels. It is also offered with both the soft and hardtop roofs. The odometer is showing 94,000 miles (151,246kms) and the car comes with the original owner’s handbook, as well as the “very first company key ring.”
Fittingly, the Ford also has a personalised ‘TEEBIRD’ number plate and will be sold with a roadworthy certificate.
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